Advanced Animation - Project 1: Walk Cycle

28/05/2025 - 11/06/2025 / Week 6 - Week 8

Wang Yifan / 0368363

Advanced Animation / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / 

Taylors University

Project 1: Walk Cycle

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INTRODUCTION

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LECTURE

Week 7 Miro Board：

Fig 2.1 Week 7 Miro Board

Week 8 Lecture Slides:

Fig 2.2 Week 8 Lecture Slides

Week 8 Miro Board

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Project 1: Walk Cycle

For Project 1, we were tasked with creating two different walk cycles: a Vanilla Walk (a neutral, standard walk) and a Character Walk with a unique attitude – in my case, a Joyful Walk. The aim was to understand body mechanics, timing, weight shifting, and how character emotion is expressed through movement.

The character I used is Snow, the character rig from Blender. I first keyframed the contact poses. Then, passing pose followed by down and up poses. It is challenging to keep the shoulder looks natural and the hip swings. I referred to this YouTube tutorial to get a better understanding on how to animate a proper walk cycle.

Walk Cycle in 15 steps

Vanilla Walk 

To begin the vanilla walk cycle, I opened Blender 4.4 and imported the “RIG-Snow” rig. I configured the frame range from 1 to 250 at 24 fps. Using the CloudRig system, I tested all primary controllers (root, feet IK, chest, shoulders, and face). I also positioned the camera and lighting using a simple three-point setup, and set the lens to 50mm.

Scene Preparation

Following the standard walk cycle structure, I started with blocking the key poses: contact (frame 1, 13), down (frame 4), passing (frame 7), and up (frame 10). I mirrored the poses to complete one loop. All key controllers including the hips, legs, spine, and arms were blocked in. I paid attention to symmetrical leg movement and opposite arm swing.

Blocking Key Poses

Once the poses were blocked in stepped mode, I switched to spline interpolation to smooth transitions. In the Graph Editor, I cleaned the curves for the hips and feet, fixed foot sliding, and refined the arcs. I also added a slight bounce in the torso and a small head bob.

Spline Pass & Polishing

Vanilla Walk

Attitude Walk

To express a joyful and energetic mood, I designed a walk with higher knee lifts, bigger arm swings, and a bouncy rhythm. Compared to the vanilla walk, this version has more exaggeration and attitude. I used the same core poses—contact, down, passing, and up—but adjusted their height and spacing for more energy.

Pose Planning

To enhance the character's attitude, I added a wide smile, bright open eyes, and raised eyebrows using the facial rig. I also posed the fingers in an open, relaxed shape to match the joyful movement. These small details helped the overall personality stand out.

Facial & Hand Animation

I switched to spline interpolation and refined the curves in the Graph Editor. I added overlapping motion in the torso, arms, and head to make the movement flow smoothly. The timing was adjusted to feel light and upbeat.

Polish

Joyful Attitude Walk

Final Project 1: Walk Cycle

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REFLECTION

This project helped me understand how much planning and detail goes into a simple walk cycle. Through the Vanilla Walk, I learned the importance of body mechanics—how the hips lead the motion, how weight shifts naturally, and how arms and legs work in opposition. Blocking each key pose taught me how to build rhythm and structure in animation.

The Joyful Walk pushed me to think beyond realism and focus on character personality. I exaggerated the leg lifts, added bounce, and used expressive facial and hand movements to show joy. This taught me that attitude is communicated through the whole body, not just the face.

One of the main challenges was avoiding foot sliding and stiff upper body motion. I solved this by refining the foot curves and adding torso overlap. I also became more comfortable using the Graph Editor to adjust timing and smooth the motion.

Overall, this project improved my animation workflow and gave me more confidence in combining technical skill with creative storytelling.