My understanding of 2d animation has always been about clean simple design. Everytime we see a complex design, there are always excuses about how it’s too tough in 2d, or we end up keeping the animation limited or in 4s and 8s to minimize the work. Another approach to a complex design is to do it the rigged way. Doing a complex design in hand drawn 2d is mostly considered a very expensive approach.
I personally have avoided complex design for many of these reasons .
This piece is an attempt at overcoming that mindset with a simple walk cycle of a design that has many moving parts. The design is inspired by one of my oldest character models.
This was an experiment in getting myself back into animation, exploring what voice I wanna bring out as I restart my short film, an experiment in combining 3d objects in 2d animation, and a test in patience.Animating the Layers of shadows and highlights was challenging and fun. i hope you enjoy watching it. 
The character body, hair, cloth and fur are handdrawn 2d. The sword, skull shoulder cap, kneecaps, shield and buckles are 3d.
