I have made a sneak walk cycle using “Norman Rig” by bLender.
What do you think?
This is good. Maybe head should move less. This is the only thing took my attention at first watch.
Intereting. Nice exaggeration. Character should keep his eyes (head) focused on where he is sneaking to. Arms don’t really swing to oppose the legs in a sneak, they just help the body balance the legs. Try keeping the elbows back and the hands, like the eyes, focused on where he is going. You can add some emotion with the hand pose: is he the perpetrator – hands have a grasping pose, or is he the victim – hands are splayed out in fear.
Nice start. This is a good exercise to do; it involves both body mechanics and acting.
On the body mechanics:
I think you’ve taken the exaggeration too far. This is especially noticeable when his body is forward. Remember that the body must remain balanced or he would fall over. It’s almost there, but still a little unbalanced.
On the acting:
This cycle lacks the character of a sneak. It looks a bit like you’ve looked at someone else’s sneak cycle and copied the basic poses. This can be good practice, but you have to keep in mind that you are trying to convey an attitude, rather than just make poses.
For example, the head moves as if it is merely an object attached to the body, instead of a head with a brain, eyes and ears. If someone is sneaking, they should be looking around, being really alert and trying their best not to be discovered.
Also, he should be looking really careful when his foot goes down… this is where he would be most nervous about making a noise. At the moment the contacts are quite quick.
Keep it up!
great, thnx everybody for the comments and tips. I’ll keep everything in mind and try to improve acting and movements.
Cheers
That looks similar to a sneak cycle in The Animator’s Survival Kit book. For those not familiar with it, this particular kind of sneak by Richard Williams does show a lot of head movement. It is intended to be more cartoony, not realistic.
I think this was very well done! The minor thing I would suggest is a shorter stride in the cycle.