Walk Cycle

Artwork Works in Progress
1

Hey, guys!

I’m working on a walk cycle, using my Otto rig.

I’d love to get some feedback on what could be improved.

Thanks in advance.

<EDIT> This is the last version : http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle8.mov
</EDIT>

http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle.mov

Virgilio

2

Hmm, mplayer -loop 0 loops, but sadly not seamless. Do other players a better job at that?

Quite good, as I it’s hard to say what’s off.
In front view, the head movement seems a little jerky.
There should be more of an impact on each step.
I think the way the feet touch the ground is not right. Maybe the sole should be less inclined before any contact is made.

3

Hi, thorwil. Thanks a lot for your response. =D

I’ve done that cycle at work (windows) and in quicktime it loops like a charm. Now that I’m home (linux), I had trouble on the loops using mplayer and vlc. None gave me seamless loops… =/

Tomorrow morning I’ll put together 2 or 3 loops on the same video and upload again.

I agree with you about his head. It bothers me too… =P

But could you please explain a bit more about what you mean on his feet? You mean that the sole should be more like parallel to the ground?

Cheers!

4

It loops perfectly for me … in the Blender sequence editor :slight_smile:

*EDIT … Hm, that seems to be only true with an EMPTY scene. When I tried loading the clip into the sequencer with the Otto rig loaded the playback slowed down to a crawl … looks like a bug to me … further investigation required.

Nice walk cycle, as for the head, maybe some slight back and forth rotation might help, right now there’s little X-rotation.

It would also help if you make the ground more visible, e.g. a green color or something, to see what is happening with the feet.

Mike

5

At least for me loops nicely using Mplayer on Linux.

I think the hands should be more relaxed, the fingers seem to move a bit too much. But maybe that is an illusion I get from the perspective.

Anyway, very nice, very good walk cycle. It would also be nice to have a look from another angle.

6

Great cycle, but I was a little bothered by the feet. It’s like he’s got an imaginary bar sticking through his ankle, and he’s stepping over it when he walks. I think unless people are consciously high-stepping, the feet sort of slide by each other, the off ground foot not very high off the ground. People, after all, trip over wrinkles in carpet and half inch cracks in concrete sidewalks, so that foot couldn’t be carried too high…

7

That’s what it comes down to … oh, and what Orinoco said :slight_smile:

8

Hey guys! =D

Thanks a lot for all your comments.

I’ve updated the walk cycle, which is on this new link:
http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle2.mov
Things I’ve done:

  • Changed movement of his head;
  • Softened hands movement;
  • Added (at least I think I did…) more impact feel on his step;
  • Added a floor;
  • Lowered the feet and changed its inclination from the ground;
  • The video itself has 3 loops to prevent non-seamless software looping.
    If there is something that still feel awkward, please tell me. =D

Cheers

Virgilio

9

Look like he bends the toes up before the foot hits the ground. I don’t think he should do that :slight_smile:

10

Looking good :slight_smile:

It would be interesting to see how well your cycle will work with the new NLA walk features. Have you tried it yet?

If you want to post your .blend file, I’ll test it for you :smiley:

Mike

11

Hey, guys… My job kept me pretty busy these days, but I managed to tweak the walkcycle a bit more.

@thorwil: I partially agree with you. :wink: Actually I think we bend our toes a little on every step, but just a little. It was very exaggerated, so I corrected it. =D

@Mike_S: I’ve tested this on the new NLA features, and It works like a charm! Since in this walk cycle Otto remains in place, I had to move the root bone forward a little every frame to match Otto’s correct position. I’ve done that by using the 3D cursor, positioning it every frame (it has 34 for the complete cycle) according to the feet bones as a clue to move the root, which is the OffsBone. I’ve put the original walkcycle online, if you want to play with it. =)

The new walk:
http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle4.avi

The Blend file:
http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle.blend.zip
As always, I’d love to get some crits on this.

Cheers

12

Hey, Guys… =D

Well… I still had some issues on that walk… so I’ve tweaked a bit more on subtle things and I feel that I’m getting closer to a final result.
http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle5.mov
Please, tell me what you think.

Cheers

13

Hey, guys… =D

Long time since last post, huh?

Well… I’ve worked on it a bit, and now I think it’s better.http://uploader.polorix.net//files/99/OttoWalkcycle8.mov