This week we learned how to create a basic walk cycle. The tutor explained the function of key poses, breakdowns, and extremes, which helped me understand the basic structure of a walk. Although walking seems simple, it actually involves full-body coordination and balance, and each part must move naturally together.
In the feedback session, the tutor said that the rhythm and movement of my walk cycle were generally good, but I needed to add some anticipation to make the motion more lively. She also pointed out that the direction of the knees was slightly wrong, which made the leg movement look unnatural. In the next version, I plan to fix the knee direction and add small anticipation before each step to make the weight shift smoother and more natural.
I also looked for live-action walk references from both front and side views. By studying these videos, I understood better how different parts of the body work together during walking, such as the up-and-down motion of the hips, the small shoulder swing, and the timing of each footstep. These observations helped me show a more natural weight shift and realistic walk in my animation.
In practice, I used the “Walker” rig, a ball with legs. From the reference, I found that the up-and-down movement of the hips and the shifting of body weight are very important. The tutor reminded us not to make the character walk in place, but to move it forward in space to show real pushing force and weight.