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WIP - ACE HERO - Walk/Run Cycle

MV79
polycounter lvl 3
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MV79 polycounter lvl 3
Hi Folks,

here is my first attempt to a Walk Cycle, what do you think of it, what can i improve, would appreciate some criticism.

(old video removed)


Greetings Mathias

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  • LuManChu
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    LuManChu null
    Hi MV79,

    Good job on your first walk cycle!

    While it is difficult to say for sure due to the continuously rotating camera, I believe that your walk cycle could use a little more down/up motion. More specifically, I'd look at moving his body, from the hips up, down after his foot makes contact with the floor and his knee bends from the weight now resting on it (around frame 0005) and moving his body, from the hips up, up when he propels himself forward with that same leg (around frame 0015-0016).

    Hope this helps!

    LuManChu
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    LuManChu thanks for your help, i have added a bit more up and down and for me it seems better.

    (old video removed)



    Greetings Mathias
  • Rmunday
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    Rmunday polycounter lvl 9
    Wow, Wish my first walk cycle was that good, hell my current ones are pretty much the same standard. Fantastic Job. Expanding on what LuManChu said I would add a touch more head movement too, nothing too over the top but I feel it is a little too stationary at the moment.
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Rmunday thanks for your kind words, this keep me motivatedarrow-10x10.png, yes it is my first but took me time and much trying.

    I am not sure about the head movement, i want a pretty realistic cycle but this can also be a little bit boring, this might be the base and now i can add more personalityarrow-10x10.png and a-symmetrie to it.

    This was the referencearrow-10x10.png Video:

    [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq9A5FD8G5w[/ame]



    But i will start now with a Run Cycle and polish it later...i am waiting for Modo 901 and hope it has Animation Layers :)


    Greetings Mathias
  • LuManChu
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    LuManChu null
    I'm glad my advice was able to help!

    I agree with what Rmunday said about the head being somewhat too stationary. I think you could fix this by slightly delaying the head from the upper torso movement. For example, the character leans right around frame 0020 and the head "catches up" a couple frames later. This could add some nice overlapping action to the cycle.

    LuManChu
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Hi guys, i have tweaked the walk a lot or better said i tried it :) but i am still not 100% happy with it.



    Greetings Mathias
  • Connecta
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    Connecta polycounter lvl 7
    Can't open those latest youtube-links, MV79; "This video is a duplicate of a previously uploaded video."
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Sorry forgett my last post, got suggestions from another forum, maybe i have tweaked it too much, there is something really wrong now.

    Anyway thanks for all the help, will post new videos later.


    Greetings Mathias
  • LuManChu
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    LuManChu null
    Based on the front view, it looks like his upper torso might be leaning a little too much to his left around frames 0000 and 0030 and to the his right around frame 0019.
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    The whole cycle is off balance and the feet roll is also not perfect, but its kinda hard with that Rig...need some more time.


    Greetings Mathias
  • Connecta
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    Connecta polycounter lvl 7
    It looks good imo, the thing that bothers me the most is that the legs seem to always be bent
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Hi there, well got some problems but i've worked a bit on my cycle. I'm not happy with the feet but i dont get it right with this rig.



    Greetings Mathias
  • slipsius
    MV, when uploading your cycles, like walks, you should cycle them a few times. Watching a 1 second youtube video is extremely hard to judge an animation. If you have quicktime pro, you can drag the video video into the player several times and re-export it. Or, in maya, set all your controls to pre/post infinity "cycle", expand your timeline and then playblast it. That way we see the whole walk several times in one video.
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Sorry have updated the videos...
  • slipsius
    Much better. thanks!

    Ya, your feet are definitely the weakest point of this walk. It appears as though there is an ever so slight pause when they hit the ground. I think your forward back (translate z, or TZ) curves are probably a bit off. If you look closely in your reference, you`ll see that the are already on their way back when they hit the ground. currently, it looks like yours hit their peak at ground contact, instead of the peak being just before. Here's a pic from a quick anim i did with a cube to show you what the curve would usually look like. This is obviously a very simplified version, and not the be all end all. But it should be enough to get you started.

    Foot_ForwardBack_TranslationCurves.JPG

    It's also worth noting that your foot/knee is driven by your upper leg. The knee is a hinge joint, so it tends to follow that upper leg. If you get your upper leg moving in a smoothish pendulum motion (it's a bit jittery right now), that will definitely help your feet and knee issues.
  • heboltz3
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    heboltz3 polycounter lvl 9
    slipius is nailing alot of great feedback here! and since its a friday, Ill try to jump in too!

    The biggest thing that stands out to me, when the character has either foot fully extended backwards, and they lift off the foot with the toes still tense.

    Realistically the toes would be applying pressure and force to the ground driving the motion, so the toes should be extended in the opposite way. Heres a really bad mspaint-over (oh the puns on friday morning are bonkers) showing what I mean. I think in addition you might want to extend the backwards rotation on the ankle when pushing off aswell.
    C4AqkFd.png

    Hope this helps! Like Slip said, the feet are the missing link, the rest is looking pretty rad to me! Keep up the good work.
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Thank you guys, will polish it further this weekend and than maybe call it finished so i can move on with the Run Cycle.
  • MV79
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    MV79 polycounter lvl 3
    Hi guys,

    here is the finished Walk Cycle, am actually quite happy with it. I thank all who have helped me, let me know what you think of it :)

    [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqi-hWvU1L8[/ame]


    Greetings Mathias
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