Why Walk Cycles Need Sine Waves

Animators like sine waves.  Not because we are good at maths (it was my worst subject at school) but because in 3D animation, a sine wave typically shows that your animation is smooth and flowing, without bumps or mistakes. Watch the short video above (just a couple of minutes) which shows how a sine wave can help smooth out your animation. 

Sine wave in Maya's Graph Editor

Walk Cycles

Sine Waves are especially important when you are animation a walk cycle. This is because in a cycle, the motion should be broadly symmetrical - else it will likely feel as if the character is limping.  Each step should be like the other step, and this means that the curves should be smooth and flowing.

Sine wave

A sine wave

A sine wave is a curve describing a smooth periodic oscillation, a continuous wave. In Maya, in the Graph Editor, animators can show how a curve will flow over time by turning on Infinity Curves, and then making sure that the curve is smooth and flowing, as in the example above. 

If you are animating a walk cycle, and you can see bumps and tics in the animation, then most likely you need to check your animation curves in the Graph Editor, and ensure that most (but not all) of your curves look more or less like the example above. 

More on Locomotion

There are many free resources on walks (and locomotion generally) at Animation Apprentice. Follow the links below to find out more about walks and character walks.

• How to stop feet sliding in a walk cycle
• Why animators need treadmills for walk cycles 
• Animating the "ZigZag Walk" on "The Thief & The Cobbler" 
• Two Ways to Animate a Walk Cycle - Which is Best?
• Character Walks by Alexander Savchenko
• Why animators should always take two steps
• Character Walk reference by Houman Sorooshnia
• 100 Ways to Walk by Kevin Parry

More on the Graph Editor

For more information on the Graph Editor, and how to use it, follow these links:

• Why do animators need clean curves?
• How does the Graph Editor work?

To find out more about Animation Apprentice, click here for a link to Frequently Asked Questions. To sign up for our next classroom at Animation Apprentice, follow this link.