Tuesday 16 May 2023

Quadruped Trot Tutorial

Horse Trot - Edward Muybridge
Students at Animation Apprentice must master the art of quadruped locomotion, including how to animate a trot. 

A trot is an intermediate gait between a walk and a run, an efficient fast motion that permits speed without using excessive energy. 

Below are three tutorial videos showing how to animate a horse trotting. The password is the same as for all our video tutorials.

The Trot
Trot cycle "Animator's Survival Kit"
Unlike a walk or a run, when an animal trots, its shoulders and hind quarters will rise and fall at more or less the same time, rather than opposing one another as would happen in a walk or a gallop. 

Animal Locomotion
To see more about how animals move, including the science behind it, read this blog post by paleontologist Stuart Sumida. 

Horse Rigs
To explore the best rigs to create Horse Animation, check out the Best Free Horse Rigs available online.

Mothman TD Horse Rig

Thumbnails
Check out the thumbnails on the right from The Animator's Survival Kit to show the positions of a horse trot.

Start with the "Up" position at Frame 1, then do Frame 17 - these two must be the same. Then do the "mirror image" position at Frame 9. Then do the "down" position at frame 5 and frame 13. Then fill in the gaps at frames 3,7,11 and 15. Finally, smooth your curves. 

Horse Trot Part 1

Horse Trot Part 2

Horse Trot Part 3

Horse Trot Part 4

Horse Walk-Trot-Run Video with Richard Williams
Make sure to watch the horse locomotion video below by Richard Williams, author of "The Animator's Survival Kit"


Animal and Creature Animation at Animation Apprentice
We have many resources here at Animation Apprentice for students looking to learn how to animate animals and creatures.  To get started, see the blog posts below:




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