Thursday 25 May 2023

How to Animate a Basic Walk with "Monty"

Animate a walk cycle with "Monty"
We've uploaded a new series of video tutorials on how to animate a walk, using the marvellous "Monty" rig, free for download from Creative Crash.

There are four video tutorials of just under ten minutes, showing step by step how to animate a walk cycle. 

The videos are recorded in Autodesk Maya, and are aimed at animation beginners. 

Monty

Animate a Walk with "Monty"
The tutorial explains how to animate a basic walk cycle. You can find the links below. The password is the same as for all our videos.

Monty Walk Pt 1

Monty Walk Pt 2

Monty Walk Pt 3

Monty Walk Pt 4 

Ways to Animate a Walk - which is best?
One of the most common questions student animators ask when they tackle their first walk cycle is this: is it better to animate the walk cycle "on the spot", as if on an imaginary treadmill, or is it better to animate the character physically walking across the screen, taking two steps? 

Choose Your Method
Walk Cycle from "The Animator's Survival Kit"
Both methods of creating a cycle are effective approaches to the problem of character walks, and at Escape Studios we teach both methods. Both, however, have their advantages and disadvantages.

Watch this five minute video here to understand the difference between the two approaches, and decide for yourself which one suits you best.

Walks and Character Walks
"Journey of Life" by Robin Herrmann
One of the first challenges for junior animators learning their craft is to learn the art of locomotion, specifically how to animate a walk cycle, and later a character or personality walk. What makes a walk happy, or sad? Angry, or fearful? Masculine, or feminine? 

Animators must learn to observe how humans act and move, and be able to replicate that character and personality in their motion. 

Locomotion Resources
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.





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