Spider Animation Tutorial

Spider walk tutorial

In this new animation tutorial we show how to create a locomotion cycle with a spider, demonstrating how to take an apparently complex action and, by breaking it down into simple components, we can make the animation much easier.

A spider's walk looks complex, but is in fact very easy to animate, by following this simple tutorial.

Animator's Survival Kit - Spider in Motion

Start off by watching this short video below.

Spider Walk - How It Works

Animatr's Survival Kit

Start by animating a simple 16 frame walk cycle on the first set of the spider's legs. Once this is working, copy and paste the animation curves onto the second set legs. Then offset the curves by 8 frames. 

Then copy and paste the same curves onto the third set of legs, and then onto the final set of legs, offsetting the curves so that each leg offsets the one before. 

Spider Walk Tutorial

You can find the Spider Walk Tutorial below:

Spider Walk Part 1

https://vimeo.com/837581863

Spider Walk Part 2

https://vimeo.com/837581941

Spider Walk Part 3

https://vimeo.com/837582042

Spider Walk Part 4

https://vimeo.com/837582126

Raa Spider Rig

The tutorial uses the free Raa Spider Rig.  Raa is free, and can be downloaded from highend3d.com.  Ray is an eight-legged arachnid, perfect for learning creature locomotion.  Like most rigs, Raa has his quirks and foibles. So how can our students get the very best out of Raa?  To find out, read this blog post. 

Control Curves on Raa's Feet

The control curves on Raa's feet are polygons (normally, control curves are created using NURBS). This means that if you turn off polygons in the viewport to make the controls disappear, you will also lose Raa's body. To solve this problem, shift select all the control curves on Raa's feet and add them to a layer in the Layer Editor. When you render a playblast, turn the visibility off in the layer tab. Now you won't see Raa's controls. 

Other Spider Rigs

You can also use the following free rigs

• Free cyborg spider rig
• Free Kiel Figgins spider rig

Animation with Spiders
To see some of the great work that can be done with Raa, check out the videos below by Animation Apprentice student Lee Caller. It's clear from this shot that Lee has looked up live action reference of how real spiders behave, going beyond a simple walk cycle to create an engaging and entertaining performance.

And this one below by Giuseppe Candido is very nice too, with a cool VFX feel to it.

Also see this excellent animation by Steve Woodhouse:




If you don't like Raa, or want another spider to tinker with, try this rig here.

To see other free and/or inexpensive rigs that we recommend for student use here at Animation Apprentice, follow this link.

Animal and Creature Animation at Animation Apprentice

Gorilla animation by Michael Davies

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:

• Animal Anatomy for Animators
• How to Animate a Quadruped Trot
• Leopard Walk Tutorial
• Dragon in Flight Tutorial
• How to Animate Quadruped Transitions
• Horse Animation - Best Free Horse Rigs
• How to Plan Animal & Creature Animation
• How to Animate a Dinosaur Walking
• How to Block Out Creature Animation
• How Framestore Use Live Action Reference to Create Great Animation
• Animal Locomotion for Animators - Free eBook from Stuart Sumida
• Leopard Rig by Truong - How to Use It
• Animate Quadrupeds with Michael Schlingmann
• Spider Animation Tutorial
• Scorpion Animation Tutorial
• Crow in Flight Tutorial
• Animation Locomotion for Animators - Free eBook from Stuart Sumida
• The Five Key Rules of Animal Anatomy with Stuart Sumida
• Stuart Sumida Explores the Principal Animal Gaits
• Butterfly Animation Tutorial
• Dinosaur Walk Tutorial

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.