Horse Legs Are Straight When Bearing Weight

One common mistake made by junior animators when animating horses is to permit the front legs of the horse to bend when bearing weight.  

This seems logical to us because our knees bend when we walk, but the front legs of a horse stay straight when they are load bearing. 

The front legs should never bend while the legs are taking weight. Once the front legs bend, it starts to feel wrong - too much like a pantomime horse.

Animal and Creature Animation at Animation Apprentice

Animation by Giuseppe Candido

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
• 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.