How to Animate with "Heavy" in Maya 2024

We've recently updated the "Heavy" rig, one of the free rigs we recommend for learning animation. Heavy can be downloaded from highend3d.com, and you can read all about him here, as well as see how to use him to Animate a Walk Cycle here, and a Run Cycle with Heavy here. 

Animate a Run Cycle With "Heavy"

Human run by Edward Muybridge

In this tutorial we show how to animate a simple, basic run cycle.  

The tutorial uses the "Heavy" Rig which you can download for free at HighEnd3D.com. 

Animators should be able to master the art and craft of basic locomotion, including walks, runs and jumps.  These are the "scales" of animation, and should be on every animator's demo reel, demonstrating that the student has mastered these basic steps.

Animate a Basic Walk with "Heavy"

Walk cycle with "Heavy" by Jeff Smith

Every animator needs to learn how to animate a character walk. 

In our newest tutorial, we show how to animate a simple walk cycle using the "Heavy" rig. (free for download at Creative Crash). The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

The tutorial is designed to be easy to follow, and to use simple thumbnails that show all the main poses in the walk, and can be easily broken down.