Dino-Creature Walk Cycle- Critic Welcome

[refoops]

Sorry, This is probably about the second walk cycle I've ever made. (It still counts as a walk cycle if it's not a human..right?  ) I decided I'd try to make a cartoonish dinosaur'esque creature.



I'm 13 and I have no sense of anatomy whatsoever! I don't quite like the pose, I feel as though he's bent over far to much, as if he's actually supposed to be standing upright. I'm not quite sure!

I tried going for the front view, but I'm not to sure about it. To me, it dosn't look like he's heeling over, he looks like a stumpy little creature, with a roundish body.

So what do guys thing? Any pointers? This is all set up in layers and vectors, so I can edit motion and parts easily enough.

Thanks in advanced.

[Al_Ninio]

Quick and sloppy paintover... I'm only commenting on the pose here rather than anatomy or animation:

Tail added to add balance, otherwise the center of gravity is indeed too far in front of his legs and he'd fall over.
Also made the legs more spread out, for the same reason as the tail.

[ThreeOhFour]

Yes, absence of tail was most certainly the first thing I noticed.

The walkcycle itself is ok, but the legs seem to be going in a back and forward motion rather than in a circle. If that makes any sense. If you watch people's feet when they walk, the feet themselves make a circle. If you try to keep in mind that the motion of the feet should form a circle (elipse, rather) then you should be able to work out motion of knees and hips afterwards. At least that is how I do it.

As a bit of a branch of from the move toward realism posted by Al_Ninio (which still leaves him looking a tad hunchbacked), I thought you could perhaps go all the way cartoony, and give him human-esque proportioned. To show what I mean:



Obviously the lines are a bit basic and so is the shading, but MSPaint is my master and I must obey its every word.

I think you're doing well. If you can draw like this at 13, you'll be showing us how its done in a few years time. Keep practising and you'll do very well. And dude, you're another West Aussie!!! Good to see a fellow countryman (and stateman or whatever) around the AGS forums.

[refoops]

Thanks for the help and tips! Ben, I took your advice and made him stand upright. I think he looks brickload better personally. I tried to lift his legs and give him some more lift, to prevent that shuffling motion that you mentioned.


(Sorry, Havn't yet readied to edges so it can be properly imported in the game, just leaving it like this for now).

Currently, I have three little boggles, Should I add more frames to add a bit more of a fluid motion? Is his tail much to 'fidgity' with motion? And do you think I should leave that yellow spikey frindge on his tail. It's mainly the motion right now I should be working on. 

I'm not looking forward to doing his forward and backward motions though, I'm not to sure how I should be doing the leg and feet positions on those! ><.

Thanks again guys!