Assignment #6: Stylized Walk

Assigned: Thursday, November 1st, 2012
Due: Thursday, November 8th @ 3:00 PM

Resources:

• Basic Guy rig
• Walk cycle "contact method" poses.
  
  
• 11 Second Club Articles
  • Why We Block
  • Put It There
    
    
• Richard Williams Animator's Survival Kit
  • Walks (the entire section)
    

Last week you animated a "vanilla" walk cycle, a standard walk without any character. This week you will be adding flavor to said vanilla walk, acting out a stylized walk then translating that walk to motion in Maya. Unlike last week you will not be doing a cycle; however, the walk itself should span a minimum of two steps and a maximum of four steps. As with the previous assignments you will be using the Basic Guy rig.

Part 1: Take Video Reference

The focus of this week's reference is not only on mechanics, but acting. Study your video reference and look for what gives the walk you acted out character. Think about what the most important poses will be in defining the style of your walk, how these poses would translate to the contact method of walk animation, and where you can exaggerate movements to further embellish the acting.

What to do:

1. Take reference of yourself doing a stylized walk. This should have been done in class; however, if you find you want to try something different within the realm of your walk's story then feel free to record additional reference.

Part 2: Planning Sheet

As with your previous animations, you will start by drawing out a planning sheet. It may still be useful to still think in terms of the contact poses - at least toward the begninning of the walk. Modify the different parts of the walk (such as the passing position) to add character. Whenever you transition out of the standard walk pattern, make sure to still think about where the weight should be in each step.

Part 3: Animate

With reference and planning finished, it is time to animate:

1. Block in the extremes. When you are done with the extreme poses (these are like the contact poses), save out a Maya file.
   
   
2. Add breakdowns. Make sure the motion looks good from all angles (side, front, perspective). Insert breakdowns when needed to help define motion arcs and overlap. Save out a Maya file.
   
   
3. Polish your animation.

Turn-in Checklist:

• MOTION CHECK-IN:
  • Approximately half the extremes blocked in
  
  
• Part 1: Video Reference
  
  
  • For Turn-In:
    • Reference videos from class
      
      
• Part 2: Planning Sheet
  
  
  • For Turn-In:
    • Planning sheet (digital copy)
      
      
• Part 3: Animate
  
  
  • Full body posing
  • No sliding feet
  • All anims keyed on each pose (for extremes and breakdowns)
  • Good timing/spacing
  • Weight and its affect on the hips
  • 24 frames per second
  • Good splining
    • No overshooting tangents (feet through the ground)
    • No stepped tangents
    • No partial frames
  • Arcs
    • Up/down of waist through space
    • Foot movement
  • Overlapping action and follow-through
    • Successive breaking of joints
    • Head movement isn't jerky
  • Acting
    • The intent of the character can be read clearly based on the style of walk
      
      
  • For Turn-In:
    • Maya file with extremes
    • Maya file with breakdowns
    • Maya file with polished motion
    • Three playblasts of polished motion (clean, fully framed, 1280x720 resolution):
      Front, Side, and Perspective views.