Animation Research: Advanced Animation Skills

This a research of Advanced Animation skills while I was doing a workshop, where we had to animate walking and running quadruped and different weight excursuses, such as pushing, pulling and lifting a heavy box and obstacle course.

Here you can see my interpretation of a god skeleton. When starting those excursuses it is important to observe most bone structure of quadruped. Specially legs and backbone. While doing this research I realised, that exercise is quite similar with bouncing ball excercise - there are the same principles - squash and stretch and arcs movement is making. It is just that it`s on different level.

For example, while exploring those beautiful horses running. You can imagine 2 balls in the area of horses hips and shoulders. If we follow further more. Where bones are continuing to legs. There is an arch where it is easier to imagine another ball that squashes and stretches depending on the arch joints are making. But at the same time, it is important to remember and observe back of the horse. It is not a one stiff solid object. As there are muscles in gaps of backbone, they are stretching and squashing as well, depending on stress of the movement.

Another way to understand walk or run cycle of horse is to draw a diagram that shows at what moment each leg of the horse reaches the ground. Black dots represent legs reaching the ground.

Walk Cycle

Run Cycle

Another exercise for weights. There is a one certain point in the middle of our torso. It`s called centre of gravity. What it does is, it is changing depending on the impact of weight. It is important still, to remember of arcs backbone makes. As well, to make movement more believable, timing is thing not to forget.