User:Artisticdude
Template for future "Animating Running Cycles" tutorial
Contents
- 1 Animating Running Cycles
- 1.1 Introduction
- 1.2 Chapter 1: The Theory Behind Running Cycles
- 1.3 Chapter 2: Understanding Your Subject
- 1.4 Chapter 3: Perspective
- 1.5 Chapter 4: Planning Your Animation
- 1.6 Chapter 5: Blocking Your Animation
- 1.7 Chapter 6: Shading Your Animation
- 1.8 Chapter 7: Details, Details, Details
- 1.9 Chapter 8: Testing Your Animation
Animating Running Cycles
by artisticdude
Note: This is a work in progress.
Introduction
I've heard some people say that running cycles are the hardest animation to make. Personally, I disagree with this notion. Running animations involve a lot of work, more so than most other animations (attack, death, defense, etc.), but generally running animations follow a very strict set of rules. Once you fully understand these rules, creating running animations should be little more than investing enough time to see it through.
Note that I assume at least some level of competence in pixel art and animating throughout this tutorial. I also assume that the graphics program you are using supports layers and transparency, although those features are not strictly necessary in order to create a running animation. If you haven't already, I suggest reading the Basic Animation Tutorial and From Base Frame To Full Animation before reading this page further.
In this tutorial, I will demonstrate how to create a standard south-east/south-west facing run cycle by using the Goblin Impaler unit from mainline. Running cycles for different directions (north-east/north-west, south, & north) are drawn at different angles, but the concepts and theories discussed here apply to running cycles in all directions.