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I think walk cycles are a matter of training, and you can get really fast if you just do them by recipe. I animate them in-place as well as progressing, so I don't really prefer one method over the other. Paul is right insofar that a walk cycle always has something mechanical to it, but OTOH it is good enough for many occasions, especially for secondary characters.

Unequal spacing: This doesn't matter. See an "in-place" walk cycle as an element you follow with a camera. The camera always moves with the same speed, so the increments will always be of the same size. The upper body may swing forwards and backwards, but the overall walking motion over background will be steady.

Using Keyframer to create in-place:
- Animate 2 complete steps, progressing over the stage, and repeat frame 1 at the end (so a cycle of 16 will have 17 drawings).
- Duplicate this layer and extend the first frame to the whole cycle length, set it to some 20%. This will be your visual reference when using the Keyframer.
- Go to frame #1, in the walk cycle layer, and open the Keyframer, with preview on. Click "C" to create the first key. Go to the last frame. Change value of the first "x" box, you'll see how your last drawing moves horizontally. Place it exactly over the ghost image of the first frame.
- Select the whole layer and hit "Apply". Erase last frame, erase duplicate layer. Your cycle-in-place is done.

Thanks SlowTiger, I think the others tried to explain the same thing too, but your explanation was very easy to follow!


Now if there was a way of applying an FX to multiple Layers at once, that would be great!! ( the character is broken up into 8 separate layers )

There is maybe a script for this, but actually, you have to go on the following layer, then go on the animator panel and click on : "Layer => S (yellow button)" to select all the frames from your layer, then "Instance => FX (blue button) to add the fx stack.

You can create a button with the both function. But you will have to go yourself on the other layers.

scholar wrote:Thanks SlowTiger, I think the others tried to explain the same thing too,

Not quite; mine is based on a different principle but that may one day come to you when you are least expecting it. It is a method that I picked up at the Prague animation studios and carried over to TVPaint after years of shooting on the animation stand -- and with the added advantages of making walk cycles less mechanical. But this choice is very dependent on one's individual view and style of setting characters in motion; I have seen mechanically created animations that work very well with a certain type of story.

Paul Fierlinger wrote:believe it or not, also turns out to go faster. Just look at how much time you have spent on this cycle already.

That's a really good point. Many's the time I've thought to myself: "I've spent so much time trying to find a quick way to do this - it would have been quicker just to do it!".

And the added benefit (which is not unsubstantial) is that you spend more time actually drawing instead of plotting. The more we draw the better animators we become. Animators who will go to any length to avoid drawing should think hard whether they are really cut out to do this for the rest of their lives.