Topic: Blender Animation Tutorial (6 Walk Cycle,s and 1 Run Cycle) Easy (WIP)
We are going to learn how to use the "Pose to Pose Animation Technique" in Blender to animate our characters. I am including 7 different reference pose images we will use to accomplish 6 different types of Walk Cycle's and 1 Run cycle.
After the tutorial you should be able to use this technique, to edit your 7 existing poses and create new variations and find other "Pose Sequence's" to accomplish other types of animation.
Basic Walk Cycle
Happy Walk
Sneaky Walk
Double Bounce Walk
Angry Walk
Proud Man Walk 
Basic Run Cycle
This method of animating from one pose to the next, hence the term 'pose to pose' animation, allows the animator to map out the action in advance. It is a particularly useful animation method when a character must perform certain tasks within a predetermined time or where a series of actions must synchronize accurately with a recorded sound track. The technique helps ensure that characters arrive at a particular place on screen at a precise point in time.
The ‘key pose’ technique is still the most widely used method of animating. Sequences can be tested and individual poses can be re-worked and the animation progressively improved. The timeline is continually revised to provide an accurate record of how the animation is to be photographed or rendered. This production method also provides a logical way of breaking down work so that it can be handed on to other people in the production chain.
How its done in Blender
The idea is to open one of these "Pose Sequence's" up as a "Background" in Blender, Then you would create a "Rig" and in "Pose Mode" "Select our position in the Timeline", place our rig over the "First Pose in the Sequence" and "Move the Bones into position", once that is done you then hit the A key to select all the Bones then the "I" Key and "Select LocRotScale" from the menu. We would do this for each pose in the Pose Sequence Sheet, Advancing our Timeline slider position as we go.
Once Completed you should have your Animation.
When you are happy with your Animated Rig you can then in "Pose Mode | Position the Timeline Slider" over each Keyframe and "Clear" its X,Y,Z Location to 0,0,0 and hit the A key to select all the Bones and then hit the I Key and choose "LocRotScale" to adjust the current keyframe. We do this to have our Rig perform its "Animation in Place" ie "Walk in Place".
Note: I always!!! Select all my bones first(A key in Pose Mode) before inserting or modifying a keyframe(I Key in Pose Mode) this insures that all the bones positions are saved. You would do this every time you insert or modify a keyframe.
Screenshots and Example to come
Last edited by zester (2013-10-22 19:00:35)
