Motion Studies - Walk Cycle Front View

After tackling the walk cycle from a side view, I needed to create the same cycle but from a front view. This added the complication of perspective. I tried to do this view before the side view, however I really struggled to do it. I was already finding it difficult to draw a walk cycle, so I decided to do the side view first instead.

Similar to when I drew the side view walk cycle, I started by drawing a grid and animating the feet. I drew 2 grids, one on the 'floor' and one going up from the ground. This is so I could make it appear like the feet were lifting up and stepping, rather than just sliding. In this video it shows my first attempt at making the feet move at equal distances. Here I focused more on the timing, rather than making the feet appear to move up and down.

After working out the timing I re drew the feet in the right perspectives for them to appear to move up and down, whilst also moving forward and back.

I then drew the key frames of the body, using the Richard Williams 'Animation Survival Kit' as guidance. The book was very helpful in letting me know where the body is positioned in the different frames, and  how they move in relation to the legs and feet.

I drew the frames in between roughly to plan out the movement.

I added the arms, again using the Richard Williams book for reference. I also used my own reference video, but the book was good for helping me relate the real life movements to exaggerated movements and forms. 

To help with the movement of the arms, I drew some arcs on a separate layer. I then added the head. I kept the arms and feet on a separate layer from the body so I could edit them easily without messing up the body. I drew the head on the body layer as it is doesn't overlap any of the existing lines.

In the end, I got the timing wrong somehow. I also had this struggle with my side view version. In the side view it's a lot easier to get away with it, however in this version it is very clear that one side is moving faster than the other.

I was meant to portray anger, however I feel my attempts came out as more happy or confident. I think I need to do a lot more tests to see how I can change the body positions to portray different emotions.

Reference Video: