Flipping Out: The Art of Flip Book Animation

Walk Cycles, Run Cycles & Jumps

Walk Cycles

Each character should have a distinctive way of walking, just as humans do. A character’s walk can reflect age, personality, and mood. Mastering the techniques of animating walk cycles requires observation and practice. Let’s start with the simplest of all walk cycles.

This cycle consists of four drawings: two contact positions and two passing positions. By animating the sequence in 1s, the monster will walk 12 steps per second. Add inbetweens, or animate the walk cycle in 2s (See here). This slows the monster’s walking pace. Notice that this walk cycle makes the character walk in a mechanical way that works well for simple characters.

Animating human characters requires more precision, so you’ll need ...