From Disco to Keyframes: The Walk Cycle That Slays
A Walking Cycle with Swagger
Sometimes it’s hard to find the inspiration. Initially, I wanted to create a run cycle from Jack Sparrow’s iconic run, but the lack of references made me rethink this brilliant idea, as I had no intention to run around like a headless chicken to film my reference so, I needed to find something else as iconic as this one. Then it hit me… ‘Saturday Night Fever, baby!’. If there’s someone that knows how to make an entrance, that’s John Travolta. ‘Tony Manero’s’ epic strutting through the streets of New York was what I needed for this project. But let’s break down this cycle…
Mapping the Strut: Tony's Walk Cycle Breakdown
To analyse in detail his type of walk, I had to conduct a frame-by-frame evaluation through SynchSketch . I then took notes of the spacing, body mechanics and timing, the latter developed mostly following the original soundtrack. Considering how many times I listened to ‘Stayin’ Alive’ to set the right timing , I believe I earned an honorary Bee Gees status. Hips visibly swinging not only from right to left but also from back to front. The torso leans back, the head follows through, and the overall walk is led by the hips. The peculiarity of its movement gave me the chance of experimenting using the 12 principles of animation. Exaggeration, arcs, overlapping action, follow-through and squash and stretch are very present in his walking style.
Timing and Spacing
As I mentioned before, the timing is almost musical, so much so that he follows the exact timing of the soundtrack. The transition from the ‘passing’ to the ‘Up’ pose is precise, energetic and fast-paced. What mostly caught my attention was the spacing. Usually, a standard walk cycle has subtle shifting of the centre of gravity, but on this occasion, it is accentuated to the point that it slightly alters the weight distribution of the contact pose and then goes back to the original position with the next passing pose.
exaggeration
The swinging of the hips is very noticeable, as are the arms, and the knees follow an overly bendy arc shape. He also stretches the back leg to the end of the cycle, making it look like a small hop.
arcs
Legs, arms and hips follow a progressive and constant use of arcs. As the hips swing from right to left and subtly back to front, the arms are always positioned in a relaxed manner, emphasising the fluidity in their motion.
overlapping action
In addition to the arcs, the head is subtly swinging in sync with the rest of the body, but its timing differs as it slightly anticipates the movement.
follow-through
An unusual follow-through happens right before the passing pose. Here, the swinging of the hips starts with the forward leg visibly up if we compare it with a standard walking cycle. This breakdown happens exactly between the passing pose and the contact pose, and the latter acts as a follow-through. The head movement follows the body.
squash & stretch
Legs stretch upward during the breakdown before the contact pose and then return to the previous state (at the contact), only to stretch again during the passing pose.
