Work Flow - Creature Walk Cycle

1. Create the Golden pose, and do not favor the weight left or right.
2. Identify the speed of you walk cycle.
3. Pose out the limbs on frame 1% and frame 100% of animation.
4. Mirror the limb pose on frame 50%.
5. Create a simple root bounce, on frames 0/25/50/75/100%.
6. Animate the key poses of one foot and have it locked down on the ground.
7. Animate the weight of the root bone, based off the timing of the foot.
8. Put key on all foot bones on every key frame, mirror the other leg.
9. Work on the root, spine, and head bone. Have it set to repeat sou to can offset them.
10. 
    

Walk Cycle Links

http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml
http://www.anticz.com/Walks.htm
https://www.box.com/s/brhvrkuctb2m16t72mlo/1/108961456/917505172/1

Patrick Giusiano - Work Flow

John Carter Animation from Patrick Giusiano on Vimeo.

Work Flow - How to Cheat in Maya

A friend recommended this book to me, its full of helpful animation tricks and tips. "How to cheat in Maya 2010" I really love the work flow here where they go through and animate a Ninja jumping into the scene, dodges some shuriken, and front flips out of camera.

Work Flow - outline

1. Plan
2. Create a simple outline of the action
3. Study video reference using youtube, video sites, or your own video clips.
4. Create simple sketches, and focus on areas where you can push a golden pose.
5. Set up you character files, keep frame zero the base pose, stage / camera / props.
6. Create story telling or golden pose based off the outline.
7. Create key poses based that will support golden pose.
8. Move your poses out and get a rough timing, work in step mode.
9. Create breakdown poses between all your key poses with "Tween Machine"
10. Key all bones for each pose, and readjust the timing. 
11. Hold extreme poses for a few frames.
12. Switch to spline mode and your done with blocking
13. Polish time =).

Tip - during blocking stage, there should be at least one key for every 4 frames, do not let the animation program tween your poses.
Tween Machine for 3DsMax - http://www.themichaelsmith.com/p/tutorials.html

I am currently exploring this work flow to help improve myself as an animator. Will keep this blog updated.

Work Flow - Combat Abilities

Most combat abilities I work on are no more then 2 seconds long. Gives me a time frame where I can follow a work flow that works for me at Bioware.

1. Plan
2. Create a simple outline of an ability that defines the look and feel.
3. Study video reference, or video capture myself.
4. Identify strong poses in the video or create your own by sketching them out.
5. Set my character up with the correct weapon, and get ready to animate.
6. Pose my character in correct combat pose and create golden poses based off of outline / reference.
7. Use your golden poses and reference to create key poses that will support golden pose. Anticipation, secondary movements, exaggerated poses, follow through and drag, and make sure my poses feel balanced.
8. Move all my poses around the time frames to get the timing right.
9. Go into graph editor - clean up the translation of the root bone. making it have nice arcs and slow-in and out. Delete useless root bone keys and adjust the tangent handles to get the curve you want, don't be afraid of over shoot. That will be fixed later.
10. Re adjust timing - and hold the golden pose for 2 frames, add subtle movement so it does not feel stiff.
11. Polish - Play your animation and zero in on areas to improve. Foot placements, Anticipation, Arcs, Drag and follow through, secondary actions, and exaggeration.

This work-flow worked for me with hand key animating abilities, and I did not use step mode because I am working in 1-2 second abilities. And we have a good idea what the timing is going to be like with the Anticipation, Strike, Follow through, and Recover. If I was working on longer animation, I would work in step mode.

Jeff Gabor - Animation Work Flow

Horton Hears a Who Comparison Reel from jeff gabor on Vimeo.

Evolution Reel from jeff gabor on Vimeo.