Animating Quadrupeds in Maya
In this series of tutorials we will learn how to animate a run cycle for a quadruped-type creature. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.
What you'll learn
In this series of tutorials we will learn how to animate a run cycle for a quadruped-type creature. We'll start by learning how to set our animation preferences. We'll then have a look at references we can use to guide us in achieving realism throughout the animation. After this, we'll begin our blocking pass, and from there, we'll move to refining our work with time-saving techniques. Once we've completed the cycle, we'll then learn how to translate it forward. By the end of this training, you'll have the skill-set to animate your own quadrupeds in Maya. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.
Table of contents
- Setting Your Preferences 3m
- Blocking in the First Pose 6m
- Blocking in the Initial Contact Positions 7m
- Animating the Down, Passing, and Peak Positions 8m
- Roughing in the Final Contact Positions 6m
- Adding the Last Pose and Cycling the Animation 4m
- Polishing Your Blocking Pass 8m
- Polishing the Legs 8m
- Finalizing the Legs 8m
- Completing Our Work on the Vertebrae 8m
- Adding Follow-through to the Ears 6m
- Animating the Tail 7m
- Finalizing the Tail's Blocking Pass 5m
- Wrapping up Our Work on the Tail 6m
- Keeping Offset Cycled Keys in Range 8m
- Animating the Toes to Push Follow-through and Realism 6m
- Finishing the Animation and Translating the Run Forward 7m
About the author
Delano works avidly as an animation author at Pluralsight. Starting his career at animation studios like Shilo, Delano has developed a strong passion for his talents. His animation and rigging background help him teach and create some of the most-watched training on Pluralsight. A few of his favorite projects that he has contributed to include: Character Interaction in Maya and in Softimage, Rigging the Human Face in Maya, Rigging Sea Creatures in Maya, and Rigging and Animating Transforming... more