Animating LEGS (Walk Cycles and Weight) - Doodley

[@wiggle143]

This was an awesome video and I learned so much! But I have 2 things I’d like to suggest. At 2:23 the larger animation and the stalling example aren’t the same and look very confusing since one foot is forward in one, and behind in the other. It’s just a lil confusing. And the other thing is that in the video talking about foot placement it might have helped to put a floor to help visualize the difference between non moving feet and floaty feet. Again, this is an amazing video, and these are just some thing I noticed that could be used in later examples in videos. Have a good night :)

[@doodley3d]

Thank you! I completely agree. Parts of this video were a bit rushed as I gave myself a deadline and I was a bit exhausted at the end. Going forward I'm going to try and mix shorter video production with longer ones so I can start building a "buffer." Then I can take my time in these longer videos and check errors or add things I didn't have the energy for before the video goes out for good. At some point I'd like to make a playlist of unlisted "fixed" versions of the video for educational use, so comments like this help me figure out what to add to that. Thank you again!

[@deodlow141]

I agree that it is confusing at first but I came to kinda like since it also helps to visualize the walking animation from both sides as the focused leg, (Kinda like switching your shoulder pov in a video game.) It also helps to visualize each foot pushing of the ground as the initial step which I like to think is something like a personality trait or if one was left handed instead of right, Thank you if you read this, have a good day.

[@ViMBarN]

@@doodley3d But I saw the opposite foot and leg being shown for the walk as a very effective way to show "both sides" when saying it twice + "but reversed" woulda been unnecessary.

[@JmKrokY]

Yes

[@VivaLaVida_042]

@@doodley3d sorry but uh I was just wondering, what program do you use?

[@JNSStudios2]

Guys I can’t believe walking and running from this video became so popular that they made it into a real thing

[@eebie-deebie]

😲

[@mountainman161]

Let’s gooooooooo!!!!!🎉🎉

[@mckay7965]

I swear, man, you'd be an amazing teacher. I hardly know the first thing about animation, but your content is so well done and captivating, it just grabs on in a way that other channels have a hard time with. Also, remember not to push yourself too hard.

[@JmKrokY]

Fr

[@zag1797]

took the words straight from my mouth lmao. well said

[@sasakiknight1362]

I Agree!

[@kopawz4072]

fun fact about that clip of twilight princess- link is actually MISSING a frame of animation in his idle standing animation after he gains a rupee; this causes his position to shift backwards SLIGHTLY every cycle of his standing idle. this makes it so you can eventually clip through doors after several hours of waiting. this trick is used to bypass key doors for particular speed runs. great video!

[@cdscissor]

Good ol' Low% run

[@alexxxxxxis]

ah yes the low% speedrun

[@TylerTMG]

Low% is the least amount of something so basically a slowrun

[@Wertyhappy27]

speedrun is quite the word for such a long strat lol

[@cdscissor]

@@Wertyhappy27 That's because of the rules of a Low% run!

[@inkerJ]

i love shifting my weight onto my feet also known as the process of walking.

[@IsaiahIvanEyell]

I more so like to move my centre of mass forward and let my feet catch the fall, or more commonly known as “strolling”.

[@alex.g7317]

I too like my feet to break my fall as my centre of mass trails to the ground to be caught just in time!

[@bensoncheung2801]

123rd 👍

[@theorangeoof926]

@shycracker best one yet

[@jesseyu162]

I like trying to walk and falling onto the ground also known as “not being able to walk” more.

[@ToastBoastOfficial]

5:47 I like the details of gimberly getting scared when doodley pops up!

[@LacedxNico]

Oh I love Gimberly's design, the hair accessory with the gimber is a great touch too

[@1MoreSonicRobot]

Can't wait for the "keep alive" video. Been scratching my head on how to keep my character himself when he's not doing anything. I would love to know what the secrets to idling are.

[@Stage-Fryte]

My recommendation is to play some of your favorite 3rd person video games and take notes on the idle animations. One trick I like to use if I really can't find an interesting way to make a character sit still is to just not have him be so idle. Maybe they start messing with some nearby cards, or starts eating chips. It'll take longer, but It's definitely more interesting to have multiple parts of a scene.

[@horrormanCZ]

​@@Stage-Fryteyeah, that would make it feel more natural. like what someone would do in real life. if you're told to sit and wait, you won't literally just sit there. you might start to look around or, idk play with your nails or something. ANYTHING that makes it look natural

[@bossbabyfunnymoments6187]

Yay! Doodley has created a new masterpiece to teach and entertain! Rejoice!!!

[@LazaLazy]

Its you! From the stream yeah!

[@shrimpaerospace]

holy shit it's boss baby funny moments!!1!1!11

[@bossbabyfunnymoments6187]

@@shrimpaerospace yes, yes it is

[@MintMaxer]

Greetings Mr Moments

[@StickMations]

I really wish I had this video when I had to start my walk cycle assignment, this information is so well-made and easy to grasp! When I first got the animator's survival kit I was really confused on why there were so many pages just for walks cause It looked pretty simple in concept. Then I started taking animation classes and I realized how essential they are to learning about a character plus all the body mechanics that have to go into it to work properly. I think the best advice my professors have told me regarding mechanics is that "Humans are pretty lazy so they'll try to do most things with the least amount of action required"

[@DzDyT1]

5:26 Dr. Livesey is proud

[@CBusschaert]

I wish all animation courses would start with a video or section like this. A boiled-down version of what you're going to learn in more details later, that still informs you of what the broad principles are, and how to look at the rest of the course. Too many walk cycle "tutorials" just get to the poses, and almost none of them even mention how to put personality or emotion into them. Great video as always, Doodley. Thank you

[@clawcakes2]

shoutout to tutorials of any sort where they tell you why you're doing what you're doing, instead of just what to do

[@LazaLazy]

I don’t have enough for merch but here, it’s all I got. Hope you see this, but it don’t matter.

[@doodley3d]

Hey, thanks so much!! No worries!

[@cadertotfrfr]

@@doodley3dholy balls its doodi

[@RecoridoLol]

The Dood has come back with another amazing video! Nice job man! The animation is smoother than ever before man! Nice job! Very excited for more videos to come!

[@Pars3ly]

I love how Gimberly reacts to dood's character popping up, it shows you the amount of love put into this guys work. Absolutely Amazing

[@sargentgullible2794]

Not to mention, upon rewatch, I realized Dood literally tripped Gimberly up and she looked rather pissed at him afterwards.

[@Pars3ly]

@@sargentgullible2794 when did that happen, can you give a time stamp

[@sargentgullible2794]

@@Pars3ly 8:85, pay attention to Doodly

[@zooble_not_found1860]

Time lapses: 0:00 - Intro 0:21 - Weight 1:59 - Walk 4:04 - Feet 5:09 - Personality 6:41 - Run Cycles 8:08 - Standing 9:44 - Outro I hope this is useful since there is no time lapses... (also, I'm very late😅)

[@nimirose_]

As a starting 3D animator, this stuff is a GODSEND! Keep it up, man! :)

[@LucasRPDJ]

These animation lessons are the kind of lessons everyone should have, well explained with understandable and appealing visuals, I love it. Congratulations for reaching 130k 😉👍

[@Adeline_Wheat]

Dooley: what about when a character loses balance? Words words words words... Gimberly: wtf man

[@cuber1239]

8:57

[@paigepolaris1799]

These videos are so amazing and educational, breaking down animation in a helpful way without being tied to any particular method, program, or 2d/3d. I'm learning 3D modeling/animation in blender and my traditional drawing/animating friends love this just as much. They're fascinating for people I know who aren't even learning or practicing animation! You're up there with people like Captain Disillusion!

[@luxsolis95]

I don’t ever think I’ll ever be an animator, but these videos are still really cool to watch. It’s almost like a backstage look into how animations are created.

[@purpleduck5767]

That was a great video, I don’t think I ever actually put much thought into how balance can convey mood and character

[@Skoobly-Idiot]

I realized that tutorials like this can also apply to 2D animation; not just 3D Now is one of the best times to start animation, and you play such a big role in that, so thank you

[@RudeJackArt]

Seeing Flips dictum persevere! - well done man

[@doodley3d]

"walking is falling forward but your feet catch yourself" is straight up Flip Wisdom

[@RudeJackArt]

@@doodley3d I was literally doing the leo pointing meme all throughout 😆 - you've made an incredible animator out of yourself man, anything you wanted to figure out you went ahead and did it. bravo

[@recurser.]

This is so rare to see so informative and polished videos like you do, worth all the waits! And thank you a lot for the fanart section in the end, this is so heartwarming! ^_^

[@seekertosecrets]

10:44 Lazy Jason has quite the talent!

[@FutureWarrior8k]

3:16 This little chart you made helped me make my running animations feel a lot more natural compared to how I used to do it. And it made me get a better understanding on how to approach making one. I love videos like these 😊

[@epikoof]

i am so grateful for the differing colour pants/arm bands,, they help me visualise things so much better

[@dripmonke5569]

10:24 DOODLEY IS BALLIN

[@doublehuman94]

5:05 I have unlearned walking and I have already noticed this but after this video I won’t be able to walk normally ever again

[@Nazgul100]

These videos have SUCH a nice flow to them! I dont have any expectations of ever animating anything but I still find them so very enjoyable and its still fascinating to learn all these tiny details that come together to breathe life into animation.

[@Luzar300]

Your content is actually SO UNDERRATED I was entertained the whole video and even tho its just walking and i know nothing about animation, you made it look so interesting. Good work keep it up!!

[@Crazycolors1248]

I’ve been trying to learn how to animate legs myself, but I’m very glad that this video gives some form of clarity on how it works.

[@Epicest_of_sauces]

The effort in these videos are just **chefs kiss**

[@dingusmcbingus3965]

This channel is great, keep going with this content! Adds a lot more personality to videos than just the simple ‘I show you this, blah blah blah, like and subscribe’

[@Wolfkie]

8:57 BRUH Why you trip her! THATS MEAN!

[@lionelheisler4887]

2:10 - 2:16 theres legitimately no telling how many times I watched this part to help with key framing my first walk cycle. Just got it down tonight. Thanks Doodley for the tips! 💜

[@catswellthecat7855]

I was gonna leave the video when he finished talking about legs, but I got super hyped for the fan arts! Dog Doodley works scarily well at 10:32 lol! Great video

[@ezekielwonders4212]

These videos are so genuinely fun to watcb, Gimberly is adorable and a great character to show examples. Love these videos, can’t wait to see more.

[@hippiethehypocrite107]

You know, your character's face reminds me a lot of that one Paul Rand website design. The simple glasses with curvy mouth sparked a bulb in my head.

[@doodley3d]

I've never heard of that until now, but that's a super close comparison! I'm not a graphic designer so I wasn't familiar with Paul Rand's work before, but I can see how influential he is on the industry. I'm surprised you're the first to ever point that out to me considering how influential that designer is and how close the comparison is (people usually compare to Big Brain Academy).

[@BrokenZpringGoofygoober]

5:02 I feel like personality works well in tutorials like these. They keep the audience’s attention and allows us to know more about a character. For example in this scene because Doodley is showcasing how you need to oppose arm movements with legs, Gimberly looks like she is uncomfortable and unsteady. She probably also just doesn’t enjoy doing it by how she looks at doodley when she is doing. I love how she just looks at him like, “Can I stop now?”

[@CLAYTERRACOTTA]

FINALLY, MORE DOOOOOODLEY CONTENT 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤

[@apolloisabnormal1001]

5:04 one tiny note I have as an artist and someone who is autistic and physically disabled, why this is true, i do find myself often in real life walking with my arms FOLLOWING with my legs rather than what’s shown here, so while yes this is true for most people and does look better, not everyone does this and sometimes you can add some ✨flavor✨ to your characters by making them walk with their arms following their legs. not saying this to be malicious or argumentative because i do agree, im just saying sometimes it’s different for everyone.

[@oogamania4261]

7:40 so that's where the figure 8 run cycle is, yet I always thought the way Sonic runs to be weird...

[@tomhelcon6331]

this man is the best Guy to teach about animating and hes so calm

[@StevenIsLeavin]

I literally only watch these for your welcoming voice and interesting visuals, I just try learning these things on my own to be honest. I know you make these to be a tutorial and be entertaining. I just think the way you talk about this is amazing. Keep it up!

[@mu4784]

This feels like the kind of tutorial one wish they had after they learn animation and they end up making it themselves, thank you for your work ❤️

[@BearSaidNo]

I am always so excited to see doodleys next video, even though I have no intentions of learning this stuff. He just makes it so interesting.

[@SwiftMist]

The timing of this is soo perfect, I’m learning how to animate as we speak! Thanks so much, @Doodley

[@Marphic_]

I just found your channel, and immediately I’m hooked! Your visual explanations using a cleverly textured rig along with your own 2Dish character are unmatched in style and charm! I’m looking forward to seeing what else you create, AWESOME STUFF!! :D

[@luddydude182]

0:27 one would imagine doodley happy

[@drgabi18]

8:57 You MONSTER, you tripped GIMBERLY! You will pay

[@Gecko1993HogheadIncOfficial]

I personally wish I had you as an animation teacher! I discovered your content from your Choppy Animation video, and it’s really cool! Your avatar is also really appealing to help engage someone who animates & designs sprites for video games! I hope you keep it up, and you’ll make it. Thank you for your teachings. Oh and at 7:10, I’m surprised you didn’t mention Animals In Motion by Muybridge. It’s what was used over at Williams to animate the sprites in Joust.

[@angusalvarado3064]

I like how Doodley and Gimberly interact throughout the video.

[@cuby.1885]

I don't even animate or draw but, you somehow make this the most entertaining videos on yt.

[@markimoo4u]

The music at 4:41 - 4:45 is Bradenburg concerto no.4 in G minor, which also happens to be in the intro of Sam O'Nella academy. Logically you can deduce that doodley is Sam O'nella animeted differently.

[@Weeklongwind647]

8:50 Ah yes that’s what I was trying to do in my latest animation. I still need to work on that. Animation is something I want to get into as a career and business. I do want to learn blender, but it’s rather complex to understand.

[@KissoneKinoma]

I've been doing animation for about 18 to 19 years now (mainly 3D, but now that blender can do 2D I'll be giving that a shot), self taught, same with my music, voicing, and drawings, and only now, thanks to you, I finally understand how to animate walk cycles (mainly because I was too lazy to look it up, but I saw your video recommended so I took the time). While I have been animating for a while, I was mainly animating various random stuff to hone my skills, and for some reason, walking and running was never a go to, so I never ran into that issue. Now that I have the models I need to start my own projects, this video has saved me. Many thanks for all the work you do and the help you provide in the animation community.

[@AnnoyedSonic]

I have no interest in animation, and yet I still watch these videos over and over for just how entertaining and interesting they are to watch

[@islandgrovestudios]

Fantastic video breakdown, Doodley! I'm currently working on a short film where the characters have no legs, but will definitely save this video for when the next film starts production. So much work goes into all of your videos in order to clearly articulate each point. Thank you for all that you're doing to pass on animation to others. Cheers!

[@ManTheCoolio]

Doodley, I swear you are a legend in the making! The quality and entertainment of these videos are top notch! Love what you do, it's inspires me to do what I do best! Might even start animating... Hope to see more videos in the near future!

[@karmaisback627]

AHHHH i just wanted to say this is my fist time watching one of your tutorials and i was so scared that this would be one of those ones that would bore me and i wouldn't want to learn from you but they way you explain things and how you use references and dont patronize the viewer for not knowing its AHHHH amazing!!! I cant wait to watch more. The main reason i do art is bceause i want to express my joy for all the things that make me happy and when i can learn in a nice environment with people who are passionate and dont hide there love for there craft makes this even better. This is all to say i screamed when i saw you use a trigun stampede scene as a example it made my adhd brain so happy!!! Thank you so much for doing what you do (sorry this was long (thats what she said))

[@rockinrootbeer1795]

What an amazing video! It's so informative and entertaining at the same time. In a different video, you mentioned wanting to have a "Bill Nye" vibe, and I think you succeed in that. There were times I'd watch beginner walk cycle animation that would look "off" but not know why, but now I think I have a better understanding because of this video. The "figure 8" analogy definitely helped with forming a better visual understanding on what can make for more dynamic and natural movement. Gimberly's small reactions to some of the actions you have her do also gives the video some extra life and personality to it that helps it stand out from other tutorials.

[@AbstractAllen]

Only 2 videos, and you're already one of my favorite KZbinrs. This helps me a lot with my animating.

[@Lunar_willoww]

Hey, as a former (beginner) animator, these are so interesting! I was mostly self-taught and didnt understand a lot of the principles, but your demonstrations and examples really made for a fascinating video! After I saw it, I got up to do something, and I actually felt a bit of that figure-8 motion! Also, once again, you have some of the most interesting character designs I've seen in a long time! These videos kind of make me want to try animation again.

[@Double_Ace-nm8me]

I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS, BUT THAT WHOLE "FIGURE EIGHT" TALK MADE ME THINK OF SONIC. AND NOW IT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE AS TO WHY THE LEGS TOOK THAT SHAPE FOR THAT MOTION. SO THANKS

[@caesarsalad77]

Not an animator, not going to animate anything, ever, yet still watching this video because it's fascinating and fun.

[@greycatLP]

2:22 The close up's and side view's legs are switched around. Caused a slight confusion as to which leg you're talking about.

[@Zaansemayo]

It’s always a good day when doodly postes

[@Oktopusval]

Since I started animating, EVERY movement I make, in real life, I imagine how hard it would be in 3D, I mean, I see how leaves fall from a three and land on the floor, for me in SFM, it would be a headache. So basically I live a constant headache lol, also, I love your videos! Keep like that!

[@seandorama5932]

Threes are superior to trees

[@MarcelRblx]

2:17 🌟Cheat code enbaled🌟

[@R3ntrix]

You should post more often, This is a masterpiece for generations to come.

[@Weeklongwind647]

1:39 When I first started animating I would do this a lot. I will do this today.

[@ciaaie8215]

The music. The quality. The animation. The teaching. Ahhh ❤🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉

[@jayfoo]

The music is aight lol

[@aswirlything5838]

@@jayfoo nah b, shit slaps. If only i could actually find it somewhere

[@jayfoo]

@@aswirlything5838 lol thanks. Doodley and I are planning a soundtrack album release. Stay tuned for that

[@Fikule]

I do love this content. Made a model a while ago and started animating. Kinda left her for now, but considering starting over soon and this is really making me want to.

[@scesylightbenji1430]

Thanks for the amazing content, im glad to see regular videos again, im not really into streams so.. happy to see new regular videos appearing again :D

[@mataschmata]

your videos are so incredibly helpful while being fun to watch, thank you I really appreciate how everything is explained in a very open and straightforward way with plenty of visual aid.

[@Mogly.]

hi doodley great video I love that ever video you are like a teacher and a very calm one and each time I watch your videos a felling of calm nees washes over me and I hope you have a good day or night

[@GengUpinIpin]

Once you hear how different he sounds at 8:00 and 8:08, you cant unhear it

[@ShiniestWoody]

A character used for demonstrating animation rules and principles has more personality than the entirety of Velma

[@censedcrayon]

4:20 the arbiter in any halo 3 cutscene

[@M1styGD]

can we appreciate how much effort was put into this video trying to find appropriate fanart of gimberly

[@MizzMizzy]

Yipee!! I love this one it's really helpful and easy to understand! Also super happy my fanart got in there thank you doodley!! :D

[@alexandercuyugan6558]

This video didn't just teach me how to animate legs, but also makes me not to forget how to walk

[@sweeteyes7]

I don't even animate but I love binge watching this guy somehow

[@Light.--]

Your chanel grew so fast, like you just went from 0 to 100 real f###ing quick (Filthy Frank reference). One day you were around 150subs now you have almost 150k subs. Good job, man!

[@drago-maro]

I thought i would just check the video for few seconds before Saving it in my playslist but, i can't get my eyes off of it, the production quality is hypnotizing

[@machinismus]

that Evangelion clip is one of my favorite sequences of all time. the motion and weight conveyed is just *chef's kiss* UGHH 😩

[@zigzoinks5493]

Another banger video! I also love Doodley tripping up Gimberly and her getting mad about it too.

[@theplayer4664]

i always look towards these videos made by animation channels as they take long to produce but that also means the creator doesnt really care about making them long or detailed sometimes as theyre already putting much work to it, even if the animation isnt clear or detailed, its still there and helps to explain or i just enjoy the videos made by creators that upload like every 2 months or more or slightly less edit just act like its another comment you swing your arms when walking or running to prevent falling backwards, if you look at the way your legs push on your body they try to rotate it clockwise (looking from the left) which you dont want to happen so you dont fall on your back, and when you start to fall backwards you cannot stop it, if you try to use your arms they will simply slip, so when moving you swing them to have a counter-acting force that will try to rotate you anti-clockwise (again looking from the left) and keep you from falling now i didnt talk about the other part when your arm is moving forward, it tries to make you fall backwards in that case, but then its trying to fight against your leg moving forward and trying to rotate you anti-clockwise (again looking from the left), your upper torso also slightly rotates when running to help the arms as your arms are lighter than your legs, and also beacause of your arms being lighter than your legs you also tilt forward when running to also help with not falling backwards but that also means as you go faster you also have to tilt more, and that is true but you also swing your arms faster so you dont tilt that much, the tilting also helps with your aerodynamics as your body from the front, aint' very aerodynamic, if you got to this part, dont leave a like, leave an answer saying i got to that part, especially you Doodley. in short, you swing your arm's when running or walking because mother nature did not want you to hit your head on it's back

[@GooDummy-zg2gd]

This video really helped me understand some stuff that I've genuinely been wondering about for years! Keep it up!

[@kzone272]

Excellent reference, and great animations. Thank you. I do have one comment about the "Down" pose. I believe that the center of mass actually reaches nearly it's lowest point at foot contact, and most of the deceleration of vertical momentum is actually achieved by the trailing leg. This is because we naturally try to cushion the fall to reduce impact and conserve energy. This is all based on some research I've seen on the "Walking with Richard" channel, who studies gait analysis. Specifically the "Why we walk the way we do Transitions" video. It's dense, and full of graphs, but very informative. I guess that means for a normal walk cycle, don't emphasize the down pose too much.

[@espresso3748]

Actually some of the highest quality animation guides on yt

[@rocandplay9298]

even though im not someone who is really intrested in how animations work or stuff like that this man is still hella entertaning to watch

[@iwasDJYukey]

"Walking is effectively falling forward but your feet catch yourself each time" that reminds me sm of when I thought that was how you walk when I was younger (I thought that it's just you leaning forward but your body walks forward/catches you to save you)

[@tonycallme3667]

Even though i probably will or will not ever gonna be animating, it feels nice able to learn something like this clearly demonstrated by someone as Doodley, he's simply a good teacher.

[@krow1551]

Thanks for this video I think it's gonna help me a lot in the future. Oh by the way I really enjoy when you drop sources to other media people can use to learn that helps just as much as your great tutorials.

[@Vicefromkof]

That exactly what I needed. A full concise tutorial on how to animate legs!

[@pawekpiasecki5297]

I gotta show this to the whole Daycare full of 1 year old children saying that its a tutorial how to walk

[@LondenTower]

tbf. even though i would still like to see a Gimbery avatar for VRChat. i actually kinda like how doodley's character model is as well. (Simple looking, but still very expressive)