Preview your work:
1 Click Play to see the animation.
Now all the legs move in a plausible walk cycle. The effect is still a bit
stiff and mechanical: you will correct that in the following lesson.TIPIf the animation looks too jerky at points, you can stop playback, adjust
poses (Auto Key should still be on), and scrub the time slider to see how it
appears. The goal is a smooth-looking walk, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.2 Click Stop.Save your work:
■ Save the file as my_quadruped_alllegs.max.
Next
Add Weight Shifts and Spine Movement on page 1017
Add Weight Shifts and Spine Movement
For a more realistic walk, the quadruped’s hips and shoulders need to move
up and down as the weight of the animal shifts from leg to leg. You will create
a layer that contains this animation. Using a new layer allows you to compare
the original animation with the newly created keys. When you are satisfied
with the new animation, you can collapse layers to integrate the old and new
animation.
Set up the scene:
■ Continue from the previous lesson, or navigate to the
\animation\character_animation\quadruped folder, and open
quadruped_walk_3.max.
If a dialog asks whether you want to use the scene’s Gamma and LUT
settings, accept the scene Gamma settings, and click OK.
Animating a Quadruped Walk | 1017