Many thanks folks, for your appreciation
I will try to include a larger [336x252 pixels], clearer and fully-textured version of this walk in Flash format [around 190Kb in size] for the next update of my site, as the GIF animation above isn't clear or fast enough...
@ Wozzym & Paradoks: Makin' it walk isn't difficult. In fact [and this is
purely my personal opinion], it's easier [in this case, at least] than building a model, without which there's nothing to animate.
Since we've all seen such bots 'move' [in films and video games], the basic pattern of movement is already quite known -- these things [due to the structure of their 'legs'] have a bird-like walk. So you simply make it, like that superfunky Aerosmith song says, 'walk this way'...
Note: I'm including
some more details below for those who are interested in this stuff.
For non-humanoid models: In non-technical terms, all you do is simply follow a certain number of steps to set up the walk mechanism, specify the positions of the 'legs' at certain key points of the walk and let the computer do the rest. This process remains more-or-less the same with a more complicated model -- say an octopus or a centipede. Once you know how it's supposed to move, you can move it using the steps mentioned above, although the process may take longer as you'll be dealing with more 'legs' or 'limbs' or body parts. But the crucial thing here is to know
how the model ought to move
and setting up a suitable movement system [this process is called 'character rigging']...
For humanoid models: Animating complicated realistic body movement for humanoid models has become even easier, ever since
'motion capturing' has been possible. This means you use real actors enact a Kung-Fu fight scene [or do an elegant ballet]. Their movement is then captured and recorded as movement data by suitable hardware and software. Then you simply 'apply' or 'paste' this recorded 'movement' data on to the 3D model and Presto -- it moves exactly the way the actors do!
Of course, the model has to be 'rigged' before you can apply this motion capture data.
And you don't even need to 'record' the movement yourself -- there are
companies out there that sell pre-recorded movement data/files for a large number of activities [dancing, fighting, running, jumping... anything you think of
and a few that you probably wouldn't ]. You simply buy such a file and 'apply' it to your model[s].
There's also this
free online library of such motion capture data/files [in the popular BVH format] that you can use to animate humanoid models. Pretty cool, eh?
Using motion capture techniques, it is possible to transpose the facial expressions of an actor on to a 3D humanoid model's face. In short [and perhaps at the cost of offending some animators], it seems like motion capture is the future of humanoid animation...
Note: Of course, some animators feel that this is a half-hearted or an impure way of animating compared to manually animating a fight or a dance sequence, but even they admit that 'motion capturing' gives realistic results in a fraction of the time it'd have taken to manually animate such a sequence...
Cheers!
