Walk Cycle (Part 2)
The upper body. Counter rotation through the chest, the arms and clavicles, the wrists, and what the head is doing.
With the legs and pelvis working, the upper body becomes a question of response. Almost nothing above the waist is leading; it is answering what the lower half already decided.
What the video covers
Counter rotation through the chest against the pelvis, the arm swing and how it is driven, the clavicles, the wrists, and the head. Each is built on top of the cycle from Part 1 rather than animated independently.
Why counter rotation matters
The chest opposes the hips. When the pelvis turns one way, the ribcage turns the other. This is what stops a walk reading as a single rigid block, and it is the same contrapposto that makes a standing pose look alive.
Arms are pendulums attached to a moving base. The shoulder drives them and the forearm and hand follow late, which is the pendulum exercise reappearing on a character. Arms keyed in step with the shoulder read as sticks.
Clavicles are small and load-bearing. They are easy to leave out and they are what makes a shoulder feel connected to a torso rather than bolted on.
The head stabilises. People keep their eyes relatively level while walking, so the head tends to counteract some of the body's vertical travel rather than riding it. A head that bobs in lockstep with the pelvis looks wrong for reasons most viewers cannot articulate.
What to watch for
- Offset everything. The chest, arms and head should not share keyframes with the legs.
- Wrists lag. The hand arrives after the forearm, and it is the last thing to settle at each end of the swing.
- Do not over-swing the arms. The amount of arm movement says a great deal about the character and about how fast they are walking.
- Check the silhouette. With the upper body added, the read from the side should still be clean.
Next: Part 3, the polish pass.