Animated Communications
PO Box 16907
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
800.949.4559
info@3dchor.com

Walking is Not Just Legs, and Smiling is Not Just Lips

If you look really carefully, you'll see that simple actions like walking and talking are not really simple. A smile turns up the corners of your mouth and wrinkles your forehead, nods your head and makes your eyes squint. Walking involves your hips, knees, ankles, torso, arms, head and shoulders.

Smiling and walking, like other human and animal actions have a beginning which anticipates the action. Subtle shifts in weight, and movements are natural. When used in an animation they get the audience ready for the action to follow. When the action is finished, the body movements are still going on. The end of a smile is a full body of complex adjustments. The walker must stop, alter his/her balance and signify with body language what has and is going to happen.

In the following example, you will see a screen shot of 3d Choreographer showing a sequence of actions which make up a yawn.