How To Create a Walk Cycle in Flash CS5: 002 - Creating a Walk Cycle with Bones

[hexjibber]

If you make your walk cycle into a symbol, then you can copy that symbol into the library of any of your other animations and reuse it as many times as you like.

[NIP28]

THANX ALOT I APRECCIATE IT... BUT MY QUESTION IS.. After i make my walk, can i put that walk on all my other cartoons??????? or do i have to do it all over again?

[damaged2]

Are you working with a tween? (And what kind of tween?)

[hexjibber]

@damaged2 They are a special kind of tween, which uses 'poses' instead of keyframes, that can only be used on Armatures. To understand how they work, watch the first four lessons about bones, before you start on this one. Youtube will not let me paste links into replies, so just search for How To Animate with Bones in Flash CS5: 001, 002, 003 and then 004. For a list of all lessons go to my website (mentioned at the beginning and end of each video) and go to the 'Learn Flash' section.

[smokinsonu]

Hey man cool tutorial. How did you keep characters left shoulder behind the torso? My symbols keep coming in front of my characters torso.

[hexjibber]

@smokinsonu Click on the left shoulder symbol then hold down Command on Mac or Ctrl on PC and press the down arrow key to send it to the back. Or click on the left shoulder symbol and go to Modify menu>Arrange>Send To Back.

[Chipmunkkcatala]

hi, if i want to repeat the all the cycle many times, what can i do? Do i have to copy and paste all the positions again?

[hexjibber]

@Chipmunkkcatala Select the sequence and right click on it, then click on 'Convert to Symbol'. Make sure it is a Graphic Symbol and call in 'Walk Cycle'. In CS5, this will embed the sequence in a symbol. Create a new layer and drag your Walk Cycle Symbol into the new layer and press F5 to extend it for as long as you like. You can now tween your walk cycle symbol and it will loop as it tweens. For more on Loops see my lesson on Loops.

[TweekDash]

@hexjibber I've made mine Movie Clips and not Graphic symbols. Will it matter?

[hexjibber]

@TweekDash No, it won't matter. It just means that you won't be able to reference individual frames within that symbol (like different hand shapes: clenched, open, pointing etc). If weren't planning to that, then it won't matter. You can click on a symbol and change it from a movie clip to a graphic in the properties panel, if you ever need to change a symbol type.

[WinningPurple]

my issue is after i bone and i move my character there will be a gap between the torso and arms or torso and legs

[hexjibber]

@WinningPurple Without seeing the problem it is difficult for me to figure out what is causing it. You might need to add an extra bone, or limit the rotation or translation of the joint. If you follow the instructions in the video, you should have no problems.