Walk Cycles

I'm learning how to use Aftereffects for things other than just compiling video clips. Walk cycles! Mind, this is supposed to be a -looping- animation, but since youtube doesn't seem to have a looping view option, you just get two seconds. :( If you're curious why I didn't just cut and paste the frames to stretch it out, it's because I used a thing called the Puppet tool. It takes your flat 2D image and sort of makes it a mesh, which allows for deformations like the bending of the feet there, or the swaying of the trunk. Now I'm sure there must be a way, but I have no clue right now if I can copy and paste puppet tool keyframes, because I can't even select them in the timeline...

The puppet tool can be a bugger, which is why I didn't make new frames. I'm told there's a way to anchor the feet to a specific place in the picture plane, which would've been a huge help, because without that the feet dip too far down or the toes twist backwards and do all kinds of silly business. Lots to learn.

He's also sliding a bit, isn't he? My teacher told me I can stop that by making the background stop moving whenever he puts his foot down. When I tried that, it looked really jerky and unnatural, so I just tried slowing it down a bit instead. I think I need to do a little more though, because he's still got a little of a gliding walk.

I do like the way his trunk sways though! How cute.

I'm not sure what he is. I made him up for a sound-syncing exercise for Intro to Animation class, years ago, and he sort of cropped up now and then in my sketchbooks. Then for this walk cycle assignment I said, well, I like long sticklegs, so he's perfect!

I call him a trunkbird.


Edit: ... I just realized that I could take the Quicktime movie into Aftereffects and just paste a bunch of them together to make it longer. Quicktime also adds an extra frame to the end which throws off the sound looping. Anyone know why it would do that?