Stylized walk cycle and storyboard

Today we were tasked with a stylized walk, I want to do the zombie walk. So I found my reference footage on youtube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofx-k9-gU3g&list=LL&index=8. This reference has 3 different views of the zombie walk, the side view, perspective view, and the front view. The reference is easy to understand and show the zombie walk in different side clearly. I drop the video into premier pro, and export the video into tif file. To import the reference in Maya need to create a camera and a plate. Upload the file on the plate, which can show in the background.

Before adding the transition to the animation. I did a storyboard, to make sure some of the main keyframe.

My hole video including 202 frames. the character moves forward in two steps. the reference footage only has 1 arm, but the model I chose has two arms, so I reference this image, didn’t give the other arm have many movements.

Here is the blocking pass of the animation.

After animating the blocking pass the difficulties comes, the curves in the Graphic editor are not easy to adjust in a smooth line. because the walk rhythm is different from the normal walk cycle.

I adjust the tangent on the curve, try to make the animation smooth. but I didn’t delete most of the tangent,

cause I want the zombie walk to look a little bit jerky and wired.

the upper body’s movement can be more smooth so I delete some of my tangents on the curve, try to make the animation look smooth.

the final view of the character’s hip also looks jerky but smoother than the leg’s and arm’s curve.

This is how the broken leg’s curve looks like. broken leg doesn’t have many transitions on Y-axis.

This is how the front leg’s curve looks like.