MultiHub Forum

I'm a self-taught animator working on a short film with a stylized humanoid character, and I'm hitting a wall trying to make his walk cycle feel weighty and unique instead of generic and floaty. I understand the basic principles of animation, but applying them to create personality through movement is proving difficult. I'm studying various character animation techniques, specifically for conveying emotion and thought process through body mechanics. For animators who specialize in character performance, how do you approach planning a walk cycle that reveals character? Do you start with video reference of yourself, or sketch out key poses based on an emotional state? What's your process for refining the subtle overlaps and secondary actions in the arms and torso that sell the weight and make the motion feel alive rather than robotic?