ANIMATION ANARCHY: THE ART COLLEGE CRASH COURSE – LESSON 17
ANIMATION ANARCHY: THE ART COLLEGE CRASH COURSE – LESSON 17
(Or: Running Cycles and Why They’ll Haunt You Forever)
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🔥 WELCOME BACK TO ANIMATION ANARCHY – WHERE YOUR SANITY GOES TO DIE 🔥
This is Animation Anarchy. The blog where we:
✅ Expose the most brutal animation truths.
✅ Teach you what actually matters.
✅ Prepare you for the nightmare of animating a running cycle—because it’s worse than a walk cycle in every possible way.
I wasted six figures on an art education, and now I’m giving it all away for free—because if I had to cry over a running cycle that looked like my character was speed-walking to the bathroom, you might as well learn from my pain.
🚨 SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@mrbraylabs
(Unless you enjoy animating a run that looks like your character is floating through space.)
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LESSON 17: THE ANIMATOR’S NIGHTMARE – RUNNING CYCLES AND WHY THEY’LL HAUNT YOU FOREVER
(Or: Why Your Character Looks Like They’re Speed-Walking Instead of Sprinting)
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🎨 CONGRATULATIONS! YOU THOUGHT WALK CYCLES WERE HARD? WELCOME TO HELL.
If you survived walk cycles, you might feel confident about running cycles.
🚨 DON’T. 🚨
💀 Running is faster, more exaggerated, and has more complex physics.
💀 Mistakes are 10x more obvious.
💀 If anything is off, your character looks like a glitchy video game NPC.
🚨 Welcome to your next major animation crisis. 🚨
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🔥 WHY RUN CYCLES ARE 10X HARDER THAN WALK CYCLES
1️⃣ There’s WAY less time to fix mistakes.
• A walk cycle takes about 12-16 frames.
• A run cycle? Only 6-8 frames.
2️⃣ The character leaves the ground.
• Walk cycles have constant foot contact.
• Runs involve “airborne” moments—aka more room for disaster.
3️⃣ Speed creates way more secondary motion.
• Arms, legs, head, torso—everything has to react to the speed.
• If you don’t add proper overlap, the run will feel stiff or weightless.
🚨 THE RESULT:
💀 Too slow? It looks like speed-walking.
💀 Too stiff? It looks like a horror movie glitch.
💀 Too smooth? Now it’s an Olympic-level jog instead of a full run.
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🔥 THE FOUR MAIN POSES OF A RUN CYCLE (IGNORE THESE AND SUFFER FOREVER)
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🚨 1. CONTACT POSE – WHERE EACH STEP BEGINS
• One foot just touches the ground.
• The opposite foot is fully extended behind.
• The arms swing at maximum distance.
🔥 HOW TO FIX IT:
✅ Make sure the foot hits the ground with purpose.
✅ The back leg should stretch naturally—not look broken.
✅ Arms should move opposite to the legs.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ The foot barely touches the ground, making it look like the character is floating.
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🚨 2. DOWN POSE – THE LOWEST POINT OF THE RUN
• The weight drops as the foot absorbs impact.
• The knee bends for compression.
• The arms cross the body slightly.
🔥 HOW TO FIX IT:
✅ Lower the torso slightly—this is where weight shows.
✅ Keep the motion quick but snappy—too slow, and it looks weird.
✅ Check that the arms match the momentum of the body.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ A character lands stiffly, making the run look robotic.
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🚨 3. PASSING POSE – THE MIDPOINT OF THE RUN
• The back leg swings forward.
• The front leg is bent and lifted.
• The arms switch positions.
🔥 HOW TO FIX IT:
✅ The knee should be lifted naturally—not too high or too low.
✅ Check that the arms don’t look too stiff or too floppy.
✅ Make sure the character still has forward momentum.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ The character slows down too much, turning the run into a weird power-walk.
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🚨 4. UP POSE – THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE RUN
• Both feet are completely off the ground.
• The arms are mid-swing.
• The torso is at its highest.
🔥 HOW TO FIX IT:
✅ Make sure the character actually leaves the ground!
✅ Keep motion fluid—if it’s too stiff, it looks fake.
✅ Ensure the feet don’t “float” before hitting the ground again.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ A character never fully leaves the ground, making it look like they’re gliding.
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🔥 COMMON RUN CYCLE MISTAKES (AND HOW TO FIX THEM)
🚨 MISTAKE #1: “WHY DOES MY CHARACTER LOOK LIKE THEY’RE SPEED-WALKING?”
🛠️ FIX: Make sure the airborne phase is exaggerated enough. If the feet are always on the ground, it’s a fast walk, not a run.
🚨 MISTAKE #2: “MY CHARACTER LOOKS LIKE A RAGDOLL.”
🛠️ FIX: Control the secondary motion! Arms, torso, and legs should follow clean arcs.
🚨 MISTAKE #3: “THE ARMS LOOK AWKWARD.”
🛠️ FIX: Arms move opposite to the legs. Overlap their movement so they don’t snap unnaturally.
🚨 MISTAKE #4: “WHY DOES MY RUN CYCLE LOOK TOO FLOATY?”
🛠️ FIX: Add more weight! The character should hit the ground with clear impact, not gently glide.
🚨 MISTAKE #5: “I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT, BUT IT STILL FEELS OFF.”
🛠️ FIX: Check the timing. Small timing adjustments can make or break the run’s believability.
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🔥 HOW TO MAKE RUN CYCLES LOOK NATURAL (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SANITY)
1️⃣ EXAGGERATE FIRST, THEN REFINE.
• Push the bounce and leg extension to extremes, then dial it back.
2️⃣ CHECK SILHOUETTES CONSTANTLY.
• A good run cycle should look readable in every frame.
3️⃣ ADD SUBTLE HEAD AND TORSO MOVEMENT.
• If the torso is too stiff, the run feels robotic.
4️⃣ USE REFERENCE.
• Film yourself running. Slow it down. Study how weight shifts.
🚨 THE SECRET: A great run cycle isn’t just movement—it’s physics, timing, and personality. 🚨
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🔥 FINAL THOUGHTS: RUNNING CYCLES WILL BREAK YOU, BUT THEY’RE WORTH IT
Here’s the truth:
🎨 A great run cycle will instantly make your animation feel professional.
💀 A bad run cycle will make it look like your character is glitching.
🚀 Master this, and you’ll never fear animating action scenes again.
And if all else fails, just cut to a close-up shot of the character’s face and avoid showing their legs.
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🚨 THE SOLUTION: JUST WATCH THIS SERIES INSTEAD.
I wasted six figures so you don’t have to.
🔥 Next lesson drops soon!
🔥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss it:
👉https://www.youtube.com/@mrbraylabs 👈
💀 COMING NEXT: Lesson 18 – Animating Fight Scenes: How to Make Punches Look Powerful (Without Accidentally Making a Slapstick Comedy)
💬 Drop a comment: What’s the worst run cycle disaster you’ve ever animated? 🎨💀😂
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🚨 ANIMATION ANARCHY STARTS NOW. 🚨
🚀 The revolution will not be graded.
