Find the Key Poses
Draw the two extremes first and leave the middle empty on purpose.
Your result
Two key poses drawn in a 48 by 16 sheet, with the middle cell still empty.
01What you will learn
- Pick the two poses that carry the most information.
- Draw the extremes before worrying about the transition.
- Understand that the middle frame is a blend, not a new pose.
Start with: A finished character at a size you can animate, or start from the robot provided with this course.
02See the technique
An empty 48 by 16 sheet
48 × 16 pixels
Both key poses, middle empty
48 × 16 pixels
03Follow the steps
- 1
Decide the size of the canvas
Three frames of 16 by 16 gives 48 by 16. The canvas width is fixed by the frame count, so choose three deliberately rather than starting with two.
A 48 by 16 sheet.
- 2
Draw the resting pose
The character's normal standing position, lowest to the ground. This is the pose the loop returns to, so it must be the most comfortable one.
Key pose one, fully finished.
- 3
Draw the extreme pose
The highest or most stretched point of the movement. Change only what should change: body height, limb position, nothing else.
Key pose two, fully finished.
- 4
Leave the middle cell empty
Do not fill cell three yet. Looking at a deliberately empty slot is what makes lesson two about blending instead of about inventing.
Two key poses with a visible gap between them.
04Practice in Pikanim
Create the 48 by 16 sheet and draw the resting and stretched poses, leaving the middle cell empty.
Opens a 48 × 16 canvas with the lesson's starting pixels. Your work saves in the Workspace.
05Check your result
Compare your own work with these checkpoints. Check each one when your result is ready.
Progress saves in this browser. No account needed.