So, in designing my characters, I wanted to keep them simple enough that they wouldn't be excruciatingly painful to model and animate, but I also wanted to differentiate them all in someway; specifically through their possible walk cycles.
The first design is actually based on a character of mine from a comic I've been writing for a while, but this little guy is a little more simplified for the sake of animation (since facial animation is too complex for the allotted time). He's basically half-rabbit and half-robot construct: his legs are entirely metal, but they're still extremely light, so his walk cycle would be very bouncy. He would almost walk with a skipping motion, having a good amount of "hang time" in between each contact point. He's also supposed to be very childlike, so the walk would feel very lighthearted and airy: he should almost leap off of the ground at each contact, and shouldn't stay grounded for very long.
I initially thought of something like a satyr for the second design (and tested a few colors on it out of curiosity), but I opted for this lumbering shadow creature instead. In case it's not clear from the sketch, its torso is actually disconnected from its limbs, so there are iron rods supporting his body. As shown in this creature's slouched position, this guy's much more grounded than Mr. Robo-Bunny: his walk is more of a shuffle, each leg movement takes a loooong time, and it should seem like a massive effort for him to take a couple of steps. Also, the gear embedded in his back should spin as he walks. NIFTY
Last but not least, there's this little darling! I really wanted to play with different kinds of legs, and so I went for the really pointed, insect-like legs for this last one. I can imagine her walk cycle being either these very deliberate steps (like a ballerina on point), or almost skitterish, like she's try to keep balanced while positioned on a single point.
And then just a little group shot doodle to finish it all off! Look at these cuties. They are too cute.
