Creature Locomotion – Mocap vs Handkey Study — 2024 / 2025
As part of my Master’s research at BUAS, I explored whether motion capture could be a more time-efficient alternative to handkeying when creating creature locomotion for games.
This project compares two full animation workflows: one using traditional handkey/keyframe animation, and the other using human-performed mocap (with arm extensions for quadrupedal movement). I focused on building a consistent locomotion set including walk cycles, idle, starts, and stops, all based on the same character brief.
These animations are the result of that research and played a key role in drawing my final conclusions. During this project I learned a lot — everything from the biomechanics of quadrupeds and fun little quirks in quadruped movement, to a broader understanding of animation workflows and a deeper appreciation for both approaches.
Want to know more about the process, findings, and what worked (or didn’t)? Read the full breakdown in the blog post.
Special Thanks ❤️:
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Luca Quartesan and Zoltan Batho G, for their invaluable support and guidance throughout this research.A heartfelt thank you to Denise Emerson and Marlon Nowé for their feedback on the animation during the project.
Super thanks to the mocap team who assisted with the motion capture shoot, your help was essential to making this project possible: Alina Stašāne, Esmée Horler, Moss Dzienis, Remco Nijs, Nikolay Chalakov.
To everybody who provided feedback and filled in the survey for this experiment, thank you ❤️.
Creature rig: Blind Bird Maya Rig by MRINAL Soni, Blind Bird Mesh + Textures by Uandi Turner.
Handkey – Idle
Mocap – Idle
Handkey – Start Walk
Mocap – Walk Start
Handkey – Walk Cycle
Mocap – Walk Cycle
Handkey – Walk Stop
Mocap – Walk Stop
Motion Capture Process / behind the Scenes
