squash and stretch

[tiannaidan]

Does anyone know of a post on here concerning squash and stretch or a link explaining it use in character animation? I know how it works, basically, but I can't seem to get it right when adding it to a character. In most animations I see characters will randomly do what I describe as little jerky movements up and down which add a bit of life to an otherwise static character. I've tried to figure out the timing and just how to make the adjustments but it doesn't look right. For one thing, even with onion skinning I can't keep the feet in place so during the "sq & st" movement the feet slide. This can't be as hard as I am making it out to be.

[slowtiger]

Have a look at the layer scale tool (2). If you grab one handle in the middle of the line and drag while you hold down alt, the scaling will maintain volume (roghly), thus giving an effect like a squash.

- Be sure to set the point of origin of that layer to the contact point of your character/object with the ground.

- Put feet on a separate layer so they will not get affected.

[tiannaidan]

I didn't know about using the alt key. If all the layers are in the bone layer folder, how do I separate the feet and still have bones in them. Don't they have to be in the same bone folder with the rest of the body? If I adjust the scale of the layer the feet are going to be affected too.