Say NO to walk cycles

All the to reason to not exercise walk cycles:

1. They're unnatural. People don’t walk in cycles, and the variations between steps add life to the walk.
2. They don’t allow for gradual development in the walk (like in the silly sneak walk above).
3. Which means that acting possibilities are very limited.
4. They're too technical: you have to make sure that the second step connects seamlessly to the first one, that they’re the same length, that the legs slide backwards in constant speed, and so on.
5. Which means that cycles are more difficult and take more time to make.
6. So, if you’re not already quite experienced and confident with the mechanics of walking, these technical problems are likely to distract you from the animation itself and lousify your walk.
7. Finally, it differentiates walking from all the rest. I constantly see animated characters who apparently can’t walk while doing something else, or do anything else while walking.

All the reasons to exercise walk cycles:

1. They can be watched in a loop.

So this is just an experimental post, but just to have something on ...here's a link to a great article with great drawing and painting tips. Check this out:
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm

By the way: one of the things I really like about the article is that this guy seems to write just like he draws - casually, almost carelessly, but somehow everything is right on the money!