Adding some Final Touches

Now that the penguin has a nicer waddle, we can continue to add more character to the animation.

Let’s take another look at the timing of the jumps. Typically the hop should last a couple of frames longer than the landing, to add more anticipation. I normally edit this at the end, but some might find it useful to do this now, rather than later. If anything seems off, moving *keyframes only requires you to click and drag the desired keyframes across the timeline. Remember, multiple keyframes can be selected either by holding Shift and selecting keyframe by keyframe, or by left-clicking and dragging a selection.

Since the penguin now has a nice bounce, it can be slightly “squished” when it hits the ground and stretched while it’s in the air. This can be done by selecting just the body bone, without the feet. The length can be changed either by moving the square-shaped handles or by changing the numerical value of X on the right panel. The amount of squishiness/stretchiness is truly up to individual taste, but it will add more weight to the bounce.

Because Rive allows for further artwork manipulation while Animating, the bounce can be further accented. Adding a bit more belly when the penguin is touching the ground, and sliming it while it’s in the air should do the trick. The same can be done for the lower back of the black back artwork. This can be done by selecting the artwork from the hierarchy with the Selection tool, and then clicking the Enter button. Alternatively, artwork can be selected directly on the Artboard by left-clicking on it and then hitting Enter, until the

anchor points become visible on the screen.

The feet are currently still a wee bit stiff, exaggerating their movement would help. Rotating the feet more and making them move in a slight circle will make them look as if the body is being propelled more off the ground. Don’t be afraid to add more keyframes!

The eye could be played around with, to add more character to the face. The penguin’s eye could close a little bit while it’s in the air and open when its legs are on the ground. Simply select the eye group and with the Transform Tool, change the length of the eye. These new keyframes can be aligned with the jump and landing.

We’ve made a simple animation of a penguin waddling! Huzzah!