Learn How to Animate an
Elephant Walk Cycle
Course overview
Learning how to animate an Elephant Walk Cycle in Maya is an essential step for mastering heavy quadruped locomotion. From weight distribution to stride rhythm, you’ll discover how to create a powerful and believable elephant walk.
Instructor Jonathan Symmonds, a senior creature animator with over 20 years of industry experience, guides you through biomechanics, curve refinement, and efficient workflows for animating large quadrupeds.
The elephant rig and lighting scene are included, helping you finish with a polished walk cycle ready for your demo reel.
About the Elephant Walk Cycle Course
Learn How to Animate an Elephant Walk Cycle in Maya
Animating an elephant is one of the most unique challenges in creature animation. With their massive weight, slow stride, and trunk-led balance, elephants require a deep understanding of biomechanics and timing to achieve realistic motion.
Guided by Jonathan Symmonds—Hollywood creature animator and co-founder of Sophoria Academy—you’ll learn how to build a realistic elephant walk cycle step by step inside Maya. You’ll discover how to analyse references, refine animation curves, and control body mechanics to create convincing heavy quadruped movement.
Create Portfolio-Ready Quadruped Animations
By completing this course, you’ll produce a studio-quality elephant walk cycle that demonstrates your ability to animate large, weighty quadrupeds with accuracy. This project is ideal for adding to your demo reel, impressing recruiters, or expanding your skillset for careers in VFX, animation, or game development.
Master the Art of Creature Animation
From capturing the grounded rhythm of an elephant’s stride to refining animation curves for smooth, believable weight transfer, you’ll gain the confidence to tackle any heavy quadruped project. The included elephant rig, light rig, and final scene setup ensure you have all the tools you need to practice and showcase your work at a professional level.
Course Information
- Course Duration: 4 hours
- This course can be taken at any time
- Category: Animation
- Course Cost: 49 USD
- Prerequisites: None
- Software required: Autodesk Maya 2019+
- Instructor: Jonathan Symmonds
What You’ll Learn in This Course:
- Animate an Elephant Walk Cycle in Maya: Create a lifelike heavy quadruped walk with proper weight and pacing.
- Work With Animation Curves: Refine footfalls, trunk overlap, and body sway using clean splines.
- Efficient Workflow: Follow a step-by-step process from blocking to polish for reliable results.
- Elephant Anatomy for Animators: Understand stride timing, trunk dynamics, and grounded motion unique to elephants.
- Accessible for All Levels: No prerequisites required—ideal for beginners and intermediates alike.
- Learn From Industry Experts: Taught by Jonathan Symmonds, lead animator on Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
- Enhance Your Demo Reel: Add a professional-quality elephant walk cycle to showcase your skills.
- Exclusive Rig & Assets: Includes the elephant rig, cached animation, scene setup, and lighting.
- Flexible Learning: Study at your own pace with pre-recorded lessons you can revisit anytime.
Lesson Breakdown of the Elephant Walk Cycle Course
01
Introduction to the Course
Video description and explanation of the Elephant Walk Cycle Course
FREE
02
Discover the Rig and Reference
Explore rig limitations and study reference for the elephant walk cycle.
PAID
03
Blocking Part 01
Block the base animation, starting with the feet and establishing timing.
PAID
04
Blocking Part 02
Refine blocking by working on the body and head movement.
PAID
05
Finishing up the Blocking
Complete the blocking phase and prepare for secondary animation.
PAID
06
Secondary Animation
Add life with ears, mouth, trunk, and tail movements for realism.
PAID
07
Final Polish
Fine-tune the cycle for presentation and demo-reel quality.
PAID
08
Certificate of Completion
Claim your Certificate of Completion once you have completed the course at Sophoria Academy
PAID
Enroll Now
Invest in yourselves and take home this awesome Elephant Walk Cycle Animation Course
Meet Your Instructor - Jonathan Symmonds
Trusted by 3,000+ students worldwide to master creature animation.
> Speciality: Animation
> Experience: 20+years
“Surround yourselves only with the best. The better they are, the better you will become!”
Jonathan Symmonds
Jonathan Symmonds has worked for over 20 years as a senior animator on blockbuster productions including James Cameron’s Avatar, Prince of Persia, Dark Tide, Knerten, and Trollhunter. He is best known as the Lead Animator on Game of Thrones and more recently House of the Dragon.
With deep expertise in creature animation, Jonathan is also co-founder of Sophoria Academy. He has been nominated three times for the VES Awards, delivered his own TED Talk, and personally trained more than 3,000 students worldwide.
Join him in this exclusive course and gain insider knowledge from one of the most respected animators in the industry!
Do you want to learn how to animate a Dragon?
Master dragon animation with the Lead Animator of Game of Thrones
Why choose SOPHORIA Academy?
Buy the Course for only
$49
- Instant access to this course
- 3+ Hours of videos
- Download Project files
- Exclusive community
- Lifetime access
- Final Instructor scene included
- LightRig Included
- Elephant Rig Included
Join other students in our Discord Server!
You won’t learn alone — join our global community of animators to share work, get feedback, and grow.
Elephant Walk Cycle Course FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is the Elephant Walk Cycle course self-paced or live?
The Animate an Elephant Walk Cycle course is fully self-paced. Therefore, you can start at any time and progress through the lessons at your own speed. In addition, you can revisit any section whenever you need to refine your elephant walk cycle animation in Maya.
What will I learn in this Elephant Walk Cycle animation course?
You will learn how to animate a realistic elephant walk cycle in Autodesk Maya, focusing on heavy quadruped biomechanics, grounded foot placement, timing and spacing, and natural body sway. Furthermore, you will refine trunk overlap and polish your curves in the Graph Editor so the animation feels believable and physically convincing.
Is this Elephant Walk Cycle course suitable for beginners?
Yes, the course is designed for beginners and early intermediate animators. Although prior creature animation experience is not required, you should be comfortable navigating Maya and setting keyframes. Because the workflow is structured step by step, it builds confidence while introducing creature-specific mechanics.
What software do I need to animate the Elephant Walk Cycle?
You will need Autodesk Maya to complete this course. Since the lessons rely on Maya’s animation tools and Graph Editor workflows, access to the software ensures you can apply the techniques directly to your own projects.
Does the course include the elephant rig and project files?
Yes, the professional elephant rig and project files are included. As a result, you can follow the exact setup demonstrated in the training and focus entirely on developing strong creature animation skills.
How long is the Elephant Walk Cycle animation course?
The total duration is approximately four hours. During this time, you move from blocking the elephant walk cycle to refining curves and polishing the final animation. Consequently, you finish with a clean, portfolio-ready result.
Will this help improve my creature animation demo reel?
Absolutely. A polished elephant walk cycle demonstrates believable weight, grounded locomotion, and clean mechanics. Because studios look for strong quadruped fundamentals, this project can strengthen your demo reel and showcase professional animation skills.
Do I need prior creature animation experience?
No prior creature animation experience is required. Instead, the course teaches you the specific mechanics that make elephant locomotion feel heavy and natural.
If you already understand basic keyframing in Maya, you will be able to follow the workflow and apply the creature principles effectively.
What makes animating an elephant walk different from other quadrupeds?
Animating an elephant walk cycle requires careful attention to scale, mass, and grounded movement. Unlike lighter quadrupeds, elephants move with slower weight shifts and very strong foot contact.
In addition, trunk overlap and shoulder movement must be carefully controlled to maintain realism. Therefore, this course breaks down those elephant-specific characteristics so your animation reads with true weight and authority.
Check out some of our Courses
Animate an Irex Run Cycle
Animate an Irex Run Cycle
Dragon Animation Masterclass
Dragon Animation Masterclass
Animate a Warthog Walk Cycle
Animate a Warthog Walk Cycle
The importance of animating a bouncy ball
The importance of animating a bouncy ball
How to animate a Dog Walk Cycle in Maya
How to animate a Dog Walk Cycle in Maya
Dragon Rig
Dragon Rig
Animate an Elephant Walk Cycle
Animate an Elephant Walk Cycle
Animate a Raptor Walk Cycle
Animate a Raptor Walk Cycle
Animate a Tiger Walk Cycle
Animate a Tiger Walk Cycle
Learn how to Animate a Spider Walk Cycle
Learn how to Animate a Spider Walk Cycle
Animate an Irex Walk Cycle
Animate an Irex Walk Cycle
Animate an Alien Walk Cycle
Animate an Alien Walk Cycle
Animate a Triceratops Walk Cycle
Animate a Triceratops Walk Cycle
How to animate a Dog Run Cycle in Maya
How to animate a Dog Run Cycle in Maya
Spider Rig
Spider Rig
Animate a Gorilla Walk Cycle
Animate a Gorilla Walk Cycle
Animation Preferences in Maya
Animation Preferences in Maya
Animate a Spinosaurus Walk Cycle
Animate a Spinosaurus Walk Cycle
Animate a Raptor Run Cycle
Animate a Raptor Run Cycle
Light Rig
Light Rig
Animate a Great White Shark
Animate a Great White Shark
Animate an Ox Walk Cycle
Animate an Ox Walk Cycle
Animate a Giraffe Walk Cycle
