How to fluently animate animal tails?

[Dominik Kovařík]

When I try to animate animal tails it always looks chunky and stiff. I tried to look up tips but it comes up with Sonic stuff and LIKE HELL I animate Sonic stuff, Anybody got any tips?

[Kumquat [Velbud]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLPqW3g9yPs

This is a great start for someone like you. Understanding how a tail bends and behaves in 2D first is a great way to then apply it in 3D. Think about it this way. If you stack 2D motions of the tail, you will get something close to helical motions of the tail. However, due to the XYZ oriented waves you set for the tail dependent on those axes, that helix isn't perfect and mostly gives whispy results, which is generally how tails look to us.

Once you feel like an intermediate, apply the concepts from the second video to your animation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SQqa1Jfo-Q

[Dominik Kovařík]

Thanks!