Animate a Walk Challenge
By Studio LKY in collaboration with XPPen India
One walk. Infinite possibilities.
Animate a walk is an animation contest by Studio LKY challenging artists to create their own interpretation of a walk cycle.
There are no limits to what “walking” can mean. A character can walk on two legs, four legs, eighteen legs, one leg—or have no conventional legs at all. Animate a human, horse, kaiju, octopus, or anything you can imagine. Animate a single character or fill the frame with dozens of them. Use 2D, 3D, traditional animation, stop motion, live action, or any combination of mediums. If it moves, it counts.
Main Stuff
THE CHALLENGE
Studio LKY will provide three different walking speeds, along with a template and example for each speed.
Choose one of the three speeds and create your own walk cycle around its timing.
Please find examples and templates at the bottom of the page
Your animation can feature:
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A single character or multiple characters
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Any type of creature, character or design
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Any interpretation of "walking"
You can use 2D, 3D, traditional animation, stop motion, live action, or a combination of mediums.
We strongly recommend syncing your footsteps and movement to the supplied music. This will allow Studio LKY to combine everyone's work into a large compilation, where different artists' animations move together to the beat.
Extra Stuff
ORIGINALITY & AI USAGE
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Your entry must be your own original work.
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No plagiarism or copyrighted characters are allowed.
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AI can be used as a guide, reference or brainstorming tool, but AI-generated content must not appear in the final result.
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Submission must not contain AI-generated animation, frames, characters, backgrounds, assets, interpolation or other AI-generated artwork used in the final submission.
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Studio LKY may randomly ask participants to show their work-in-progress or source files to verify the creative process and ensure the rules are being followed.
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Please keep your source files intact until the contest is over.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
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The contest is open worldwide*.
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There is no minimum age and no requirement for previous experience.
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Students, professional animators, hobbyists, beginners, independent artists and anyone else are welcome to participate.
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Each participant can submit up to 3 entries. However, a participant can only occupy one position in the Top 10.
CONTEST DATES
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Starts - 1 October 2026
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Final Submission - Before midnight, 31 October 2026
Something you can read later Stuff
JUDGING
Entries will be judged on three criteria:
💡 Original Idea, 🎨 Visual Appeal, 🎬 Animation Quality
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The judges will be announced by 25 October 2026.
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Entries will be reviewed and rated during a livestream, allowing the community to follow the judging process.
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The judges' decisions will be final.
PRIZES
🏆 TOP 3
The Top 3 winners will receive XPPen products:
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1st - XPPen Artist 12 3rd Gen
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2nd - XPPen Deco 01 V3
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3rd - XPPen Deco Mini 7 V2
🎁 TOP 10
All Top 10 participants will also receive XPPen goodies.
The contest is open worldwide, but physical prizes can only be delivered within India.
Lets start walking
*The contest is open worldwide, but physical prizes can only be delivered within India.
Examples and Templates
Fast Walk speed 👇
Normal Walk speed 👇
Slow Walk speed 👇