Kick a ball
The kicking leg swings back first, then forward fast, a flag marking the instant it would meet the ball, before following through and easing back to neutral.
Use it in a cartoonOpen it in the block editorThe pack file (JSON)
What it is for
Kick a ball is for the instant a character boots something at their feet: the leg swings back, then kicks through fast, with a flag right as the foot would meet the ball, then follows through before resetting.
The principle it shows: anticipation
Before the leg swings forward it first swings back, the shin bending up, the opposite of the kick to come. That backward wind-up is what makes the forward swing — all the way through contact and a little past it — read as a real kick with force behind it, rather than a leg just lifting up.
The program, line by line
when it starts
glide right leg -34, right shin 46, right arm 30, left arm -28, rot 4 over 0.25 s (out)
glide right leg 56, right shin 0, right arm -28, left arm 36, rot -6 over 0.13 s (in)
set flag_kick to (tau)
glide right leg 64, right shin -4, right arm -32, left arm 40, rot -8 over 0.12 s
glide right leg 0, right shin 0, right arm 0, left arm 0, rot 0 over 0.3 swhen it starts— begins the moment the move is put on a character.glide right leg -34, right shin 46, right arm 30, left arm -28, rot 4 over 0.25 s (out)— the kicking leg swings back and the shin bends up, the arms swinging the opposite way for balance: the wind-up.glide right leg 56, right shin 0, right arm -28, left arm 36, rot -6 over 0.13 s (in)— the leg swings forward fast and straightens, the arms swinging the other way, accelerating into the kick.set flag_kick to (tau)— marks the flag named Kick! right as that swing finishes.glide right leg 64, right shin -4, right arm -32, left arm 40, rot -8 over 0.12 s— the leg keeps going a little further, following through past the moment of contact.glide right leg 0, right shin 0, right arm 0, left arm 0, rot 0 over 0.3 s— everything eases back to neutral.
Try this
Swing the kicking leg back to -60 degrees instead of -34. The wind-up is much bigger, telegraphing a harder kick to come.
In the program:
ramp · to.part:leg:1-34→-60Stretch the wind-up to half a second instead of 0.25. The kick now has a slower, more deliberate run-up instead of a quick one.
In the program:
ramp · over0.25→0.5
How it differs from Catch and Sword swing
Catch is the move this one is often paired with, hands closing around the ball Kick a ball sends off; both flag their own moment of contact. Sword swing is the other wind-up-and-swing move here, through the arms rather than a leg.
Works on
| Body | Moves? | What moves |
|---|---|---|
| 2 legs (a person) | yes | whole body, arms, legs |
| 4 legs (a dog) | yes | whole body, front legs, back legs |
| no legs (the monster with no legs) | yes | whole body, arms |