Side step

A dance step on the beat; the body steps to one side and settles, then steps back the other way and settles, over and over.

Use it in a cartoonOpen it in the block editorThe pack file (JSON)

What it is for

Side step is a simple social dance move: a character dancing in a group, swaying at a party, or keeping time with music. It loops forever and is built so that several characters can do it together on the same beat, which is what the site's group-dance pairing uses it for.

The principle it shows: timing

Every quarter of the step takes exactly a quarter of a second, and the four quarters alternate easing out as it steps away and easing in as it settles: the pattern never changes shape, only which side it is on. That steady, repeating timing is what makes it read as dancing in time rather than wandering back and forth.

The program, line by line

when it starts
  forever:
    glide dx 24, right leg 16, left leg -6, right arm 30, left arm -12, rot 2 over 0.25 s (out)
    glide dx 24, right leg 0, left leg 0, right arm 14, left arm 0, rot 0 over 0.25 s (in)
    glide dx -24, right leg 6, left leg -16, right arm -12, left arm 30, rot -2 over 0.25 s (out)
    glide dx -24, right leg 0, left leg 0, right arm 0, left arm 14, rot 0 over 0.25 s (in)

• when it starts — begins when the move is put on a character.
• forever: — the step repeats for as long as the move runs.
• glide dx 24, right leg 16, left leg -6, right arm 30, left arm -12, rot 2 over 0.25 s (out) — the body shifts 24 pixels to its right, the legs and arms swing the same way, and it leans 2 degrees, easing into the step.
• glide dx 24, right leg 0, left leg 0, right arm 14, left arm 0, rot 0 over 0.25 s (in) — the legs and lean settle back under the body while it stays shifted over, speeding up into the settle.
• glide dx -24, right leg 6, left leg -16, right arm -12, left arm 30, rot -2 over 0.25 s (out) — the same step, mirrored, to the other side.
• glide dx -24, right leg 0, left leg 0, right arm 0, left arm 14, rot 0 over 0.25 s (in) — and it settles there before the cycle repeats.

Try this

1. Step 48 pixels to the side instead of 24. The step covers twice the ground, a bigger, bolder move across the floor.

   In the program: ramp · to.dx 24 → 48

2. Slow the step from 0.25 s to 0.5 s. The whole dance halves its speed, which reads as a slower, more relaxed sway instead of a brisk step.

   In the program: ramp · over 0.25 → 0.5

How it differs from Groove and Robot

Groove keeps the feet in place and swings one arm in at a time on the beat; Side step moves the whole body side to side instead. Robot also snaps to a beat, but with sudden stiff poses rather than an eased, swaying step.

Works on

c4c:beh:side_step · version 1.0.0 · c4c-free · by Jabbertoon