Wave and look
A friendly wave aimed at the head: the right hand goes up beside it, waves out and in three times while the head tilts toward it, then comes back down.
Use it in a cartoonOpen it in the block editorThe pack file (JSON)
What it is for
Wave and look is a greeting that fits every character: on the person and the kid the elbow goes out and the forearm up; a dog or a cat raises a front paw in front of its chest and waves it; the bird lifts a wing; the monster waves a claw. It lasts about 2.9 seconds and then stops, so it suits a single "Hi!" better than a long goodbye. The face turns happy for it.
The principle it shows: overlapping action
The hand and the head move at different times: the head tilts first, over 0.3 seconds, then the hand rises, then they hold their relationship while the hand waves, and at the end the hand drops before the head straightens. Movements that start and finish at slightly different moments overlap, and that overlap is what makes a gesture look natural rather than robotic.
The program, line by line
when it starts
look happy
turn head by -8° in 0.3 s
reach right hand for the head + 0.09 out and -0.065 up (× its height) in 0.4 s
repeat 3:
reach right hand for the head + 0.13 out and -0.11 up (× its height) in 0.25 s
reach right hand for the head + 0.07 out and -0.02 up (× its height) in 0.25 s
let go with right hand in 0.4 s
turn head by 8° in 0.3 swhen it startsandlook happy— the face changes to happy.turn head by -8° in 0.3 s— the head tilts 8 degrees toward the right hand.reach right hand for the head + 0.09 out and -0.065 up (× its height) in 0.4 s— the reach block aims the hand at a spot: the head, moved by fractions of the character's own height, 0.09 out to the side and 0.065 down (a negative "up"). Because the offset is a share of the height, the wave fits a tall person and a small dog alike.repeat 3:with two reaches of 0.25 seconds each — out to (0.13 out, 0.11 down) and in to (0.07 out, 0.02 down): the hand waves out and down, then in and up beside the head, three times.let go with right hand in 0.4 s— the reach fades out, and the arm returns to where the rest of the pose puts it.turn head by 8° in 0.3 s— the head straightens.
Try this
Change the outer point of the wave from −0.11 to −0.25. On each wave out the hand now dips well below the head, so the wave becomes a big swinging arc.
In the program:
reach · dy-0.11→-0.25Tilt the head 20 degrees instead of 8 at the start. The character leans its head right over toward the waving hand, shy and friendly.
In the program:
turnPart · deg-8→-20
How it differs from Wave hello and Hands on hips
Wave hello waves for ever with the arm set by angles, so on some bodies the hand ends up in a different place from others. Wave and look aims the hand at the head, so it lands in the same place on every body, and it stops after three waves. Hands on hips uses the same reach block to hold both hands still.
Works on
| Body | Moves? | What moves |
|---|---|---|
| 2 legs (a person) | yes | head, arms |
| 4 legs (a dog) | yes | head, front legs, ears |
| no legs (the monster with no legs) | yes | arms |