Please could you clarify - for the animation preferences, what do the settings need to be for the following? -:

its entirely dependent on your output. Its also personal preference, hence preferences. You were taught to animate at 25fps, thats PAL.

I know you want just a quick answer, but if you want to know what each setting does, look it up in the Maya Docs, if you actually learn the reasons behind changing the settings, then you will never have to ask again and that will be a win for giraffe_28

thanks Laz, that does, of course, make completely logical sense! i just remembered that i mustnt change the frame rate after I start to animate, and that play every frame was for particles, so i wasnt sure about the 24 frms for real time...

i do have another creepy problem with the movement of the little character i made -
Is it the leg mesh, texture or the short skeleton that causes the following distortions on the movement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek1X6-kwkZc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ccyNgnFa08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcgbphuD3Ko

Its the mesh.

thanks.