February was all about momentum, moving from basic locomotion (Walk, Run, Sprint) to advanced moves like Crawls and Somersaults. The core challenge was mastering Root Motion calculations to eliminate foot sliding and ensure perfect engine velocity. The library is growing fast, and seeing the character jump and roll is incredibly rewarding!
In games, do you prefer realistic movement or flashy acrobatics?
#Animation #IndieDev #UnrealEngine #UE5 #Maya #GameAnimation #ProcessOverPerfection
Following the backflip, I decided to add a Forward Roll on the ground.
The Dilemma: When pushing for these extreme dynamic motions, I hit some "mesh clipping." In film, we hide this with camera angles, but in games, you can't always hide.
Question for Game Animators: Do you "break" the rig/scaling to get the pose, or do you prefer adding extra helper bones to fix the skinning for these extremes?
Wanted to add some "playfulness" to his movement, so I went with a mid-air flip.
The Concept: Instead of a regular jump, he performs a Backward Somersault. It adds a much more stylish and dynamic feel to his agility.
The Struggle: In games, the player can see the animation from any angle. Keeping the silhouette clean while flipping is much trickier than in film!
Confronted the challenges of crawling: I initially struggled with FK out of "pipeline fear," but realized Unreal only cares about the final baked result making IK essential to prevent sliding. Currently tackling ground clipping through skinning tweaks and bone adjustments for these extreme poses.
Game Devs: How do you handle ground penetration in crawls? Custom skinning or extra helper bones?
Added a small Hop for those "hidden" moments in the environment.
The Idea: Instead of a standard jump, I wanted a playful move for when the character encounters small obstacles while walking. It adds personality and makes the world feel more interactive rather than just mechanical movement.
Do you prefer automated "contextual" animations or giving the player full manual control?
Building on the Running Jump to create a Mid-air Leap.
The Logic:
Scale: Doubled the distance of the previous jump, hitting a total of 440cm.
Unreal Prep: Keeping the motion fluid so I can split it into the take-off and loop states later in the engine.
It’s starting to feel like a complete movement set!
Double Jumps: Realistic or fully stylized? What’s your preference?
Taking the momentum from the run into a Leap.
The Logic:
Distance: Matched the "Fast Run" stride (220cm) but stretched over the full air-time.
The Structure: I know I need to split this into 3 parts: Take-off, In-air Loop, and Landing.
The Landing: Planning two versions—a quick recovery and a "heavy" landing for long falls.
Still figuring out the best way to handle the transitions in Unreal. If any Game Animators have tips on splitting these clips, I’d love the help!
Decided to go Cartoony & Dynamic with this one using the Layered Method.
The Approach:
Timing: Used a simple cylinder to block out the rhythm first.
Height: Kept it modest about knee-high. Saving the massive leaps for later.
Camera Focus: Realized most of the game is played from behind the character. Focusing on making the silhouette look great from the back view!
Does anyone else prioritize the "Player View" over the side profile?
Applying the same "Root Trick" to the Run Cycle.
Key Adjustments:
The Workflow: Again, starting from the Passing Pose for a cleaner transition from Idle and better slide control.
The Math: Based on my 140cm walk, I calculated the run stride at 190cm (using the 1.3x – 1.6x rule). Getting the velocity right is everything for the engine.
The library is growing fast. Movement mechanics feel solid.
How do you calculate your stride length for games? Standard math or just "eye-balling" it?
Diving into Game Walk Cycles vs. Film.
The Workflow:
Root Motion Trick: Used an Animation Layer to toggle Root movement (140cm distance). This killed the foot sliding and gave me the perfect velocity for Unreal.
Pro Tip: Started from the Passing Pose (not Contact). Much smoother transition from Idle.
Layered Approach: Used the Layered Animation Method instead of Pose-to-Pose. It’s faster and lets me dial back any "over-animated" controls easily.
Next Challenge in blueprint stage: Realized games need Directional Strafing (Forward, Back, Left, Right). Sticking to 4 directions for now to test the Unreal blend space.
Which do you prefer: Pose-to-Pose or Layered animation for cycles?