HI i am trying to learn how to do 3D character animation but all the tutorials use maya and i dont know how to find/open it to get started in the 1st place. i have seen that it is in the file Path\Engine\Extras\Maya_AnimationRiggingTools\MayaTools but i cant find it. thanks
Autodesk Maya is a program that you have to buy → you just get an animation plugin for it. ://www.autodesk.de/products/maya/overview 
So does that mean I have to buy Maya or is there something built into UE4 to make characters.if there’s not can you recommend something that is free.
Hi sgt duck,
Blender is freeware you can create 3D models with and rig which is compatible with UE4. Also you may consider trying out a Mixamo account: https://www.mixamo.com/
It’s not free, but reasonable and a lot easier than creating and rigging characters for animation from scratch.
Regards
thank you