Giving away (FACE+BODY+FINGERS) in exchange for Ideas

Wow, that’s a great idea, thanks a lot for your generosity; I hope you will share the animations with many developers :slight_smile:

For my hobby project (mostly simulation of everyday social life), it would be great to have some animations, which are not easy to find tuned for the same skeleton. Here are some ideas:

Simple in-house actions:

  • sit down/stand up (variations - occasional, formal, sit straight, slouch back, bring a chair closer before sit down, move it away when stand up, sit down on a sofa, male, female etc.)
  • open/close a fridge or a cupboard
  • open/close a locker
  • open/close a drawer while sitting
  • open/close a drawer while standing
  • cross/uncross hands
  • cross/uncross legs (variations - male, female)
  • yawn (variations - politely, freely)
  • sneeze (variations - politely, freely)
  • throwing something into a disposal bin
  • turning on a TV, switching channels etc.
  • read a book (turning pages)
  • use a cellphone (variations - answer a call, make a call, pick the phone from a table, take it out of different pockets or a purse)
  • eat with a fork and a knife
  • eat with a spoon
  • drink from a cup
  • drink from a bottle

Outdoor actions:

  • walking (variations - sloppy, elegantly, occasionally)
  • walking with a cane
  • taking a standing pose (variations - military, normal, occasional, sloppy, leaning to a wall, with a hand stretched against a wall, with a hand in a pocket
  • smoking (yeah, I know, it’s not cool…)
  • boarding/unboarding a car as a passenger
  • boarding/unboarding a car as the driver
  • opening a car door for somebody
  • using a lift
  • using a door keypad
  • using an ATM
  • paying with money
  • paying with a card (card swiping gesture)

Different forms of greetings:

  • wave
  • shake hands (variations - informal, formal)
  • kiss a hand (like a gentleman meeting a lady)
  • lift a hat
  • military salute

Actions at work:

  • write on a board
  • give a presentation or a lecture (a set of small animations like going to a table, picking a sheet of paper, reading it aloud while walking, then putting it back)
  • use a phone (variations - use while sitting, use while standing - will require leaning forward to reach the phone on the table)
  • use a computer keyboard
  • write with a pen (variations - carefully, sloppy, sitting, standing)

Idle animations for sitting:

  • tapping fingers on a table
  • putting hands in different gestures (A shape, all fingers crossed, hands on a table, hands on the lap)
  • scratching the chin as if thinking
  • slouching back
  • leaning forward
  • fiddling with a pen while listening or thinking

Actions on yourself:

  • blowing your nose in a tissue
  • cleaning your mouth with a napkin
  • actions in front of a mirror, such as adjusting your hair (variations - male, female), tie knot, tie itself, doing make-up for eyes,lips, adjusting your belt (as if moving it up)
  • patting a pocket as if checking if everything is inside
  • putting a wallet into/out of a pocket

Facial animations:

  • besides the usual list of various kinds expressions, there are some animations (mostly at a mesh morph level, I guess) which are often neglected. Usually when you stand at a bus stop and wait, your thoughts wander around, and your face is not still - there are some subtle animations going on, both on your face and sometimes involving your hands. You get dreamy, you smile slightly, you touch your nose or lips, you scratch your cheek etc. These kinds of animations could really give more life to NPC characters.

Ok, enough from me, I guess.

Also, similarly to FrankieV, I’m also curious, which skeleton are you going to use?

It is important to have support for IK bones and attachment markers and also to consider root motion, so we can have programmatic control over the animations. Also, the animations and the skeleton should account for LODs to save CPU power and skip some bones, in case we need a bunch of NPCs running around and performing your animations. Choosing (or creating) a skeleton to support all kinds of animations and fully leverage UE4.14 animation features might turn out to be a serious task, unless you have already done it. I have heard people criticizing UE mannequin, Blender’s Rigify and other skeletons for various reasons (issues with twist bones, fingers, root motion etc.). So, it would be great to have not only the animations but also a fully UE4.14 compatible skeleton to run all your animations smoothly.

Thanks again for your generosity and I wish you good luck!