Hello,
I’m learning 3D modelling and animation with 3DS Max and Maya and I have some questions about 1st person shooters.
In a FPS game, I create characters and their animations then I need to copy weapon and create the animations for each weapon in the characters? Typically the people create weapons with arms in new scene and then animate it correct? There is no easier way? In what scale I put the arms and weapons? But then, how I put in the game? After in UE4 will not show up two arms? In 3DS Max or Maya can predict how it will look? With a grenade how I do the animation?
It’s a bit complicated to explain but I think you get the idea. Thank you!
Well easy is a relative term.
The best way to learn I found is to do the work as part of a project so if you want to learn how to model a character for an FPS then then focus more on modeling in general and not just to make something that is targeted for an FPS.
No the two can be managed on two different design pathways and depending on the complexity of the game would be what determines the amount of animations required. There are a lot of engine side features so you can model the art first then worry how to make it work as to expectations later.
That’s one way it use to be done but UE4 makes use of sockets that weapons can be added with out having to included the arms.
If it was easy UE4 would be sold at Walmart. 
Sorry had to do it but the easy way is to not focus on all that needs to be done but to focus on what you need to do in the moment and not what it is that you expect as the final result. Getting it done is not a single path solution so figure out one thing and move on to the next.
That’s a tough one as the relevance of scaling is a topic on to it’s self. Most common though is to work to real world scale. As a reference I make our weapons as close to real world as possible and the arms is a clone of our 3rd person player model but with out non-rendered geometry. If one needs to be bigger than the other then that can be done code side.
Your a long way off of needing to do that but FBX is excellent for getting whats here to over there and something else yet to learn as part of the curve.
Nope UE4 will only render what you tell it to render. Just because you import it into UE4 does not mean it’s there ready to use by design.
Very close or even a 100% match depending on how much effort you put into the lighting, materials, and rendering requirements but having it look the way in one does not mean that it will translate 1-1 to the other.
Make an animation.
Overall your talking about 3-4 different skill sets each with their own learning curve so pick one as the starting point then worry about the others when needed.
Thank you very much! Last questions, you said “That’s one way it use to be done but UE4 makes use of sockets that weapons can be added with out having to included the arms.”, so how do I the animation, I don’t have the arms? What do I with the arms? They will not be at the same scale they should?
Bump, please 
Sorry for the late response. Been a busy camper the last few weeks.
By “that’s one way of doing it” I mean that animation is animation and to get the job done it’s 90% planning and 10% execution and the goal should be to included as much as possible in your design to account for many different possibilities.
The trick here is to take a fundamental need and build a workable work flow around the base need as a means of discovery as to the details that can only be feathered out under practical game play. In other words a content creator “needs” to see how their works function as to expectations and then craft towards a fit to finish result.
To put it into a context our design pathway for doing the player models is to first start with the third person models and get them into the game as soon as possible so that the animations can be worked on along with other details being looked after by other members on the team. Things like textures and materials needs to be worked on at the same time as well as movement dynamics, physics getting the weapons hooked up and the first person stuff is nothing more than an extension, a different camera perspective, so the same model being used for the 3rd person can be the same model being used for the 1st at this stage.
Once we are happy with how the 3rd person stuff is working we will then fork the works done in this area and reuse the bulk for the 1st person stuff with out having to redo all of the work already done.
As an example and in context if we just want the arms and hands it’s easy enough to chop all the other geometry out of the model making use of the same rig and animation sets already made for the 3rd as well as other supporting elements such as textures and materials and then retask any animations made for the 3rd to work with the 1st.
A way to put it is 1st person stuff is a free lunch “if” you get the 3rd person stuff done first.