Question: Is Key-Framed Animation Feasible?

Development Character & Animation
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1

I apologize if you have been asked this before, but I hope it’s a simple question with a simple answer. I’m a hobby animator and hope to use UE4 as a means for creating cgi short films, but I’d like to figure out if it would be worth the investment or not. UE4 has astounded me with, well, everything, which is why despite how ridiculous it may seem, I’m dearly hoping there is a way to control key-framed animation sequences directly within UE4 while being able to work side-by-side its powerful particle editor and so on and so forth. I am aware of the numerous matinee tutorials out there, but as I’ve said, it is character animation rather than the camera fly-bys that I am interested in.

Any and all help is much appreciated, and again, I apologize if this question may sound ridiculous to those of you familiar with the engine.
James

2

Hi James, what do you mean?
Can you be more specific because that’s a bit vague to give you a sensible answer :slight_smile:

3

Basically, is there a way to create a skeletal mesh or character, position him/her, move the arm or leg, set another keyframe, and basically create an animation within UE4 without having to keyframe the animation within an external 3d software.

Thanks :slight_smile:

Edit: what I’m trying to ask is whether or not it is possible to create short films entirely within UE4. I see their demo reels such as ‘Infiltrator’, but I’m curious as to whether those animations were created within UE4 (where I would be able to get a direct feel for the character and its surrounding scenery) or within Maya and were then imported and then set in place within UE4.

4

No you would need to use an outside animation package like Blender, 3Ds Max, or Maya. If cost is an issue you should check out Blender. It’s free and of very high quality. I also have seen that quite a few people on the forums use it so it must be doing something right.

5

Sigh… No, I’m fairly proficient with Blender, I just wanted to know if there was a way to animate directly within UE4 so that I could really get a feel for the whole setup without having to constantly jump between software. Thanks for the help, though, everyone :slight_smile:

I guess I just didn’t know that cutscenes weren’t made within the game engine like they are with VALVe’s Source Filmmaker (which is where I’ve acquired most of my previous training), and it’s that switching between programs that just turns me off.