What method should I use to animate this tentacle sliding around a corner?

Development Character & Animation
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1

In the video I just used a spline control rig and manually animated but I don’t like how janky it is. What’s a better way?

tentacle_corner.mkv (2.0 MB)

I’ve been looking at how people do trains along a spline but it doesn’t seem the same. Those are objects attached at a single point while this is a skeletal mesh that would need each bone to be attached to the spline curve or something like that.

This is a spline blueprint that I curved around the platform. How would I attach the tentacle mesh and slide it along the spline? Or is that not the best way to do it? Seems overcomplicated for such a short animation.

Screenshot 2026-05-25 211517
Screenshot 2026-05-25 2115171920×1049 352 KB

2

Hey there @bcjhood! For tentacles like this, you could probably use Control Rig’s Spline Rigging, and using Fit Chain on Spline Curve and Slide Chain to manipulate the chain along a spline.

3

I don’t think that’s what I’m looking for. I created a spline control rig with “Fit Chain on Spline Curve” but I don’t know if that’s what I need.

I think what I’m trying to do is attach the mesh to a spline in an actor blueprint and manipulate the spline in a sequence. Does that sound right? The object (tentacle) needs to be in the world from the start and will perform a short sequence when the player enters a collision box, then disappear into the pit.

Or maybe I should be trying to create an animation instead. I really have no idea what I’m doing… feeling in the dark. I hope my questions make sense.

4

I figured it out.

  • Create a spline IK rig for the mesh
  • Drop the skeletal mesh into the level
  • Create a sequence, add the mesh from the viewport, and create a control rig track
  • At frame zero pose the mesh where I want it to be before the sequence starts
  • Right click the mesh track (not the control rig track) > Bake Animation Sequence
  • In the export options select Use Custom Time Range and make the start and end frames zero
  • On the skeletal mesh in the level change Animation Mode to Use Animation Asset and select the sequence
  • Set the transform on the mesh to match where it is in the first frame of the sequence

This may be common knowledge and I just took the worst possible path to get there. I have no hair left.