For sure, and I know I can do that. Here’s my point. I’ve been working in 3ds Max and was doing animation back when Max was owned by the Yost Group and was called 3d Studio. I’m giving my age away but that was 1993. I have no problem animating and no problem bringing animations and .fbx files into UE.
I guess I was a little confusing. On one hand I’m acknowledging how specialized and amazing truly excellent “character” animators are. Character Animation is it’s own unique side car to all other animation. Mechanical arms like manufacturing robot arms take a little special care because of links and things, but there is nothing that challenges true animation skills like top quality Character Animation. We can, even I can, make characters move but they are often peg legged, zombie-like and unrealistic looking. And I’m not looking to do Pixar character animation.
I also fully acknowledge that doing 3d work well takes the time and dedication into learning it properly to master it. I tell people that all the time on the forums at Autodesk when they are looking for an “easy way” out. If an easy way out does exist for some task, then by all means there is no reason not to take advantage of it. But generally, most things in 3d are accomplished via hard work and a lot of education and immersion.
However, I was just shaking the trees and see if there was by chance some implementation within UE that could allow for “better” (and I say that with a grain of salt) character animation for people like me, who just have not spent the time or haven’t had the opportunity to learn it well. So, if I’m honest, I am looking for a “short cut” to doing it.
I have always and still do fully acknowledge that for some things, nothing can replace the old-fashioned notion of expertise. And expertise has to be earned, it is not handed over or gained by $49 plugins…lol… I think someone will take what we can do with Mixamo and similar code and truly build something really easy to use to animate characters one day. But it’s not quite here yet. That’s good for “job protection” for character animators, right? There was a day when I was only 1 of 3 animators in Baltimore. We were it. Then the internet came and a less steep learning curve to learn 3d. Now I have to compete with everyone in the world for crying out loud…or laughing out loud…I don’t know which. These’s that danger that “when everyone can do it” the fees we can command for our expertise shrivel up, literally. I’ve watched that, lived that and have had to reinvent myself many times in a new 3d artist reality for over 20-years now.
Back in 2002 a 3d artist named Andy Murdock tried to do it with an amazing character animation platform he called, “Lots of Robots.” Some of you might remember it. It was truly game changing. But crackers got a hold of it and broke it and put it on the internet. Instantly his revenue dried up. Andy said he’d continue to work on it but finally just threw in the towel and chastised the crackers who just want free software. But what they do is destroy a lot of amazing intellect and opportunities for the rest of us to enjoy programs that do amazing things. That’s a ‘soapbox’ rant for another time.
Wrapping up my meandering here, I’ll just either learn to be OK with my kludgy character work, learn to do it right or just hire (like I have been) someone who’s good - to do it for me. 