{"id":3087,"date":"2023-09-25T08:58:36","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T08:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/?p=3087"},"modified":"2024-01-19T11:53:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T11:53:17","slug":"how-to-animate-game-characters-and-import-them-into-blender-and-unreal-engine-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/how-to-animate-game-characters-and-import-them-into-blender-and-unreal-engine-5\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Animate Game Characters and Import Them into Blender and Unreal Engine 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this tutorial, I will guide you through the process of animating your game characters and importing them into Blender and Unreal Engine 5. This tutorial is designed for those who don’t have a budget for expensive animation software or motion capture suits. The full tutorial video of this process can be found on my Youtube channel here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We will be using a software called “Cascadeur<\/a>,” which has been around for about 10 years and offers a free version with some powerful animation tools. While this method is not a replacement for professional animation software or mocap, it’s a viable alternative if you’re on a tight budget.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Before you start, make sure you have Cascadeur<\/a> and Accurig installed on your computer. You can download Cascadeur from the official website, and Accurig is a free auto-rigging tool that complements Cascadeur<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Let’s get started!<\/p>\n

Part 1: Rigging Your Character in Accurig<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Open Accurig<\/a> and click on “Choose File” to select your 3D character’s FBX file. You can use a sample character from Cascadeur, Mixamo<\/a>, Sketchfab<\/a>, or your own custom character.<\/li>\n
  2. After loading your character’s mesh, click on “Rig Body” to generate the joint structure for your character’s skeleton.<\/li>\n
  3. Accurig will display circles where joints should be placed. Ensure symmetry is checked to work on one side of the character.<\/li>\n
  4. Position the joint guides according to your character’s anatomy, following the on-screen guides for reference.<\/li>\n
  5. Use the tools in the bottom left corner to rotate and move around your character for precise joint placement.<\/li>\n
  6. Repeat the process for other body parts, such as arms and legs, ensuring correct joint placement.<\/li>\n
  7. Use the “Preview Motion” window to check the animation on various body parts, including fingers.<\/li>\n
  8. Ensure your character is in a neutral pose (A-pose or T-pose) before exporting.<\/li>\n
  9. Click “Upload to AccuRig” and then “Export” > “Export FBX.” Set the target application to “Maya” and check “Embed Texture.” Click “Export” to save the rig.<\/li>\n
  10. Export another FBX file of your character’s base mesh but set the target application to “Blender” for later use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \" <\/picture>
    Accurig Auto Rigger Tool By Real Illusion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Part 2: Creating a Basic Idle Animation in Cascadeur<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Open Cascadeur and start a new scene. Import the FBX file with Maya settings that you exported from Accurig.<\/li>\n
    2. Cascadeur will ask if you want to enter “Rig Mode.” Click “Yes.”<\/li>\n
    3. In the “Rig Mode Helper” dialog, click “Yes” and then “OK” on the next dialog.<\/li>\n
    4. Click “Add Rig Elements” at the bottom of the “Quick Rigging Tool” dialog.<\/li>\n
    5. Rotate your character by holding ALT and the left mouse button to navigate.<\/li>\n
    6. Select the “Auto Pose” tool to enable automatic control point positioning as you move your character.<\/li>\n
    7. Position your character into an initial pose for your idle animation by moving and rotating control points. Use ‘W’ to move and ‘E’ to rotate.<\/li>\n
    8. Add a keyframe at frame 10 by clicking the key icon.<\/li>\n
    9. Change the hand pose on frame 10 to create a hand open\/close animation.<\/li>\n
    10. Duplicate the first frame to frame 20 and mirror the pose for variety.<\/li>\n
    11. Duplicate the second keyframe to frame 35 and mirror it to frame 45.<\/li>\n
    12. Extend the timeline to add more frames for smoother animation (e.g., 200 frames in total).<\/li>\n
    13. Copy the first frame to frame 145 and the second keyframe to frame 110.<\/li>\n
    14. Apply bezier curve interpolation for smoother animation between keyframes.<\/li>\n
    15. Review and refine your animation by adding subtle movements, such as chest and shoulder motion.<\/li>\n
    16. Create a seamless loop by ensuring the first and last frames are identical and adjust frame numbers accordingly.<\/li>\n
    17. \"Cascadeur <\/picture><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Part 3: Exporting the Animation to Blender<\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Export the animation from Cascadeur to Blender by going to “File” > “Export” > “FBX.” Name the file and click “Save.”<\/li>\n
      2. In Blender, import the animation by going to “File” > “Import” > “FBX.” Use the default settings and click “Import FBX.”<\/li>\n
      3. Delete any existing objects in the Blender scene and select the imported Armature.<\/li>\n
      4. Adjust the Armature’s rotation to face the front and place it in the scene.<\/li>\n
      5. Create an animation track for the imported animation and rename it.<\/li>\n
      6. Copy the animation keyframes from the imported Armature and paste them onto your character’s Armature.<\/li>\n
      7. Delete the imported Armature to keep your scene clean.<\/li>\n
      8. Create an animation loop for your idle animation in Blender using the NLA (Non-Linear Animation) Editor.<\/li>\n
      9. \n

        \"Blender_Animation_Import\" <\/picture>
        Blender_Animation_Import<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Part 4: Exporting the Animation to Unreal Engine 5<\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. In Unreal Engine 5, create a new project and organize your project folder.<\/li>\n
        2. Import your character’s 3D mesh into Unreal Engine by right-clicking in the “Content” folder, selecting “Import,” and choosing your FBX file. Ensure it’s assigned to the correct skeleton.<\/li>\n
        3. Add a Level Sequence to your project by right-clicking in the “Content” folder and selecting “Level Sequence.”<\/li>\n
        4. Drag your character’s skeletal mesh into the Level Sequence.<\/li>\n
        5. Add your idle animation to the Level Sequence by clicking the plus icon and selecting the animation.<\/li>\n
        6. Adjust the timeline as needed and press the spacebar to preview your animation.<\/li>\n
        7. Extend the timeline and blend your idle and walk animations for a seamless transition.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Part 5: Adding Free Mocap Data<\/h2>\n
            \n
          1. Visit the ActorCore website<\/a> and explore the free motion resources.<\/li>\n
          2. Download free motion data compatible with Cascadeur.<\/li>\n
          3. Import the downloaded motion data into Cascadeur, and apply it to your character as needed.<\/li>\n
          4. Refine and customize the imported motion data to suit your character and animation needs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            This tutorial should help you get started with animating and importing your game characters into Blender and Unreal Engine 5 using Cascadeur. Feel free to explore further features and animation possibilities in Cascadeur to enhance your character animations.<\/p>\n

            Remember, practice makes perfect, and with time, you’ll be creating stunning animations for your game characters. Enjoy animating!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            In this tutorial, I will guide you through the process of animating your game characters and importing them into Blender and Unreal Engine 5. This tutorial is designed for those who don’t have a budget for expensive animation software or motion capture suits. The full tutorial video of this process can be found on my<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,18,702,30,703],"tags":[696,701,697],"class_list":{"0":"post-3087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-youtube","8":"category-blender","9":"category-character-creator","10":"category-featured","11":"category-unreal-engine","12":"tag-accurig","13":"tag-blender","14":"tag-blender-rigging"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Anuimate3DCharacters-1024x576.png","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Anuimate3DCharacters-300x169.png","large":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Anuimate3DCharacters-1024x576.png"},"acf":[],"ams_acf":[{"key":"video_url","label":"Video URL","value":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptmuse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}