How To Animate Within Unreal Engine 4

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Welcome Back! Exercise you desire to continue where y'all left off?

This is what you'll run across at the cease of this section.

Goals

The purpose of this section is to show you how to add animations for your First Person Shooter graphic symbol.

Objectives

By the terminate of this section of the tutorial you'll be able to:

Animate Your Character
Prepare Upward Your Consequence Graph
Add an Blitheness State Machine
Add Transition States to Your Animation
Acquaintance the Animation Blueprint with the Character Blueprint

Steps

iv.i - Animating Your Character
four.ii - Setting Up Your Event Graph
4.3 - Adding an Animation Land Auto
4.4 - Calculation Animation Transition States
- 4.iv.i - Add together Idle to/from Run Transitions
- 4.4.2 - Add Idle to Jump Starting time Transition
- 4.4.three - Add Run to Jump Start Transition
- four.4.4 - Add Jump Start to Jump Loop Transition
- 4.4.5 - Add Jump Loop to Spring Terminate Transition
- 4.iv.6 - Add Bound End to Idle Transition
four.5 - Associating Animation and Character Blueprints

4.ane - Animating your Character

During this step, you are going to add some animations into your game.

Importing Animations

Earlier getting started, download and excerpt the sample animations from the following link:

Sample Animations

Right-click in the Content Browser and select New Binder.
Name this new folder "Animations".
Double-click on the binder to open up it.
Locate the v local animation files, namely:
- FPP_Idle.FBX
- FPP_JumpEnd.FBX
- FPP_JumpLoop.FBX
- FPP_JumpStart.FBX
- FPP_Run.FBX
Right-click in the "Animations" folder and click Import to /Game/Animations/... to begin importing the animations.
In the box that appears select HeroFPP_Skeleton under the Select Skeleton heading, then click Import All to import all of the animations.

Make sure that you select the correct destination Mesh before importing your animations! Failing to do then can cause some issues when yous go to map animations later.
You should now take all five animations inside of the Animations folder in the Content Browser.
Click the Salve button to salve your imported files.

Creating the Blitheness Blueprint

Correct-click the Animations folder in the Content Browser. Under the Create Advanced Nugget section expand Animation and select Animation Blueprint.
Select AnimInstance as the Parent Grade and choose HeroFPP_Skeleton every bit the Target Skeleton.
Proper noun the new animation Blueprint "Arms_AnimBP".
Double-click Arms_AnimBP to open the Blueprint Editor.

Adding State Automobile Transition Variables

In the My Design tab, click on the Add New button and select Variable.
Make the variable a Boolean (this might already be washed, simply check the Details panel to be sure) and proper name it "IsRunning".
In the My Blueprint tab, click on the Add together New push button and select Variable.
Brand the variable a Boolean and proper noun it "IsFalling".
You should now take ii animation transition variables that will drive the animation'due south state machine.
Keep Arms_AnimBP open when moving on to the next section.

4.2 - Setting upwards your Outcome Graph

During this stride, we are going to edit the blitheness's Event Graph to ensure that our animation transition variables are firing properly while the game is running.

Updating your State Variables

Open Arms_AnimBP if you lot accept not already done so.
Open the outcome graph by double-clicking on EventGraph in the My Blueprint tab.
Correct-click in the graph to bring up the Context Menu.
Blazon "Update" in the Context Bill of fare search field, then click on the Upshot Blueprint Update Blitheness to add that node.

The Event Pattern Update Animation node allows us to update our land variables every fourth dimension the Animation updates so that they are always in sync with the game state.
Correct-click in the graph to bring up the Context Menu.
Type "Owner" in the Context Menu search field, and then click on Try Become Pawn Owner to add together that node.
Drag off the output pin and select Cast to Character from the Context Card.
Wire the output execution pivot on the Event Blueprint Update Animation to the input execution pin on Cast to Grapheme.
Elevate off the As Graphic symbol output pin and select Become Character Movement (you may need to disable Context Sensitivity to locate this node).
Drag off the Character Move output pivot and select Get Motion Mode.

Querying Character Motion

Elevate off the Motility Mode output pin and select Equal (Enum).

Determining if the Character is Falling

Ready the dropdown value on the Equal (Enum) node to Falling.
Alt-click on IsFalling in the My Blueprint tab and drag into the graph to create a Ready Is Falling node.
Connect the unlabeled output execution pin of the Cast to Character node to the input execution pivot of the Ready Is Falling node and connect the output Boolean data pin of the Equal (Enum) node to the input Boolean information pivot of the Set Is Falling node.

Determining if the Character is Running

Go dorsum to the Cast To Character node and drag off the As Character pin again. This time, select the Get Velocity node.
If the grapheme is not continuing still, the length of its velocity vector will exist greater than nothing. So, elevate off the Return Value vector output pin and select Vector Length to add that node to the graph.
Drag off the Return Value bladder output pin and select the > (float) node.
Alt-click on IsRunning in the My Blueprint tab and elevate into the graph to create a Gear up Is Running node.
Connect the output execution pivot of the Set Is Falling node to the input execution pin of the Set Is Running node and connect the output Boolean pin to the > (float) node to the input Boolean pin of the Set up Is Running node.
Your Issue Graph should at present wait like the post-obit:

Click on the image to zoom in.

4.3 - Adding an Blitheness State Machine

During this pace, you are going to put together a state motorcar that will have reward of your newly-made variables.

Double-click on AnimGraph in the My Design tab to open it.
Right-click the graph and select State Machines > Add together New Land Machine... in the Context Carte.
Correct-click on New State Machine in the My Design tab and name it "Arms Country Machine".
Connect the output execution pivot on the "Arms State Car" node to the Outcome input execution pin on the Final Blitheness Pose node.
Double-click the "Arms State Car" node to open up its graph for editing.

4.4 - Adding Animation Transition States

During this pace, yous're going to add five states to the state graph, namely:

Idle
Run
JumpStart
JumpEnd
JumpLoop

Right-click in the graph and select Add State... from the context menu.
Proper name the state "Idle".
Double-click the country to begin editing it.
Right-click in the graph area and search for "Idle" in the Context Card.
Click on Play FPP_Idle to insert that node.
Connect the output execution pivot of the Play FPP_Idle node to the Outcome input execution pin of the Output Animation Pose node.
Echo steps ane-6 for each of the other 4 states, namely:
- Run (Play FPP_Run > Output Animation Pose)
- JumpStart (Play FPP_JumpStart > Output Blitheness Pose)
- JumpEnd (Play FPP_JumpEnd > Output Animation Pose)
- JumpLoop (Play FPP_JumpLoop > Output Animation Pose)
When you are done, the Arms State Car graph should expect like the post-obit image:

Click on the image to zoom in.

Each state should contain its Play node connected to a respective Final Animation Pose node.
Elevate a wire from the Entry node to the Idle state node.

4.4.1 - Add Idle to/from Run Transitions

During this step, you are going to prepare the idle to and from run transitions so that when your character starts moving, the state machine volition transition from Idle to Run.

Elevate a wire from the Idle state to the Run state to create a transition.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Command-click on IsRunning in the My Blueprint tab and elevate into the graph to create a Get Is Running node.
Connect the output pin from the Get Is Running node to the input pivot of the Tin Enter Transition pin on the Result node.

When your character stops moving, the state car should transition from the Run state to the Idle state.
Return to the Arms State Automobile graph and drag a wire from the Run land to the Idle country.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Command-click on IsRunning in the My Pattern tab and elevate into the graph to create a Get Is Running node.
Elevate off the output Boolean pin on the Go Is Running node and create a Not Boolean node.
Connect the output pin from the Not Boolean node to the input pin of the Tin can Enter Transition pin on the Result node.

4.4.two - Add Idle to Jump Start Transition

During this step, you are going to set the idle to jump start transition.

Return to the Arms State Machine graph and drag a wire from the Idle land to the JumpStart state.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Control-click on IsFalling in the My Blueprint tab and drag into the graph to create a Get Is Falling node.
Connect the output Boolean pin from the Get Is Falling node to the input Boolean Tin can Enter Transition pin on the Issue node.

four.4.3 - Add Run to Leap Start Transition

During this step, you lot are going to set the run to jump start transition.

Return to the Arms State Machine graph and drag a wire from the Run state to the JumpStart state.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Control-click on IsFalling in the My Pattern tab and drag into the graph to create a Become Is Falling node.
Connect the output Boolean pin from the Get Is Falling node to the input Boolean Can Enter Transition pivot on the Result node.

4.4.4 - Add together Jump Start to Jump Loop Transition

During this step, you are going to set your jump get-go to leap loop transition.

Render to the Arms State Machine graph and drag a wire from the JumpStart state to the JumpLoop state.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Right-click in the graph, search for and select the TimeRemaining for 'FPP_JumpStart' node.
Drag off the Fourth dimension Remaining output pin and add a <= (float) node using the Context Carte.
Enter 0.1 in the other output field on the <= (float) node and so elevate a wire from the Boolean output pivot of that node to the Can Enter Transition input pin of the Result node.

four.4.five - Add together Leap Loop to Leap End Transition

During this pace, you're going to set your jump loop to jump cease transition.

Return to the Arms Land Machine graph and drag a wire from the JumpLoop state to the JumpEnd country.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Control-click on IsFalling in the My Blueprint tab and drag into the graph to create a Get Is Falling node.
Drag off the output Boolean pivot on the Get Is Falling node and create a Not Boolean node.
Connect the output pin from the Not Boolean node to the input pin of the Can Enter Transition pin on the Effect node.

4.4.half-dozen - Add together Spring End to Idle Transition

During this footstep, you're going to fix your bound end to idle transition.

Render to the Arms Land Motorcar graph and drag a wire from the JumpEnd state to the Idle state.
Double-click the transition to edit it.
Right-click in the graph, search for and select the TimeRemaining for 'FPP_JumpEnd' node.
Drag off the Time Remaining output pin and add together a <= (float) node using the Context Menu.
Enter 0.one in the other output field on the <= (float) node and then drag a wire from the Boolean output pin of that node to the Can Enter Transition input pivot of the Result node.

four.5 - Associating Animation & Grapheme Blueprints

During this terminal department of the tutorial, yous are going to associate the animation Blueprint that you lot created with your character Pattern.

Compile and save the Arms_AnimBP Animation Pattern before closing information technology.
Navigate to the Blueprints folder in the Content Browser and open the BP_FPSCharacter Blueprint.
Select FPSMesh in the Components tab.
Fix the Anim Form for the FPSMesh to the Arms_AnimBP Animation Pattern y'all just created.
While yous are in the Defaults mode, change the FPSMesh transform to {50, -15, -150} for Location and {0, 25, 350} for Rotation.
Compile and save the Blueprint before closing it.
Click the Play button in the Level Editor Toolbar.

Your artillery will exist animated every bit they transition through the animations that yous hooked together in the Animation State Machine.