Animation overview

The animation system in Unreal Engine is very flexible and powerful. It consists of numerous tools and editors that work together. In this chapter, we will look at the main concepts of animation in Unreal Engine with a focus on Animation Blueprints.

We will start with a project using the Third Person template to see animation concepts and explore the Animation Editor.

Follow these steps to create the project:

1. Create a project using the Third Person template with starter content:

Figure 17.1 – Creating a project using the Third Person template

2. Press the Play button to try the default gameplay that is built into the Third Person template. You can move the player Character using the WASD keys and look around by moving the mouse. Press the spacebar to make the Character jump.

Now that we have an example project, let's explore the Animation Editor.

Animation Editor

There are five Animation Tools...