Above is an updated version with a different arc on the Samurai’s throw as well as a simpler environment to be less distracting from the animation itself.
Boss Challenge
Animated in Maya
Rendered in Unreal
Environment & VFX from Unreal Marketplace: Infinity Blade Firelands | VFX Pack 2.0
Models & Rigs by Kiel Figgins
Free Sounds from Pixabay
Breakdown Process
For this project I wanted to practice getting my animations from Maya into Unreal. First as a Game Animator my initial approach was tackling any sort of cycle animation I would use throughout the scene. I started with the robot’s jitters (that up and down motion) its whole body makes as if its running on an engine. The next step was blocking out the general motion I wanted for his swing. This was slightly challenging because I wanted its movement to be natural but also take account, for this character being a machine, that it would have movements abnormal to my own. The drag of the leg + the continuous rotation (heading for a 360 degree turn) of the torso + the weight of its body dragging through space.
Thankfully this time, the camera work for this shot was provided by (Pwnisher’s Boss Challenge- File) so it cut some time down for staging.
Breakdown Process
The next part I was tackling the “Hero” characters of my scene. The rigs are called “Samurai” and “Shao Nian” by Kiel Figgins. I first thought of a narrative for the characters; the who, what, where, why. To sum it up they are Mentor and Student, but great friends that have shared many adventures together. For them I wanted a very heroic moment but sad in a way; seeing these two characters together I thought of two different examples: Full Metal Alchemist & Big Hero 6.
Initially I wanted to create 3-4 shots that took inspirations from multiple Anime and Cinema, but time and other priorities outside of art took place. So I had to readjust the plan and settle for a storytelling piece that can be done in the short time frame of this shot.
The Robotic Samurai would make the sacrifice, putting his own body in harms way, to protect the young boy so he can live and fight another day.
Once the story was established I began the process once more of tackling the cycles I would need for the scene, and then approach any other animation during the blocking process.
Reference taken from: Nuno Miguel Freire - Ninja Run
If you try looking up Naruto or Ninja Running on Youtube, you may not get the greatest shots for reference on how this run may work, aside from trying yourself. But Nuno had a nice cadence and feel on his animation and I took inspiration for the Samurai Rig.
Reference Taken from: Youtube - Pei Hong Tan. I could not find game footage of Cloud (FF) running like this without their reference. I wanted this to be a similar gait that Shao Nian would use.
This stunt from Age of Ultron & Nick Pro (right) was going to be used for the initial idea of the Samurai picking up Shao Nian and dodging the giant Morning Star weapon.
I needed to shoot some reference as well to answer how would the body mechanics work of how he would be able to pick up Shao Nian
There were a couple more references I was initially using, but in the end the project changed directions and I scrapped the ideas to make it more manageable with the time I had.
Samurai Run Cycle
Shao Nian Run Cycle
Imported Animation from Maya to Unreal Engine using Alembic Cache. Now to set the rest of the scene up with Materials, Environment, and Lighting.
Blocking the Characters using references in the previous section. Maya (above)
Unlit Pass - Scene Layout using assets from the Epic Games Marketplace - Infinity Blade Fire Lands Environment Pack
Unlit Pass
Unlit Pass
Basic Light Set up - I started with the typical Light layout of having a Key Light, Fill Light, and Back Light. But three lights were not gonna cut it for this scene. So I used the fill light (orange/yellow) in other areas to lighten the room more, and I used two back lights / rim lights (dark blue) to give a nice complementary accent to the scene.
Detailed Lighting Pass - The extra lights come from the Epic Games Marketplace - VFX pack (Flames) and the Infinity Blade Firelands Assets (Lava and Background).
Lit Pass
Lit Pass