Animation with Unreal Engine

Time limit: 3 days

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Animation Essentials with Unreal

Learn to Make Things Move: Real-Time Animation in Unreal Engine

This introductory course turns Unreal Engine into a real-time animation studio. Instead of diving into complex rigs, learners focus on the essentials: pose, timing, movement, and story. Using beginner-friendly workflows, they animate props, lights, simple characters, and cameras inside a fully lit Unreal scene.

Working in a studio-style environment, participants explore how motion communicates weight, mood, and intention. They block out action, refine timing with Sequencer, and build short animated beats that feel clean, readable, and deliberate — all with real-time feedback.

No prior animation experience is required. By the end, each learner completes a 10–20 second animated micro-scene — a polished sequence proving they can translate ideas into motion inside Unreal Engine.

Final Project • Animated Micro-Scene

A 10–20 Second Animated Moment Built in Unreal

Learners create a complete 10–20 second animated sequence — a small moment where props move, lights react, and a simple character performs a clear action, guided by cinematic camera work.

On Screen

A readable micro-story: something shifts, reacts, reveals — and ends on a strong, intentional final frame.

Under the Hood

Built entirely with Sequencer + keyframing: animated transforms, lighting cues, character actions, and clean camera movement.

The result is small — but transformative. Their first real animated sequence inside Unreal Engine.

Learning Experience: From First Keyframe to Finished Beat

Learners follow a guided animation workflow, starting with simple movement tests and building toward a complete micro-story.

Motion Fundamentals

Learners test timing, easing, spacing, and arcs by animating props and lights — building intuition for how movement feels.

Sequencer Basics

Using Sequencer, learners animate transforms, fade lights, time events, and shape a beat across a visual timeline.

Simple Character Motion

Learners apply starter animations or basic posing to give a character a short action or reaction inside the scene.

Camera & Export

Learners shape simple camera moves, refine timing, and render their animated sequence as a final video.

The course runs as a hands-on studio, encouraging experimentation, feedback, iteration, and discovery through motion.

Learning Journey: Four Constructivist Pillars

The journey is built around four pillars — forming a foundation that helps learners understand animation not as a toolset, but as a way of seeing.

See Motion Differently

Learners study timing, posing, and arcs — developing an intuitive sense of why certain movements feel believable or expressive.

Make Simple Things Move

Animation begins with props, lights, and cameras — low stakes, high learning — letting learners experiment freely with motion inside Unreal.

Shape a Micro-Story

Learners combine motion, light, and camera into a cohesive 10–20 second animated moment with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Refine, Polish, Render

Through critique and iteration, learners adjust timing and posing, finesse camera movement, and render their final animated beat.

Course Outcomes: What Learners Leave With

This course sets a foundation — a first confident step into animation inside Unreal Engine. Learners finish with a working knowledge of real-time animation and a portfolio-ready clip.

Core Outputs

10–20 second animated sequence rendered from Unreal.
Readable motion on props, lights, and a simple character.
Clear, cinematic camera movement.

Supporting Artefacts

3–5 hero frames exported from the sequence.
A simple beat sheet or shot breakdown.
A one-sentence logline for their animated moment.

Learners leave not as experts, but as animators who have already made something real — and know exactly how to keep going.

Full course description