Import and Play Mesh Animations

You can use Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) to animate skeletal meshes.

This tutorial shows you how to import skeletal meshes, animations attached to the meshes, and how the animations on a mesh work in UEFN.

Import a Skeletal Mesh and Associated Assets

UEFN does not come preloaded with skeletal meshes or animations, so you will have to create or import them.

1. Open your UEFN project.

2. In the Content Browser, open the project’s content folder and create a Characters folder for your skeletal meshes.

3. Make a subfolder for each type of character you want to import. Double-click the folder to open it.

   

4. Click Import or right-click inside the new folder, and select Import to Current Folder from the context dropdown menu.

   

   Select Preview… from the bottom toolbar to open a preview window where you can review all the assets you’re importing.

   

5. Choose the FBX file containing the mesh you want to import, then click Open.

6. The Import Content window opens, click Import to import the asset and all its associated files.

   Manage the assets that import with your skeletal mesh from the Import Content window by customizing the import options of:

   • Static Meshes

   • Skeletal Meshes

   • Animations

   • Materials

   • Textures

7. Your character and any files associated with it upload to the subfolder.

When you import files other than FBX, the Import Content window changes the import pipeline to accommodate the file type you're importing.

Inspect Your Imported Assets

Inspect your imported assets by opening the different assets in their associated editors.

• Skeletal Mesh

• Animation Sequence

• Skeleton

You can use these assets in other animation workflows in UEFN:

• Creating animation presets.

• Transferring character animations to a different character.

• Convert a static mesh into a skeletal mesh.

Skeletal Mesh Editor

Double-clicking the skeletal mesh file opens a new window where you can see the mesh in greater detail. Click the Skeleton Tree tab on the right-hand side to navigate to any moving joint and test what parts of the skeleton articulate.

SkeletonEditor

Double-clicking the skeleton file opens a new window where you can see the skeleton of your skeletal mesh asset in greater detail. This editor provides a way to create and edit the bone hierarchy of your skeletal mesh asset.

Animation Editor

Double-click the animation thumbnail to open the Animation Editor. The Animation Editor opens in a new window, from the editor you can ensure that the animations are applied to the right character and play as expected.

Playing Animations on your Island

There are several ways to get animations to play on your island. Each method has merit depending on your needs.

Drag and Drop from the Content Browser

Select the Animation Sequence file you want, and drag it from the Content Browser into the viewport.

The animation will play in a perpetual loop unless otherwise specified in the asset’s Details tab under the Animation section.

The animation will not play in the editor. To see the animation play, playtest your island in a Fortnite client.

Use the Animated Mesh Device

When this device is paired to your animation, you can control the various animation triggers.

1. Navigate to Fortnite > Devices in your Content Browser.

2. Drag the Animated Mesh device into the viewport.

3. Configure the device User Options as follows:

   1. To bind the device to a skeletal mesh, drag and drop the mesh into the Skeletal Mesh field, or select the mesh from the field’s dropdown menu.

   2. Drag the animation you want for your mesh into the Animation field, or select it from the dropdown menu.

      

4. Drag two Trigger devices into the viewport.

5. To bind the triggers to the animation:

   1. Select the Animated Mesh device, and scroll down to User Options - Functions.

   2. For Play Animation Event, add an array element by clicking +, then select Trigger and On Triggered in the two respective fields.

   3. For Pause Animation Event, add an array element by clicking +, then select Trigger2 and On Triggered in the two respective fields.

      

   4. Press Play to open the client to see the device in action. Stepping on the first trigger starts the animation, and the second trigger pauses the animation.