Animation Editors

The Skeletal Mesh Animation System in Unreal Engine is comprised of specialized animation asset editors that feature robust animation tools that you can use when working with Skeletal Meshes and other Animation Assets. With these animation editors, you can create character animations, interactions within the levels, and other procedural behaviors.

This document provides an overview of the specialized animation editors in Unreal.

Overview

A character's skeletal mesh has many associated assets that can be opened through the Content Browser. These assets include a Skeleton, Skeletal Mesh, Animation Sequences, and Animation Blueprints. Depending on which asset is opened, the corresponding Editor Mode will open.

Here you will find an overview of an Animation Editor window with highlighted features, common across all of the Animation Editor Modes.

1. Toolbar

2. Viewport

3. Editor Modes

4. Preview Scene Settings

Toolbar

The Toolbar, which is found in all of the Animation Editor modes, is similar to the Toolbar found across Unreal Engine's many editors and windows. For general Toolbar functions refer to the Main Toolbar, and for specific animation editor toolbar features, reference their respective pages for more information.

The following unique features are common across all of the Animation Editors:

Viewport

The Viewport window allows you to preview playback of animation assets on your selected Skeletal Mesh and provides information about your assets. Below you will find highlighted features relevant to the Animation Editors.

1. Viewport Property Settings

   Listed below are the viewport properties relevant to the Animation Sequence Editor Viewport.

   Name	Description
   Preview Animation	Lists the current selected animation sequence.
   LOD (Level of Detail)	The current displayed LOD or Level of Detail assigned value of the character.
   Current Screen Size	This is a value that represents how much of the viewport is occupied by the character's bounding box (By default, the bounding box is derived from the Physics Asset, if one is present, and Skeleton Asset if not.). Factors that affect this number are how large the animation's bounding box is (or the displacement in 3D space), how close the character is to the camera, and the amount of zoom applied to the camera. Based on this value you can assign when your LOD should switch between levels.
   Triangles	Lists the number of triangles rendered that comprise the previewed mesh.
   Vertices	Lists the number of vertices, or individual coordinate points, that comprise the previewed mesh.
   UV Channels	Lists the current mesh's UV Channel.
   Approximate Size	Dimensions of a bounding box containing the current animations displaced space, calculated by one of the animations assets. By default the physics asset will be used, and if no physics asset is present then the Skeleton asset will be referenced. Listed in Unreal Units (Centimeters).
   Frame Rate	Lists the preview animations frame rate of playback.

2. Debug Text

   Here you the Animation Editor Debug Text can also be seen in the top right of the Viewport. Here you can find important reference information about the animation asset currently being used such as the name of the animation asset, the LOD mode, Current screen Size and display output of mesh properties such as displayed triangles and vertices.

Editor Modes

Each Animation Editor Mode, can be opened with their respective buttons in the top right of your project window:

1. Skeleton Editor: This editor is used for working with Skeleton Rigs and provides visual control of bone and joint hierarchy associated with a Skeletal Mesh.

2. Skeletal Mesh Editor: The Skeletal Mesh Editor is where you can make edits to meshes, assign Materials, adjust Level of Detail (LOD), and test Morph Target functionality.

3. Animation Sequence Editor: If the Skeletal Mesh has associated Animation Sequences, you can edit and preview them, including augmentation tools such as, Blendspaces, Morph Targets and Animation Notifies here.

4. Animation Blueprint Editor: Similar to Unreal's Blueprint Editor, The Animation Blueprint editor is a visual scripting environment for directing animation functionality and behaviors within the level. You can access this Mode after an Animation Blueprint asset has been created for your mesh.

5. Physics Asset Editor: The Physics Asset Editor is a dedicated animation editor you can use to manipulate the Physics Asset assigned to your Skeletal Mesh.

After opening a Skeletal Mesh asset for the first time, the Skeletal Mesh Editor will be the default Editor Mode open. By clicking any of the other Editor Modes, a new window tab will open in your current editor window.

Skeleton Editor

In the Skeleton Editor Mode you will find a hierarchy outline and visual preview of the Bone data found within your Skeleton Mesh. Here you can adjust bone placement, create Skeleton Sockets, and preview Animation Curves.

Skeletal Mesh Editor

The Skeletal Mesh Editor Mode is where you can edit visual attributes of Skeletal Meshes. For instance, manipulating the polygonal structures of meshes, editing the associated Materials, and even assigning LODs.

Animation Sequence Editor

With the Animation Sequencer Editor mode, you can perform animation focused editing, specific to any of your project's animation asset types. Examples include creating and managing Animation Sequences, Animation Notifies, Animation Montages, and more.

Preview Scene Settings

The Preview Scene is the visual preview found in all of Unreal Engine's many project windows. With this window you can quickly see what your asset and animations will look like in different lighting environments and playback scenarios.

Below are a few features of the Preview Scene Settings window that are unique to the animation editors modes: