From Animation to Gameplay: Creating a basic locomotion system in Unreal Engine 5

In From Animation to Gameplay, you won’t just animate; you’ll build a complete locomotion system in Unreal Engine 5 from the ground up. This course is created with Mattias Skärhed-Ohlsette, animator and The Game Assembly Alumni.

Starting with industry-relevant animation workflows, you’ll create polished idle, run, and jump animations using professional techniques like blocking, splining, and layering. Then, you’ll take the crucial next step many artists never reach: turning those animations into real gameplay.

Inside Unreal Engine 5, you’ll import your work, set up movement logic, and create a responsive character system that actually works in-game. Along the way, you’ll troubleshoot common issues and refine your system to a polished result.

By the end of this course, you will have:

• A solid understanding of animation workflows for games
• Practical experience creating core locomotion animations
• The ability to integrate animations into Unreal Engine 5
• A fully functional basic locomotion system

This course is ideal for beginners to intermediate learners looking to bridge the gap between animation and gameplay implementation. If you have no experience of animation, we recommend taking the Game Animation Essentials course first.

Course Outline

•  Module 1: Overview
  • Working with Reference Rigs
•  Module 2: Animating the Idle
  • Introduction to the Idle Animation
  • Idle Breathing Cycle
  • Idle Blocking
  • Idle Splining

•  Module 3: Animating the Run
  • Introduction to Run Animation
  • Run Blocking
  • Run Splining
•  Module 4: Animating the Jump
  • Introduction to Jump Animation
  • Jump Blocking
  • Jump Splining
• Module 5: Exporting & Importing
  • Exporting the Skeleton and Animation
  • Importing the Skeleton and Animation Into UE5
• Module 6: Unreal Engine 5
  • A Brief Introduction to UE5
  • The Jump Functionality
  • The Idle and Run Functionality
  • Addressing some Issues
  • Finishing Touches