Why the 12 Principles of Animation Still Matter in Games In today’s era of real-time rendering, motion capture, and hyper-realistic engines like Unity and Unreal… One thing hasn’t changed: The foundation. The 12 Principles of Animation, introduced by Disney legends Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, are still the backbone of great game animation. No matter how advanced the engine is, without: • Squash & Stretch – there’s no impact • Anticipation – there’s no clarity • Timing & Spacing – there’s no weight • Arcs – there’s no natural motion • Exaggeration – there’s no emotion • Appeal – there’s no connection Your animation will feel robotic. In games, animation is not just movement — it’s feedback. It tells the player when to attack, dodge, jump, or react. Good animation improves gameplay clarity, responsiveness, and immersion. Even in stylized, realistic, or AAA environments — principles remain universal. Technology evolves. Engines upgrade. Tools change. But principles? They are timeless. If you're a game animator, mastering fundamentals will always give you an edge over someone who only knows tools. Do you think modern game animation relies more on tech or fundamentals? #GameDevelopment #Animation #12Principles #GameDesign #Unity #UnrealEngine #Animator #IndieDev #LevelUp #Framenext

Our BS CS (Gaming & Animation) students recently completed a high-impact Pre-Production Course, mastering the essential art of blueprinting a game before development begins. We were proud to have this session led by industry experts: Sir Salman Nasir: Renowned industry professional and Storyboard Artist for the 3 Bahadur animated movie. Miss Safia Makhdoom : A highly talented specialist and Gaming & Animation graduate. Throughout the course, our students moved beyond the screen to focus on the foundations of storytelling and design. They wrapped up the module by presenting impressive work on: ✅ Detailed Game Storyboards ✅ Character Concept Art ✅ Environment & Asset Planning ✅ Core Animation Mechanics Great to see our students bridging the gap between academic theory and industry-standard execution!

An animation sprite uses a sprite sheet, a single image containing multiple frames (poses) of a character or object, to create the illusion of movement by cycling through these frames quickly, much like a flipbook. Creating sprite animations involves drawing individual frames (or using AI) and arranging them in a grid on a sprite sheet, then slicing them in game engines like Unity or using tools like Piskel to compile them into a playable animation clip for games or videos.

Just saw the Unreal Engine 5.7 update to the Game Animation Sample Project. They've expanded the sample with a few hundred new animations and reworked parts of the locomotion setup. The whole thing feels more complete now. The slide mechanic is a nice touch. There's also more work around Smart Objects and NPC setups, which makes the sample feel less like a tech demo and more like something you could realistically build from. If you're learning animation systems or just want to see how Epic approaches motion matching and traversal in 5.7, it's worth opening up and exploring: https://lnkd.in/dnyhssXt

When conversations around animation, game design, and creative fields reach this level, it signals something important. These are no longer “casual” or experimental career choices. They require structured learning, industry standards, and long-term skill development. This is why game art can’t be learned casually anymore. Serious careers demand serious preparation. Do you agree? #GameArt #CreativeCareers #SkillDevelopment #FutureOfWork #AnimationIndustry

Epic Games buys the start-up Meshcapade, a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. It develops AI animation technology.

Day 7–8 | Unreal Engine 5 – Combat, Animations & Character States 🎮 Over the last two days, I focused on turning the weapon system into a proper combat flow with animation-driven logic. What I worked on: Implemented weapon equip & unequip animations Created separate run / walk animations while equipped Added attack input on Left Mouse Button Set up 3 different attack animations, triggered randomly Used Animation Montages for attack execution Integrated Animation Notifies for timing gameplay events Designed character action states to control movement and attacks This was a great exercise in understanding how animation, input, and gameplay logic work together to create responsive combat. Systems are starting to feel cohesive now 🚀 #UnrealEngine5 #GameDevelopment #GameplayProgramming #CombatSystem #AnimationMontage #C++ #IndieDev #LearningByBuilding

Happy Weekend everyone. Today I compared animation systems in Unity and Unreal. Unity uses Animator Controller with states and transitions. It is simple to create idle, run, jump flows. You can manage parameters easily and connect them with C# scripts. For small games and mobile characters, it works smoothly and stays organized. Unreal uses Animation Blueprints. It allows blending poses, using state machines, and connecting animation logic directly with gameplay variables. You can manage layered animations and complex combat blending with strong control. It takes more learning time but gives deeper integration with character systems. Unity is faster for basic animation setup. Unreal provides stronger tools for complex character logic. Both are capable, but Unreal becomes very useful when building multiplayer or action heavy games. #The14Lights #HappyWeekend #AnimationSystem #Unity3D #UnrealEngine #GameDev #CharacterAnimation #IndieDeveloper #DeveloperLife

Character animation for a crash game — Sumo Food Fest. Bringing this character to life meant fragmenting the performance into multiple gameplay states — idle, in, loop A, loop B — plus eight possible endings triggered at different crash moments. In this project, the animation had to be modular and reactive. Even though the actions were technically split into instances, I worked to keep the movement from feeling fragmented — aiming for something organic, fluid, continuous. It wasn’t about rigid control, but about flowing with the system. Protecting the timing, sustaining the mood... Letting the characterization hold together so the comedy of each crash could truly land. This video is a game simulation showing 3 of the 8 possible endings. Rig and Character animation in Spine 2D by me. Character design by Ignacio Kałuda. Sound design by Agustin Almeida. Available for work · 2D Animation · Spine · Real-Time Character Animation · Rigging · Game Animation #2DAnimation #Spine2D #CharacterAnimation #GameAnimation #CrashGames #RealTimeAnimation #Rigging #OpenToWork #MobileGames

As part of being a gameplay animation student at the University of Staffordshire, one of our modules is our Games Development Project, our final masterpiece to showcase our ability. I have decided to incorporate everything I have learned throughout my time in this university into this one project, focusing on three main areas: - Motion Captured combat scenes - Hand Keyed first person shooter animations - In Engine animation tech and implementation Introducing, Project: Takedown. A First Person Shooter base, with multiple cinematic, directional takedowns. Here's a little sneak peek, as I prepare this project for the Graduate Exhibition.