Through this short film, I want to convey feminism and call for world peace. This work has three scenes: the prosperous times, the war, and the unreal fairyland. The characters’ dancing movements connect these three scenes. In the end, the characters put up the Kongming lantern to pray for peace, which is also a cultural way to pray for peace in ancient Chinese culture.
Conclusion & Improvements
Through this FMP, I learned a lot of new knowledge and skills, such as using Unreal Engine to make hair animation, using style3D to make clothing and making clothing simulation recording in Unreal Engine
More importantly, I hope that I can pass on strength and hope for peace to more people through my works
If I had more time, I would like to use livelink to make the characters’ facial expressions more vivid. At the same time, more details may be added to hint, so that the audience can better understand my animation short film.
After rendering, I imported the video synthesized by png image from pr into capcut, which is very convenient because there are many resources and over-long effects to choose from in capcut.
Here’s my cutting in capcut：
For the title and the end, I used cursive type in Chinese. Add a butterfly in the title, because there’s a butterfly at the beginning of the animation. At the end, I used some flower petals for embellishing, because in the scene of fairyland, especially at night, there will be an animation of petals falling. I wanted the title and ending to match the animation, so I designed it that way.
At the end of the animation, I added a shot through editing, that is, the same characters, in two different backgrounds, put the sky lantern together to pray for peace. This is achieved through the effect of masking in the editing, in order to tell the audience that this is the same thing, even in different time and space, people’s hopes are the same, and they all hope for world peace.
Editing needs to pay attention to the following points: Sense of rhythm: Adjust the length of the shot to match the rhythm of the film and avoid the picture staying too long or too short. Make sure the information is simple and easy to understand, so that the audience does not get lost in too many details. Camera switching: Use appropriate camera switching (such as push, pull, shake, follow) to enhance picture dynamics. This is also the reason why I have modified the shot many times. Before, the shot was very complicated and there were frequent switches between different scenes, but later I found that the effect was not ideal. Using a long shot interspersed with a few short shots can better help the audience understand the animation, rather than using a long shot all the time. Transition effect: Avoid over-reliance on fancy transition effects, simple and smooth transitions are usually more natural. Therefore, in the whole animation, I used a relatively basic transition mode to switch, so that the audience would pay more attention to the animation itself. At the same time, the soundtrack was chosen to ensure that the sound effects were precisely synchronized with the action to enhance the sense of realism. Background music: Choose background music that matches the mood and rhythm to avoid distracting.
The music I chose is from the costume drama Nirvana in Fire. The following is the mv of his TV drama
The reason why I choose this music is that its musical rhythm and the artistic conception I want to express are very much in line with my animation. There is a kind of bleak, sad feeling.
Before rendering, I edit the animation and scenes after George’s feedback
Since the deadline was approaching this week, the amount of feedback he gave me was not particularly large, mainly focusing on the character’s falling to the ground. Therefore, I modified the injured animation of the characters in the final war by modifying the actions and modifying the shots.
By modifying the action and the shot, I linked the shot to the front, and at the same time, pulled the camera from the close-range character to see the full picture of the war.
After making the final changes, I am ready to start rendering. Here is a partial recording of the rendering:
Rendering process
Open the Movie Render Queue From the main menu, select Edit > Plugins > Movie Render Queue to ensure that the Movie Render Queue plug-in is enabled. After the plug-in is enabled, restart the editor. After restarting, open Movie Render Queue from the Window menu: Window > Cinematics > Movie Render Queue.
Add a rendering task In the Movie Render Queue window, click + Render. Choose the Sequencer of your animation sequence or level.
Configure rendering Settings Output Settings: Sets the format of the output directory and file name. Configure the output resolution (for example, 1920×1080 or 2K resolution). Image Output Format: Select the file format (usually PNG or EXR, suitable for high quality later). Anti-Aliasing: indicates that anti-aliasing is configured and the Temporal Sample Count and Spatial Sample Count are enabled to improve the data quality.
Start rendering After the configuration is complete, click Render (Local). The rendering process will begin, you can view the current rendering status through the progress bar, and the rendered PNG image will be saved locally.
Post-processing PNG image sequence is imported into video editing software PR for post-processing. Use each PNG as a frame to generate a coherent video.
I need to go back to UE4 Mannequin, to fix the animation. And then import it to my character’s animation blueprint, and do clothes record again for the new animation sequence.
Here are some common problems I encounter when I’m using Style3D Simulation and Unreal Engine (UE) to simulate and render clothing. For example, the physical properties of the fabric, the setting of the collider, and the simulation accuracy, and my solutions to these problems are as follows:
Collision problem Certain parts of the character (e.g. arms, legs) penetrate the costume. The collision detection range is too large or too small, resulting in fabric floating or stuck. Check collider Settings: In the character skeleton, adjust the Physics Asset for each skeleton. The collision volume in the physical asset may be too small (causing the die to pass) or too large (causing the fabric to hang). Use UE’s Physics Asset Editor to modify the collision range of each skeleton to fit the character model as closely as possible.
Solution to die problem: Increased fabric mesh resolution (more vertices and surfaces) to improve simulation accuracy. Output a high-resolution fabric mesh in Style3D and make sure you don’t simplify the model when importing to UE. Increase the rigidity of the fabric: If the fabric is too soft, it may cause self-insertion problems. Adjust the rigidity parameters of the fabric to make it more suitable for complex movements. Check the animation speed: If the character moves too fast, the fabric simulation may not respond in time. Increase the frequency of physical calculations by slowing down animations or enabling UE’s Substepping feature. Enable Self-Collision: In the physical material of the fabric, enable Self-Collision to avoid the fabric itself.
Simulation accuracy problems: for example, the fabric deformation in the action is not natural, and the simulation results are inconsistent with the effect in Style3D. Adjust the physical Material parameters of the fabric in UE by optimizing the physical material parameters, such as: Bend Stiffness: Control the softness of the fabric. Friction: Prevent fabric from sliding unnaturally. Damping: Reduces the shaking of the fabric. Increase the physical simulation step: In the fabric component, increase the Solver Frequency (solution frequency) to improve the simulation calculation accuracy. Use a higher Substepping setting to allocate more computing resources to the fabric simulation. Make sure fabric parameters are consistent: Fabric parameters in Style3D and UE may differ. Make sure that the physical properties exported in Style3D are the same as the fabric material Settings in UE.
In the whole process, I tried to restore the effect of the clothes as much as possible by adjusting the size of the clothes, the coefficient of the clothing fabric and the animation action.
Throughout the animation, in addition to the dancing movement throughout, there is also a character at the end of the hands to raise the lamp action. I modified similar motion-capture data to generate a new animation sequence. Below is a screenshot of my steps:
By adding hand details to an ordinary standing movement, the whole movement is achieved. The specific use of the dynamic arrest modification method is basically the same as that mentioned in the previous article, and this article will not be repeated.
Set the lens placement and the lens movement – scene 1
In this shot, what I want to achieve is that the camera is advancing with the butterfly flying, so I need to make sure that the butterfly is in the frame. At the same time, in order to make the butterfly fly more vividly, I sway the butterfly from side to side, so that it appears in the process of right to left to right of the picture, so that the butterfly finally passes the role and falls into the flowers.
This shot, which I will use as the opening shot, introduces the whole story through the butterfly.
Set the lens placement and the lens movement – scene 2
This shot takes up a relatively large proportion of the entire animation. Through this shot, I will use butterflies to connect with the previous shot. At the same time, there are many dancing movements in this shot that need to be shown, so I will introduce the characters and show their dancing movements by cutting from the long distance to the close range.
In this shot, I hope to show the dancing of the characters in all aspects, so I will use some different angles to shoot the characters.
The above are pictures taken from different camera angles in the camera
Set the lens placement and the lens movement – scene 3
This is the war scene, through the characters close cut to the whole scene, to give the audience visual shock
At the same time, in order to connect these three different scenes with the same characters, I made the same action for all three scenes to transition
Below is a recording of me making ik redirects, as well as text compilation:
Using IK (Reverse Dynamics) to redirect animation sequences in Unreal Engine (UE), character animation can be accurately adjusted and dynamically adapted. This is often used to adjust the fit of an animation between different skeletons, or to dynamically change a character’s posture at run time to suit the environment. Here are the detailed steps and methods:
Ensure skeleton compatibility: Make sure the skeleton of the animation sequence is compatible with the skeleton of the target character. If the skeleton is not compatible, you can use Retarget Manager for skeleton redirection.
Prepare the animation sequence: Make sure the animation sequence is properly imported and aligned with the skeleton. You can verify this by looking at the animated preview in the skeleton asset. IK Steps for redirecting and applying animation sequences Step 1: Create a new ik rig to open the target character’s skeleton assets. In the Skeleton panel, click Retarget Manager. Set up the skeleton and ensure that the joint mapping of the source and target skeleton is consistent. Save the Settings to ensure that animations can be shared between skeletons. Step 2: Create an IK retarget Make sure that the skeleton IK control points of the original character are consistent with the IK control points of the animated character. If desired, you can edit the skeleton and add or adjust the skeleton. Step 3: Apply the animation sequence Open the target character’s Anim Blueprint. In the Anim Graph, add the Animation Sequence Player node: Select the animation sequence to use. Connect the Output to the character’s final Pose node (such as Output Pose). Make sure the animation blueprint drives the character’s posture properly. Connect the input of the IK node to the Animation sequence output, and connect the IK output to the Final Animation Pose.
Import motion capture data and modify it – dance animation
By modifying the imported motion-capture data, I made changes to the character’s dancing movements. In this process I encountered some problems that I did not encounter when animating with maya, for example: since it is motion capture data, the amount of data is very large, each xyz axis has a corresponding data point, if you modify one of them, you must modify all three together, otherwise there will be some motion problems.
Importing motion capture data in ue also needs to pay attention to the following key issues, which I will encounter when making import animations and modifying:
Skeleton compatibility Bone name and structural consistency The motion capture data (usually imported in FBX format) needs to be consistent with the skeleton of the target character. If the bone names or hierarchy do not match, it may result in animation application failure or posture deformity. If the skeleton is inconsistent, bone mapping can be done through Retarget Manager. Make sure the skeleton of the motion capture data has the same proportions and joint orientation as the target character skeleton.
Animation cleaning and correction Noise issues with capturing data: Noise or abnormal movements (such as jitter or joint penetration) may be introduced during motion capture. Before importing UE, you need to clean it up in Maya. Jitter removal: Handled by smoothing filters or manually correcting joint curves. Key frame optimization: Reduce redundant key frames and keep animation smooth. Ground penetration and floating issues: The motion-capture data may have characters with their feet off the ground (floating) or their feet on the ground. Fix it: Use UE’s IK foot correction function to make sure your foot fits the terrain. Or adjust the joint position in the animation editing software to ensure accurate foot movements.
Root movement problems Root bone trajectory and Motion adjustment: Root Motion is commonly used in motion capture to drive the overall displacement of the character. If the root bone movement trajectory is abnormal (such as too fast or inconsistent), it needs to be corrected: Check and adjust the root bone trajectory in maya, enable or disable the root movement in UE, depending on the specific needs.
Scene one is a fairyland, so I chose a model scene of an isolated island. Set on an isolated island, this wonderland is surrounded by an endless blue ocean that glows with silver in the breeze. There e was a tall cherry tree growing on the island, which was shrouded in a lilac mist, adding a hazy mystique to the whole scene.
Among them, I also used a model of a glowing deer that does not exist in reality to show from the side that this place is not real.In this scene, I made the difference between night and day and two different backgrounds, because I wanted to dance in fairyland during the day at the beginning, and finally return to Fairyland at night to put the Kongming lantern and combine it with the flourishing scene. The following video (00：00-00：28) is part of my process of modifying the scene 1:
In the second scene, I found a bustling ancient scene. In this scene, there are brightly lit cities, ancient courtyards, small Bridges, flowing water and green plants. The change of this scene is because some places in the scene are empty Spaces without scenery, which will be displayed in the picture. Therefore, I moved the model to a suitable position by copying the model, so as to enrich the whole scene. The following video (00：28-00：44) is part of my process of modifying the scene 2:
The third scene is in a war context, so I made the scene more in line with what I wanted to express by adding models of fire, weapons, empty boxes that were taken away, etc. At the same time, a light layer of snow on the ground and the character’s white clothes echo, while the red and red belt on the clothes stand out and look bright. The following video (00：45-00：55）is part of my process of modifying the scene 3:
The relationship between scene and animation is complementary, and together they determine the visual style, narrative rhythm, and emotional atmosphere of the work. A good scene design is not only the “stage” of animation, but also actively participates in the narrative, communicates the story through visual symbols, and shapes the story.
In the above screen recording process, I obtained three suits that fit the character by modifying the clothing details. Then I need to automatically topological and arrange the model UV in Style3D, and create maps for the clothes. The process of adding colors is relatively intuitive. Here is a detailed step-by-step description of the text:
Automatic UV topology and arrangement Use the automated UV topology tool provided by Style3D to expand the UV of the model. Ensure that the model is completed and that the individual pieces and sewing relationships are correctly assigned. You can view the cut of the model in the 2D interface. Go to the UV Expansion tool: In Model selection mode, select the clothes or model parts you want to topological. Select the UV function in the toolbar. After clicking the Auto Topology button, Style3D automatically expands the UV based on the geometry of the model. The software generates the appropriate UV set based on the position and size of each face. For complex shapes, Style3D optimizes UV unfolding to ensure minimal stretching and overlap. After the automatic topology is complete, enter the UV editing mode and you can further adjust the arrangement: use the arrangement function to arrange all UV parts evenly. For complex parts, the size and Angle of the UV can be manually adjusted to ensure that the texture and pattern of the fabric will not be deformed.
Make stickers In the Materials panel, you can create or import existing texture maps. Select Base Color Map and import the image file I want (e.g. JPG, PNG format). In the UV editing interface, you can edit the map directly in this interface, or you can export the UV expansion and draw details in an external image editing software such as Photoshop. If editing in external software, make sure the size and resolution of the map is appropriate for final rendering. For detailed maps (such as textures, patterns), you can reduce the painting effort by mirroring and copying. Import and apply maps:
After editing the map, import it into Style3D and apply it to the corresponding model parts. In the material Settings, you can adjust the parameters of the map, such as brightness, contrast, or set different reflectivity and roughness.
I use red in the scene of flourishing times, because red is a symbol of auspiciousness and festivity in Chinese tradition, and is often seen in the clothing of weddings, festivals, and other occasions, representing good luck and joy. The collocation of red and gold is especially common, such as palace decoration and court clothing. At the same time, I use blue and yellow gradient colors as costumes in the virtual wonderland, because the gradient of blue and yellow is not common in ancient Chinese culture, which also implies that this is not the real world. Meanwhile, the gradient effect can increase the visual level, making the clothing look more vivid and dynamic. For these two sets of clothes, I chose the map respectively: waves and clouds Wave patterns can be used to symbolize movement, power and natural beauty. Waves often appear in ancient clothing and art, symbolizing the greatness and irresistibility of nature. Through the use of wave patterns as the shading of clothes, through the hidden texture can increase the sense of flow and layer of clothing, especially suitable for matching with gradient color, forming a visual harmony and unity. Detailed wavy shapes appear in the hem, cuff or hemline of the dress, creating a natural and smooth transition. The shade of my red clothing uses the auspicious cloud pattern, which symbolizes auspiciity, good luck and protection of God in Chinese culture, and is a common decorative pattern in traditional clothing. Xiangyun patterns are usually elegant curves and changeable forms, which are matched with red to enhance the expression of its traditional culture. At the same time, the animation theme is further strengthened around the beautiful vision of peace and auspiciousness.
After I import the hair into ue, I need to modify the parameters in ue to make the hair look realistic. The friction coefficient and recovery coefficient can be adjusted by editing the physical material, and the weights can be adjusted by mixing the physics and animation Settings. Here’s how to do it:
Set friction coefficient of physical material The physical material in UE5 determines the physical behavior of the object upon collision, including friction and recovery (elasticity). In the Content browser, right-click on the blank area and select Physics > Physical Material to create a new physical material. If you already have a physical material, directly find the corresponding physical material file in the Content browser and double-click to open it. Modify Friction: After opening the physical material, you can see the Friction property in the panel. Friction: Control the friction resistance of objects when sliding between them. A higher friction value means the object slides less after a collision, and a lower value makes it more slippery. The default value is usually 0.5. The friction coefficient can be lowered (e.g. 0.2-0.3) to make the hair slide smoother after collision.
Modify the Restitution coefficient: In the same panel, find the Restitution property. Restitution: Controls the elastic response after a collision. The higher the value, the more the object bounces. The default value is usually 0.5. If the hair bounces too sharply after a collision, this value can be lowered (e.g. 0.1-0.3) to reduce the effect of bouncing.
Apply physical material: Apply the created physical material to the colliders and hair of the character’s body. Select the character’s Skeletal Mesh or Static Mesh, and in its collision Settings, find the Physical Material option and apply the physical material you just created or edited to the collider.
The following is part of the video recording process when I made the costume board
Through a series of comparisons between MD and style3D software, I choose style3D as my tool for making virtual clothing. Here’s how I work:
Software setup and preparation New project: Open Style3D and create a new project. Import my model into style3D and set the size according to the design requirements, such as height, bust, waist, etc. The 2d drawing previously drawn from the reference is placed next to it as an aid to the drawing of the board.
Draw the garment board Draw the outline of the board directly in a 2D interface using drawing tools such as rectangles, lines, polygons. Precise dimensions (e.g. length, Angle) can be entered according to the reference drawing or manually. Adjusting plate size and shape: Use the editing tools to adjust vertices, line curvature, or add Darts to meet the needs of your clothing design. If a symmetrical design is required (for example, the left and right sides of the body are symmetrical), enable mirror mode to automatically synchronize changes on both sides of the plate.
Add sewing thread: Set sewing relationships between plates in a 2D interface. Using the sewing tool, click on the edge of the board and match the corresponding edge of the other board.
3D simulation fitting See the 3D interface on the right: Drag the drawn board directly to the appropriate position of the character model. Click Run, and the software will automatically generate a preliminary garment shape according to the sewing Settings.
If the plate does not fit properly, its initial position can be adjusted manually, or by dragging the clothes to fit the body.
Enable the physics simulation function to observe the effect of clothing on the virtual human model. Adjust plate size, shape, or sewing relationships to optimize the fit of the garment.
I need three sets of clothes. Therefore, I can obtain three sets of clothes by modifying the initial clothes, which can reduce some workload and improve my output efficiency. The following are some modification steps
In the process of making, there will be a situation that the chest spread will slip off the body because there is no support point, so I refined the production steps of the chest spread, so that it can be stable on the body. The following is my operation steps text parsing:
Draw the initial plate: Use the rectangle or polygon tool to draw a complete sheet covering the upper body (e.g. vest style). Make sure the board size fits the virtual human model. Set sewing relationship: Set the front and back pieces to be symmetrical and add sewing thread where necessary, such as side seams and hem. Verify the fit of the base clothing in 3D simulation.
Modify the plate to form a chest-covering structure Crop the top half: Go to the 2D screen, select the board, and use the Edit Pattern Tool to draw a splitter line. For example: Draw a horizontal line above the chest to mark out the transparent part. Adjust the shape of the dividers (such as arcs or waves) according to the design needs. Adjust the cut after segmentation: set the top half of the cut as a separate transparent area. Make sure the edges of the upper and lower parts are properly stitched to avoid sewing breaks or misalignments.
Set the material transparency effect Assign a material to the top half of the cut in the Material editor. Use a preset transparent fabric (such as yarn, mesh), or customize the material parameters: Opacity: Will opacity be lowered to achieve a transparent effect. Specular: Appropriately adjusted to simulate the gloss of different fabrics. Adjust sewing and simulation: Make sure the top half (transparent area) and bottom half are free of sewing errors. Check that the fabric simulation is natural and that the top half is stably attached to the human model.
Simulated chest stability Make sure the garment doesn’t fall off: Even if the top half is made of transparent material, appropriate fabric parameters (such as hardness and elasticity) need to be set to ensure support. During the 3D simulation, the friction coefficient and tensile rigidity of the fabric are adjusted so that the chest can be stably fitted.
