How do I have a pre-set animation that works with an object?

Animation
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1

I’ve been outsourcing my 3D animation and character modelling for this project. I’m getting ready to have someone create the next set of animations I need, but I have realized that I have an issue that I’m not sure how to resolve.

This next set of characters will be holding/using/dropping objects. (Weapons)
Now if they were just holding these objects, then it would be easy to just attach the model to the hand bone. But the characters will be holding the objects at different points, dropping them when they die, and so forth. This means that the object needs to be animated as well as the character.

For example, one character will be holding a musket, and he will have a marching animation where he holds the butt of the rifle in his hand with the rifle resting against his chest, but he will also have a running animation where he holds it by handle near the trigger.
And then there is the death animation where they are going to drop the weapon entirely.

And I can’t figure out how this is going to work within Unity. I’m receiving an animation file that I can easily plug into Unity’s animation controller, but how do I handle animation data for a second object? One that isn’t even skinned?
Sure I can create an animation within Unity to control the position of an object, but that’s a Unity-specific file, not something I can have an animator export from Max or Blender. Besides which, having it controlled within the Animator is going to be a huge hassle if I have to control a separate object.

The best solution I can think of is the contact the character modeler and have him update my character models to include the weapons as skinned objects with a new bone for animation. But this sounds excessive, and I’m not 100% sure what to be requesting with that, either. I guess the weapon bone needs to be coming directly off the pelvis? Or would it be easier for the animator if it came off of the hand, even though not all nimations will have it connect with the hand?

2

Animators can have layers, such as above waist, below waist. Or you can do it all in one layer, or two separately-animated things held together under a common parent… really the possibilities are endless.

This is normally a process you can fudge into the actual experimentation phase, hedging your bets as you go, learning and adjusting.

If you are “outsourcing” then you need to 100% specify everything necessary or the odds of you getting something back that you can use will be essentially zero.

I would start with basic tutorials to decide on a course of action. Your engineered solution will contain elements of code and assets and all of those things need to be engineered with each other in mind and integrated at least in a basic proof-of-concept stage before you can even tell your external guy what to do.

3

In that case, it would likely be easier in this case to have my character models updated to include a skinned weapon. I have relatively few animations in a relatively limited portion of my game, so just building an extra bone into these specific characters would probably be the simplest route.

Would it be easier for the animator to have the bone tied to the hand, or to the root? A sword sounds like it would be easier to keep in the hand, but the rifle is a little more complex.

4

Really all of these questions should go to your animator. They should have ideas to accomplish what you want as well as an idea of what complexity they are able to handle themselves.