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Animating a 3-Hit Combo for Games in Maya

Mocap, HumanIK, Retargeting and Animation with Brandon Yates

Description

Learn how to animate a three-hit combo for videogames using motion capture as a base. This is an advanced workshop for animators looking to use mocap for games, detailing Maya’s Human IK motion-capture package, including the retargeting and animation settings.


Brand Yates is an animator with nine years of experience in videogames. He shares how to use Maya’s retargeting and HIK system and explains some of the important advanced posing, timing, and layering techniques used when animating for AAA games. He also discusses how to branch out your combo into different strings while ensuring all animations flow together — no matter what inputs are entered by the player.


Upon completing this workshop, you should feel confident using a combination of animation layers in Maya, along with the Time Editor and the Time Warp, to achieve a three-hit combo in Maya with the goal of achieving AAA game quality.


Duration: 6h 33m

Format: HD 1920x1080

Brandon Yates

Lead Animator at Omeda Studios

Brandon Yates is a Lead Animator at Predecessor with nine years of experience in gameplay and cinematic animation. A 2014 graduate with a Bachelor's in Computer Science, he combines technical expertise with creative performance to bring characters and worlds to life in interactive experiences.


Brandon's credits span major video game titles, including Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Days Gone, Just Cause 4, Rogue Company, and Redfall. His work emphasizes fluid, dynamic animation that enhances gameplay, storytelling, and player immersion.

  • BBB! His work is AAA, but BBB stands for Best Buddy Brandon! I absolutely love working with Brandon at Riot Games. He’s an incredibly talented animator and a natural mentor.

    - Kelly Huffine
    Producer at Riot Games

  • Brandon is a unicorn! A rare breed who combines extraordinary artistic talent with impressive technical skill. Beyond his abilities, he’s generous, collaborative, and endlessly curious, making him not just a brilliant creator, but an inspiring teammate everyone loves working with.

    - Dave Hanson
    Senior Character Animator at Hi-Rez Studios

  • Brandon is an incredibly talented animator with an aptitude for mentoring. I was just starting my career when we worked together, and I learned so much every day while sitting across from him. In addition to producing top-quality animation, Brandon used his skills to develop our motion-capture pipeline and create tools that improved our team’s efficiency. He is always glad to help his teammates with creative and technical challenges; although we are different companies, we still share tips.

    - James Blackmer
    Narrative Gameplay Animator at That's No Moon