Advanced Modeling and Animation / Assignment 2

Advanced Modeling and Animation /Assignment 2: Animate Models & Create Interactive Shaders
20.10.2025 - 12.112025 / Week 5- Week 8
GeXianjing / 0377636
Advanced Modeling and Animation  / Bachelor of Interactive Spatial Design (Honours)

Assignment 2

 

 

Learning Log: Animation & Blueprint Interaction

This week, we started working on Assignment 2 for the Advanced Modelling & Animation module.
Unlike the previous task, which focused more on modelling, this assignment requires us to make our theme-park ride move. The main goal is to use Blueprint, Timeline, or Level Sequence in Unreal Engine to create animations, and to design interactive shader effects such as glowing lights, colour transitions, and energy-flow textures. In the end, we need to record a gameplay video that shows both the animation and the visual effects working together.

Overall, this assignment is more about bringing life into the models and the scene, rather than just displaying a static object.

 My Direction and Why I Changed My Plan

At first, I wanted to continue using the two models I created in Assignment 1 (the rocket ride and the UFO ride).
But during the process, I realised a major issue:

Both of my old models were rigged with bones, and breaking them apart for animation would be extremely troublesome and time-consuming.

Instead of spending a lot of time unbinding, resetting pivots, or rebuilding the structure, I decided to take a new approach:

✅ Create a brand-new model with clearer parts, designed specifically for animation
✅ Ensure the structure works well with Blueprint interactions and Timeline animations

By starting fresh, I can freely control:

• which parts rotate,

• which parts move up or down,

• which lights turn on during animation,

• and which materials need special effects.

This gives me more flexibility and avoids limitations from the previous design.

Ferris wheel

rotating axis

 Why I Want to Redesign the Ground

I also plan to redesign the ground of my scene. There are two main reasons:

1. The previous ground was too plain.
   It was just a flat surface and didn’t match the futuristic theme of the assignment.

2. The ground is important for Shader effects.
   Since this assignment requires interactive or dynamic materials, having a ground with glowing paths, reflective surfaces, or energy patterns will make the whole scene look more futuristic and complete.

So I want to build a new ground design that includes:

• sci-fi line patterns

• glowing textures

• segment divisions

PS draft: Base Bubble Ball

• geometric cuts and shapes

PS draft: Ground lines

This will make the environment look more immersive and better support the theme.

My Blueprint Concept and Objective

My main idea for this project was to use Blueprint events to create a responsive lighting effect.
When the player approaches the device, the object’s material brightness (emission intensity) increases, and when the player leaves, it smoothly fades back to normal.

This design simulates an energy system that “activates” when someone interacts with it — a subtle but powerful way to express a futuristic atmosphere.

---

🔧 Implementation on the First Interactive Device

For the first interactive device, I created a Blueprint Actor with a Box Collision area that detects when the player enters or exits the zone.

When the player overlaps the area, the Blueprint triggers a material parameter change using Set Scalar Parameter Value on Materials.
This node directly adjusts the brightness value of the material’s emission parameter — set to 100 when activated, and 0 when deactivated.

BluePrint

To make the effect feel more natural, I connected the event to a Timeline node, allowing the brightness transition to gradually change instead of switching instantly.
The Lerp (Linear Interpolation) node blends values from 0 → 100 or 100 → 0, producing a soft fade-in and fade-out lighting response that feels more organic and immersive.

Preliminary animation

Add texture 1.1

Add texture 1.2

---

🎞️ Dynamic Control and Smooth Animation

The Timeline control adds rhythm and motion to the visual feedback.
Instead of a static reaction, the light now follows a short animation curve — slowly brightening as the player approaches, and fading when they walk away.
This approach aligns with the assignment’s requirement for smooth animation and visual appeal, giving the interaction a more “living” feel.

combination

Fill Color

adds rhythm

---

🧠 Exploring Extra Components

I also explored Unreal Engine’s built-in Rotating Movement Component, which can continuously rotate an object at a fixed speed.
By reading through the RotatingMovementComponent.h file in C++, I learned how Unreal controls rotation speed, pivot offset, and rotation axis.
In my next step, I plan to combine this rotation system with my Blueprint lighting logic — so that when the device lights up, it also starts rotating, creating a stronger sense of activation and energy.

file in C++

 Adjusting Sky Light and Atmosphere

After setting up the Blueprint interaction, I moved on to adjust the lighting and atmosphere of my scene.
Lighting plays a huge role in how the interactive device feels, especially when dealing with glowing or emissive materials.

lighting and atmosphere

Third person

Animation demo

After the first presentation, my lecturer praised the design of my rotating axis and suggested extending the animation duration.
He also encouraged me to go beyond simple vertical or horizontal movement by introducing a wave-like motion to create more rhythm and flow.

Based on his feedback, I decided to lengthen the overall timeline and add a phase-shifted wave pattern to the animation:
as the central axis rotates, the outer components rise and fall one after another, forming a continuous “energy wave” effect.
At the same time, the lighting and emissive materials will pulse in sync with the wave, making the entire installation feel more dynamic, futuristic, and alive.

下面是一段已经整理成 英文博客格式、语气自然流畅的内容，完整说明：

1. 你在合并关卡时出现材质丢失；

2. 为什么会发生材质丢失；

3. 作业一模型传输可能造成的问题；

4. 你如何改进场景、并加入霓虹隧道与可动箭头灯光。

可直接放进博客：

---

🔧 Fixing Material Loss & Expanding the Scene Design

While I was improving the animation based on my lecturer’s feedback, I also wanted to upgrade the overall environment of my project.
I planned to redesign the ground material and make the sky darker to match the futuristic atmosphere. However, when I combined two levels together, I suddenly discovered a new issue:

❗ Material Loss After Merging the Levels

After merging the scenes, many of my models appeared completely gray, and several materials were missing.

This usually happens in Unreal Engine for a few reasons:

✔ 1. The merged level cannot find the original file path

If a model references a material from a different folder or another project, merging levels may break the link.
UE doesn’t automatically copy all materials into the new level — it only references them.
Once the file path changes, the reference becomes invalid.

✔ 2. Materials were not migrated properly

If the assets were copied manually in Windows Explorer, instead of using Unreal’s Migrate function,
then UE does not bring over the necessary dependencies such as textures, instances, and parent materials.
This often causes missing materials after moving or merging a project.

✔ 3. Issues from Assignment 1 models

My two models from Assignment 1 might have been affected for the same reason.
I previously copied the files directly from the Unreal project folder, which can cause some materials to lose connections if the source project used a different folder structure.
So when they appear in the new project, UE cannot locate the correct materials anymore.

---

✨ Adding the Neon Tunnel & Moving Arrow Lights

While solving the material problem, I also continued expanding the environment.
To enrich the scene visually, I added a neon-lit tunnel with glowing lines along the edges.
The tunnel creates a sense of depth and movement, especially when the player walks through it.

I also added movable arrow lights on both sides of the entrance.
These neon arrows animate continuously, guiding the player forward and enhancing the futuristic theme of the space.
With the improved lighting and the darker sky atmosphere, the whole environment now feels more immersive and energetic.

Neon Tunnel

BluePrint

🎮 Final Gameplay Experience

In the final demonstration video, the full interaction can be seen:

• When the player enters the trigger zone, the device lights up and activates

• The central rotating axis and mechanical arms move with a wave-like rhythm

• Lights and emissive materials pulse in sync with the animation

• The neon tunnel and arrow lights enhance the futuristic atmosphere

• The lighting and sky settings were darkened so the glowing effects stand out

The installation transitions smoothly from idle → activation → full operation,
creating a complete sci-fi interactive experience.

 Reflection

Even though I faced many unexpected problems (especially missing materials, broken references, and level merging issues),
this assignment helped me truly understand how Unreal manages assets, materials, blueprints, and animation logic.

The final wave-motion + breathing-light effect became my favourite part of the project.
It made the device feel alive, as if it awakened when the player approached.

Overall, I also discovered that I enjoy scene lighting, emissive materials, and atmosphere design.
I want to continue exploring dynamic lights and interactive effects in future projects
to make my environments even more immersive.