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Lesson 369 of 8805. Animation and Character RiggingFree lesson

Creating and Configuring Animation Montages

Learn to assemble individual animation sequences into a montage to enable complex, layered actions within your character's animation system.

In this lesson, you will learn how to transition from individual animation sequences to high-level character actions using the Animation Montage system.

What is an Animation Montage?

While standard animation sequences are linear clips, an Animation Montage acts as a container that allows you to play, blend, and interrupt animations dynamically. Think of it as a "playlist" for your character. Instead of just playing a "Punch" animation, a montage allows you to define "Sections" (like a combo system) and "Montage Slots," which tell the engine exactly which part of your Animation Blueprint should play the action.

Creating a Montage

  1. Right-click your Animation Sequence in the Content Browser and select Create > Create Anim Montage.
  2. Open the asset. You will see the Montage Track. You can drag additional sequences into this track to chain them together.
  3. Use Sections to name parts of your montage (e.g., "Start," "Loop," "End"). This allows you to trigger specific parts of a long animation via code or Blueprints.

Configuring Slots

To actually see the montage on your character, you must define a Slot in your Animation Blueprint. Within the AnimGraph, add a Slot 'DefaultSlot' node before your Output Pose. This acts as a "filter" that tells Unreal: "When a montage plays, override the current movement animations with this montage's data."

When you trigger the montage in your character's logic, you use the Play Anim Montage node:

// Example: Triggering a montage from C++
PlayAnimMontage(MyAttackMontage, 1.0f, NAME_None);

Why use Montages?

The true power of the Montage system is Layering. Because you designate a Slot in your AnimGraph, you can configure the montage to only affect the upper body while the lower body continues to use your procedural IK logic (like the ground alignment we set up previously). By using Branch Filters in the Montage settings, you can ensure your character can walk or run while performing a separate hand-based interaction, keeping your procedural and sequence-based animations perfectly synced.

Key Takeaway: Animation Montages allow you to override specific skeletal bones or entire bodies with complex action sequences while remaining compatible with your existing procedural IK and locomotion systems.