> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kinemation.xyz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 🧍‍♂️Character > This section explains how the character is animated. ## How it's animated All animations target the **UE5 Mannequin** skeleton and rely on Epic’s IK bone set:

* **ik\_hand\_gun** drives weapon movement.. * **ik\_hand\_r** contains right‑hand animation data. * **ik\_hand\_l** contains left‑hand animation data. The setup also uses **Virtual Bones (VBs)** for procedural animation:

* **VB ik\_hand\_gun** (targets **ik\_hand\_gun**): Used to position the pistol during quick draw so the **sidearm** is correctly placed relative to the **right hand**. * **VB ik\_hand\_gun\_pivot** (targets **ik\_hand\_gun**): All weapons are attached to this bone. * **VB hand\_r/l** (targets **hand\_r/l**): IK targets for the right/left hand. * **VB lowerarm\_r/l** (targets **lowerarm\_r/l**): Hint/pole targets for the right/left arm. * **VB recoil\_hand\_r** (targets **root**): Preserves right‑hand recoil when holding a pistol one‑handed. * **VB ik\_hand\_gun\_pose** (targets **root**): Used to compute the aiming pose. **Tip**: Weapons are not parented to the right hand; they attach to **VB ik\_hand\_gun\_pivot**. This bone is blended in the Animation Blueprints so the final pose looks correct. ## Animation Blueprints The pack uses modular **Animation Blueprints**:

### ABP\_TacticalShooter\_UE5 This is the main Animation Blueprint; it incorporates the other animation assets. Here’s how it works: #### Base character pose

The base combines a static idle **Anim Sequence** with the main **Anim Montage** (**DefaultSlot**). #### Curve-based animations

General movement (idle, walk, sprint, jump) is curve‑driven and procedural, applied primarily via **Apply Additive** nodes. The **Grounded** and **InAir** states provide animation curves such as: * **IK\_X**/**Y**/**Z**: position. * **IK\_Pitch**/**Yaw**/**Roll**: rotation. * **Camera Pitch**/**Yaw**/**Roll**: camera animation. These curves are layered on top of the base pose. Finally, we blend **curve values** (not poses) using a helper bone:

**VB Curves** is a dummy bone used solely to blend curve values - not to animate a pose. #### Pistol quick draw This layer applies quick‑draw and holster animations additively on top of the character pose:

Computes an additive pose per weapon, letting a single animation work across different poses. **Tip**: Originally authored for **TR15**, but reused across weapons via this layer.Left hand actions Apply left‑hand actions (e.g., take an item, push a door):

#### Finger firing motion Animate the right index finger while firing:

A float smoothly interpolates to **1** while firing to rotate the finger, then returns to **0** afterward. ### ABP\_IK\_Pose Positions the weapon and hands before the main procedural pass. It works in stages: #### VB ik\_hand\_gun\_r First, override **VB ik\_hand\_gun\_r** with the base idle pose when quick‑draw is enabled:

This is important for positioning the pistol properly. #### Copying the animation data Copy the animation data from real bones to VBs. This lets us apply IK additively instead of **overriding** and breaking the pose:

Then override **VB hand\_r** and **VB hand\_l** with the current grip pose:

By default, all weapons attach the left hand to the gun. You can smoothly disable this via a curve - for example, many animations **do this** to let the left hand move freely:

#### Offsets Finally, apply **FTransform** offsets to all IK bones. ### ABP\_IK\_Ads Applies procedural aiming in two steps: 1. Snap the weapon to the camera socket. 2. Apply the **Aim Point** local transform. Note: The **FPCamera** socket is attached to **neck\_02**:

### ABP\_IK\_Sway Applies aiming and movement sway to **VB ik\_hand\_gun**. Sway is computed in **AC\_TacticalShooterAnimation**; this layer simply **retrieves** the **FTransform** and applies it to the bone:

### ABP\_IK\_Main The final Animation Blueprint, responsible for: 1. Recoil 2. IK Motions 3. Leaning and Aim Offset 4. IK 5. Hiding the head bone #### Recoil

Recoil animation values are **retrieved** from the **Recoil Animation** component and applied via **Transform (Modify) Bone**. We preserve the right‑hand pose before applying recoil (needed for pistol quick draw). #### IK Motions

IK Motions are applied similarly to recoil. Motions include aiming and fire‑mode transitions ("boop"/"jiggle" animations). #### Leaning Leaning distributes the angle evenly across spine bones:

#### Curve-based animations Movement (idle, walk, sprint, jumping) is applied directly to **VB ik\_hand\_gun**:

Curve values (**IK\_X/Y/Z**, **IK\_Pitch/Yaw/Roll**) are **retrieved** here and plugged into the respective translation and rotation axes. #### Aim Offset Like leaning, **Pitch** is applied across spine bones to make the character look up and down:

#### IK and head bone Finally, **Two‑Bone IK** nodes apply IK using **VB hand\_r** and **VB hand\_l** as targets. We also scale the head bone to zero if `HideHeadMesh` is **true**: