Haruki Title Sequence (2025)
This animation was created for an Unreal Engine animation challenge by Bad Decisions Studio.
Software used: Unreal Engine, After Effects, Illustrator
I’m always looking to expand my toolset and grow as an artist and I believe taking part in online challenges is a great way to do that. The challenge was to create a title sequence using the supplied assets which were based on 12th century Japan. You could also use any other assets you like, as long as they fit the feel of the story.
The deadline was roughly four weeks, which with work and family commitments was a little challenging, so I concentrated on creating a tight storyboard, telling the story of two brothers fighting for power.
I used a mixture of supplied models and assets from the FAB market place. As the deadline was pretty tight I used mocap data for the character animation and hand animated the camera moves to try and get consistency from shot to shot.
As there was no budget for a custom music track, I used Suno, an AI tool, as I wanted the lyrics to reference the two main characters from the story and have Japanese lyrics to add to the authenticity. The music came out a little cheesy, but it had the drama I was after, fit the mood well, and had some nice crescendos to edit to.
I was honoured to come joint first place in the competition, which was a great surprise and has given me the confidence and motivation to continue my learning of Unreal Engine.
I learned a lot from this challenge and would encourage anyone to give online animation competitions a go as I think they’re a great way to learn new skills and connect with the animation community.