Animating Stylized Attacks in Maya

Designing Actions for Games & Cinematics with Brad Faucheux

Learn how to animate attacks in this action-packed animation workshop for intermediate to advanced artists looking to master the craft of stylized fighting game animation using Maya.

Whether you’re creating animation for games or cinematics, this 5-hour workshop by Senior Cinematic Animator Brad Faucheux explains the tools and techniques required to develop fast, readable, and powerful attacks, from the ground up. 

Artists will learn how to animate a complete combat sequence, from idle stance to final impact, using Maya’s Graph Editor, Motion Trails, and Animation Layers. Key skills covered include crafting strong key poses, controlling timing with anticipation and recovery, breaking down startup/active/recovery frames, and using offset keys and smears to enhance impact.

This comprehensive workshop focuses on industry-relevant techniques such as hitstop simulation, spacing for clarity in gameplay, and animation strategies pulled directly from professional fight game pipelines. Artists will also get helpful tips for animating with frame data in mind, balancing visual clarity with gameplay responsiveness.

By completing this workshop, artists will have completed a polished attack animation sequence built for speed, force, and style, and possess the knowledge to design their own combat systems with confidence.

This workshop utilizes the Epic Pen tool, the Xrig by Ahmed Shalaby, and the Maya ViewPort VFX Pack V1.1 by Shadrak Guichard-Foster.