Vertex Animation Shader
Snappy, Irregular, Mechanical movement. Entirely driven by math.
In this project, I explored animation using vertex shaders in Unreal Engine 5.
Inspired by the Ghost shells from Destiny, my goal was to create movement with character and personality while exploring the possibilities and limitations of vertex animations.
Vertex Colors
The model is a single static mesh, with different parts moving independently. This was made possible by using Vertex Colors to mask out specific parts of the mesh.
Workflow
To achieve the desired movement, I experimented with mathematical functions in a debug material. It helped a lot to visualize the function as a color gradient ranging from black to white on a plane.
Reveal VFX
The dissolve effect is using the local Z position, a vertical UV gradient (V component), and a smoothstep function to create an edge mask for emission.
The Electric Surge - VFX is a particle system consisting of a flipbook, a custom mesh with UV distortion, and some spark particles.
If i had more time…
I would look the usability of this shader. As of now, the shader can only be applied to symmetrical objects, and certain parts, such as the 'eye,' need to have their pivot offset for correct rotation. This shader would only be a viable option if it could be applied to multiple different objects or if the game required a swarm of robots.
The robot model is made by Oleksandr Mansarliiskyi.