3D Animation using Unity Timeline by Pete Jepson

Forget overnight renders. In this course you build a full fantasy scene in Unity and animate a 30-second Knight vs Troll fight using Unity Timeline — no code, just cameras, clips, and timing — then export it as a shareable video.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Animate like a professional
• Master the Unity Timeline
• Create realistic looking scenes for your animations
• Add post processing effects to give your animations a AAA quality feel
• Save out your animations as video files
• Learn how to create 3D animations in Unity without using coding

✅ Requirements

• Skills: No prior experience required, basic understanding of keyframing and tweening is helpful
• Tools: Free version of Unity 2018, free characters and props from the Unity Asset Store
• Hardware: PC or Mac capable of running Unity 2018, DirectX 11 compatible graphics card, at least 1GB free disk space

📝 Description

Here is the idea: you skip traditional offline rendering and make animation in real time. You use Unity, Unity Timeline and free store assets to stage, light, and cut everything right in the editor.

First you build the world. Cliffs, terrain, sea, grass, trees, and small details. Then you bring in the Knight and Troll, tweak them, set up spot lights, and preview their animation clips. It is practical set dressing, not theory.

Then comes the fun part. You block out a 30-second fight with Timeline tracks, override clips for individual body parts, and cut between multiple virtual cameras. You will do camera moves, slow-motion hits, weapon clashes, knockbacks, and reaction shots. You check pacing like an editor, fix pops and rotation curves, and add secondary motion so it does not look stiff.

To sell it, you add fog, mist particles, and Post Processing for that AAA look. At the end you add sound effects, balance volume, and use Unity Recorder to export the whole thing as .mp4 or .webm to share online. Same workflow works for animated shorts and game cutscenes.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Complete beginners who want to make 3D animation without coding
• Game devs and hobbyists who want to create animated cutscenes in Unity

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Pete Jepson teaches practical Unity animation focused on getting shots done, not just pushing buttons. His work centers on realtime cinematics and Timeline-based workflows for short films and game cutscenes.

He walks through every step in detail and answers questions in Q&A, so if you get stuck on assets, Timeline, or export, you get help fast.

🏁 Final Result

• A finished 30-second 3D animated short of a Knight vs Troll fight, lit with post-processing and fog, cut with multiple cameras, with sound, exported as a video file ready for portfolio or YouTube.