Character Animation is a specialized area of the animation process, which involves bringing animated characters to life. In terms of its usage in Red vs. Blue, Rooster Teeth animators utilize animation programs such as Poser, Autodesk Maya, and the Unreal Engine in order to computer animate various characters in the series, separate from the Halo game engine's already pre-rendered animation elements. Originally using Poser, the first instance of animation within Red vs. Blue was in Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction, where the first episode of the season features slight character animation in the opening scene. During Revelation, Rooster Teeth began using Poser more extensively, with a majority of it being carried out entirely by Monty Oum. During the latter half of Season 9, a small team of animators joined Rooster Teeth, assisting Monty.
In Season 10, Rooster Teeth gained a full team of animators, and after Season 10, Monty Oum and the season's other animators went on to work full-time on RWBY, causing Season 11 to go back to traditional machinima animation. However, for Season 12, Chris Dike was hired as the new lead animator for the series, using the animation program Maya. Additional animators were hired afterward to continue work on following RvB productions.
For Red vs. Blue: Zero onward, the Unreal Engine was chosen as the primary animation software. However, in Red vs. Blue: Restoration, animation returned to Maya, with the Unreal Engine being used for adjustments within the animation [1].
Red vs. Blue seasons utilizing original character animation[]
Poser[]
- Revelation
- Season 9
- Season 10
- PSAs (Various)
Maya[]
- Season 9
- Season 10
- Season 12
- Season 13
- Season 14
- Season 15
- The Shisno Paradox
- Singularity
- Restoration
- PSAs (Various)