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r/vibecoding • … • u/StrawberryCyclist

Can I "vibe code" or AI-generate FBX character animations for UE5? (Football/Combat moves)

Hey everyone, I’m working on a UE5 project that blends combat with American football mechanics - stuff like jukes, spin moves, and head-first with extended arms diving.

Creating the actual animation assets is turning into a huge brick wall for me. I was quoted around $250 to $500 *per animation* by freelancers, and since I need at least 10 moves just to get an MVP off the ground, dropping $2.5k–$5k out of pocket isn't an option right now. Retargeting the moves to my character skeleton is significantly cheaper to just outsource, so I'm not as worried about that part. I'm really hoping to find an AI workflow to handle generating or prototyping the raw FBX motion data.

Has anyone had success using video-to-motion or prompt-to-animation AI tools (like DeepMotion, Plask, Move AI, etc.) for crisp UE5 character moves? Or is anyone using LLMs/"vibe coding" to drive procedural stuff or Control Rig directly in Engine?

If AI generation isn't quite there yet for hyper-specific athletic moves like a diving tackle, I’d love to hear what budget-friendly alternatives you guys recommend to get an MVP playable. Appreciate any insight!

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