We want to welcome you to the first installment in a three-part series of blog posts with the Animation Leadership Team at Dambuster Studios.

Animation in game development has many facets: from performance capture through to technical animation, it’s a discipline made up of many different skills, specialisms, and personalities.

This series will introduce you to three members of the Animation Leadership Team. It will give you an insight into their chosen specialisms, an understanding of their days and weeks at Dambuster, and some of the reasons behind why they entered their field.

In this first post, we’ll be speaking to Daniele.

An Introduction from Daniele Cattaneo

Hi everyone, I’m Daniele Cattaneo, Lead Technical Animator for Dambuster Studios.

I joined Dambuster in 2016, just after the release of Homefront: The Revolution. Previously, I worked in Italy for Milestone, producing a few racing games.

I’m an avid gamer, especially RPGs and strategy games, and I also love watching movies and TV series!

What Does a Technical Animator Do?

At Dambuster, the role of technical animator includes many aspects of the character and animation pipelines, but the main ones are rigging, tools scripting, animation systems, cloth, and ragdoll physics.

Rigging is the process that allows character (and object) models to become moveable. We add bones and muscles and then a way to control them simply, so that animators can do their work! This includes faces as well.

Tools scripting allows us to automate and simplify all the processes that are required to bring characters from external tools (Maya, for example) to the game. We use scripting languages like Python and C++ to do that. Once the animations are in the game engine, the animation systems are required to connect those to the player input so that the character can move, attack, be in cutscenes, and much more when the buttons are pressed.

And finally, the cloth and ragdoll physics are all the settings that animate skirts, jackets, as well as dead zombie bodies, when the player impacts these or simply when the characters are moving around the world!

What Does a Typical Day/Week Look Like for You?

I typically spend most of my mornings catching up with my team, checking progress on tasks, and ensuring everyone’s good. We make sure to resolve any blockers and address any pending topics. Once that’s all set, I move to hands-on tasks or planning, covering any extra work that didn’t get assigned or making sure we have a schedule ready for each team member.

What Motivated You to Pursue a Career in Animation and Ultimately Lead a Team in the Games Industry?

I grew up playing games. When I was 14, I sent an email to Blizzard Entertainment just to compliment them about one fantastic game they released back then, Warcraft 3.

In the email, I promised I would be part of the team that would work on Warcraft 4.

A few years later, I started my path as a generalist, but I was clearly better with technical aspects than artistic ones, so I started working on animation rigs and tools to help my team cover those areas.

Becoming a lead was a natural step for me, as I always had a tendency of guiding and coordinating the team’s work.

[a "runner" archetype zombie model within Autodesk Maya, the animation software used by the team at Dambuster Studios]

What Qualities Do You Believe Are Essential to Be a Successful Leader in Your Role?

Vision, trust, humbleness.

Vision and knowledge are key to keeping ahead of the curve. Tech moves fast, and as a Lead Technical Animator, it is extremely important to keep an eye on how the industry is evolving and filter what fits your team and game.

Trust is essential, and with that, I mean trusting your team. Identify their strengths and encourage them to experiment, even if that means them making mistakes. Guide them through the stages of their learning, as it’s easy to get into rabbit holes, but leaving freedom of movement will help them grow.

Being humble is the most precious quality. As a lead, you are required to guide your team on a daily basis, but sometimes you may make the wrong decision or simply feel you don’t possess the necessary knowledge to make a decision.

Hiding or refusing to acknowledge that is the worst thing you can do. Be open with your team, admit your mistakes, or ask for their point of view. This is going to help both you and your team grow.

How Do You Collaborate with Other Departments to Ensure a Cohesive and Immersive Player Experience?

The Technical Animator role involves working on plenty of technologies that are co-developed with other departments.

When working on a new feature, we create sprint teams where Code, Design, Art, and Animation representatives have weekly goals and work together daily to achieve the desired results. Cooperation and communication are the key aspects of this process!

How Do You Keep Your Team Motivated?

Every person is different, and every person finds motivation in different ways. Some may want to frequently test their skills with new topics and become a jack of all trades. Others can express the will to fully focus on a single area, seeking additional knowledge and training to become an expert.

Almost all of them, though, desire ownership and recognition. If you are doing a good job, you deserve to be put on a path to grow, excel, and become a reference for everyone.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Role?

I love the dynamism of the game industry. You are presented with challenges that, thanks to a team of people, can be achieved and become a reference for the rest of the medium. Seeing the creativity and effort my team puts into every new task makes me feel proud of what we have built.

Fancy Joining Us?

We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about the life of a Lead Technical Animator at Dambuster Studios.

We’re always on the lookout for talented people to join us. If you are searching for a fresh challenge in the games industry, we have a number of open roles available on our website, take a look here.

Be sure to keep your eye on the blog section of our website for the next two installments in this series, where we’ll speak to Lead Gameplay Animator, Stuart Owen and Performance Capture Lead, Rich Holleworth.