I’m learning 3D animation and would like to make Dota-style scenes, but the game’s assets and animation tools have been hard to move into familiar software. Are there active animators or useful learning resources for this kind of work?
The tricky part may be less about animation itself and more about the tools and asset pipeline. If animation data or character parts break when moved into Blender, I’d avoid trying to rebuild the whole setup there at the start. Test a very small scene in the software the assets were made for, and only export pieces when you have a specific reason to.
For learning, gather the available Valve developer material and older tutorials, but treat older examples as guidance on concepts rather than a guaranteed match for current tools. A short test shot can reveal where your particular workflow fails before you invest time in a full cinematic.
Hard to say how many people are still doing this, but it’s worth asking for current workflows rather than just asking who’s around. Mention which tool versions you’re using and what breaks during export. Old tutorials can still explain the basics, but the steps may not line up with the tools you have now.
And if the goal includes a design career, keep making general animation and lighting work too. That gives you useful pieces for a portfolio even while the Dota-specific pipeline is still a puzzle.
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That makes sense. I’m going to focus on a tiny scene first instead of trying to transfer a whole character and animation at once.