How to create a hand holding a flashlight?

I’m very new to this program, i mean, I haven’t even got my computer yet, so I haven’t even installed it. But I’ve been looking around watching tutorials so I won’t be completely oblivious to how it works when I get it. So, Im planning on making a horror game, and yes, in going to need a flashlight mechanic. I’ve seen a tutorial on how to make one, yes of was fine, but not quite what I’m looking for. I’m trying to make it so that the hand holding the flashlight is visible on-screen. It has to do with immersion, I think. Or personal preference. Anyways, it would be a great help if you pointed me in the right direction, thanks!

Hey, i would need some information on what you really want to achieve.

Are you asking on how to create a Hand and a Flashlight at all (so the Model/Mesh) or are you asking on how to place it into the scene, so that you can use it?

Or do you talk about a 2D Texture that should be visible on the HUD?

I think I want to create it and place it into the scene, so the player can see it while playing.

Ok, these are 2 different storys.

Creating a model doesn’t take place inside the UE4. You need to use a Model Program for this.

Normaly you split up work, being a coder and having a 3D artist for kinds like this.
But i think making a Flashlight isn’t that hard, but it takes some time to learn how
to make good models.

For the beginning, you can use the free program “Blender” (just google it).
There are a ton of tutorials on youtube for it.

After you made the Model, you need a Graphic program like Photoshop or the free
program “Gimp” to make a texture (to color it).

There are a lot of tutorials covering this, but i tell you again, this takes a shitload of practice time!
Don’t think you can just rush into a this new program, create a flashlight in 5 min and texture it in
another 5 min. Be sure that you need some days to get into that.

For the second part (The placing and using), you could take a placeholder model. Something
different from the flashlight, that you later just change.

You need to open your Skeletal Mesh of your Character and create a socket at his Hand (where the
flashlight should be placed). After that, you need to go to the Character BP and add a Mesh as a child
to the character mesh (your hands i guess) and select the placeholder (or flashlight) model. Than you would
chose the socket you made inside the component options of the lower left side.

You would also need a new animation for your Handmodels.

So you need to model the Hands/Arms in Blender too and animate them, because you want the hand
to actualy grab the flashlight and maybe move a bit up and down to simulate a moving hand while walking.

As you see, this takes time and is not really something todo with UE4 and coding.

Normaly you have a wellpaid 3D artist for that.

Im Having That Problem And there are no tutorials online… i really just want to move on but my flashlight looks like its coming from the guys skull and looks sooo un-realistic… if anyone can help me please do because iv been looking for months and no-one has answered me

Thanks

the animation on the character so when you pick it up it shows the guys holding the flashlight and not look like its beeming out his skull, and when you turn off it disappears and when you turn it on it shows him holding it again… it must look realistic, and look like a person holding a flashlight in real life

Thanks