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# Animation Blueprint
In this section you will find out how to set up the animation blueprint
## Step 1 - Add Virtual Bones
To get the system working, you need to set up the IK system. The idea is simple - hands IK targes are parented to the WeaponPivot bone, which is modified by the recoil. As a result, arms will be animated.
The bone hierarchy is the following:
* **VB WeaponPivot -> targets head bone**
* **VB hand\_r -> targets right hand**
* **VB hand\_l -> targets left hand**
{% hint style="danger" %}
**Tip:** make sure that the head/neck bone is **not** scaled! This might happen when you "hide" the head mesh by using the *SkeletalMeshComponent* function **HideBoneByName** - it will reduce the scale of the bone, which will lead to incorrect results!
**Solution A:** parent the VB WeaponPivot and its children to the root bone.
**Solution B:** if you need to hide the head bone, try using an invisible material for it.
{% endhint %}
## Step 2 - Retarget Bones
Add these nodes at the end of your animation blueprint:
**Node settings:**
Example
For **VB WeaponPivot** select the *hand\_r* as a **Source bone**, we will fix it later so it's aligned with the weapon's physical pivot.
## Step 3 - Add Recoil Node
Now you need to add the RecoilAnimation node after the retargeting nodes:
This node will automatically apply recoil
**Node settings:**
* **Bone to Modify** - bone to be modified by recoil.
* **Axes Order** - defines how recoil axes will be applied. By default, the recoil uses XYZ order.
* **Translation/Rotation Scale** - multipliers for each rotation/translation axis.
* **Translation/Rotation Space** - similar to Transform Modify Bone.
* **Translation/Rotation** - recoil values. Only used when *Use Auto Update* is **false**.
Select the *VB WeaponPivot*, *Component Space*, and *YXZ* order.
Why YXZ order?
If you use Epic Skeleton, then in Component Space Y is the forward, X is the right, and Z is the up axis - this is different from the standard XYZ order, so recoil won't be applied correctly.
## Step 4 - Add IK Nodes
For IK you can use FABRIK or Two Bone IK nodes - there's no a big difference. Let's use Two Bone IK in this example:
Add these nodes after the Recoil node
Select **hand\_r** as an IKBone, and **VB hand\_r** as an Effector Target:
IK node settings
At this point the animation setup is complete - now it's time to find out more about curves and how recoil works.
