Animate 3D: Custom Characters FAQ
Animate 3D allows you to upload a custom 3D character directly to the cloud for you to preview your animations on, then download them retargeted onto your character i
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Animate 3D allows you to upload a custom 3D character directly to the cloud for you to preview your animations on, then download them retargeted onto your character i
Animate 3D allows you to upload a custom 3D character directly to the cloud for you to preview your animations on, then download them retargeted onto your character in an .FBX, .BVH, .GLB or in a ready-to-view .MP4 format.
If you're looking for Face Tracking, please check out our Face Tracking FAQ here.
3D characters come in all shapes and sizes. To have a successful output, you need the following:
We have partnered with Wolf3D, enabling the creation of custom avatars directly within Animate 3D. Using the Ready Player Me avatar generator, you can create your own character, which then gets saved directly to your account, ready for animation! Check out our walkthrough for how to use this feature.
Check out these other 3D model websites to find additional characters to use with your animations:
Being able to upload a custom character enables you to assign your animation to a character of your choice. “Retargeting” refers to assigning the joints of the animation to the joints of your character.
Game engines like Unity and Unreal have their own auto-mapping algorithms to help the process of retargeting. However, software like Blender doesn’t have an easy way to do this. If the result has already been retargeted to the custom character, the animation can be directly used on the character, in 3D software. This saves time for both situations.
Additionally, if you’re interested in just the .MP4 video output, this enables you to have characters of your choosing without needing to download the animation files and edit them.
NOTE: The below settings are for advanced users who want to edit or create their own character rigs.
If the humanoid model you’re using is not rigged correctly for Animate 3D, you will typically get a detailed error telling you what the specific issue is that needs to be fixed.
Below is a detailed description of the proper rig setup that works best with Animate 3D:
General
The cleaner the file, the better. It is better to include only the needed character mesh and rigging information in the uploaded .FBX or .GLB file, without extra information such as animations and environment models.
Character
Pose
Joint Names
Rotation Order
Joint Scale
Size
Rig Hierarchy
NOTE: The model should include all the required joints in the following hierarchy, not necessarily the same name.
E.g. the following may generate the wrong result
E.g. the following should work fine