Using Mixamo for Rigging

There are many ways to rig your character depending on which application you are using. The quickest way is to use Mixamo, with a very fast system to rig a character that may be less accurate. It is possible to improve the rig and skinning in your 3D application.

An alternative to Mixamo, that allows for more accurate joint positions but takes a little longer to do, is Accurig by Reallusion.

You can use any system that best suits the Unity Humanoid Avatar system.

Rigging in Mixamo

  • Go to the Mixamo website here.

  • Use the Upload Character button on the right. If your .fbx does not work, it may work better using a .obj instead.

  • Select Next

  • Position the key points on your avatar as needed. The points will include the following :

    • Chin

    • Wrists

    • Elbows

    • Knees

    • Groin

    Note how in this model the points were on the knees and not the coat, otherwise the position would be incorrect

  • You can turn symmetry on/off as needed at the bottom

  • Once done, use the Next button at the bottom for processing (which will take a minute or two)

  • Your can see the results before you select the Next button once again

  • You can test other animations in the Mixamo library, this can give you a good idea of if you need to do any cleaning up in your 3D application

  • If you are happy with your avatar you can download the result at the top right Download button

  • Make sure to remove any animations that you tested with before exporting the file as this will export the animation, not the avatar itself.

  • When exporting, select .FBX for Unity. Selecting T-Pose on Download is optional, if you plan on importing the avatar directly into Unity after this, then a T-Pose is recommended. Otherwise the original pose may be better for further refinment in your 3D asset creation tool.

Now that you have a rigged avatar you can either import this directly into Unity, or clean it up further in your 3D application of choice.

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