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Generate animation with AI using Motion Maker in Maya 2026.1

Autodesk

MayaAutodeskMotion Synthesis

Quick-start guide showing how to use MotionMaker in Maya 2026.1 to transform simple motion paths into smooth, lifelike character locomotion cycles for bipeds and quadrupeds.

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Abstract

This quick-start tutorial walks through MotionMaker in Maya 2026.1, showing how to generate character locomotion from a drawn path instead of extensive keyframing or mocap. The presenter imports a default biped, keys a path locator across the scene at various frames, and clicks Generate Motion to calculate and cache the animation. It then demonstrates editing the path to route around obstacles using the AutoSpeedRamp function, walking up a hill by raising final frames, and adding a jump via right-click action tags on the movement bar. The final section retargets the generated motion onto a HumanIK MayaBot character through the Character Control tab using the MoMo Standard Biped as the source.

How to read this

Category
Production talk / tool quick-start (MotionMaker in Maya 2026.1)
Contributions
  • Demonstrates generating biped and quadruped locomotion from a drawn path locator instead of extensive keyframing or mocap, via Generate Motion and caching.
  • Shows editing the path to route around obstacles using AutoSpeedRamp, walking up a hill by raising final frames, and adding a jump through right-click action tags.
  • Retargets the generated motion onto a HumanIK MayaBot using the MoMo Standard Biped as source via the Character Control tab.
Context
A hands-on companion to the MotionMaker introduction (Meet MotionMaker), grounding Maya's AI locomotion feature in concrete UI steps.Builds on: Meet MotionMaker: New AI Animation Tool In Maya
Correctness
Vendor tutorial, not peer-reviewed; the workflow is product-demonstrated on default rigs, so a reader should treat the smooth results as curated demos and expect to validate behavior on their own characters and edge cases.
Clarity
Very accessible; a single watch-through conveys the workflow since it is step-by-step UI guidance.
How to read it
Follow it as a click-along while in Maya; focus on the path keying, action tags and the retargeting tab, and revisit only the retargeting section if applying to custom rigs.

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Keywords

motionmakermaya 2026.1machine learningmotion pathpath locatorgenerate motionbipedretargetinghumanikaction tagsjumpautospeedrampcharacter controlmayabotmotion trailkeyframing

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