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How to Retarget Motion Capture in MotionBuilder
Autodesk AREA tutorial on MotionBuilder character retargeting, covering characterization, merging source and target skeletons, IK Blend settings, fixing retargeting errors, and baking animation to a character.
Abstract
This Autodesk tutorial walks through retargeting motion capture onto a target character in MotionBuilder. It covers loading a source mocap character, putting it in a T-stance, adding namespaces to avoid naming conflicts, and file-merging the target character before connecting them via input type and activating the characterization. The workflow demonstrates creating a reusable mapping file, importing mocap into a selected hierarchy, and fixing common errors such as drooping shoulders, feet below the floor, and stride mismatches using F-curve edits, retargeting offsets and the match source option. It closes with tuning reach IK, lower-back and realistic shoulder solving for crawling poses, then plotting the animation to either the skeleton or the control rig for export or further editing.
How to read this
- Category
- Production talk / tool tutorial (MotionBuilder retargeting workflow)
- Contributions
- Walks through characterizing a source mocap skeleton and a target character, then connecting them via input type and an active characterization
- Shows practical fixes for common retargeting errors (drooping shoulders, feet below floor, stride mismatch) using F-curve edits, offsets and match-source
- Covers tuning reach IK, lower-back and shoulder solving, then plotting to skeleton or control rig for export
- Context
- A hands-on MotionBuilder application of the classic motion-retargeting problem framed by Gleicher's 'Retargeting Motion to New Characters' (1998), here realized through Autodesk's characterization and IK-blend pipeline.Builds on: Retargeting Motion to New Characters
- Correctness
- Vendor tutorial, not peer-reviewed; the workflow is production-proven inside MotionBuilder but assumes a clean T-stance, consistent characterization and tool-specific solver behavior, so results depend on careful per-rig setup rather than a general guarantee.
- Clarity
- Accessible and step-driven; a single watch-through conveys the workflow, with replays useful only when reproducing a specific fix.
- How to read it
- Treat it as a recipe: follow along in MotionBuilder while characterizing and merging, then revisit the error-fixing and IK-tuning sections only when your own retarget shows that exact artifact.
Builds on
Related work
- MotionBuilder: Essentials Characterization, Retargeting and Baking Animations 2022 / MotionBuilder
- Autodesk MotionBuilder 2022 2021 / MotionBuilder
- Motion Builder Characterization and Retargeting Tutorial 2022 / MotionBuilder
- Meet MotionMaker: New AI Animation Tool In Maya 2025 / Maya
Keywords
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