How To Put Animations On Diferent Skeletons

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Animation Retargeting is a feature that allows animations to exist reused between characters that utilise the same Skeleton asset but may have vastly different proportions. Through retargeting, you can foreclose your animated skeletons from losing their proportions or becoming unnecessarily deformed when using animations from differently shaped characters. With Animation Retargeting it is also possible to share animations between characters that use different Skeleton assets as long as they share a similar Bone Hierarchy and utilize a shared asset called a Rig to pass blitheness data from one Skeleton to the other.

Why Utilize Retargeting?

Suppose you accept multiple characters that you lot would like to share animations between A base character, a brusque stocky graphic symbol, and a tall skinny graphic symbol.

Base Character	Short Stocky Graphic symbol	Tall Skinny Character

Results Before Retargeting

Before retargeting is practical, you can already utilize animations between any Skeletal Meshes that share the same Skeleton asset. Withal, when you accept differing proportions, equally shown above, you can get some unsightly results. Detect how the curt character gets unnecessarily stretched and the tall character gets compacted, both and then that they can fit onto the Base Grapheme's skeletal proportions.

Base Character	Curt Stocky Character	Alpine Skinny Character

Results Afterwards Retargeting

One time retargeting is practical to the characters, the differences in their proportions are taken out of the equation and the animation plays properly on each graphic symbol. You can also go to Testify > Non-Retargeted Animation from the Viewport options and see the difference in the original skeleton (shown in beige) and the current skeleton (white). Detect how on the Base Character, the beige non-retargeted bones perfectly match the skeleton.

Base Character	Short Stocky Character	Tall Skinny Character

How Does Retargeting Work?

Animations are bound to a Skeleton asset. The Skeleton asset is really simply a list of bone names and hierarchy data, but it too stores the initial proportions from the original Skeletal Mesh used to ascertain the Skeleton nugget. This data is stored as os translation data. It is of import to annotation that the retargeting system only retargets the os's translation component. The os's rotation always comes from the animation data.

Because the original Skeletal Mesh is used to define the proportions of the Skeleton asset, any other Skeletal Meshes using that Skeleton asset that have unlike proportions (such as a mesh that is much shorter than the original one) volition require retargeting to work properly. Without it, the Skeletal Meshes of varied proportions would try to use the translation data of the original mesh, leading to the types of errors seen at the outset of this document.

To solve this problem, the Skeleton Tree within the Skeleton Editor offers a few settings to change how translation retargeting between basic is handled. There are 3 different settings for Bone Translation Retargeting:

• Blitheness - Bone Translation comes from the animation data, unchanged.

• Skeleton - Os Translation comes from the Target Skeleton's bind pose.

• AnimationScaled - Bone translation comes from the animation data, just is scaled by the Skeleton's proportions. This is the ratio betwixt the bone length of the Target Skeleton (the skeleton the animation is being played on), and the Source Skeleton (the skeleton the animation was authored for).

Too with Animation Retargeting, there is no significant difference in operation between using retargeted and non-retargeted animations. The benefit of using blitheness retargeting is increasing the number of unique characters without having to create an entirely new set of matching animations which could seriously cut downward on your animation retentivity budget.

Retargeting Animations for Different Skeletons

The procedure in which Blitheness Retargeting is handled for characters that practise non share the aforementioned Skeleton asset involves assigning a special asset called a Rig that processes blitheness data from one Skeleton to another. The Skeleton assets associated with each character communicate with the shared Rig asset to properly pass transform data from a source to its intended target.

The Rig tin can exist assigned within the Skeleton Editor under the Retarget Manager and the same Rig will need to be assigned to both Skeleton assets.

How Are End Effectors Handled With Retargeting?

Do alpine characters run faster, can they still concur the same props - these are questions that may arise when working with retargeting. In brusque, at that place is no automated work happening and it is upwards to the user to determine what they want information technology to do.

Ane method that can exist taken regarding the holding of props is to create a separate chain of bones that follow the easily in the original animation, called "Hand IK Bones". Then retarget the body and artillery, only not the "Hand IK Basic", then they remain identical afterwards retargeting. This will allow y'all to take characters of different proportions manipulating the same props (for instance, reloading a rifle).

Having a separate concatenation of basic allows you to switch smoothly betwixt FK and IK easily when y'all want to (for example, yous would want the Hand IK ON when reloading the weapon, and OFF when reaching for a magazine in a pocket).

The system is very flexible and tin can be customized to fit your needs. Perhaps you merely want the left hand to be IK and the right hand to apply its FK position, but IK rotation. Feet are sometimes handled this mode, sometimes non. When stepping on a very precise prop, you would desire to plow on IK; when y'all are just running effectually, you would want to employ the FK, so yous practise not end upwardly with a bow-legged character (or the opposite).

Setting Up Retargeting

As mentioned above under How Retargeting Works, the first thing you will want to practice is set up the Bone Translation Retargeting mode for the Bones within the Skeleton.

Typically, you will desire to utilise these settings for bipeds:

• Root Bone, IK Bones, weapon bones, and any kind of markers will apply the Animation way.

• The pelvis will utilise AnimationScaled so it sits at the right height and is yet animated.

  • Any other os you desire translation to be blithe and retargeted should also use AnimationScaled.

• All other basic will use Skeleton. They volition use the static translation from the target skeleton.

This means that a fast workflow would be:

1. Correct-click on your root bone and Recursively Set Translation Retargeting Skeleton so all bones are gear up to Skeleton.

2. Detect the Pelvis or equivalent bone and set that to AnimationScaled.

3. Find the Root bone, any IK basic, any weapon bones, or other marker-style bones and set them to utilize Blitheness.

If you are retargeting animations for characters that share the same Skeleton nugget, those animations will at present be affected by animation retargeting. If y'all want to retarget animations for characters that practice not share the aforementioned Skeleton asset, at that place a couple extra steps you will need to take to ensure the animations are properly retargeted. Please see Using Retargeted Animations for more information.

Using the Retarget Director

Another tool you tin apply as part of your Blitheness Retargeting efforts is the Retarget Managing director which allows you to:

• Manage Retarget Source assets - useful for when you have different proportional meshes per skeleton, y'all tin use this setting to signal if a item animation is from a unlike source.

• Gear up Rig - which allows you to retarget animations to different skeletons that use the same rig.

• Manage Retarget Base Pose - which is used when retargeting assets to a different skeleton and allows you lot to modify the base pose of the target and then it lines up with the source's base pose and provides a more accurate retargeted animation.

Source: https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/AnimatingObjects/SkeletalMeshAnimation/AnimationRetargeting

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