I’d like to be able to apply mocap data to a character in MB 2009, plot it the control rig then bring that entire character into Maya with the FBIK setup intact. Is this possible with MB2009 + Maya 2008? Do I have to setup FBIK on the character in Maya first before sending the character to MB? Does it require a specific version of the FBX plugin?

If anyone has details for this workflow I would really appreciate it.

thanks

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

There’s an older Alias Maya training DVD that covers Full Body IK- it explains how to setup and work with the Full Body IK rig in Maya. I think it is out of print, though you may be able to track it down online. You should also check the Maya documentation for info on how to setup and define the FBIK rig in Maya(which is basically the same as characterization in MotionBuilder)

The Full Body IK setup in Maya is basically the Human IK system ported across from MotionBuilder.
I played around with this a while back and, if you have setup your character with FBIK rig in Maya and exported with FBX to MotionBuilder- it should be possible to do your animation in MB then import(animation only) back onto the rig in Maya to do any further editing.

There is also a MEL script UI someone put together to mimic the MotionBuilder Character Controls window in Maya. You can get it from:-

FBIK CharacterControl 1.2.2

http://highend3d.com/maya/downlo...haracterControl-3811.html

Regards,

Lee

Lee,

Thanks for the reply, but I think you missed the gist of my question.

I understand what FBIK is and I have successfully applied it to a character in Maya 2008.

My question is this…

If I have animation on a Control Rig in MotionBuilder 2009 (essentially the same rig as Maya’s FBIK rig) how do I transfer that animation to an FBIK rig in Maya 2008 or 2009? I want the animation on the FBIK rig not on the characters bones.

thanks

Kevin

Yes, that is correct Brad- I did not state that you needed to plot to the skeleton Kevin.

All you want to update is the animation on the FBIK effectors- if they are same as source, use FBX with option set to ‘Update’ ‘Animation’ only. if you use FBX with option ‘Add to Scene’ it will add duplicates of the skeleton and mesh to scene.

You can get newest version of FBX plugins from link below-

FBX Plug-ins, Converter, and QuickTime Viewer Downloads

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=10775855

Regards,

Lee

I’m getting closer but it’s still not working right.

At the moment when I re-import the animation into Maya it puts keyframes onto the skeleton AND onto the FBIK rig, and the skeleton is overriding the rig. In MotionBuilder there is only animation on the Control Rig so I don’t know why it’s adding keyframes to the skeleton.

Also, when I export from Maya do I export the FBIK rig or just the skeleton + mesh? MB seems to ignore the FBIk rig (although visually it sure looks like a control rig in MB).

thanks

Kevin

you need to tell the FBIK rig to export the character definition to motion builder with out that checked it will not remained hooked up the last time I checked anyway.

The skeleton should not get keyframes unless your loading a diffrent take that has keys on it? that you do have keys on a diffrent layer that are still on the skeleton? ( you can select the bones and clear the animation from selected in the animation key ctrls menu to make sure)

If you make the ctrl rig after in MB, the names will not match up in my experience and you need to make sure that things like name spaces are not causing issues.  You should be able to export the FBIK rig and use that in MOBU though.

Brad Clark
Co-Founder: Rigging Dojo-Teaching the art and science of character rigging
Author: Inspired 3D Advanced Rigging
The Character Animator Toolkit for Motionbuilder :available now: