How to Export Holistic Mocap Data to Blender, Maya, and Unreal

Select Your Export Format

In the QuickMagic export panel, choose the format that matches your target software. The available options depend on your plan and the capture workflow you used.

• For Blender: Select FBX as the export format. Blender handles generic FBX files natively through File > Import > FBX.
• For Maya: Select FBX. Maya's FBX importer supports standard skeletal animation and works well with HumanIK retargeting.
• For Unreal Engine: Select the UE version preset that matches your engine (UE5.5, UE5.6, or UE MetaHuman). These presets configure bone naming and hierarchy for direct UE import.
• For MotionBuilder or custom pipelines: Select BVH for a lightweight, universally supported motion file.

Configure Skeleton and Frame Rate

QuickMagic offers several skeleton pose presets (T-Pose, A-Pose, Original Pose) and frame rate options (24, 30, 60, 120 FPS). Match the frame rate to your target project:

• 24 FPS: Film and cinematic projects
• 30 FPS: Most game development workflows (default for UE and Unity)
• 60 FPS: High-fidelity game animations and VR applications
• 120 FPS: Slow-motion analysis and research workflows

Choose T-Pose if your target rig expects a T-Pose reference. Choose A-Pose if your character rig uses an A-Pose rest position. Original Pose preserves the first-frame pose from the source video, which can help with mid-action captures but may require manual alignment during retargeting.

Choose Tracking Mode

QuickMagic offers two tracking modes that affect the exported data:

• Static (in-place) mode: The character stays centered; root motion is removed. Best for locomotion animations that will be driven by game logic.
• Global mode: The character moves through world space as in the original video. Best for cinematic sequences where root motion matters.

For game development, static mode is usually the right choice. For film previs and cutscene work, global mode preserves the spatial relationship between the performer and the environment.

Download Your Export File

Click the export button and wait for the file to generate. The download time depends on the animation length and format. Once downloaded, verify the file opens correctly by checking its file size -- an empty or tiny file usually means the export failed. A typical 10-second full-body FBX animation file should be between 500 KB and 5 MB depending on complexity.

Import the FBX File

1. Open Blender and create a new General project.
2. Go to File > Import > FBX.
3. In the import options, check Automatic Bone Orientation to align bones correctly.
4. Set Scale to 1.0 (Blender uses meters by default).
5. Click Import. You should see a new armature appear in the viewport.

If you exported BVH instead of FBX, use File > Import > Motion Capture (.bvh). BVH files import cleanly but may need manual scale adjustment -- check that the skeleton is roughly human-sized in the viewport.

Retarget with Auto-Rig Pro

Auto-Rig Pro is the recommended tool for retargeting mocap data in Blender. It handles bone mapping automatically and supports a wide range of source skeletons.

1. Open the N-panel (press N in the viewport) and find the Auto-Rig Pro: Remap section.
2. Click the eyedropper next to Source Armature and select the imported mocap skeleton.
3. Click the eyedropper next to Target Armature and select your character rig.
4. Click Build Bones List to auto-map bones between the two skeletons.
5. Review the bone mapping. The root bone (usually Hips or Pelvis) must be set to Root in the mapping list.
6. Click Re-Target to bake the animation onto your character rig.
7. Delete the original mocap armature to keep your scene clean.

Clean Up the Animation

After retargeting, use the Graph Editor to refine the animation:

• Smooth jitter: Select keyframes in the Graph Editor, then use Key > Smooth to reduce high-frequency noise in shoulder, wrist, and ankle joints.
• Fix foot sliding: Add IK constraints to the feet and keyframe the IK targets to keep them planted during contact frames.
• Remove unwanted root motion: If the character drifts, zero out the root bone's location keyframes or enable the In-Place option in the NLA editor.
• Loop the animation: Match the first and last keyframes, then add a Cycles F-curve modifier for seamless looping.

Export from Blender

If you need to pass the cleaned animation to Unreal Engine or Unity from Blender:

• For Unreal: File > Export > FBX. Enable Bake Animation, set Apply Scalings to FBX Units Scale, uncheck Leaf Bones.
• For Unity: File > Export > FBX. Enable Bake Animation, check Apply Transform, set sampling rate to 30 FPS.

Import the FBX File

1. Open Maya and create a new scene.
2. Go to File > Import and select your FBX file.
3. In the import options, ensure FBX is set as the file type.
4. Check that the animation plays correctly on the imported skeleton before proceeding.

If the imported skeleton is at the wrong scale, select the root joint and adjust the Scale attribute. Maya uses centimeters by default, so a character imported at Blender scale (meters) may appear 100x too small.

Set Up HumanIK Retargeting

1. Open the HumanIK window: Window > Animation Editors > HumanIK.
2. Define the mocap skeleton as a Source: Click Source and select the imported skeleton root. Maya will attempt to auto-detect the bone mapping. Verify that all required HIK bones (hips, spine, arms, legs) are correctly assigned.
3. Define your target character as a Character: If your character rig is already set up as a HumanIK character, select it from the Character dropdown. If not, create a new HIK character definition and assign bones from your rig.
4. In the Source dropdown, select the mocap source you defined in step 2.
5. Play the timeline. Your target character should now move with the mocap data, solved in real time by HumanIK's IK engine.

Bake and Clean Up

Before exporting, bake the retargeted animation to the target character's control rig:

1. In the HumanIK window, click Bake.
2. Set the bake range to cover your full animation.
3. Choose Every Frame for maximum precision, or Smart Bake for a lighter file with keyframes only at significant poses.
4. After baking, disconnect the HIK source. The animation will play independently on your character.

Use the Graph Editor (Window > Animation Editors > Graph Editor) for cleanup:

• Key reduction: Select all keys, then Curves > Simplify Curve. Start with tolerance 0.01 and increase until you see distortion.
• Euler filter: Apply Curves > Euler Filter to fix rotation flipping -- one of the most common mocap artifacts in Maya.
• Smoothing: Use Smooth Tangents on jittery joints like shoulders and wrists.

Export from Maya

1. Select the skeleton root joint and any attached geometry.
2. Go to File > Export Selection.
3. Choose FBX Export.
4. Enable Animation and set the correct frame range.
5. Set FBX version to FBX 2020 for Unreal Engine, or FBX 2019 for broader compatibility.
6. Enable Bake Animation to ensure all constraint-driven motion is included.
7. For Unreal Engine: ensure scene scale is set to 1 unit = 1 cm, and root bone is named root.

Import the FBX Animation

1. In UE5, open the Content Browser and navigate to your animation folder (create one like Content/Animations/Mocap if you do not have one).
2. Right-click and select Import to /Game/..., or drag and drop the FBX file directly.
3. In the FBX Import Options dialog:
   • Set Skeleton to your target skeleton (usually SK_Mannequin or your MetaHuman skeleton).
   • Under Mesh, uncheck Import Mesh if you only want the animation data.
   • Enable Import Animations and set the animation name.
   • Set Frame Rate to match your export (typically 30 FPS).
4. Click Import All.

Retarget to a Custom Character with IK Retargeter

If your character does not use the standard UE5 mannequin skeleton, you need to set up IK retargeting:

1. Create an IK Rig for your mocap skeleton: Right-click the skeleton asset, select Create > IK Rig. Define the retarget root (usually the pelvis) and create IK chains for spine, arms, and legs.
2. Create an IK Rig for your character skeleton: Repeat the process for your target character's skeleton.
3. Create an IK Retargeter: Right-click in the Content Browser, select Animation > IK Retargeter. Set the source IK Rig (mocap) and target IK Rig (your character).
4. Map the chains: UE5 auto-maps chains based on naming conventions. Review each mapping and adjust mismatches, paying special attention to spine and finger chains.
5. Export the retargeted animation: Right-click the source animation, select Retarget Animations, choose your retargeter, and export to create a new animation asset compatible with your character.

MetaHuman Workflow (Shortcut)

If you used the UE MetaHuman export preset from QuickMagic, the retargeting step is simplified:

1. Import the FBX with the MetaHuman skeleton selected as the target.
2. Unreal should recognize the bone naming convention and map automatically.
3. The animation asset appears directly in your Content Browser, ready to use on any MetaHuman character.
4. If minor adjustments are needed, open the animation in the Animation Editor and fine-tune specific bones.

Use in Animation Blueprints

To integrate the mocap animation into your game:

• Open your character's Animation Blueprint.
• In the AnimGraph, use a State Machine to organize animation states (idle, walk, run, etc.).
• Add your mocap animation as a state or blend it with existing animations using a Blend Space.
• Set up transitions based on gameplay variables like movement speed.
• Use Animation Montages for one-off animations like attacks, emotes, or interactions.

Verification Checklist

• Play through the full animation: Watch for any frames where limbs pop, jitter, or pass through each other.
• Check foot contact: Feet should plant firmly during contact frames. If they slide, apply IK constraints or manual keyframe corrections.
• Verify root motion: If using global tracking mode, confirm the character's world position matches your expectations. If using static mode, ensure the character stays centered.
• Check finger data: If you captured hand motion, verify that finger curls and spreads