HIK animation middleware is a full-body inverse kinematics (IK) solver and retargeter. HIK tools in MotionBuilder provide a complete character keyframing environment with full body and body part keying and manipulation modes, auxiliary effectors and pivots, and pinning. HIK also provides a retargeting engine that lets you easily retarget animation between characters of differing size, proportions and skeletal hierarchy.
Designed to be consistent with other Autodesk applications, HIK tools in MotionBuilder let you transfer character assets between applications in your animation pipeline.
To retarget animation, each character must have an HIK character definition. Use the Definition tab in the Character Controls window to create and lock your character definition.
Each character that you want to use in your retargeting pipeline must be set up as an HIK character. To function as an HIK character, the character must have a characterized skeleton. To act as a target character and receive retargeted animation, the character must also have a Control Rig. For more detailed information, see HIK character structure.
