This lesson shows you how to import an FBX file to MotionBuilder and characterize the bones of the skeleton you need to animate. You will then assign the skeleton a control rig.

Import a skeleton:

1. Start MotionBuilder.
2. Choose Layout Editing so the MotionBuilder layout will correspond to that shown in these lessons.
3. In MotionBuilder, on the Asset Browser explorer panel, right-click a blank area of the folder list and choose Add Favorite Path.

   

4. On the Open Directory dialog, navigate to the \3ds Max 2010 tutorials\export folder. Highlight the folder and click OK.

   The folder displays as a shortcut in the Asset Browser

   NoteAn \export folder is also provided with MotionBuilder: By default, this one contains only a couple of files.
5. Click the folder name so you can view its contents.

   The folder contents display in the right-hand pane of the Asset Browser.

   

   Now you have fast access to the FBX files you want to import into MotionBuilder.

   If you had saved your FBX files from MotionBuilder instead of from 3ds Max, you could open them simply by dragging their file icon from the Asset Browser into the Viewer. However, dragging the icons of FBX files created in external applications launches a series of dialogs that prompt you for more information. Because of this, it is easier to import files created in 3ds Max through an FBX Plug-in Import dialog.

6. From the main menu, choose File FBX Plug-In Import.
7. On the Open File dialog, navigate to the \3ds Max 2010 tutorials\export folder, highlight mybone-skeleton.fbx, and click Open.

   If you like, you can import the presaved file _bone_skeleton.fbx, instead.

8. On the FBX Plug-In Import Options dialog, leave the default settings unchanged, and click Open.

   The MotionBuilder Viewer window displays the MotionBuilder equivalent of the Bones skeleton you exported from 3ds Max.

   

Familiarize yourself with Viewer navigation in MotionBuilder:

Pause now and take a moment to try a few MotionBuilder navigation techniques.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+drag to orbit around the scene.
2. Ctrl+drag to zoom in and out of the scene.
3. Shift+drag to pan the scene.
   TipYou can also use the ViewCube to navigate the scene. The ViewCube in the MotionBuilder Viewer behaves the same as it does in 3ds Max viewports.

Characterize the skeleton:

Now you need to characterize the skeleton bones before you can animate them. Characterization is the way you rig a skeleton in MotionBuilder.

1. On the Asset Browser, click Templates Characters.
2. Drag the Character tool from the Asset Browser, and drop it on the skeleton’s center of mass.

   

   When you release the mouse, a pop-up menu shows the Characterize option.

   

3. Click Characterize.
4. On the Character dialog, click Biped to indicate the type of rigging to apply to the character (the other choice is Quadruped).

   

   NoteAs the dialog mentions, the character must be in a “stance” (“T”) pose and be facing in the positive Z axis (the equivalent of the negative Y axis that you converted when exporting the .max file into .fbx format).
5. On the Character Controls window, choose Edit Control Rig Input.

   

   You must choose this setting if you intend to keyframe your character.

6. On the Create Control Rig dialog, click FK/IK.

   

   FK/IK is the method commonly used to animate characters.

7. In the Character Controls window Active group, turn on Ctrl Rig In.

   

   This setting activates the Character Controls Character Representation to the left. The Character Representation is an image of a biped, with all the effectors you need to animate the control rig.

   Your character is now rigged and ready to receive animation.

   Because your character bones were properly labeled, it took just seven steps to successfully rig your character. In 3ds Max, rigging a character using regular FK/IK constraints would have taken a great deal more effort.

Animate the skeleton:

1. On the Character Controls pane Character Representation, click to select the right hand effector.

   

2. With your mouse over the Viewer, press T (for Translate), and move the hand down. As you continue to move the hand, the arm extends, and the rest of the body reacts in a natural movement.

   

Characterize a Biped skeleton:

1. From the main menu, choose File New. Do not save the skeleton animation.
2. Choose File FBX Plug-In Import.
3. On the Open File dialog, navigate to the \3ds max tutorials\export\ folder, highlight mypepe_biped01.fbx and click Open.

   If you like, you can import the presaved file _pepe_biped_bip01.fbx, instead.

   On the FBX Plug-in Import dialog, leave the default settings unchanged and click Open.

   The Pepe character mesh displays in the Viewer.

   

4. Place the cursor anywhere inside the Viewer and press A.

   Pressing A is the equivalent of using Zoom Extents in 3ds Max. It zooms in to all visible objects in the Viewer.

5. With your cursor still in the Viewer, press Ctrl+A to obtain a skin-only view. Press Ctrl+A again to switch to X-ray mode.

   

   Pepe character in X-ray mode

   In this mode, you can view and select both the character mesh as well as the bones, either individually or by region selection.

6. Drag the Character icon from the Asset Browser into the Viewer, then release the icon over the skeleton’s center of mass, as shown in the next illustration.

   

   Pepe character center of mass

7. On the pop-up menu, click Characterize.

   An error message displays, indicating that the characterization of the bones could not be completed. This is because MotionBuilder could not recognize the names that identify the Pepe character bone system.

   

8. Click OK.

   A list displays all the bones MotionBuilder could not find.

   

9. Click Close, then go to the Navigator window, expand the Characters list, then double-click the Character entry.

   

10. If the Character Definition pane is not already active, click the Character Definition tab.
11. In the left-hand column, expand the Base (Required) list.

    

    The Mapping List in the Character Definition pane shows all the skeleton components whose mapping conversion was not recognized by MotionBuilder. The Base (Required) list shows the most crucial of these.

    

    The standard MotionBuilder character template works well for 3ds Max Bones systems, but it is not set up for Biped skeletons. You will try again with the Biped template.

Change the template to a Biped template:

1. In the Navigator list, click the Character entry to highlight it, then right-click and choose Delete.
2. Drag the 3ds Max Biped Template from the Asset Browser to the Viewer, and drop it on the Pepe character’s center of mass.

   This tool is similar to the Character tool you used earlier, but it is designed to recognize the bones of a biped object created in 3ds Max (bones that use the Biped link-naming convention for their suffixes).

3. On the pop-up menu, choose Characterize.
4. On the Character Controls window, choose Edit Control Rig Input.
5. On the Create Control Rig dialog, click FK/IK.

   

6. In the Character Controls window Active group, turn on Ctrl Rig In.
7. On the Character Control pane Character Representation, click to select the right hand effector, then with your mouse over the Viewer, press T for Translate, and move the hand.

   

   The Pepe skeleton is fully rigged.

8. Go to the Navigator window, double-click the Bip01 entry, and on the Character Definition pane, expand the Base (Required) list.

   

   The Mapping List column shows how the 3ds Max Biped Template tool has characterized the bones by mapping their conventional Biped names onto the default MotionBuilder naming convention, shown in the Base (Required) list. No Naming Template was used.

   You can characterize any Biped skeleton this way, regardless of the prefix given to the bones of the biped. If you want to, try it with the file you saved earlier called my_pepe_named.fbx (or use the presaved file _pepe_biped_pepe.fbx).

Save your work:

• Choose File Save As, and save the file as mypepe_rigged.fbx. In the Save Options dialog, accept the defaults, then click Save.