Retarget animation from one character to another

Set up a source character

To set up a source character

1. In Maya, open a new scene (File > New).
2. Select Skeleton > HumanIK to open the Character Controls window.
3. In the Start pane, click Mocap Example.

   The Visor opens to the Mocap Examples tab.

4. Import the dunk1.ma example file. (-click the file and select Import Maya File from the menu that appears.)

   This loads the dunk1 character (named MocapExample by default) into your scene.

5. Close the Visor window and zoom out (if necessary) until you can see the dunk1 character in the scene.
6. Select > Edit > Definition > Rename and rename the character as DunkSource.
7. Open the Definition tab and note that the DunkSource character already has a valid skeleton definition.

   Maya's basic mocap examples are located in the root folder (C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Maya2013/presets/mocap/examples/) and already have a HumanIK skeleton definition that can be used to retarget animation onto your HumanIK defined characters.

Set up a target character

To set up a target character

1. In the Character Controls, select ---None--- from the Character menu to open the Start pane.
2. Click HumanIK Example.

   The Visor opens to the HumanIK Examples tab.

3. Import the BBallPlayer.ma example file (-click the file and select Import Maya File from the menu that appears.)

   This loads the BBallPlayer character into your scene. This character will be your target character, receiving retargeted animation.

4. Close the Visor and select BBall_Player from the Character menu.
5. Click > Edit > Definition > Rename and rename the character as DunkTarget.

Retarget from the source to the target character

To retarget from the source character to the target character

1. In the Character Controls, select the target character (DunkTarget) from the Character menu.
2. Select the source character (DunkSource) from the Source menu.

   The target character snaps to match the position of the source character, and retargeting controls appear in the Controls tab.

   To see the retargeted result clearly, DunkTarget needs to be offset from DunkSource.

3. With DunkTarget selected as the current character, click the Reference cell in the retargeting interface.
   
4. Select the Move Tool from the Toolbox.

   A move manipulator icon appears over DunkTarget's Reference object in the scene. Drag the manipulator until both characters are no longer overlapping.

   
   TipIn the panel menu, select Shading > Smooth Shade All and Shading > Hardware Texturing to give the characters a more realistic look.
5. Play back the animation to view the retargeting result.

In the next section you learn how to adjust the retargeted animation to account for size discrepancies between your source and target characters.