The IK Retargeter is a platform you can use to quickly retarget 3D animations from a source character to a target character with a different skeleton structure and proportions while maintaining high visual quality.
The IK Retargeter uses an operation stack to determine how poses and motion data are transferred between a source and target skeletal mesh. The Retarget Stack is a modular framework that provides a way to add custom operations for the retargeter. You can reorder and move around all operations in the Retarget Stack.
Each operation has its own editor interface depending on what you are editing. Operations also have the ability to create substacks for logic and evaluations that need to be applied in a certain order or method to expand the existing operation. Depending on the target character, you might need to use different setups on the Retarget Stack to have a better transference of animation.
Prerequisites
You have an understanding of IK Rigs, IK Rig Editor, and IK Rig Retargeting.
Operations List
Below is a list of the operations you can use for IK Rig retargeting. You can reorder operations in the ops stack, or delete them from the list if unnecessary.
Pelvis Motion
Pelvis Motion accurately transfers the hip’s position, rotation, and translation from a source character to maintain proper posture and root motion. Pelvis Motion acts as the retarget pelvis in IK rigs, ensuring that translation data is scaled properly between characters of different proportions. This is critical for realistic movement and preventing animation sliding.
The Pelvis Motion tools map the pelvis of the source asset’s pelvis to the pelvis of the target asset. All settings of the Pelvis Motion operation are concerned with the motion and rotation of the pelvic bones. This operation was formerly known as Root Phase.
This is a default operation. When you click Add Default Ops, Pelvis Motion appears in the Op Stack list. The debug operations of Pelvis Motion show debug drawing. It uses the LOD threshold to enable and disable the maximum LOD the operation can run at.
Pelvis Motion Setup
By default, the Pelvis Motion operation takes the assigned retarget pelvis from the source and target character IK rig if they are defined there. An IK rig is not necessary for Pelvis Motion operations, you can determine a custom pelvis bone for both the source and target characters.
Name | Description |
Source Pelvis Bone | The pelvis bone on the source skeleton to copy motion from. Select the bones you want to target from the dropdown menu. |
Target Pelvis Bone | The pelvis bone on the target skeleton to copy motion from. Select the bones you want to target from the dropdown menu. Ideally these mirror the bones selected under the Source Pelvis Bone option. |
Pelvis Motion - Floor Constraint
Floor Constraint constrains IK goals to the floor. Each goal can be constrained to the floor. The floor is static, or world 0.
Name | Description |
Floor Constraint Weight | When set, the floor constraint adjusts the vertical pelvis motion separately according to the following rule:
The range for Floor Constraint Weight is 0-1. The default value is set to 0. Set the value to 1 to turn the option On. |
Source Crotch Offset | A negative vertical offset in centimeters relative to the pelvis bone of the source. Adjust this option until the green dot is located roughly at the crotch of the character. |
Target Crotch Offset | A negative vertical offset in centimeters relative to the pelvis bone of the target. Adjust this option until the green dot is located roughly at the crotch of the character. |
Use Ground Falloff | Toggle the option on and off. |
Ground Falloff Height Percent | Controls the height at which the floor constraint will begin blending in as a percentage of the pelvis height in the retarget pose. Use this to prevent the floor constraint from dampening vertical pelvis motion at normal heights. At 1, the constraint is active at normal standing height. At 0, the constraint only activates when within 10% of the height off the floor. |
Pelvis Rotation
Transfers the core motion, weight, and posture of the source character to the target.
Name | Description |
Rotation Alpha | Blends the animation on the retarget pelvis between the retarget pose (0) and the incoming retarget source (1). |
Rotation Offset Local | Applies a static local-space rotation offset to the pelvis using X, Y, and Z coordinates. |
Rotation Offset Global | Applies a static global-space rotation offset to the pelvis using X, Y, and Z coordinates. |
Pelvis Translation
Defines how the source character’s hip movement is transferred from the skeleton to the target skeleton, ensuring the proper height, scale, and positioning on the target.
Name | Description |
Translation Alpha | Blends the animation on the retarget pelvis between the retarget pose (0) and the incoming retarget source (1). |
Translation Offset Local | Applies a static local-space translation offset to the pelvis using X, Y, Z coordinates. |
Translation Offset Global | Applies a static global-space translation offset to the pelvis using X, Y, Z coordinates. |
Blend to Source Translation | Blends the retarget pelvis’ translation between its retargeted location (0) and the exact source location (1). This property is similar to "reach" as seen in other retargeting tools. |
Blend to Source Translation Weights | Per-axis for the blending control multipliers for BlendtoSource using X, Y, Z coordinates. |
Scale Pelvis Translation
Adjusts the amount of vertical or horizontal movement of the target character’s hips relative to the animation source. The scale is used to correct for height and proportion differences between characters, preventing issues like floating feet, overly long legs, or distorted torsos.
Name | Description |
Scale Horizontal | Scales the motion of the retarget pelvis in the horizontal direction. You can use this in conjunction with IK goals and translation offset to create embellished or diminished movements on your retargeted characters. |
Scale Vertical | Scales the motion of the retarget pelvis in the vertical direction. You can use this in conjunction with IK goals and translation offset to create embellished or diminished movements on your retargeted characters. |
Affect IK Settings
Determines whether a specific joint chain uses Inverse Kinematics to match the source animation’s hand and foot positions.
Name | Description |
Affect IK Horizontal | If you are using IK goals, these sliders control whether all IK goals should move along with the pelvis if the pelvis is modified along the horizontal axes. At 0 the IK goals remain at their retargeted position, and at 1 they move relative to the modified pelvis transform. |
Affect IK Vertical | If you are using IK goals, these sliders control whether all IK goals should move along with the pelvis if the pelvis is modified along the vertical axes. At 0 the IK goals remain at their retargeted position, and at 1 they move relative to the modified pelvis transform. |
Pelvis Motion Debug
Name | Description |
Debug Draw Size | Adjusts the size of the debug draw in the target pelvis. |
Debug Draw Thickness | Adjusts the thickness of the debug drawing in the pelvis. |
Pelvis Motion Enable Op
Name | Description |
Enabled | Toggles the operation on and off. When an op is toggled off, it is skipped entirely and doesn't run at all. |
FK Chains
FK Chains provides a way to target specific bones and bone chains on the target IK Rig asset to copy the rotation, orientation, and translation of the source skeleton to the target skeleton. These operations run before the IK pass to establish the base pose for each joint. Base operations use interpolation for better matching.
This is a default operation. When you click Add Default Ops, FK Chains appears in the Op Stack list. FK Chains uses the LOD threshold to enable and disable the maximum LOD the operation can run at. The debug operations show debug drawing.
Retarget Chains Settings
The tools within this setting do the following:
IK Rig Asset: This property is set from the Default Target IK Rig property from Asset settings. Below, the asset’s bone chains are listed in a scrollable menu.
You can use a separate target for this setting.
Chain Mapping Options: Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains: Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains: Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK: Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
Auto-Maps Chains: Automatically assigns source based on matching rule.
Map All (Fuzzy): Maps all chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map Only Empty (Fuzzy): Map all unmapped chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map All (Exact): Maps all chains with identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Map Only Empty (Exact): Maps unmapped chains using identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
FK Chain Retarget
Name | Description |
Enable FK | Enables copying the shape of the chain from the source character using rotation and translation. |
Rotation Mode | Determines how rotation is copied from the source chain to the target chain. You can select from the following:
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Rotation Alpha | Blends the amount of FK rotation copying. |
Translation Mode | Determines how translation is copied from the source chain to all bones in the target chain. You can select from the following:
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Translation Alpha | Blends the amount of FK translation copying. |
FK Chains Debug
Name | Description |
Draw Chain Lines | Debug lines on each chain in the viewport. |
Draw Single Bone Chain | Debug spheres on single-bone chains in the viewport. |
Chain Draw Thickness | Debug draw chain line thickness in the target chain drawing. |
Chain Draw Size | Debug draw used for single-bone chains in the target chain drawing. |
Root Motion
Root Motion uses specialized settings to either generate or transfer root motion from the source to the target. Generate root motion data by copying it from the source directly, or creating it from scratch based on the Pelvis motion.
These settings are generally used on the retargeted animation or pose. This is considered one of the default operations. When you click Add Default Ops, Root Motion appears in the Op Stack list.
Bones
Determines the skeleton and chains that drive skeletal movement.
Name | Description |
Source Root | The root of the source skeleton. |
Target Root | The root of the target skeleton. |
Main Source
Defines which specific bone chain or movement component from the source character acts as the driving force for the root motion of the character.
Name | Description |
Root Motion Source | Determines where to copy the root motion from.
Root Motion is generated from the pelvis. |
Target Pelvis | The pelvis of the target skeleton. This setting is only used when the RootMotionSource is set to the target pelvis. |
Rotate with Pelvis | When enabled, this setting applies an offset rotation with the pelvis when generating root motion from the pelvis. This may cause unwanted rotations, for example, if Pelvis Yaw is animated. |
Height Source
Determines which bone’s vertical movement is used to drive the pelvis motion.
Name | Description |
Root Height Source | Determines how to set the height of the root bone.
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Root Motion Offset
Adjusts the spatial difference between the source and target skeletons’ pelvis bones.
Name | Description |
Global Offset | A manual offset applied to global space to the root bone based on:
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Maintain Offset from Pelvis | Applies only when generating root motion from the pelvis.Maintains the offset between the root and pelvis as recorded in the target retarget pose.If set to false, the root bone is placed directly under the Pelvis bone. |
Update Children
Ensures the pelvis movement or rotation during retargeted animation moves proportionally in the child bones.
Name | Description |
Prepare to Non Retargeted Children | When enabled, transforms all children of the target that aren’t part of a retarget chain. |
Remap Curves
Remap Curves is used to map input values from the source to new output values for the target based on a custom curve. By adjusting the curve’s shape, you control how an input range translates to a new output range to create non-linear and tailored transformations of values.
This is considered one of the default operations. When you click Add Default Ops, Remap Curves appear in the Op Stack list.
Copy Curves
Converts the movement from one skeleton to another.
Name | Description |
Copy All Source Curves | Determines whether to copy all curves over to the target animation instance.
This setting also applies when exporting retargeted animations. |
Remap Curves
Maps named curves from the source character to the target character.
Name | Description |
Remap Curves | Toggles curve mapping on and off. |
Curves to Remap | Adds pairs of source and target curve names to an array to remap. While retargeting, the animation from the source curves are redirected to the curves on the target skeletal meshes. This can be used to drive blendshapes or other downstream systems. By default, the IK Retargeter automatically copies all equivalently named curves from the source to the target. Remapping is only necessary when the Target curve name(s) are different. |
Remap Curves Enable Op
Name | Description |
Enabled | Toggles the operation on and off. When an op is toggled off, it is skipped entirely and doesn't run at all. |
Retarget Pose
Retarget Pose provides a way for you to override the default retarget pose of the source or target skeletal mesh before the rest of the ops in the op stack evaluates. Retarget Pose overrides the source or target’s retarget pose.
Retargeted assets can only use one copy of an op at a time in the op stack.
Retarget Pose must be the first op in the stack for the retargeting op to work as expected.
Source Pose
Name | Description |
Override Source Pose | Toggles Override Source Pose on and off. When set to true, overrides the default retarget pose for the source skeleton. |
Source Pose to Use | A retarget pose that’s applied to the source skeleton. The pose name must match the name of a retarget pose stored in this asset.Add the name of the source pose to be overridden. |
Target Pose
Name | Description |
Override Target Pose | Toggles Override Target Pose on and off. When set to true, the tool overrides the default retarget pose for the target skeleton. |
Target Pose to Use | A retarget pose applied to the target skeleton. The name of the pose must match the name of the retarget pose stored in the asset.Add the name of the target pose to be overridden. |
Retarget Pose Enable Op
Name | Description |
Enable Op | Toggles the Retarget Pose op on and off. Disabled ops are skipped entirely and don’t run at all. |
Additive Pose
Additive Pose is an operation that provides a way to additively apply a Retarget Pose on the target character. This operation is used to apply precise layered adjustments on top of the existing retargeted result to handle additional corrections.
This operation can be added to the default ops stack and arranged in any order to optimize retargeting.
Additive Pose Op Settings
Name | Description |
Pose to Apply | The name of the retarget pose that is applied to the output of the target skeleton. |
Alpha | Blends the pose on the target based on the set value. |
Pin Bones
Pin Bones is a post processing feature used within the IK Retargeter to lock a specific bone (for example, ik_hand_weapon) to another bone (for example, hand_r). This operation ensures that special bones follow the animated character, preventing issues like the weapon snapping and maintaining proper hand placement during animations.
This operation can be added to the default ops stack and arranged in any order to optimize retargeting.
Using the Pin Bones operation together with Scale Source improves the animation transfer between to characters of different heights.
Pin Bones Setup
Defines the bones and chains targeted in Pin Bones.
Name | Description |
Bones to Pin | A list of bone-pairs to copy transforms between.
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Skeleton to Copy From | Determines which skeleton to copy the animation from. You can choose between the source and target characters. |
Translation
Ensures precise contact points to copy translation data.
Name | Description |
Copy Translation | Toggle on and off the function for copying the translation of the bone. |
Translation Mode | The method used to calculate the translation of the bone. |
Rotation
Ensures precise contact points to copy rotation data.
Name | Description |
Copy Rotation | Toggle on and off the function for copying the rotation of the bone. |
Rotation Mode | The method used to calculate the rotation of the bone. |
Scale
Ensures the bone’s scale to copy movement from one character to another.
Name | Description |
Copy Scale | Copy the scale of the bone. |
Propagate Transform
Forces a target skeleton’s bones to match the exact position and rotation of a source skeleton’s bone, then propagates the transform down the chain to child bones.
Name | Description |
Propagate to Children | Determines whether to recursively update children bone transforms. |
Pin Bones Offset
Maintains the target bone’s positional relationship relative to the source bone’s position.
Name | Description |
Global Offset | A manual offset applied to global-space to the root bone based on:
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Local Offset | A manual offset applied to local-space to the root bone based on:
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Filter Bones
Filter Bones is used for animations with large creatures, providing a way to select, isolate, or modify specific bone chains during the transfer of animation from source to a target skeleton. This operation filters down in a hierarchical manner to ensure that structural differences, such as bone counts or proportions in arms and legs, don’t cause issues like floating feet, distorted limbs, or inaccurate prop interactions.
This operation can be added to the default ops stack and arranged in any order to optimize retargeting.
Filter Bones Setup
Determines which bones to target.
Name | Description |
Bones to Filter | Add multiple or singular bones to an array. The selected bones have any changes made with this tool applied to them. |
One Euro Filter
Name | Description |
Min Frequency | Determines the low-pass cutoff point when motion is near zero. Values are set in Hertz (Hz).
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Responsiveness | Raises the cutoff as angular speed grows. Use values between 0.3-0.8 for the best results.
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Velocity Cutoff Hz | Low-passes the raw angular velocity before it can be used to adapt the derivative cutoff. For best results begin with values between 15-30Hz. If breathing or pumping of the smoothing onsets or reversals is visible, lower the value. For example between 30-20 Hz. If responsiveness to fast changes is sluggish, raise the Velocity Cutoff value a bit. Keep under the Nyquist frequency (frame_rate/2). |
Reset Playback | Select True or False. When this option is set to true, the filter resets when playback loops in the Editor. |
Scale Source
Scale Source operations include features that control how the source animation’s scale and proportion-driven translation are adapted to a target character of a different size. This operation can’t be used multiple times in an op stack.
Scale Source operations affect IK Goals that use Blend to Source sub-operations.
The Scale Source operation optimizes retargeting best when it’s placed at the top of the operations stack, but you can add Scale Source to the default ops stack and arrange it in any order you want.
Scale
Name | Description |
Source Scale Factor | Scales the incoming source pose using a custom ranged setting. The set scale affects the entire skeleton and all IK goals. This setting is set to 0 by default. |
Scale Pivot
Name | Description |
Scale Pivot | Determines the space in which the scale should pivot from the component or a specific bone on the source skeleton. |
Scale Pivot Bone | The source skeleton bone space in which the scale pivots from. |
Project Scale Pivot to Floor | Provides a way for the Scale Pivot Bone’s scale to be projected based on Z = 0. |
Scale Source Enable Op
Name | Description |
Enabled | Toggles the operation on and off. When an op is toggled off, it is skipped entirely and doesn't run at all. |
Stretch Chains
Stretch Chains provide a way to determine the length or stretch of bone chains per chain to match the length of the source bone chains. This can be achieved by copying bone chains, or selecting bone chains and stretching them individually to match the source character.
You can exclude bone chains from the copy to optimize performance by running the operation only on the necessary parts of the body.
This operation can be added to the default ops stack and arranged in any order to optimize retargeting.
Stretch Chain Settings
The tools within this setting do the following:
IK Rig Asset: Automatically sets the target asset and lists the target bone chains in a scrollable menu below.
Chain Mapping Options: Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains: Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains: Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK: Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
Auto-Maps Chains: Automatically assigns source based on matching rule.
Map All (Fuzzy): Maps all chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map Only Empty (Fuzzy): Map all unmapped chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map All (Exact): Maps all chains with identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Map Only Empty (Exact): Maps unmapped chains using identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
Stretch Chain
Name | Description |
Enabled | Turn the Stretch Chain settings on and off. |
Match Source Length | Matches the total length of this chain with the mapped source chain using a range from 0-1. At 0, the chain’s length is left alone. At 1, the chain is stretched to match the length of the source. The default setting is 0. |
Scale Chain Length | A multiplier on the length of the chain, applied after matching the source length using a custom value. The default value is 1. |
Pole Vector Alignment
Pole vector alignment is the process of mapping the knee or elbow direction from the source character to the target character with different proportions, ensuring that the joints bend in the correct direction. It matches the rotational angle of the target’s limb chain to the source, typically by twisting the joint chain to align with the pole vector, without altering the location of the end effectors (such as hand or feet.)
This operation can be added to the default ops stack and arranged in any order to optimize retargeting.
This operation runs in the same way as FK Chains.
Pole Vector Alignment Settings
The tools within this setting do the following:
IK Rig Asset: Automatically sets the target asset and lists the target bone chains in a scrollable menu below.
Chain Mapping Options: Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains: Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains: Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK: Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
Auto-Maps Chains: Automatically assigns source based on matching rule.
Map All (Fuzzy): Maps all chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map Only Empty (Fuzzy): Map all unmapped chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map All (Exact): Maps all chains with identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Map Only Empty (Exact): Maps unmapped chains using identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
Align Pole Vector
Align Pole Vector settings can be found in the Details panel.
Ensures the joints in a target character’s limb bend the same direction as the source animation.
Name | Description |
Enabled | Determines whether the pole vector alignment on this chain is turned on or not. |
Align Alpha | Matches the twist angle of this chain along the Pole direction to the source chain using a range of 0-1.
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Static Angular Offset | An angular offset, in degrees, for the pole direction of the chain. The offset values don’t have to be positive. This setting is set to 0 by default. |
Maintain Offset | When set to true, the original angular offset between the source and the target pole vectors are maintained when aligning pole vectors. This setting is off by default. |
Copy Base Pose
Copy Base Pose defines and aligns the default resting pose of a target character to match the source character. This operation ensures that animations such as walking or idling transfer accurately without broken limbs or incorrect joint rotations, especially when the two characters were modeled in different poses, for example a T-pose versus an A-pose.
This operation fixes discrepancies between the source and the target skeleton resting poses to ensure high-quality, accurate animation retargeting. By properly defying the base pose, the IK Retargeter accurately calculates the difference in joint rotation between the two characters, which provides a way for the source animation to appear more natural on the target character.
This operation can be added to the default ops stack and arranged in any order to optimize retargeting.
Retarget Phases
Defines the stages of mapping animation data from a source skeleton to a target skeleton.
Name | Description |
Copy Base Pose | When set to True, this setting copies all the source bone transforms with matching names to use as a base pose. This is useful for partial retargeting. No retargeting is applied to the bone transforms, they are assumed to be fully compatible between the source and the target skeletons. |
Copy from Start | Filters the bones to copy when using Copy Base Pose. If specified, this setting only copies the children of the specified bone (inclusive). |
Bones to Exclude | Bones added to this list (and their children) don’t have their pose copied. They are left at the reference pose. |
Copy Base Pose Enable Op
Name | Description |
Enabled | Toggles the operation on and off. When an op is toggled off, it is skipped entirely and doesn't run at all. |
Run IK Rig
Run IK Rig refers to the process of applying inverse kinematic (IK) solvers and goals to a skeletal mesh during animation retargeting to ensure precise limb positioning, particularly when transferring animation between characters with different proportions.
Run IK Rig houses all operations and tools that use an IK Rig. You can add and order sub-operations of Run IK Rig in any sequence to capture distinct movements for better retargeting.
Sub-operations are IK phases of retargeting operations. Separating them into a customizable operation stack provides different kinds of IK goal adjustments. Run IK Rig is considered one of the default operations. When you click Add Default Ops, Run IK Rig appears in the Op Stack list.
Run IK Rig uses the LOD threshold to enable and disable the maximum LOD the operation can run at.
Solve IK Goal Settings
The tools within this setting do the following:
IK Rig Asset: This property is set from the Default Target IK Rig property from Asset settings. Below, the asset’s bone chains are listed in a scrollable menu.
You can use a separate target for this setting.
Chain Mapping Options: Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains: Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains: Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK: Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters: Clears filter options.
Auto-Maps Chains: Automatically assigns source based on matching rule.
Map All (Fuzzy): Maps all chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map Only Empty (Fuzzy): Map all unmapped chains to the source chain with the closest name.
Map All (Exact): Maps all chains with identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Map Only Empty (Exact): Maps unmapped chains using identical names. Does not change mapping if an exact match is not found.
Clear All Mapping: Clears mapping and sets mappin gto None.
Run Ik Rig Chain Settings
Select a chain from the list to open the Chain Settings options.
Name | Description |
Enable IK | Determines whether to modify the location of the IK goal on this chain. This setting is set to true by default. When this option is disabled on an asset with an IK goal, the IK is still evaluated, but the goal is set to the input bone location from the FK pass. This only has an effect if the chain has an IK goal assigned to it in the Target IK Rig asset. |
Chain Position Alpha | Retargets the goal position based on the source length and direction. This tool has a range of 0-1. At 0, the goal is left at the input pose bone location. At 1, the goal is transferred in the direction of the source chain, at a distance from the base of the chain proportional to how much it’s compressed or stretched. |
Chain Rotation Alpha | Retargets the goal rotation based on the source chain end bone rotation. This tool has a range of 0-1. This setting is useful; if no IK retargeting is being performed on this chain before the IK op. At 0, the goal is left at the input pose bone rotation. At 1, the goal is rotated by the same world space rotation applied to the source chain end bone. If the target end bone rotation was already retargeted before this op, this setting may have no effect. The Op Stack doesn’t double-rotate the goal. |
Override Goal Alpha | Toggle this option on and off. When set to on, the alpha values override the goal alpha settings from the IK Rig asset. The default value is 0. |
Final Position Alpha | Blends all goal translation offsets on and off. This tool has a range of 0-1. At 0, the goal is left at the input bone location. At 1, the goal is moved to the location generated by the IK goal ops. |
Final Rotation Alpha | Blends all goal translation offsets on and off. This tool has a range of 0-1. At 0, the goal is left at the input bone location. At 1, the goal is moved to the location generated by the IK goal ops. |
Run IK Rig Debug
Run IK Rig has default debug operations that evaluate different draw parameters.
Name | Description |
Draw Final Goals | Draws the final IK goal locations. |
Draw Source Locations | When turned on, the debugger uses draw locations of the source bone (pre-solve). |
Goal Draw Size | Adjusts the size of the goal debug drawing in the viewport. |
Goal Draw Thickness | Adjusts the thickness of goal debug drawing in the viewport of the target IK goals. |
Sub-operations List
Below is a list of the sub-operations that complement the Run IK Rig operation. You can add, reorder, and delete them from the Run IK Rig operation stack framework.
Blend to Source
A sub-operation that evaluates the IK goals for the retarget, these tools are required in order to run the evaluation. Specialized retarget IK goals tools run inverse kinematics on the target character through sub-operations that affect the IK goals outcomes.
Blend To Source Settings
Chain Mapping Options - Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains - Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains - Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK - Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters - Clears filter options.
Blend to Source Chain Settings
Select a chain in the list to open these options.
Name | Description |
Blend to Source | Blends the retarget pelvis’ translation between its retargeted location (0) and the exact source location (1). This property is similar to "reach" as seen in other retargeting tools. |
Translation Alpha | Blends the translational component of BlenToSource in a range of 0-1. At 0, the goal is placed at the location. At 1, the goal is placed at the location of the source chain’s end bone. The default setting is 1. |
Rotation Alpha | Blends the amount of FK rotation copying between the retargeted rotation (0) and the exact source rotation (1) of the chain’s end bone. The default setting is 0. At 0, the goal is oriented to the input rotation. At 1, the goal is oriented to the source chain’s end bone rotation. |
Translation Per Sxis Alpha | Weight each axis separately when using Blend To Source between the retargeted location (0) and the exact source location (1) of the chain’s end bone. The default setting is 1. |
Apply Pelvis Offset | When set to true, the source locations are affected by the target pelvis motion. When set to false, the Pelvis Motion operation is present, or if the Affect IK weights in the Pelvis Motion op are zero, then this setting has no effect. The default setting is false. This setting applies all offsets generated in the Pelvis Motion op. |
Blend to Source Op Settings
Name | Description |
Alpha | Blends the offset effects on all chains. This tool has a range of 0-1. |
Blend to Source Debug
Name | Description |
Debug Draw Size | Adjusts the size of the goal debug drawing in the viewport. |
Offset Goals
Applies either a translational or rotational offset to the IK goal on the target chain.
Offset Goals Settings
Chain Mapping Options - Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains - Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains - Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK - Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters - Clears filter options.
Offset Goals Chain Settings
Select a chain in the list to open these options.
Name | Description |
Global Translation Offset | Applies a global-space translation offset to the IK goal. |
Local Translation Offset | Applies a local-space translation offset to the IK goal. |
Global Rotation Offset | Applies a global-space rotation offset to the IK goal. |
Local Rotation Offset | Applies a local-space rotation offset to the IK goal. |
Offset Goals Op Settings
Name | Description |
Alpha | Blends the offset effects on all chains. This tool has a range of 0-1. |
Translation Alpha | Blends the translation offset effects on all chains. This tool has a range of 0-1. |
Rotation Alpha | Blends the rotation offset effects on all chains. This tool has a range of 0-1. |
Scale Goals
Scales the specified bones and chains of the target according to the Chain Settings.
Scale Goals Settings
Chain Mapping Options - Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains - Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains - Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK - Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters - Clears filter options.
Scale Goals - Chain Settings
Name | Description |
Scale Vertical | Scales the vertical component of the IK goals’ vertical position. |
Scale Horizontal | Scales the horizontal component of the IK goals’ vertical position. |
Scale Along Chain | Brings IK goal closer (0) or further (1+) from the origin of the chain. This chain has a default value of 1, but can be scaled higher or lower. At 0, the effector is placed at the origin of the chain, for example the shoulder or hip. At 1, the effector is left at the end of the chain, for example the wrist or foot. Values in-between 0-1 slide the effector along the vector from the start to the end of the chain. Values greater than 1 stretch the chain beyond the retargeted length. |
Scale Goals Op Settings
Name | Description |
Alpha | Blends the effect on all chains. This tool has a range of 0-1. |
Floor Constraint
A sub-operation that applies a floor constraint to specific IK goals to prevent a character’s feet and hands from penetrating the ground based on the source character. It applies specialized floor constraint chain tools to a bone chain selected in the Retarget Chain settings.
Floor Goal Op Settings
The Floor Goal Op Settings filters bones using different Chain Mapping Options:
Hide Mapped Chains - Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains - Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK - Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters - Clears filter options.
Floor Constraint Chain Settings
Select a chain in the list to open these options.
Name | Description |
Enable Floor Constraint | Determines whether to apply the floor constraint location of the IK goal on this chain. The default value is set to False. When this option is enabled, the floor constraint adjusts the vertical position of the IK goal according to the following rules:
The floor is assumed to be the XY plane where Z=0. This only has an effect if the chain has an IK goal assigned to it in the Target IK Rig asset. |
Alpha | Blends the effect of the constraint on this goal. This option when toggled On has a range of 0-1. The setting is set to 0 by default. |
Maintain Height Offset | Maintains the height difference between the source and target from the retarget pose using a range between 0-1. The default value is set to 0. |
Foot Settings
With Foot Settings you are not limited to a specific chain, instead you can toggle Foot and Toe options on and off, or default an option to off. You can also configure properties that define the foot plane.
Name | Description |
Use Foot | Toggles the option on and off. When set to on, uses the foot definition for more accurate foot and ground retargeting. When set to false, this operation treats the foot as a point. |
Use Toes | Toggles the option on and off. When set to on, this op uses the toes definition for more accurate toe and ground collusion. |
Foot Op | Operations specific to the foot plane. |
Medial Offset | The height in centimeters from the middle of the foot’s plane that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Lateral Offset | The height in centimeters from the left and right sides of the foot’s plane that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Heel Offset | The height in centimeters from the heel of the foot’s plane that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Toe Offset | The height in centimeters from the toes of the foot’s plane that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Vertical Offset | The height in centimeters from the top of the foot’s plane that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Toes Op | Operations specific to the bones in the toes. The toes will bend accordingly based on the foot definition and the toe definition. |
Alpha | Blends the effect of the toe operation on this goal. When the Use Toe option is toggled On, this tool has a range of 0-1. The setting is set to 1 by default. |
Responsiveness | Speed coefficient; increases cutoff when signal changes quickly (reactivity). |
Cutoff Frequency | Minimum cutoff frequency for the One Euro Filter (higher values mean less smoothing). |
Velocity Cutoff | Cutoff frequency for the derivative smoothing step. |
All Toes | Operations specific to the bone definition in all the toes. Add a toe bone to the index to target that bone in the chain. |
Toe Bone | The selected toe bone from the bone chain hierarchy. |
Length | Length of the bone in centimeters. This helps define toes for larger assets that have complex toe and foot structure. |
Yaw Offset | The height in centimeters from the left and right direction of the toe’s definition that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Vertical Offset | The height in centimeters from the top of the toe’s definition that snaps directly to the source bone height. The default value is set to 10; slide the bar to set the height on the target asset. |
Speed Plant IK Goals
A sub-operation that speed plants specified IK goals based on a speed curve. These tools are used on bone chains selected in the Retarget Chain settings.
Speed Plant Settings
Chain Mapping Options - Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains - Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains - Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK - Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters - Clears filter options.
Speed Plant Chain Settings
Name | Description |
Alpha | Blends the effect of the speed planting on this chain only on a range from 0-1. At 0, there is no effect. |
Speed Curve Name | The name of the animation curve that contains the speed curve data. |
Speed Planting Op Settings
Name | Description |
Alpha | Blends the effect of the speed planting on a range of 0-1. At 0, there is no effect. |
Speed Threshold | The maximum speed a source bone is allowed to move for the Speed Planting system to determine it is not moving. This causes the target IK goal to not move whenever the source bone speed drops below this threshold. |
Blend Method | The method to use when blending the IK goal of a planted position. The Spring method uses a critically damped spring equation to blend into and out of the planted states. The Move Towards method more accurately tracks fast motion without looking mushy. It only blends out of planted states. |
Critical Damping | How much damping to apply to the spring. A value of 0 means no damping, and a value of 1 means critically damped, causing no oscillation. |
Stride Warp IK Goals
A sub-operation that scales and warps specified IK goals based on a specified forward direction. These tools are used on bone chains selected in the Retarget Chain settings.
Stride Warp Settings
Chain Mapping Options - Filters bones using different filtering options:
Hide Mapped Chains - Hides chains mapped to a source chain.
Hide Unmapped Chains - Hides chains not mapped to a source chain.
Hide Chains Without IK - Hides chains not using IK.
Clear Filters - Clears filter options.
Stride Warp Chain Settings
Name | Description |
Enable Stride Warping | Enables stride warping functionality, which gives you a way to manipulate the stride length, width, and splay of the retargeted animations. Stride warping requires you to set up your character using IK goals for retargeting. |
Alpha | Blends the effect of the stride warping on this chain only on a range of 0-1. At 0, there is no effect. |
Stride Warp Op Settings
Name | Description |
Alpha | Blends the effect of the stride warping on this chain only on a range of 0-1. At 0, there is no effect. |
Direction Source | The source to use to determine a "best fit" global rotation that approximates the facing direction of the character over time. You can select from the following:
|
Forward Direction | The world space facing direction of your character. In most cases this is Y. |
Direction Chain | If you set |
Warp Forwards | Warps the IK goals along the forward direction. Values lower than 1 creates smaller strides, which values higher than 1 increase the stride length. |
Sideways Offset | Warps the sideways stance of the character. Values below 0 pulls the IK goals together perpendicularly to the forward direction, and higher than 0 pushes them apart. |
Warp Splay | Warps the overall stance of the character. Values below 1 pulls the IK goals together to an average location, and higher than 1 pushes them apart. |
Stride Warp Debug
Name | Description |
Debug Draw Size | Adjusts the size of the debug drawing. |
Debug Draw Thickness | Adjusts the size of the debug drawing. |