Working with Animations
This guide shows you how to apply animations to a character model built with the Linteum Character Kit.
Avatars
When you import a specific character model, it will likely come bundled with a humanoid animation-compatible avatar. Each specific character has either subtly or significantly different proportions to the base character included in their pack.
This avatar will be applied automatically when you click the Build & Save button. However, if you are hand-keying individualized animations for each character, it is important to use the FBX associated with the individual character for best results when working in external programs such as Motion Builder, to ensure accurate translation.
Unity's built-in Humanoid Animation Retargetting will provide an acceptable solution in almost all cases.
Animating Blend Shapes
The generated characters for Tafi also copy all their blend shapes into worn clothing and accessories such as hair. When animating one of these, it is often important to animate the related items as well.
There are two principle ways of animating blend shapes -- either by hand using animations, or by script.
Animating Blend Shapes Using Animations
Blend shapes in Unity can be edited on the timeline just like other object properties. Simply start recording your animation from the Animator Timeline as per usual, then edit the blend shape in question as a keyframe.
These animations will be saved with your other animators. Please note, importing blend shape curves from an FBX file (from Maya or a similar program) does not work in Unity, as these are not imported with your animation tracks. Blend shape animations must be created using the Animator timeline.
If you need to modify an existing animation stored in an FBX this way, select the animation in Project View, and press Ctrl+D (or Cmd+D for Mac users) to duplicate it. This will create a copy that you can safely edit.
Note: You will need to edit the blend shapes on the root object, along with any clothing. These can be attached in the same animation track.
Animating Blend Shapes Using Script
To animate blend shapes via script, please start with the reference script available here.
Animation Gotchas
If you do not animate a particular bone in your avatar, it is possible that the Unity default animations will play on that bone, as returned from within the Mecanim system. This typically shows up as an "open jaw" during other animation sequences.
There are two quick solutions to this problem:
Method One - Remove the Jaw
If you are not planning on using Mecanim animations to drive jaw movement (i.e. you are using Blend Shape Animation for facial animation for example), then simply removing the bone from the Avatar is the easiest solution.
To do this, select the target Avatar. Locate the rig, click the Configure button, find the Jaw bone, and then select "None" from the picker to remove it. Click Done to save your changes.
Method Two - Add a Blank Animation Track
To do this, simply create a single frame looped animation (you can do this via the Animator Timeline), which animates the jaw and keeps it in a closed position. Then create a new blank layer in the Animator Controller. Move it above the Base Layer, to avoid conflicting with any animations which actually target the Jaw bone.
Create your new State, and mark it as the entry animation.
Then select it, and drag the single frame looped animation into the Animation Clip.
Note: It is important that this animation is looped. If it is not looped, then results may be undefined.
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