It’s my undestanding that the editor picks the proportions of the mesh used to create the skeleton as the “default” for retargeting and you can set additional retargeting sources in the retargeting manager, but what if you want to change the default to something else? I can’t seem to find any option for that in the retarget manager
Hi @Mickyan
Thanks for asking the Unreal Engine Community forums!
Answer: In the latest ue5, the old “Retarget Manager” and Retarget Source in Skeleton editor got deprecated for the new IK Rig + IK Retargeter system.
If you want to set a custom default Reference Pose or Target Mesh proportions for animation retargeting, this is now managed directly in the IK Retargeter Editor instead of Skeleton asset properties. Here’s why that is the case, and how to change your default pose/source for retargeting in the new ue5:
UE4 / UE5 Retargeting Overview
In the old UE4 (and early UE5), the Skeleton Asset contained a single Retarget Source list in the Retarget Manager. It was used to apply Bone Translation in case you animated different Skeletal Meshes that share the same underlying USkeleton asset (a dwarf, a tall human, and a giant all can share the same skeleton asset with different mesh proportions).
In UE5, animation became non-destructive and modular with the new IK Rigs (UIKRigDefinition) and IK Retargeters (UIKRetargeter). The Skeleton asset is now strictly hierarchy data only. Proportions, bone chains, and target/source mesh overrides are now managed directly in the IK Retargeter Editor.
Step-by-Step: Changing Default Retarget Proportions & Pose in UE5
If you want the specific animation sequence or retargeted asset to use a particular mesh’s proportions or your custom base pose as default, then you need to do the following steps:
First, you need to set up your IK rigs. To do this, right-click in the content browser and go to the Animation > IK Rig > IK Rig.
Create an IK Rig for your Source Mesh and an IK Rig for your Target Mesh.
In each of the rigs, assign the skeletal mesh in the Preview Mesh part and set up your retarget chains (e.g., Spine, LeftArm, RightLeg).
Secondly, you need to configure your IK Retargeter and set up your Default Target Mesh. To do this, create an IK Retargeter asset by going to the Animation > IK Rig > IK Retargeter.
In the asset setup screen, assign your Source and Target IK Rigs.
In the Details / Asset Settings panel on the right side
you will find the Target Preview Mesh.
Choose the specific skeletal mesh version you want to use as a base for your retarget animations.
Thirdly, creating and overriding your default retarget pose. To change the default alignment pose (e.g., from T-Pose to A-Pose or rotate your arms to fit the source’s proportions better), you need to click on the Create (+) > Create in the Retarget Pose section in the IK Retargeter Viewport toolbar.
Give your pose a name (e.g., RP_CustomDefaultPose) and by clicking on the Edit Mode, you can manually select and rotate your target character’s bones until they match the source’s skeleton.
Click Save Pose and set this pose to be your Current Retarget Pose. The retargeter will save and apply this pose as a default for all animation sequences that you export using this asset.
Legacy Method (If you work within the upgraded project or use UE4 Skeleton assets where the Retarget Manager window disappears from the main viewport)
You can follow the below steps:
Open your Skeleton Asset.
In the top toolbar, make sure that Window > Retarget Manager is enabled.
Under the Manage Retarget Source section, click Add New Retarget Source and choose the Skeletal Mesh you want to use as a base for your retarget animations.
Open your specific Animation Sequence and in the Asset Details > Animation > Retarget Source, set the mesh you want to use as a base for your retarget animations from the dropdown menu.
It is recommended not to use this method as most of the retargeting features’ updates and improvements for UE5.x are only available in the IK Retargeter.
Epic Community Documentation:
Video: