I downloaded a number of sequences from Maximo, imported them into Ureal (using a skeleton mesh I imported from Mixamo) and retargeted them to the character that is to use them. However, I need to edit the sequence on minor points… I looked on Google but only found articles on retargeting.
I tried to edit it in the sequence editor, it gives me an option to bake it into a control rig, and I have a control rig on this character but that cannot be selected - only what is intern to Unreal, like Manny and Quinn. But that seems to wrong way to go…
The option to use the FK editor seems very complex for the changes I need to make…
I prefer a method inside of Unreal without extra plugins, but if one is needed, which one?
Another possibility might be Blender, in which case I would like to get some links to documentation on how to do that and how to get the animation back into Unreal so it can be used…
Tweaking animations that were imported from mixamo can sometimes be tricky to work with in unreal when you just want to make a few simple tweaks
Before I give you some options for the best workflow I think I should ask you a few preliminary questions to get a better understanding of what you want to do.
Are you trying to tweak the original Mixamo animation or the newly retargeted animation sequence?
When you tried baking to Control Rig, Did you assign a compatible Control Rig Class inside your Skeletal Mesh settings first or were you trying to use a custom Control Rig created specifically for your custom character?
Depending on what you wish to accomplish there are several very simple ways that we could go about this (using Animation Layers within the Animation Sequence Editor or baking to a standard FK Rig, for example)
Once you let me know I can give you exact steps to take and some links to video guides/documentation to help you out!
Thanks a lot!
FYI:
The target is an asset I found on Quixel (I think. it’s in my Epic library) with the same bone structure as the standard Unreal mannequins (I checked). I tried to use that first (so I don’t have to retarget) but Mixamo placed the bone structrure on the floor in front and all animations move only the head..
So I used a Mixamo character I downloaded before instead and retargeted it to the character… The animations work great but some adjustments need to be made: for now these are the start- and end-positions, and probably the duration, distance or speed of the animation - or any combination of them. Because the movements follow on eac hother I would like to concatenate them into one sequence. I’ve do some experiments with control rigs, so that has my preference - I’m a complete beginner on FK-rigs…
Ok - answers:
Whatever is the easiest. If it’s easier to work on the original, I would duplicate that and use the copy.
You mean on the retargeted one? In that case, I did create a control rig from the skeleton mesh - if I can use the standard Unreal ones (a copy of them obviously) that would help already
The problem with your custom control rig not appearing in the Bake to Control Rig menu is that Unreal’s sequencer requires a Backwards Solve setup in your control rig asset.
Backwards Solve is the graph that tells Unreal how to bake raw bone animation into control rig keyframes. As it’s not set up in your custom control rig, sequencer only shows default rigs (Manny/Quinn)
Since you want to edit the start/end pose, speed, or concatenate animations, I’d recommend using Sequencer for that, as it’s the most suitable tool in UE for this purpose. You don’t need blender for this at all!
Option 1: Use Level Sequencer + Edit with FK Control Rig
If you don’t want to build a Backwards Solve for your custom rig, Unreal has a built-in FK Rig that works out-of-the-box on any skeleton
Create a Level Sequence (Right Click in Content Browser > Animation > Level Sequence).
Drag your retargeted character into the level and into the Sequencer track
Add an Animation Track and line up your Mixamo animations one after another (you can crossfade/blend them seamlessly and adjust playback rate/speed right on the timeline)
Right click your character track in Sequencer and select Edit with FK Control Rig. This bakes all bone movement into easy FK keyframes so you can tweak start/end poses.
Once you like the result, right-click the top character track in Sequencer and select Bake Animation Sequence to export it as a single combined .uasset animation
Option 2: Add Backwards Solve to Your Custom Control Rig
If you want to use your personal Control Rig instead of FK:
Open up your Control Rig Asset, add the Backwards Solve event node and bind your bones to your controls. After saving it your rig will show up in Bake to Control Rig in sequencer
Let me know if you run into any hitches with the Sequencer timeline
I created a control rig from scratch, including a creation event, forward solve and backward solve. FK controls only, since I have some (unsolved) issues with IK controls but I think I can do with FP only. The forward solve works, but when I try to bake my sequence into a control rig, NONE shows up. Not even the default Unreal mannequin one.
The following videos by Kevin Freeman have helped me in creating the control rig:
Found it - in method one.
If I open the control rig itself and bake into control rig, it doesn’t show up. But when I create a sequence, add the animation and right click, I can only select “Bake into Control rig” - and my newly created control rig does show up!
probably a bug that it does no longer show up under “Edit in sequencer / Bake to control rig”
When you right-click directly on the Animation track, Unreal wants to replace/transform that particular animation evaluation on the timeline. But when you right-click the Skeletal Mesh Actor Binding track (the main track header for your character in Sequencer) Unreal will evaluate the whole actor through the sequence and open up the full Bake to Control Rig context-menu with all compatible rigs in your project.
Nice to see you got it up and running via the sequence track workflow.
Since you mentioned that in your previous message you’re working with FK controls and ironing out a few issues, here are a couple of minor things to keep in mind while you’re polishing your sequences:
1. Baking Back to an Animation Sequence
Once you finish tweaking your poses or concatenating multiple clips on the timeline
Right-click the main Skeletal Mesh track at the top of Sequencer.
Select Bake Animation Sequence
Choose your save path and export settings to generate a single, clean .uasset animation file ready for your Animation Blueprint.
2. Quick Note on FK vs. IK
Since you mentioned using FK controls for now while resolving IK issues, if you ever need to quickly align limbs or adjust foot planting down the road without full IK setups
You can right-click the track and select Edit with FK Control Rig. This automatically generates keyframes across all bones without needing a custom asset, making quick tweak passes super fast
It was a lot of work, and it’s not perfect, but I managed to adapt a Mixamo animation to my needs. IK controls would have made it a lot easier, I think, mainly because I wouldn’t have to bother about the placements of hands and feet on changing the body position..
Well, that’s next. What I like of Kevin’s method is that is general - you can use it regardless the bone structure and hierarchy - as long as you keep to the naming convention.
This is the result - as it will be visible. the main movement - legs, body - is inside…
Setting up IK is definitely going to save you a ton of time on your next passes. Having foot and hand effectors locked in world space while you adjust the pelvis or spine makes tweaking obstacles like this hurdle so much smoother.
As you are going to add some IK to your Control Rig I have some tips and steps that I know will help you get your Forward and Backward solves working well together
1. Setting Up Basic Basic Two-Bone IK
For arms and legs, Unreal Control Rig has a built-in node that handles the heavy lifting:
Inside your Control Rig graph (under Forward Solve) drag out a Basic Two-Bone IK node.
Assign your Item A (e.g, thigh_l) Item B (calf_l) and Item C (foot_l)
Wire your IK control transform into the Effector pin and create a pole vector control for the Primary Axis/Secondary Axis to control knee/elbow direction.
2. Don’t Forget the Backward Solve for IK Controls
To make sure you can still bake animations back onto your IK controls seamlessly in Sequencer
In the Backward Solve event you’ll want to map the bone transforms back to your IK controls.
Drive the Hand/Foot IK control transforms directly from the corresponding hand/foot bone transforms (Get Transform-Bone → Set Transform-Control)
Great work so far! If you run into any issues with flipping knees or pole vectors when you start hooking up the graph let me know and I’d be happy to help.
Actually I made a mistake - there is a flaw in one video - that I corrected, and part of the trouble is that that editor, in fact the whole program - needs to be restarted to get the view of the rig be correct. Annoying but my project is small so I can live with that.
Now my progress is blocked due to a node that exists in 5.6 but is missing in 5.8: MakeTransform function. Inputs are location, rotation and scale, output a complete transform. I cannot find anything that replaces this function…
In Control Rig (RigVM) node names often get refactored or consolidated. If MakeTransform isn’t showing up when you search for it:
How to construct/combine a Transform in Control Rig:
Right-click in the Control Rig graph and search for Make Transform under Math → Transform
If it’s missing from the main list, turn off “Context Sensitive” in the top right of the right-click menu as RigVM filters nodes strictly by execution context.
Alternative: Break/Make Struct
Search for Make RigVMTransform or Transform (Struct)
Or drag out from a Transform output/input pin and select Split Struct Pin.
This exposes the individual Location, Rotation, and Scale pins directly on the existing node without needing an intermediate MakeTransform node.
Try pulling off the pin or toggling Context Sensitive off and see if it pops up.
Let me know if it works for you!