---
title: "Export avatar animations from Maya"
url: /docs/en-us/art/characters/export-avatar-animations-from-maya
last_updated: 2026-08-13T00:14:30Z
description: "Explains the process for exporting avatar animations from Maya."
---

# Export avatar animations from Maya

**Avatar animations** are animations that you can create and assign to play for any avatar action, such as walking, swimming, or dancing. In addition to using the [Animation Editor](/docs/en-us/animation/editor.md) or [Animation Capture](/docs/en-us/animation/capture.md) tools within Studio, you can create avatar animations through third-party modeling and animation tools like [Maya](https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview), then import your avatar animations directly into Studio to apply to any avatar with Roblox. By using this guide as a checklist of the specific settings your rig and animation must meet for the export process, you can ensure that your animations import successfully.

![A humanoid mannequin in Maya with IK controls.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Overview-Mannequin.jpg)_R15 mannequin reference_

_Example walking animation_

> **Info:** This guide uses a downloadable [R15-Mannequin-Rig.ma](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/R15-Mannequin-Rig.ma) file that contains an R15 mannequin that you can use as a reference to create and export animations. If you choose to animate on your own R15 rig, the same rig configuration and export settings apply.
## Configure the rig

Before you export your avatar animation from Maya, you must configure your rig to be compatible with Studio's import requirements, including making sure that the rig follows a specific hierarchy and naming conventions so that Studio is able to recognize the file as an avatar animation, and that the rig's translation channel is muted so that the root node doesn't move with the animation.

### Hierarchy and naming conventions

Studio requires a specific hierarchy and naming conventions for a humanoid rig's internal joint structure so that it can recognize what you're importing as an avatar animation. If you aren't using the downloadable R15 mannequin reference rig to create your animations, make sure your rig uses the following joint hierarchy and naming convention exactly as it is:

- Root
- HumanoidRootPart
- LowerTorso
- UpperTorso
- Head (representing the base of the neck)
- LeftUpperArm
- LeftLowerArm
- LeftHand
- RightUpperArm
- RightLowerArm
- RightHand
- LeftUpperLeg
- LeftLowerLeg
- LeftFoot
- RightUpperLeg
- RightLowerLeg
- RightFoot

### Mute the translation channel

Roblox avatar animations cannot move a character when they play; instead, avatar animations animate rigs at their world position. If your avatar animation is a locomotion-type of animation where the root node moves in space, such as a character that moves forward as their walk animation plays, you must mute the rig's translation channel so that the animation plays without moving the rig on export.

To mute the translation channel:

1. Open the **Graph Editor**.
  1. In the menu bar, click **Windows**. A contextual menu displays.
  2. Hover over **Workspaces**, then click **Animation**. The **Graph Editor** displays.![A close up view of the Windows dropdown menu in Maya. The Workspaces menu item is highlighted, as well as the Animation submenu.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Opening-GraphEditor-and-TimeSlider.jpg)
2. Move the **Time Marker** to frame 0.![A close up view of the Graph Editor in Maya. The Time marker for a character's right hand is at frame 0, and is highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Time-Marker.jpg)
3. In the **Outliner**, select the root node. If you are using the reference file, this is **TSM3_root**.
4. In the **Channel Box**, right-click on the **Translate Z** value. A contextual menu displays.
5. Select **Mute Selected**. The Translate Z value's channel box color changes to orange to confirm that it's muted.![A close up view of the Channel Box in Maya. The Mute Selected menu item in the contextual menu from step 4 is highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Mute-Selected.jpg)![A close up view of the Channel Box in Maya. The Translate Z property channel box color is orange to signify it is muted. The rest of the values are in cyan blue to signify that they remain unmuted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Muted-TranslateZ.jpg)

When you play the animation, the character's root node doesn't move in space anymore, and the character animates in place at the origin of the scene.

## Export the animation

Now that your rig animates in place and has a hierarchy and naming data that is compatible with Studio, you can export the animation into a `.fbx` format. Maya doesn't load this capability by default, so you need to enable an FBX plugin to gain the additional settings necessary to export the file in a format Studio can recognize.

To export your avatar animation from Maya:

1. Install the FBX plugin.
  1. In the menu bar, click **Windows**. A contextual menu displays.
  2. Hover over **Settings/Preferences**, then click **Plug-in Manager**. The **Plug-in Manager** window displays.![A close up view of the Windows dropdown menu in Maya. The Settings/Preferences menu item is highlighted, as well as the Plug-in Manager submenu.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Plugin-Manager.jpg)
  3. In the search field, input **fbxmaya**. The **fbxmaya.mll** plugin displays.
  4. Enable the **Loaded** and **Auto load** options.![The Plug-in Manager with a close up view of the fbxmaya file. Its Loaded and Auto load settings are highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Loaded-and-AutoLoad-Radio-Buttons.jpg)
2. In the menu bar, click **File**. A contextual menu displays.
3. Select **Export All**. The **Export All** window displays.![A close up view of the File dropdown menu in Maya. The Export All menu item is highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Export-All.png)
4. At the bottom of the window,
  1. In the **File name** field, input a name for your avatar animation.
  2. Click the **Files of Type** dropdown menu, then select **FBX export**. The **Options pane** updates its settings.
5. In the **Options** pane, click the **Animation** dropdown for additional animation settings, then in the **Bake Animation** section,
  1. Enable **Bake Animation**.
  2. Verify that the **Start** and **End** fields correlate to the frames you want to export for your animation loop.
  3. Set **Step** to **1**.![A close up view of the Options pane. The Bake Animation settings are highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Bake-Animation.jpg)
6. Click the **Advanced Options** dropdown for additional export settings, then in the **FBX File Format** section,
  1. Set **Type** to **Binary**.
  2. If required, set **Version** to **FBX 2020**.![A close up view of the Options pane. The FBX File Format settings are highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/FBX-File-Format.jpg)
7. In the bottom right corner, click the **Export All** button. After a moment, the avatar animation `.fbx` file displays in your file browser.

## Test the animation in Studio

Once you have your avatar animation `.fbx` file, you can test it within Studio to make sure that the animation plays without any errors.

To test the animation in Studio:

1. Open a pre-built character rig.
  1. From the toolbar's **Avatar** tab, click **Character**.
  2. Select any rig you want to use as a test. The rig displays within the viewport.
2. Connect the rig to the **Animation Editor**.
  1. From the toolbar's **Avatar** tab, click **Clip Editor**. The [Animation Editor](/docs/en-us/animation/editor.md) window displays.
  2. In the viewport, click your rig. A dialog displays in the editor.
  3. In the **Animation Name** field, enter a new animation name, then click the **Create** button. The editor window displays the media and playback controls, timeline, and track list.
3. Import your avatar animation into the rig.
  1. Navigate to the **Media and Playback Controls** and click the **⋯** button. A contextual menu displays.
  2. Hover over **Import**, then select **From FBX Animation**. A file browser displays.![A close up view of the Animation Editor window. The ellipsis contextual menu displays, and the From FBX Animation submenu item is highlighted.](../../assets/animation/exporting-avatar-animations-from-maya/Importing-From-FBX-Animation.jpg)
  3. Select the FBX animation you just exported from Maya, then click **Open**. The animation's keyframes load into the **Animation Editor**.
4. Navigate to the **Media and Playback Controls** and click the **Play button** to play the avatar animation.