Animation capture

You can record or upload video content to the Animation Editor to quickly capture movement and expressions as animation keyframes. These tools can create unique and realistic animations within minutes while providing access to the animation keyframes for additional adjustments.

The Animation Capture tools allow you to:

• Record your face with a webcam to puppeteer characters with animation compatible heads.
• Upload full-body video content to generate high quality realistic animations for an entire character.

Face

Animation Capture - Face allows you to use your camera to puppeteer rigs with animation compatible heads and generate corresponding keyframes to your movement.

With the ability to record up to 60-second animations, you can quickly provide both your playable and nonplayable characters the means to realistically grin, raise their eyebrows, drop their jaw, or any other expression necessary for your experience.

Record face animations

Before you begin to record your face, ensure that you're in a well lit room close enough to your camera so that your face is in the center of your camera's recording frame. This increases your camera's ability to distinguish you from your surroundings so that you can accurately puppeteer your avatar and create high-quality animations.

To record your face and create an animation:

1. Open the Animation Editor.

   1. In the menu bar, navigate to the Avatar tab.
   2. In the Animations section, click on the Animation Editor. The Animation Editor window displays.

   

2. In the Explorer window, select the rig you want your video to animate. A dialog displays.

   

3. In the Animation Name field, enter a new animation name, then click the Create button. The Animation Editor window displays the media and playback controls, timeline, and track list.

4. Navigate to the track list and click the Face Capture button. A pop-up displays asking you to acknowledge that you consent to the collection of your facial movements to enable the feature and camera access.

   

5. (Optional) If you have multiple cameras, choose which camera you want to use to record.

   1. Select the … button. The Select a camera dialog displays.

      

   2. Click the dropdown arrow and select a camera.

   3. Click the Confirm button.

6. Click the red circle. Your camera begins recording your facial movements.

   

7. When you finish your recording, click either the red square or countdown timer. Keyframes that correspond to your facial movement display within the timeline.

   

8. (Optional) If you'd like to delete that recording and try again, click the Re-Record button.

   

After you finish your recording, you can fine-tune the keyframes, save your animation, then export it to use across all of your experiences.

Body

The Animation Capture - Body allows you to quickly generate high-quality, realistic full-body animations for your R15 rigs by uploading videos to use to track the body's movement and generate corresponding keyframes. This significantly speeds up the manual process of creating animations, and allows you to personalize your avatars and NPCs with life-like mannerisms in a few minutes.

Import videos for animation

Before you import a video to the Animation Editor, ensure the .mp4 or .mov file meets the following requirements:

• It includes just one person who is well-lit and visible throughout the video.
• It only contains a continuous single shot that's less than 15 seconds from a stable camera.
• It adheres to Roblox's Community Rules and Terms of Use.

To import a video to create an animation:

1. Open the Animation Editor.

   1. In the menu bar, navigate to the Avatar tab.
   2. In the Animations section, click on the Animation Editor. The Animation Editor window displays.

   

2. In the Explorer window, select the R15 rig you want your video to animate. A dialog displays.

   

3. In the Animation Name field, enter a new animation name, then click the Create button. The Animation Editor window displays the media and playback controls, timeline, and track list.

4. Navigate to the Media and Playback Controls and click the … button. A pop-up menu displays.

   

5. Hover over Import, then click Live Animation Creator from the contextual menu. A contextual menu displays.

   

6. Click the Choose Video button.

7. Select the video you want to import from your local machine, then click the Open button. After about a minute, keyframes that correspond to movement in your video display within the timeline.

After your import is successful, you can save and export your animation to use across all of your experiences.