Every Roblox user is represented by a customizable character called an avatar. Avatars are character models with many specialized features that allow users to interact with the world and customize themselves with a wide range of clothing and accessories from the Marketplace.
Custom avatars are first created in 3D modeling programs, such as Blender or Maya, before importing into Studio. To create a custom Roblox avatar character for your own experience, it's important to start with the following:
- An understanding of the components that make up an avatar character.
- An understanding of the general character creation process.
- Review the basic character creation tutorial to get started on creating your first avatar character using Roblox's templates.
- Various tools, resources, and guides provided by Roblox to standardize and expedite the creation process.
Components of an Avatar
All avatar character models are made up of several fundamental components that provide users the functionality and flexibility to interact with their world. Many of these components are never made visible to the user, but they enable powerful avatar features that enhance social and environmental interactions. When creating avatar characters, all of these components are typically created first in your modeling software and then converted to their appropriate Roblox Studio instance on import.
Each avatar character is made up of the following rendered and non-rendered components:
Body Parts
Roblox avatar characters are made up of 15 body parts, pieces of geometry that define the shape and contours of your avatar character. In Studio, these geometries are represented as MeshPart objects and are nested under a single Model.
Textures
Textures are image files that define the surface appearance of your character. You can create textures using a texture painting program or a 3D modeling software. In Studio, you must import textures as image files and access them through the SurfaceAppearance instance, or set as a MeshPart.TextureID property.
When texturing parts of your character model's body, ensure that your character model includes a modesty layer over sensitive regions. See Community Standards for more information on Roblox's policies.
Rigging Armature
An armature allows each character to articulate its limbs and move naturally through the environment. Often referred to as bones or joints, this rigging character information includes skinning data which allows connected limbs, like the knees or elbows to bend organically. In Studio, each bone of the character armature is represented by Bone objects that connect the character MeshPart objects together.
Face Animation Data
Cage Meshes
This outer cage sets the invisible surface on which layerable accessories, such as clothing, will stretch and fit over the body. These cage meshes allow clothes to fit over models of different shapes and sizes without having to remodel the clothing item. In Studio, outer cage mesh objects are represented by a WrapTarget instance.
If you are caging your own non-template character model, it's important to use one of Roblox's body cage project files to ensure you are using a Roblox standard cage mesh. Removing or adding vertices from this standard mesh can cause issues with clothing fit and import.
Attachments
Attachment points define where rigid 3D accessories and equipables attach to the character's body. These are not rendered to the end-user but are represented as sphere geometries in 3D modeling software and, when imported into Studio, these geometries are created as Attachment instances using the standardized names.
When wearing layered clothing, the clothing isn't attached directly to the attachment, but it does reference the associated attachment point during ragdoll and dismemberment animations.
Creation Process
When designing an avatar model, you must export all of the avatar components in a single .fbx or .gltf for import into Studio. Since 3D creation isn't a linear process and always requires reiteration and testing, the process of creating an avatar character model can differ between individuals and various creation workflows.
In general, the creation process follows these typical workflows:
Ensure that all assets you create follow any applicable Marketplace Policies and Roblox Community Standards.
Resources
There are a variety of resources available for creators of all backgrounds to get started with character creation.
If you are interested in specific avatar creation topics, use the following table to find guides and resources that best match your needs:
| Topic | Resources |
|---|---|
| Tutorials | Basic Character Creation Tutorial |
| Reference Files | Avatar references and project files Example Mesh/Model Objects |
| Technical Specs | .FBX Export Settings Avatar Specifications General Mesh Specifications Accessory Specifications Marketplace Policy |
| Cosmetic Creation | Accessories Overview Creating Face Accessories Accessory Fitting Tool Accessory Specifications Marketplace Requirements |
| Texturing | Texturing Requirements PBR Textures |
| Rigging and Skinning | Rigging and Skinning Overview Humanoid Rig Requirements Rigging Facial Bones Auto Skin Transfer Skinning Facial Bones |
| Facial Animation and Live Heads | Basic Head Creation Creating Face Accessories FACS Pose References |
| Testing and Validation | Calisthenics Tool Clothing Validation Tool |
| Publishing and Marketplace | Uploading to Marketplace Marketplace Policy Fees and Commissions |