Retarget a Mixamo animation to a UE5 character

Retargeting a Mixamo Animation to a UE5 Character is very simple, and uses the standard UE5 workflow. You can read more about the UE5 retargeting system here: https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/ik-rig-animation-retargeting-in-unreal-engine/.

The UE5 Mixamo Animation Retargeting plugin automatically performs all the configurations needed by UE5.

Video Tutorial

This video tutorial shows, after having applied the plugin, how to retarget a Mixamo animation to a UE5 character (based on one of the supported skeleton types: UE4 Mannequin, UE5 Mannequin, MetaHuman).

How to - step by step

To retarget a Mixamo animation to an Unreal Engine 5 character:

• if not already done, run the plugin's Retarget Mixamo Skeleton Asset action on the Mixamo skeleton associated with the Mixamo animation (please read the detailed instructions if needed);

• open the IK Retargeter asset named RTG_<Mixamo-Skeleton>_<UE-Skeleton> (for example RTG_SWAT_Mannequin). It's created by the plugin and saved in the same directory as the Mixamo skeleton. It's used to retarget animations from the Mixamo character to the target UE skeleton.

  

• in the IK Retargeter editor, select an animation from the Asset Browser (double click on it to preview it in real-time);

  

• press the Export Selected Animations button;
• select the destination directory where saving the new retargeted animation.

Done :) You'll find the new retargeted animation in your Content Browser.

Check sections below for more advanced retargeting options and specific notes for MetaHuman characters.

Alternative Skeletal Meshes

The plugin computes ad-hoc retarget poses for all the Skeletal Meshes using the target skeleton. This allows the Retargeting System of Unreal Engine to generate better results when properly configured.

If the target UE skeleton is used by several Skeletal Meshes, you can select a compatible target asset in the Target Preview Mesh property of the IK Retargeter editor (selecting a skeletal mesh not using the same skeleton is not directly supported by the plugin).

Ensure to select the corresponding Retarget Pose before exporting the animations.

This allows the Retargeting System of Unreal Engine to compute a retargeted animation better suited for the selected skeletal mesh.

MetaHuman

When working with MetaHuman characters, ensure to select the skeleton named metahuman_base_skel (usually located at /MetaHumans/Common/Female/Medium/NormalWeight/Body/) when asked by the plugin. If it's missing, ensure to import a valid MetaHuman character in your project.

When retargeting a Mixamo animation to a MetaHuman character, only the default f_med_nrw_body skeletal mesh must be used (usually located at MetaHumans/Common/Female/Medium/NormalWeight/Body/, corresponding to the default Female - Medium - Normal Weight body). This is automatically configured by the plugin. No other target skeletal mesh or Retarget Pose must be selected to properly retarget animations. If the f_med_nrw_body skeletal mesh is missing, import into your project a different MetaHuman character preset.

The MetaHuman system autonomously adapts animations to the used character body proportions, selecting a different Target Preview Mesh in the IK Retargeter editor will cause errors in the final rigging.

The new retargeted animation can be used with your MetaHuman character playing it on the Body Skeletal Mesh Component. For a quick preview:

• open the Blueprint actor class (for example Content\MetaHumans\Hudson\BP_Hudson);
• select the Skeletal Mesh Component named Body;
• set the Animation Mode field to Use Animation Asset;
• set the Anim to Play field to the retargeted animation.