Bone naming conventions

To better integrate your models with MotionBuilder, create skeletons with bones that follow the recognized naming conventions. These bone naming conventions can be found in the Mapping List. See HIK character structure for HIK character bone naming conventions.

If you follow the MotionBuilder naming conventions when you create a skeleton, even if you create the model using different software, you can automatically map out and characterize your character models.

If you use other bone naming conventions, MotionBuilder cannot automatically recognize the structure of your model, and you must manually map out and characterize your character models.

For example, if you have a model with an upper left leg bone named LeftUpLeg, that bone can be automatically mapped in the Mapping List, because MotionBuilder recognizes the name.

On the other hand, if you have a model with the upper left leg bone named LeftThigh, you need to manually map the LeftThigh bone to the LeftUpLeg slot in the Mapping List.

The Mapping List requires that you indicate a minimum of fifteen required bones, as illustrated in the following diagram.

Basic skeleton with Base bones labelled

Note: You need not rename the bone objects on your existing skeletons. Instead, you can create a template of your own naming conventions to use for all of your characters. However, when creating new skeletons, you may find it is easier to follow MotionBuilder naming conventions so that the mapping process can be done automatically.