Animating Bitmoji 3D

You can now animate your Bitmoji avatar or use existing animation libraries. Here are some quick links to resources to get you started:

• Full Rig for Autodesk Maya (includes simplified bind_skeleton_clean.fbx for other 3D editors)
• Maya to LS converter
• FBX for uploading to Mixamo

Animating Bitmoji 3D in Autodesk Maya

We provide a full Maya rig that features advanced controls, allowing you to create high-quality animations for Bitmoji avatars. This is the exact setup our team uses internally! We also provide a converter script required to process animations for optimal performance in Lens Studio.

Maya Setup

1. Download the Maya Rig and the Converter
2. Copy the rig to your Maya project folder and open Maya
3. Go to File > Reference Editor

The Reference Editor in Maya is like a control center for managing files you've brought into your scene from outside sources.

4. Locate your bitmoji_rig.ma file. The Bitmoji Rig should be loaded in your viewport:

5. Make sure to set the scene to 30 FPS

6. Have fun animating!

Installing the Converter

This section explains how to install a converter depending on your system

MacOS

1. Open Terminal

2. Navigate to your Maya application file, for example

   cd /Applications/Autodesk/Maya2022/Maya.app/Contents/bin

3. Run the following command to install a library

   sudo ./mayapy -m pip install "pygltflib"

4. Make the FBX2glTF and MACFACT converter executable by running the following commands:

   chmod -R +x /Users/USER/Downloads/bitmoji_animation_converter/converter/FBX2glTF

   chmod -R +x /Users/USER/Downloads/bitmoji_animation_converter/converter/macfact

5. Enable FBX2glTF and MACFACT in "Privacy & Security" Settings:

Windows:

Open Maya Script Editor (Windows > General Editors > Script Editor). Then open and run the window_installer.py from the bitmoji_animation_converter folder to install the required libraries.

Export from Maya

1. Open Maya Script Editor by navigating to Windows > General Editors > Script Editor
2. Open launch_bitmoji_export.py file in the converter folder
3. Run the Script!
   As this task will be performed repeatedly in different projects, scenes, and animations, utilizing Maya's Shelf Button function enhances efficiency. Simply select the script text and drag it to the shelf!

   Two files will be generated next to your Maya file:

• Animation FBX file containing keys on the skeleton & face blendshapes filename.fbx
• Optimized animation GLB file with dummy geometry for smaller size & blendshape keys copied to all possible geometry files (beard, lashes, etc) filename.glb

Import to Lens Studio

Import .glb file into Lens Studio, with Use Legacy Importer and Convert Meters to Centimeters disabled.

Animating Bitmoji 3D with Mixamo

Another way of creating animations for Bitmoji is through a service like Mixamo.

Please don't forget to upload the custom model provided below!

1. Download .fbx file created for Mixamo
2. On the Mixamo website click on the Upload Character button and upload the .fbx file.

3. Once you've selected the animation - adjust settings and click Download. Select .fbx format and with or without skin option (we will use Bitmoji 3D model obtained in runtime).

Please note that static poses (animations with a length of 1 frame) are not imported correctly at the moment.

Set up Bitmoji animation in Lens Studio

1. Drag and drop the .fbx or .glb files with animation into the Asset Browser to import it into Lens Studio.

2. Create a new scene object, and add Bitmoji 3D component to it. Set Mode to Default. If your animation comes from Mixamo, toggle the Enable Adapt to Mixamo checkbox.

   

3. Add Animation Player component to the same scene object

   

4. Click Add Clip and add the Animation Asset that came in from your imported FBX with your animation.

   

5. At this point you should see your animation playing!

   

6. For more advanced animation control and blending check out Animation State Manager asset in the Asset Library

   

   You might have to change the scale of your parent object depending on your animation.

Tips and Tricks

To make sure your animation works well, make sure to:

• Set the Animation Player blend mode to Default instead of Additive.
• Set the object with Animation Player component to have an appropriate scale.

Playing the Animation

Take a look at the Animation Player guide to learn about playing animation automatically, programatically, and more! Or check out the Animation State Manager custom component from Asset Library for easy animation control and blending!