Blender to Cascadeur to Blender Pipeline Tutorial| Sabbirz | 3d Learning Blog
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The Complete Blender & Cascadeur Workflow

Blender to Cascadeur to Blender

Blender to Cascadeur to Blender Pipeline Tutorial

Physics-Based Animation FBX Export Blender Add-ons Blender tutorials Blender Ready Player Me How-To Avatar Animation Cascadeur Workflow Ready Player Me Avatar 3D Workflow 3d animation Auto-Rig Pro character animation Game Development 3D Character Pipeline cascadeur Rigging Tutorial Character Rigging

In this series, I'll show you how to download a 3D character from Ready Player Me. Then, we'll import that character into Blender and rig it using the Auto-Rig Pro add-on. After that, we'll export the character to the animation software, Cascadeur. We will look at several ways to transfer characters between Blender and Cascadeur. Next, we will animate the character in Cascadeur. Finally, we'll import the animation back into Blender.

Download 3D Character from ReadyPlayerMe website 👤

  • Navigate to ReadyPlayerMe website
  • Define the character Ready Player Me Character Generation
  • Add other chracter details Ready Player Me Character Customization Ready Player Me Character Customization Ready Player Me Character Customization
  • Download the character Ready Player Me Download The Character Ready Player Me Download The Character

Importing 3d Model in Blender

  1. Open Blender and clear the default scene (A to select all, X to delete).
  2. Go to File > Import > GLTF 2.0 (.glb/.gltf).
  3. Navigate to your downloaded .glb file and import it.

You should now see your character in the viewport

Rigging with Auto-Rig Pro

Auto-Rig Pro is a paid add-on for Blender that simplifies the creation of professional-grade character rigs.

  1. With your character selected, open the Auto-Rig Pro panel.
  2. Go to ARP > Smart and click "Get Selected Objects."
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts to add markers for the neck, chin, shoulders, wrists, spine root, and ankles.
  4. Once the markers are placed, click "Go" to generate the reference bones.
  5. Fine-tune the bone placement to ensure they align perfectly with your character's mesh.

Binding the Mesh to the Armature

With the rig generated, the final step in Blender (for now) is to bind the character mesh to the new armature. This makes the "skin" move with the "bones."

  1. In the Auto-Rig Pro panel, go to the Bind tab.
  2. Select your character's mesh and then Shift-select the generated c_traj bone in the rig.
  3. Click the "Bind" button. Auto-Rig Pro will automatically handle the weight painting, though you can refine it later if needed.

Your character is now fully rigged and ready for the next stage!

Exporting FBX from Blender ➡️

To move our rigged character to Cascadeur, we need to export it in the .fbx format, which is a standard for 3D animation.

  1. Select your rig and mesh in Blender.
  2. Go to File > Export > FBX (.fbx).
  3. In the export settings on the right, make sure to check "Selected Objects" to avoid exporting cameras or lights.
  4. Under Armature, uncheck "Add Leaf Bones."
  5. Click "Export FBX."

Importing and Setting Up the Rig

  1. Open Cascadeur and go to File > Import > FBX/DAE.
  2. Select the .fbx file you just exported from Blender.
  3. Cascadeur's Rig Wizard will likely pop up. Follow the steps to automatically generate the control rig based on your Blender armature. This tool is excellent at identifying bone structures and creating the necessary controllers for animation.

Step 5: Bringing Your Animation Back to Blender ✅

Once you're satisfied with your animation in Cascadeur, it's time to export it back to Blender for rendering or for use in a larger scene or game engine.

  1. In Cascadeur, go to File > Export > FBX/DAE.
  2. Choose your export settings. You'll want to export the animation data.
  3. In Blender, with your rigged character file open, go to File > Import > FBX (.fbx).
  4. Import the animated FBX you just saved from Cascadeur. This will bring in the animation data and apply it to your existing rig.

You can now see your Cascadeur-made animation playing on your character right inside Blender!

Next Steps 🚀

Congratulations! You have successfully completed a full 3D character animation workflow. You've gone from creating a custom avatar in Ready Player Me, to building a professional rig in Blender with Auto-Rig Pro, creating a lifelike animation in Cascadeur, and bringing it back to Blender.

This pipeline is flexible and powerful, giving you the best of each tool. From here, you can render your animation, add it to a game engine like Unreal or Unity, or continue to refine it.

Happy animating! ✨