animation/.claude/skills/iclone-video-mocap/references/export-pipeline-to-blender-godot.md

iClone 8 / CC4 → Blender → Godot Animation Export Pipeline Reference

Compiled 2026-07-15 from Reallusion manuals, soupday docs, Godot docs, Reallusion forum. Claims not confirmed against a primary source are marked [UNVERIFIED].

1. iClone 8 FBX Export

Menu path: Menu > File > Export > Export Fbx... (select one or more avatars/props/accessories/cameras first). iClone 8 ships as a single edition — no separate "Pipeline" SKU and no 3DXchange needed; FBX/OBJ export is built in.

Export dialog options (exact names, iClone 8 manual):

• Target Tool Preset — dropdown, auto-configures Advanced Settings per DCC. Supported-tools list is rendered as an image in the manual page (not text-extractable); known presets include 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya, MotionBuilder, Unity, Unreal [UNVERIFIED exact/full list].
• Export Range: T-Pose | Current Frame | All | Range — this is the mesh-vs-animation control. T-Pose/Current Frame = static export; All/Range = baked animation.
• Export Animation FPS — free field / dropdown to resample export frame rate.
• Embed Textures — embed in FBX vs. export as separate files.
• Max Image Size — cap texture resolution (default: original size).
• Convert Image Format to — force texture format (default JPG).
• Delete Hidden Face — strips occluded mesh.
• Use Smooth Mesh — export subdivided/smoothed surface.
• Merge Face Hair to One Object, Tear Ducts UV Adjustment — face-mesh consolidation options.
• Embed Timeline Timecode.
• Convert Skinned Expressions to Morphs — bakes skinned (bone-driven) facial expressions into morph targets so faces survive in non-Reallusion tools. Important for facial anim in Godot.
• Delete Unused Morphs — drops unkeyed blendshapes (smaller files; disable if you need the full ARKit/viseme set at runtime).
• Advanced Settings panel — per-tool fixups; for the Blender template this includes Rename Duplicated Nodes and Reset Bone Offset (needed so bones behave in Blender Object/Pose/Edit modes).

Animation-only export: iClone 8 has no "export animation only" FBX mode — mesh/materials always come along (confirmed by forum threads and Feedback Tracker "IClone 8 has limited FBX export options compared to CC4"). Workarounds: export via CC4 (which has FBX Options: Motion), or import the full FBX in Blender/soupday tools and discard meshes. For constraint-based animation (Link/Look At/Attach/Path/Reach), run Menu > Animation > Flatten All Motion with Constraint before export or those keys are lost.

Not exportable as FBX: iLight, iEffect, iParticle, iTree, iGrass, heightmap iTerrain, iWater, iSky, aml, iTalk, iPath.

Export License gating: The software does not gate FBX export; the content does. Reallusion marketplace/Content Store items require a purchased Export License per pack to leave the ecosystem; without it you get "You must first purchase the content licenses in order to export FBX and USD files." Your own characters and content flagged export-ready export freely. The Content EULA restricts exporting iContent to FBX/OBJ etc. without that license.

Sources: https://manual.reallusion.com/iClone-8/Content/ENU/8.0/83-FBX/FBX_UI_Intro.htm , https://manual.reallusion.com/iClone-8/Content/ENU/8.0/83-FBX/Exporting_FBX_from_iClone.htm , https://forum.reallusion.com/516723/export-animation-only-to-fbx-with-iclone-8/Forum445.aspx , https://www.reallusion.com/license/content.html , https://forum.reallusion.com/556427/

2. CC4 FBX Export (the better animation exit door)

Menu path: File > Export > FBX (Clothed Character).

Dialog options:

• Target Tool Preset dropdown (auto-sets Advanced Settings): Blender, Unity, Unreal, Maya, 3ds Max, etc.
• FBX Options: Mesh | Motion | Mesh and Motion — Motion is the true animation-only export (armature + animation, no character mesh). Separate checkbox Export Mesh and Motion Individually writes mesh FBX + one FBX per motion.
• Include Motion: Calibration (T-pose calibration motion) | Current Pose | Custom (queue .iMotion/.iMotionPlus clips; MotionPlus carries facial + body). Disabled when Export Type = Mesh only.
• Frame rate: dedicated page "Setting Frame Rate for Exporting FBX" — resample dropdown/manual entry.
• First Frame in Bind-Pose — inserts bind pose (T-pose for CC1/CC3 Base, A-pose for CC3+ characters) one frame ahead of the motion. Critical for retargeting tools that read frame 0 as rest pose.
• Texture size/format, embed toggle; Delete Hidden Mesh; Merge Beard and Brows into one object; Bake diffuse and specular maps from Digital Human Hair Shader; Bake diffuse maps from skin color; Use Subdivided Mesh; InstaLOD/Remesher/Merge Material for game LODs.

Sources: https://manual.reallusion.com/Character-Creator-4/Content/ENU/4.1/17-Export/Export-FBX.htm , https://manual.reallusion.com/Character-Creator-4/Content/ENU/4.0/17_Export/Exporting_Mesh_and_Motion_Individually.htm , https://manual.reallusion.com/Character-Creator-4/Content/ENU/4.0/17_Export/Setting_Frame_Rate_for_FBX.htm , https://manual.reallusion.com/Character-Creator-4/Content/ENU/4.0/17_Export/Using-First-Fram-in-Bind-Pose-Feature.htm

3. BVH Export

• CC4 4.4+ has native BVH export: File > Export > BVH. Options: Prefix/Suffix; bone selection with designated motion root (map to Hips); Target Tool Preset; Rename Duplicated Nodes + Reset Bone Offset (Blender compat); Frame Rate (sampling); Include Motion: Calibration | Current Pose | Current Animation | Custom (batch via Load Perform/Open File). Supports .iMotion/.iMotionPlus/.rlMotion/.rlPose. Known failures exporting motions retargeted onto non-standard (e.g. Daz G8) skeletons.
• iClone 8: no BVH exporter documented in the iClone 8 manual [UNVERIFIED — historical File > Export to Other 3D Format > Export BVH docs are 3DXchange5-era]. Practical path: send motion to CC4 and BVH-export there, or export FBX and convert in Blender.
• Both tools import BVH (Convert External Motions → iMotion).

Sources: https://manual.reallusion.com/Character-Creator-4/Content/ENU/4.4/17-Export/Exporting-Motions-to-BVH.htm , https://discussions.reallusion.com/t/bvh-export-fails-from-cc4/13056 , https://manual.reallusion.com/iClone-8/Content/ENU/8.4/50-Animation/Import-External-Motions/Convert-External-Motions.htm

4. USD / glTF

• USD: via the free Omniverse Connector plugin (iClone must be 8.3+). After install, Plugins > Omniverse exposes Export USD plus Live Sync (one-click whole-project or per-item two-way transfer). CC4 has an equivalent USD/Omniverse export [UNVERIFIED exact CC4 menu]. USD export of store content is also Export-License-gated.
• glTF/GLB: no native glTF export in iClone 8 or CC4 [UNVERIFIED as absolute, but no manual page exists]. Standard route: FBX → Blender → glTF exporter, or FBX → FBX2glTF/ufbx inside Godot. Community tutorials (Freedom Arts "CC4 Export to GLB and GLTF with Blender") all route through Blender.

Sources: https://manual.reallusion.com/Omniverse-Plug-in/Content/ENU/iC-8.3/01-Installation/For-IC-Users.htm , https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/connect/iclone.html , https://www.classcentral.com/course/youtube-character-creator-4-export-to-glb-gltf-with-blender-cc4-pipeline-tutorial-blender-310648

5. soupday CC/iC Blender Tools (cc_blender_tools)

Add-on (a.k.a. "CC/iC Pipeline") for importing/auto-setup of CC3/CC4 + iClone 7/8 exports into Blender. Docs explicitly warn: "Do Not use the standard blender FBX importer" for CC/iC characters.

Recommended export settings — CC4: preset Blender, FBX (Clothed Character), FBX Options Mesh and Motion, Include Motion Current Pose, check Delete Hidden Faces, textures NOT embedded. iClone: File > Export > Export FBX, target Blender, range All, check Embed Textures + Delete Hidden Faces.

Features:

• Import Character button: auto-builds full material setup (from the sidecar .json), optional toggles for Lighting, Physics, Wrinkles, Rigify; Import Animation checkbox brings motions in as Blender Actions.
• Import Animations button (Retargeting section): imports armature + actions including shape-key actions from extra FBX files, discarding meshes/materials.
• Rigify button (Rigging and Animation panel): one-click Rigify control rig, optional Full Face Rig; original CC skeleton is kept (hidden) as deform rig.
• Retargeting: sources supported — Character Creator, ActorCore, GameBase, iClone, Mixamo (X/Y Bots), "General Humans". Workflow: pick Source Armature + action → Preview Retarget (live tweak arm spread, leg spacing, heel/toe angle, root height) → Bake Retarget (new action named RigifiedChar | <Type> | ClipName) → Retarget Shape Keys copies facial/viseme shape-key animation onto every mesh with matching shape keys. iClone facial performances arrive as "iCTM" temp-motion actions. NLA editor recommended for stacking body + shape-key actions.
• Round-trip: Export to CC3/4 button requires the FbxKey from the original CC export; writes back JSON material params/textures for lossless re-import into CC. Export to Unity (.fbx or .blend); after Rigify, three export modes: mesh-only, armature+animation-only, or both.

Sources: https://github.com/soupday/cc_blender_tools , https://soupday.github.io/cc_blender_tools/usage.html , https://soupday.github.io/cc_blender_tools/animation.html , https://soupday.github.io/cc_blender_tools/adv-animation.html , https://soupday.github.io/cc_blender_tools/pipeline.html

6. CC Skeleton & Retargeting to Other Rigs

• Naming convention: every bone prefixed CC_Base_ — e.g. CC_Base_BoneRoot, CC_Base_Hip, CC_Base_Waist, CC_Base_Spine01/02, CC_Base_NeckTwist01/02, CC_Base_Head, CC_Base_L_Clavicle/L_Upperarm/L_Forearm/L_Hand, CC_Base_L_Thigh/L_Calf/L_Foot/L_ToeBase, plus twist chains (CC_Base_L_UpperarmTwist01/02, ForearmTwist, ThighTwist, CalfTwist) and full finger chains [names verified via CC4 Bone List/Bone Manager docs and community presets; exact full hierarchy: see CC4 Bone List F3 panel]. GameBase conversion produces a simplified skeleton with different names (breaks soupday Rigify — see issue #60).
• Not Mixamo-named (mixamorig: ≠ CC_Base_); retargeting is by humanoid mapping, not name matching. soupday retarget handles Mixamo→CC-Rigify directly.
• Blender retarget options: (a) soupday Rigify retarget (best for CC targets); (b) Auto-Rig Pro Remap — community bone-list preset "Character Creator 4 to Auto-Rig Pro IK" exists (gist by muratagawa); ARP is the commonly recommended robust option; (c) Rokoko Studio Live addon Retargeting tab — select source/target armature → Build Bone List → fix mappings → retarget; a ready-made CC3 bone-list JSON is sold/shared on Gumroad; addon has Blender-version lag issues.
• To a Quaternius-style simple rig: map only the ~20 core humanoid bones (Hips←CC_Base_Hip, Spine←Spine01/02 collapsed, Head, UpperArm/LowerArm/Hand, UpperLeg/LowerLeg/Foot); ignore twist bones and finger chains, or bake twist rotation into parent limb bones before transfer. Rest-pose difference (CC A-pose vs Quaternius T-pose) must be corrected with a rest-pose alignment step (ARP "Redefine Rest Pose" / Rokoko auto rest-pose matching) or shoulders will bake ~45° off.

Sources: https://manual.reallusion.com/Character-Creator-4/Content/ENU/4.0/04_Introducing_the_User_Interface/Bone-List.htm , https://gist.github.com/muratagawa/ed07632bdd07bdec442fa194821b92b9 , https://github.com/Rokoko/rokoko-studio-live-blender , https://support.rokoko.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410463481489 , https://github.com/soupday/cc_blender_tools/issues/60

7. FBX → GLB → Godot

Blender leg:

• CC FBX is authored in centimeters; Blender's FBX importer compensates with armature object scale 0.01 (and Edit Mode shows 0.01 scaling). Fix: use soupday importer, or apply transforms (select armature+meshes → Object > Apply > All Transforms) before doing anything else; the classic manual fix is scale ×100 → Apply Scale → ×0.01 dance when round-tripping to engines.
• Standard importer bone options: Automatic Bone Orientation + Force Connect Children make bones viewable but alter bone rolls/joint rotations — avoid if you will export animation back out; CC bones have zero-length/leaf-bone issues that iClone's "Reset Bone Offset" advanced option mitigates.
• GLB export (File > Export > glTF 2.0): glTF is Godot's recommended format. Key settings: Data > Armature > Export Deformation Bones Only = ON (required when meshes have shape keys, prevents shading errors; also strips Rigify control bones), Include Shape Keys + Shape Key Animations [UNVERIFIED exact checkbox names per Blender version], Animation mode Actions or push actions to NLA tracks so every clip exports as a named animation; +Y Up handled automatically; enable Backface Culling on materials. If exporting a Rigify character, bake action to the deform (CC_Base_) bones first or export with "Export Deformation Bones Only".

Godot leg:

• Godot 4.3+ imports .fbx natively via ufbx — no external converter; handles unit conversion (cm→m applied to mesh data, not node scale), no extraneous RootNode. Pre-4.3 / legacy files use FBX2glTF (requires downloaded binary; per-file importer switch in Import dock; switching importers changes node hierarchy, rest poses, surface order). Direct iClone-FBX → Godot-ufbx works but skips Blender-side cleanup (material rebuild, morph naming) [UNVERIFIED quality for CC characters specifically].
• GLB path is still the most predictable: animations arrive in an AnimationPlayer, blendshapes as mesh blend-shape tracks. Import dock: set Animation > FPS (default 30 — raise to 60 for iClone-sourced clips to avoid resampling loss [Godot 4 samples at import]), loop suffixes (-loop/-cycle name suffix or import options), and use Root Motion by assigning the hip/root bone as root_motion_track in AnimationTree.

Sources: https://godotengine.org/article/introducing-the-improved-ufbx-importer-in-godot-4-3/ , https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/assets_pipeline/importing_3d_scenes/available_formats.html , https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/classes/class_editorsceneformatimporterfbx2gltf.html , https://blenderartists.org/t/bringing-armature-into-edit-mode-scales-it-to-0-01-no-matter-what-i-do/1485346

8. Common Pitfalls Checklist

1. 60 fps: iClone's realtime engine/timeline runs at 60 fps [UNVERIFIED whether iClone 8 allows changing project fps]; set Export Animation FPS deliberately and match Godot's import bake FPS, or clips get resampled twice.
2. cm units / 0.01 scale: CC/iClone FBX = centimeters. Blender import → 0.01-scaled armature; apply transforms before retarget/export or child meshes, physics, and GLB scale drift. Godot ufbx converts units into mesh data automatically.
3. A-pose vs T-pose: CC3+ (CC4 default) characters' bind pose is A-pose; CC1/CC3 Base is T-pose. The Export dialog's T-pose option only prepends a T-pose frame — the skin bind pose stays A-pose (Feedback Tracker: "Exported FBX character stays in A pose when I select T pose"). Use First Frame in Bind-Pose so retargeters can read frame 0; align rest poses before baking onto T-pose target rigs.
4. Bind pose only appears with animation: importing CC FBX into Blender without animation shows bind pose, not the current pose you saw in iClone. Conversely, Blender's FBX exporter writes bind poses only when a weighted mesh is exported — armature-only motion FBX loses bind pose.
5. Twist bones: CC twist chains (...Twist01/02) carry real rotation; dropping them without baking their rotation into parent bones causes candy-wrapper forearms/thighs on simple rigs.
6. Facial blendshapes: enable Convert Skinned Expressions to Morphs (iClone) and don't over-prune with Delete Unused Morphs; in Blender keep shape keys + use Export Deformation Bones Only in glTF export; shape-key actions need Retarget Shape Keys (soupday) to follow a retarget; verify blend-shape tracks in Godot's imported AnimationPlayer.
7. Root motion: iClone motions move CC_Base_BoneRoot/Hip in world space; decide in-place vs root-motion before export (flatten constraints first), then configure Godot AnimationTree root-motion track; Rigify retarget offers root-height adjustment at preview time.
8. Store-content license wall: FBX/USD export silently blocked per-asset without Export License — audit content packs before building a pipeline around them.
9. GameBase/non-standard skeletons: break both soupday Rigify and CC4 BVH export; keep characters on the standard CC_Base_ skeleton until final export.