Anima

This is a VERY basic Mecanium tutorial for those who want to take advantage of the example animations found within the video tutorial below.

At this point I am able to create my own mesh and sync it with Mecanim’s example skeleton/animations.

Mechanim Tutorial:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx21y9eJq1U

– I would watch the first 6:30 minutes of the video to get an idea of what your product will be, and the process of importing/preparing your character for animations.

Basic steps:
1. Download the practice unity/maya file ZIP found within the info box of the Mecanim Tutorial (youtube link above).

2. Open the provided Maya file enclosed in the ZIP.

3. Delete the mesh that surrounds the skeleton in the maya file.

4. Import your concept art, then manipulate the given skeleton to match your art (think ahead about what your mesh is going to look like and match the skeleton as best you can)

– You can delete bones without any issues caused in animations (as far as I can tell)

5. Model your mesh based on your concept art and skeleton

6. Once your model and skeleton look correct, you will want to delete the already saved bindPose that is attached to the skeleton. Select your skeleton, with your attribute editor open look for any tabs labeled “bindPose 1”. Under that tab there is a checkbox named “Bind Pose” this should be unchecked.

7. You should be able to bind the skin to your model now (I’m using smooth bind due to the fact that my model should move organicly). Under the Animations Menu go to Skin > Bind Skin > Smooth Bind

– I don’t know the options box part very well with smooth binding (feel free to take advantage of it if you are experienced with rigging.)

8. At this point you should be free to open the supplied Unity scene that was supplied in the ZIP, then follow the steps seen in the first 6 minutes of the youtube tutorial in order to import and prepare your character.

9. If you see any distortions in your model while it is being animated, you may need to repaint skin weights in order to ensure their accuracy. This tool is found under Skin > Edit Smooth Skin > Paint Skin Weights Tool.