My first time mocap experience

A bit background introduction for this mocap animation: This mocap animation is for the captone project(TallWall) that i am currently working on. The professor of the class highly recomended mocap animation. He found an ai mocap website which can capture the mocap data in a short time by just upload the reference video. So we send the reference video to our professor and he downloaded the data for us. Here is the whole process of how I try to transfer mocap data into Maya.

The reference for the mocap

Unfortunatly, the professor used a wrong rig from another student project, which i can’t apply the mocap to our rig. So I figured out a method to fix it. I first tried the quick rig tool from maya, but it didn’t work. Here are the steps:
1. Imported the mocap data and the model into maya

2. Select the model, change maya to rigging mode, skeleton —> Quick rig. By pressing the Auto rig frm the window that poped up, the model with have a skeleton, and I can change the source of the skeleton to the mocap skeleton.

However, the maya didn’t detected the mocap skeleton, so I tried another modethod.

I watched a youtube video which he used a tool called retargeting tool. This tool is like a plug-in, and you can easily link the mocap skeleton and the controller of rig by pairing them manually. I followed the tutorial, but the mocap skeleton only linked with fk controller. I switched all the controller to fk and linked them up, for the torso controller, I used the third controller on the waist instead.

This is the result after I linked all the controller with the mocap skeleton.

Since both our rig and other groups rig are made by advance skeleton, the rigging system are the same, so I used studio library to save the animation and apply to our rig.
The torso controller and fk feet is big problem for me, and I think it will increase the time and difficulties of the clean up. In order to avoid that, I need to transfer the animation from FK to IK.

First I used locator to constrained with FK controller, maintain offset off, and blend parent turned on, and hit key on every frame. By doing that the locator followed the FK controller, remember FK‘s location at the same time.
After locator got the FK’s location, delete the constrain link between controller and locator. Switch the controller to IK, let the IK constrained with controller. This time, controller will drive the IK, and repeat the same thing as locator did. After tranfer all the fk controller that you wanted, it is good to start clean up the mocap.

For fixing the mocap, I marked down some key frames on the reference video, and started clean up from the torso, hip then body and so on. I use animation layer to adjust the controller that have mocap, and delete some frame that might fight with the animation layer.

The mocap data I got

Doesn’t match up with our rig.

The retargeting tool already shows the feet controller is linked with the skeleton, but it doesn’t follw when I move the feet controller.

Suprisingly matched up with another group’s rig.

However, outside of the camera, the torso controller is at far right.

This is result after I transfer the animation by using studio library.

Before

After