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Skeletal Mesh Retargeter

Rebuild a binary FBX mesh hierarchy with UE5, Unity-style, Mixamo, or custom bone names and download it locally.

Runs locally — input is never uploaded
Choose one FBX
Target destinationUE5 Manny / Quinn
Destination skeleton
89-bone Manny hierarchy, including twist, IK, interaction, and center-of-mass bones.
Validation motion
Optional preview only; animation is not included in the downloaded FBX.
Bone mappingChoose a source FBX

Choose a source FBX to map it to the selected destination.

WHAT IT DOES

Map one character to the skeleton its destination expects.

Choose a source character FBX, then select UE5 Manny or Quinn, Unity Humanoid, Mixamo, or a custom FBX as its destination. Review the proposed bone matches before converting. For binary FBX, the tool builds the destination names and hierarchy around the source mesh, folds weights from removed bones into retained ancestors, and adds unmatched target bones without skin weights. It keeps the source bind pose, geometry, and morph targets.

Why use it?

Use it to review and rebuild skeleton naming and hierarchy around an existing character mesh when a destination rig expects a different structure. It is not an automatic guarantee of animation compatibility.

How to use this tool

  1. Load the source character FBX and choose the intended destination skeleton, using a custom FBX when the project requires a specific hierarchy.
  2. Review automatic matches, provisional suggestions, unmapped bones, and conversion preflight notes. Confirm uncertain correspondences manually.
  3. Convert, then inspect the reloaded output with its mesh visible and exercise the validation motions or a preview animation. Look closely at hips, shoulders, hands, and dropped helper-bone influences.
  4. Download only after reviewing the converted result and test it in the destination engine. The source bind pose is retained, target-only bones have no skin weights, and preview animation is not included in the FBX download.

Details and limitations

  • The built-in targets contain compact names and hierarchy data, not the Manny, Quinn, or Y Bot character meshes. A custom destination FBX can still be chosen for a project-specific rig.
  • An uploaded animation FBX is a preview-only motion source. Its embedded rig is mapped onto the destination viewer, then previewed on the converted mesh. The downloaded FBX does not include that animation.
  • FBX files are parsed locally. The source mesh can be shown or hidden over its bones, and the converted pane reloads the exact downloadable FBX so hierarchy, weights, and motion can be checked before export.
  • Automatic matching is one-to-one. Exact normalized names are accepted first, common humanoid aliases such as Hips and pelvis or ForeArm and lowerarm are considered next, and weaker filename similarities stay visibly provisional.
  • Selecting a mapping row highlights both bones in the two previews. The target picker searches the hierarchy by bone name or full path, and manually choosing a target confirms that correspondence.
  • Convert and Download are separate: binary conversion rebuilds and reloads the result locally first, so the mesh can be inspected before the browser saves anything. The target reference pose is not applied to the source mesh.
  • When the destination drops source-only twist or helper bones, their influences are folded into the nearest retained ancestor on each skinned mesh. Target-only bones are added without skin weights at positions estimated from the reference skeleton. ASCII FBX currently receives name compatibility conversion only.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Mesh Retargeter questions

Does this fully rebind the mesh to a different target topology?
Binary FBX conversion writes the destination names and hierarchy while preserving the source mesh and bind pose. Source-only influences are folded into retained bones per mesh; unmatched target bones are created without weights. It does not recreate the exact Manny or Mixamo skinning or bake a preview animation. ASCII FBX receives name compatibility conversion only.
Why show both skeletons instead of only a mapping table?
Matching names cannot reveal an extra root or a different hierarchy. The source mesh and destination bone views make those structural differences visible while the table provides the exact editable mapping.
What does a yellow match mean?
The names and hierarchy make that target plausible, but not strong enough to accept silently. Review it in both skeleton views and choose the target manually to confirm it.
Is there one standard Unity skeleton?
No. Unity Humanoid uses an Avatar to map different humanoid rigs to a common representation. The built-in neutral hierarchy targets that Avatar mapping rather than claiming to be Unity's one fixed skeleton.