Blender - Avatar files

The Blender avatar files we provide contain the base skeleton that we use for the avatar and a copy of the body mesh skinned to the avatar. These files have been modified for improved visibility and quality of life when used with Blender.

These files can be found in Avatar reference files.

One of the Blender-modified avatars.

Special features of the Blender avatar files

The blender files provided in Avatar reference files, include the full-resolution avatar mesh, skinned to the avatar skeleton. We have hidden all of the bones that are unnecessary for skinning and animation, and the face and twist bones display as cubes for improved visibility. To see this "cleaner" view, you must enable Pose Mode by toggling the option in the bottom of the 3D View panel or by clicking Pose under Armature in the Outliner.

How Blender displays bones differently

If you are in Edit Mode, you will see the full skeleton with no bones hidden, and all bones will be drawn using the default Blender "Octahedral" view. These bones resemble the joint objects in Maya and 3DS Max, but Blender's display method is different. Every bone object has a head and a tail, which resemble Maya and 3DS Max's bones, but with an important distinction: The tail of the bone is actually a vector that tells Blender which direction the bone is facing (similar to Joint Orientation in Maya). This is why the face bones look so cluttered in Blender when you first import them or view them in Object Mode.

Closeup of the face bones in Pose Mode. Note that they appear as small cubes, rather than the larger "head and tail" of the other bones.

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