Hi,

Does the FBX Character Import node not import bone orientations, or am I missing something?

When I import the character into Maya I get the correct rotation axis on the bones:



However, when I import the same character into Houdini I don't seem to get the correct rotation axis:



Is there a setting I'm missing which would preserve the original bone orientations in Houdini?

Thanks

how are you importing the character? maybe share the fbx?

Maybe you need to "object" align the handle (rmb > align handle > object ), or is it world aligned ?

The fbx is straight out of Daz Studio so I don't think I'm allowed to redistribute it.

I'm just using the FBX Character Import node and plugging the capture pose directly in a Visualise Rig node.



Oddly, some fbx files do come in with the correct joint orientations, such as the Manny fbx exported from Unreal Engine 5.

I'm not sure what it is about Daz fbx files which is preventing this and it's odd that they work in Maya but not Houdini.

Then handle was in Component mode however, I've tried all of the modes and they all look the same.

Did you try the "File > import > Filmbox FBX" ?

toonafish
Did you try the "File > import > Filmbox FBX" ?

I did and it looks like it does bring in the correct joint orientations, but I don't really want to use that workflow.

From what I've read on other forums, it seems like Daz uses pre/post rotations on bones, which do get written to the FBX file and which Autodesk apps (Maya, Max, Motion Builder) do interpret correctly, but other apps like C4D and, it seems, the Houdini FBX Character Import ignore.

I've been able to get around it by reorienting the joints in Houdini, but it would be better not to have to do this.