Blender USDZ with Armature Animation not working in Apple Motion

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Level 1

4 points

Blender USDZ with Armature Animation not working in Apple Motion

I have been working on this for way too long. I see a lot of information out there about USDZ files, but nothing that seems to have anything to do with Armature animation in Blender.

OVERVIEW

Anytime there is an Armature, the model is either not visible or completely deformed when imported into Apple Motion.

I have tried dozens upon dozens of methods to get this to work in Blender 2.9, 4.11, and 4.2. I have used the USD export (Export -> Universal Scene Description (*.USD) [with USDZ extension]) directly, and also USDZ, GLB, and FBX exports pulled into Reality Converter and exported.

I have models that work perfectly in the quick view window in Finder and also in Reality Converter as well. But no matter what method I use to pull it into Motion, it's either completely black (the entire screen) or completely deformed.

I even called Applecare about it and left details and files. I've never heard back.

EXAMPLES

Here is a file in Finder side by side with Reality Converter. Both not only show the model perfectly, but run the animation perfectly as well.

Here is that same file in Apple Motion.

I have some other models that import, but when they do, they are totally deformed.

HOW TO REPLICATE

This is beyond easy to test. Open Blender and export the default cube as USDZ (Export -> Universal Scene Description (*.USD) [use the USDZ extension when you save.])

Now back in Blender add an armature by hitting Shift-A -> Armature. Select the cube, shift-select the armature, Ctrl-P -> Armature Deform -> With Automatic Weights. Then export this as well.

The first will import. The second will import as a black screen that blocks everything else.

MORE DETAILS

I will say, that when I import the USDZ into Reality Converter I get this warning:

Invalid node type in USD file: UsdGeomPointInstancers and custom schemas not provided by core USD are not allowed.

Google has not helped, and, again, when I export from Reality Converter, it still doesn't work in Motion, even if I use a different type of file to import to Reality Converter to begin with.

ANY HELP?

Am I missing something? What method can we use to animate without armatures? Is there some rotation or transformation to apply that I don't know about (I've tried so many) or some setting I'm not aware of that would resolve this? If so, why does this also happen when exporting from Reality Converter? And why does it happen with nothing but the default cube?

I simply want to put a book I've created that opens into Apple Motion. I cannot imagine it's that hard, but, evidently, it's next to impossible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.5

Posted on Aug 16, 2024 11:11 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

GFXZen

Level 4

1,997 points

Sep 20, 2024 6:37 PM in response to BenB

To clarify from Ben's comment. Motion does support USDZ with animation built in. It actually ships with a few models in the library that include animation (Robot, Helicopter and Butterfly).

However, Motion does not provide any tools for editing or manipulating things like bone based systems and rigs( "armatures") from 3D applications. And even within that there can be challenges as some animation rigging between 3D Apps may be translated differently USDZ is getting better at moving between apps, but there can still be problems. For example, if I pull the butterfly USDZ into my 3D app that supports USDZ the mesh is totally separated from the bones in the butterfly rig.

FWIW, I've seen complex animated USDZ files from sketchfab that work just fine in Motion and others that run into problems. The issues often seem to be around the bone rigging systems and this can varies from 3D software to 3D software. At its best USDZ is an effective way to move 3D Scenes between applications, however there can still be discrepancies in how one app handles its rigging vs another. I have also seen cases where exporting from USDZ and taking a file into Reality converter works worse than using some other interchange formats (example: gltf or FBX). The fact that you are hitting an error in Reality converter indicates there is something about the scene structure that does not play well from blender to another app. I'd recommend starting in a blender forum to see if someone can help you understand what might be problematic in the UsdGeomPointInstancers and custom schemas they are using that might trigger this error in Reality Converter? Looking at the reality converter help, I also saw this

"You can provide feedback about Reality Converter by writing to us at rc_feedback@apple.com" Perhaps sending your file might get this some attention.

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Answer 2

fox_m

Level 6

12,535 points

Aug 16, 2024 5:52 PM in response to Deadly_B

I don't know what's happened to this forum — it used to be quite busy.

I have been a *fan* of 3D in Motion, but I'm still only using OS 10.14.6 (Mojave) because my machine is old and I can only run Motion 5.4.7 (and FCP 10.4.10). My "expertise" tends to be with 3D Text and building models inside Motion itself and not importing USDZ models.

I wish I could help you, but most of the software you're using is out of my reach. Hopefully this "confession" will help motivate other participants to join in... Good luck!

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Answer 3

BenB

Level 6

12,589 points

Aug 24, 2024 6:24 AM in response to Deadly_B

Importing USDZ into Motion does not support animations with them.

mO2 would do a way better job, but it has been discontinued.

We're waiting on mO3 for about two years now, but MotionVFX is slow with it, and will probably put it on their subscription plan.

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