Accuratly aligning your character in T-Pose is the most import part of the Charterize process.

Get it wrong and you'll not only affect the quality of your mocap data, but you'll also find yourself spending more time fixing problems than you do animating.

Align Character in T-Pose

1. Open Your Character File

• Go to File > Open to open your character file.
• In the Open Options dialogue window:
  • Right-click and select "Load All Elements".
  • Right-click again and choose "Discard All Animation" to ensure no animation is included.
  • Right-click one more time and choose "Load All Settings".
  • If the file contains any takes (animations), make sure they are unticked before clicking Open.

2. Centre the Character in the Scene

• Press Ctrl+w to switch to Schematic View and press a to Frame All.
• Select the top joint in the character (usually the Hips).
• Press Ctrl+w again to switch back to Perspective View.
• Press t for Translate Mode, then press F6 for Global Mode.
• Set the X and Z coordinates to 0 to centre the character in the scene.
• Press r to rotate and ensure the character is aligned correctly:
  • The character should face positive Z (screen right).
  • Check the alignment by pressing Ctrl+f to enter Front View.
  • Use Left-Click + Drag or type values to adjust the alignment if needed.

3. Prepare for T-Pose

• Most characters are created in an A-Pose (arms slightly down). If your character is in A-Pose:
  • You’ll need to adjust it to a T-Pose by manually rotating the arms.
• Characters created in Adobe Fuse are typically already in T-Pose.

4. Adjust the Arms to T-Pose

• Tip: Start adjusting from the top of the joint chain (Clavicle) and work downwards.
• Press Ctrl+a to display the skeleton.
• Use Alt+Down to step down the joint hierarchy.
• Align the joints in Global Space:
  • Switch to Global Mode (F6) and type values to align the joints.
  • Use Alt+Down to step to the elbow, align it, then step to the wrist and zero it out.
• Ensure the joints are aligned with the world axes.

5. Fix the Arm Bend

• After aligning the joints, check the Top View.
• If there is a slight bend in the arms (often rigged for natural deformation), you might see a bulge after zeroing them out.
• Adjust these minor issues manually by rotating the arms slightly to get a more natural alignment.

Tips & Shortcuts:

• Ctrl+w: Toggle between Schematic and Perspective views.
• Ctrl+a: Show the skeleton in the scene.
• t: Translate Mode.
• r: Rotate Mode.
• F6: Switch to Global Mode for more accurate adjustments.
• Alt+Down: Step down the joint hierarchy for quick navigation.
• Ctrl+f: Switch to Front View to check alignment.
• Left-Click + Drag: For adjusting values interactively.