SL Animation Importer(BVH)

A simple file importer for SL Animation files using the BVH format. The animations must have been made for Secondlife and they must contain a reference pose in the first frame. Otherwise the importer does not work as expected. You find the Importer here:

File - Import - SL Animation (bvh)

You find a set of Import options in the File selector:

  • Import with Rig:
    Use Basic for the SL System character
    Use Extended for a Bento Rig
  • With Translation: (as it says)
  • Scale: (by default assume unit is inch)
  • Cleanup action: remove animation curves which contain less than 2 keyframes
  • Keep source rig: For debugging only
  • Keep reference frame: For debugging only

Check the hover tooltips for slightly more information.

When the import was successful you see a fresh Avastar Rig (only the Armature in Stick mode)  and the imported animation in the timeline (default action).

In the image i have changed the display mode from Stick to Octahedral only for cosmetic reasons.

Variation: Import into existing Avastar

If you already have an Avastar character in the scene, then you can load an animation directly “into” your Avastar character:

  • Select the Avastar rig in Object mode
  • Call the BVH importer as described above.

The importer recognizes the active Object is an Avastar character and uses it as target for the imported Animation.

Note: This importer is experimental and basically unsupported. Feedback and suggestions for improvement are welcome.