Rig and animate a 3D character

Last updated: October 12, 2026

Fit a skeleton to a 3D character and make it move with an animation preset, a description or a reference video. Use it to get a modelled hero, NPC or enemy into motion for a game, a trailer or a pitch.

Before you start

  • You need the character as a mesh on a session's board: one you generated in Layer, or a GLB or FBX you uploaded.
  • Rig mesh and Animate mesh are also in the viewer's tools when you open a mesh, but animation presets are picked in the side panel form.
  • Rigging works best on a humanoid character in a rest pose: facing forward, standing on the ground, arms out in an A-pose or T-pose, legs apart, hands empty. When you build the character in Layer, set Pose to A-pose (see Create a 3D model).
  • Each run costs Creative Units. The cost shows on the run button before you click. See Creative Units.

Steps

  1. In the side panel to the right of the board, under Tools, click Animate mesh to rig and animate in one run. For a skeleton only, click Rig mesh instead. If a tool is not in the list, click See all tools.

  2. Click the model name at the top of the form and pick a model. Models differ in what they take: an animation preset, a description of the motion, or a reference video.

  3. Select the character on the board, then click Source mesh in the form. The mesh fills the slot.

  4. Set the motion. For a preset, click the Animations slot under Reference sets, pick a preset such as Cast Spell in Select animation, and click Add. On models that take a prompt, describe the motion instead, or add a reference video.

  5. Click Animate (Rig in Rig mesh). The cost shows on the button before you click. A tile appears on the board and shows the run's progress.

  6. When the rigged character lands, click View on its tile. It plays its animation; the Animation controls under 3D controls pause and loop it. Turn on Show skeleton to check that the joints sit at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees.

Result

The rigged character lands on the session's board and in your library as a GLB carrying the mesh, its skeleton and the animation clip. Several models also deliver an FBX of the rig beside it: open the character and click Download FBX under Export. See Download and export your assets.

Ways to set the motion

Animation presets

Models with an Animations slot play a named motion from Layer's animation presets: idles, walks and runs, jumps, attacks, hit reactions, deaths, spell casts and dances. One preset plays per run; run it again with another preset for the next clip. Presets are animation reference sets, so you find them by name in the slot's picker like any other reference set.

A description or a reference video

Some models generate the motion from a prompt, such as a cautious crouching walk, looking left and right, or take it from a video of a person performing it. Describe one action per run.

Rig only

Rig mesh returns the skeleton and skin weights with no clip, ready to retarget your own motion capture or animate by hand. Some rig models name humanoid bones the Mixamo way, which most engines and retargeting tools recognise.

Rig while you generate

Some 3D models offer Rigging in the Create mesh form itself, with an Animations slot beside it, so the character comes back rigged in the same run that builds it.

Production tips

  • Rig the rest pose, animate into the action. A mesh built in a dynamic pose rigs badly. Build the character in an A-pose, rig it once, then make every clip from that rig.
  • Keep props out of the hands. Anything the character holds is skinned to the skeleton and bends with it. Rig the character empty-handed, generate the weapon as its own mesh, and attach it to the hand bone in your engine.
  • Watch long capes and skirts. There is no cloth simulation; loose cloth stretches where the legs move. Keep costume fitted, or plan to fix the cloth by hand.
  • Mind the face count. Very dense meshes rig slowly and may be refused. Bring a heavy character down with Remesh first; quad topology bends more cleanly at the joints.
  • Build a clip set. Run the same rigged character through idle, walk, run and attack presets, then download each as FBX and combine the clips in your engine's animation setup.

If something goes wrong

  • The run fails or the skeleton is wrong. Check the character faces forward, stands on the ground and has its limbs apart. Non-humanoid body plans and untextured meshes do not rig on every model; try another rig model.
  • Arms or clothing stretch into strips when the character moves. Parts that touch in the mesh were bound to the same bones. Rebuild the character in an A-pose with space between the arms and the body.
  • The animation plays in Layer but not in the engine. Download the FBX where the model delivers one, and in the engine import the file as a skeletal or rigged mesh with animations on. See Download and export your assets.
  • There is no Animations slot. The model you picked takes no presets: pick one that does, or describe the motion in the prompt. In the viewer's Animate mesh form the slot is not offered; open the tool from the side panel.

Related