Find and Use an Existing Avatar

You can download avatars for use from external sources such as TurboSquid or CGTrader. Once you get the avatar, you will need to process it in Unity using the High Fidelity Avatar Exporter. This tool imports most avatars into Unity, maps their skeleton using Unity's humanoid tool, and exports them as FST and FBX files to import in-world.

On This Page

• Avatar Guidelines
• High Fidelity Avatar Exporter for Unity
  • Create a Unity Project
  • Install the High Fidelity Avatar Exporter for Unity
  • Create an Avatar Package
  • Test Your Avatar
  • Troubleshooting Tips

Avatar Guidelines

Many external sites like TurboSquid and CGTrader provide avatars that you can use. You can use avatars downloaded from these sites according to their terms of use. However, many of these may not work in High Fidelity. Be sure to find an avatar that fits these guidelines:

• Real-time models (rigged for run-time, not rigged for render)
• Rigged avatars

  If your avatar is not rigged, you can use Mixamo to rig it. If you use Mixamo, you do not necessarily need to use Unity and the avatar exporter. Because Mixamo already uses a skeleton that we support, you can use our avatar packager to import your avatar into High Fidelity.

• Avatars in the FBX file format (we don't enforce a poly count limit, but we recommend using an avatar with a low poly count of around 40k)

High Fidelity Avatar Exporter for Unity

High Fidelity supports only one standard type of rigging for avatars. Because many avatars do not match this skeleton, we created the High Fidelity Avatar Exporter for Unity (also known as the "avatar exporter") to convert human-like avatars with a humanoid bone structure (body, head, and limbs). The avatar exporter also automatically packages your avatar for use in High Fidelity.

The avatar exporter was written to improve the process of rigging and mapping the skeleton rig. This will not affect the animations or materials in your avatar. To adjust the materials, you will need to use a 3D modeling tool such as Blender or Maya and make modifications to your avatar prior to using the avatar exporter in Unity.

You will need the following to use this tool:

• Unity (Recommended versions: 2017.4.17f1 - 2018.2.12f1)
• High Fidelity (v0.77.0 or higher)
• High Fidelity Avatar Exporter for Unity (v 0.1)

Please note that the recommended version of Unity is not the latest version. If you are using a newer version of Unity, we recommend that you apply a T-Pose to your avatar. To do so, go to the 'Inspector', and click 'Pose' near the bottom of the panel. Select 'Enforce T-Pose' from the drop-down. Click 'Apply' and 'Done'. We recommend doing this after correcting any issues with remapping bones.

Create a Unity Project

1. Launch Unity.
2. On the Home screen, click 'New'.
3. Enter a Project name and Template. Your models should be 3D.
4. Click 'Create project'.

Install the High Fidelity Avatar Exporter for Unity

You need to install the extension for each Unity project that you have. Keep in mind, however, that you can import and export multiple avatars in a single Unity project.

1. Download the avatar exporter from High Fidelity.
2. In Unity, open the 'Project' window at the bottom.
3. Right-click the 'Assets' folder, then select Import Package > Custom Package.
4. Navigate to the avatarExporter package (with a .unitypackage extension). Click 'Open'. You can also double-click the package on your computer to import it automatically.
5. In the 'Importing Package' window, review the list of files to be imported and check for conflicts with files already in your project. If a conflict exists, save any local changes somewhere outside of your project.
6. Click 'Import'. The package's files are added to the Assets folder. You should now have a 'High Fidelity' menu in Unity.

Create an Avatar Package

1. You can import the FBX model for your avatar into Unity using any of the following methods:
   • Drag and drop the FBX file into the 'Assets' folder of your 'Project' window.
   • In the 'Project' window, right-click the 'Assets' folder, then select Import Package > Import New Asset. Navigate to the FBX file and click 'Import'.
   • In Unity, open the 'Assets' menu, then select Import Package > Import New Asset. Navigate to the FBX file and click 'Import'.
2. In the 'Project' window, select your avatar’s FBX file. In the 'Inspector', open 'Rig'. For 'Animation Type', choose 'Humanoid' and then click 'Apply'.
3. Click 'Configure' to investigate and tweak the mapping of your avatar.
4. All bones mapped in Unity are highlighted in green and can be selected. Check if anything is missing. Any errors will appear in red. The minimum required bones for mapping are Hips, Spine, Chest, and Head. If either of these are missing, you must manually add bones before continuing. You can do this by dragging the bones from the 'Avatar Configuration' panel to the 'Inspector' panel.

   Avatars in High Fidelity must have a Chest bone. If your avatar does not have a chest bone, the avatar exporter may suggest a suitable alternative from the 'Avatar Configuration' panel. If the exporter doesn't suggest an alternative and Humanoid doesn't correctly map the Chest, then you will get an error and need to manually map a bone to the Chest from 'Avatar Configuration'.

5. If you made any changes, click 'Done'.
6. Click on the FBX file in the 'Assets' manager.
7. Make sure that you have the avatar exporter installed. Open the 'High Fidelity' menu in the top menu bar, then select 'Export New Avatar'.
8. Give your avatar project a name. The default project location is your local user's Documents\High Fidelity Projects directory, which is created automatically for you. Though we recommend that you keep your avatars in this directory, you can change it to another location on your computer.
9. Click 'Export'.

Your avatar package has been created! The File Explorer will open to your new avatar project.

If you are using any external textures with your avatar model, please copy those textures to your local user's Documents\High Fidelity Projects\avatar\<project name>\textures directory. Otherwise, they will not show up on your avatar in High Fidelity. We support textures in either PNG or JPG format.

Test Your Avatar

Test your avatar locally before you host and use it. This step lets you check your avatar for any issues and fix them before you host it online.

Using these steps will not actually change your avatar in the metaverse, and should only be used for testing. If you want to change your avatar to something others can see, you need to first publicly host your avatar before you can use your custom avatar.

1. Copy your avatar's textures into the project’s textures folder. We support textures in either PNG or JPG format.
2. Go to the folder where your avatar project is saved on your computer. Right-click the FST file and click copy. This will copy your FST file’s local path.
3. In Interface, pull up your tablet or HUD and click on Avatar.
4. In the Avatar window, click the link icon next to your current avatar. Paste the copied FST file's URL and click 'Confirm'.
5. Test your avatar by moving around and using the Emote app.

If something doesn't look right, you can tweak your avatar in Unity, then update it with the High Fidelity menu. If everything looks good, you need to host your avatar then change the URL to point to your hosted version.

Troubleshooting Tips

Use these troubleshooting tips if you notice any issues while packaging or testing your avatar:

See Also

• Host Your Avatar
• Package Your Avatar