Auto Rig Pro import into a new scene?

Support Animation and Rigging
1

Hello, I’m new to Blender. How do you link (import) an AutoRig Pro rig into a new scene.

These are the steps I’m doing.

  1. In the Blender “Source file” that holds the original rig, I create a single collection and put the Geometry and Rig into it.
  2. Open a new scene
  3. File > Link
  4. Choose the Blender AutoRig “Source file”
  5. Click “Link”
  6. Open the “Collection” folder and choose the proper collections.
  7. After importing the Auto Rig, I cannot select a rig Control.
2

With the linked collection selected, you need to create a ‘Library Override’ to allow you to manipulate the linked parts from this new file.

In the 3D viewport menu, pick: Object > Library Override > Make

After that, you should be able to select the rig, and use Pose Mode to animate the controls.

1 Like
3

Thank you, Magpie. I’ve been trying to figure this out for weeks.

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4

Hello Magpie, may I ask another question?

I can now select the controls on the imported character. But for some reason, the keyframes do not stay in the scene file. If I keyframe the character then open up the scene again, all the keyframes are gone. AutoKey is turned on, I see the blue keyframe icon.

Is there something else I need to do to keep the keyframes in the scene after I make the Library Overrides?

5

Double-check that the Action is still active on the rig. In the Action Editor (on the Dope Sheet view), drop down the list in the middle of the toolbar and see if it’s in there to select.

If you’re able to, you can send the file (and the linked rig file). You can send it via a direct message if you like.

6

I’m new to Blender, I had to look up where the Action Editor is. This was off, is this the correct Action Editor to turn on?

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7

Change the view to the Dope Sheet:

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Then pick Action Editor from the toolbar:

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Then there is an area in the middle of the toolbar which lets you select the active Action, as well as create a new one:

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The little button on the left of that block of items is how you can select the active action. You should also enable the ‘Shield’ icon (to the right of that name field) to make sure that the action gets saved with the file, even if it’s not actively being used by anything.

This is a decent introduction to how Blender manages animation information. CGDive also has a lot of other useful videos about rigging.

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8

Thank you very much, Magpie. This has helped me.

Appending

There are two methods to load a rigged character in a final file. Appending will load a static copy of the rigged character in the file, this means if you change the character geometry or armature in the rig file, the changes won’t be applied to the character in the final file. It’s just a copy.

  • First make sure your rig file only contains your character rig and meshes objects (no render camera, light….)
  • Make sure meshes objects are parented to the armature
  • By default, all rig/character objects are grouped inside the 3 collections “charactername”, “charactername_rig”, “charactername_cs”. Make sure to include any new objects added by you as well inside (new meshes, etc…).

Appending

  • In a new scene, File > Append > Select the rigged character file > Collections > Select the root character collection > click Append from Library

Linking will load a dynamic copy of the character (instance). Changes made in the rig file will automatically be applied in the final file, which is very useful!

All the best.

1 Like
10

This is a related question: When I import a model that has a ARP (auto rig pro) bone like hierarchy and controllers, I cannot access the properties of those bones (constraint drivers, etc…). Is there a way to get those back when I import (open) a blend file?

11

Not sure, I do not know how to use constraints in ARP. Sorry.