Pixel Motion: Bring Your Own Animations into Pixel Crowd

Bring your character's movements, performances, and roleplay ideas into Pixel Crowd. Pixel Motion lets creators import compatible animations, add them through the in-game Store, and place them in rooms for players to use.

This guide follows Daz Studio → animated FBX → Blender → GLB → Pixel Crowd Store → Room Editor.

Before you begin

You need a Genesis 8 figure with an animation ready to export, Daz Studio, Blender, and access to Pixel Crowd's object-upload and Room Editor tools.

Animation is a skill you can learn and develop through practice. This guide covers preparing, transferring, and using an existing animation. Creating movements from scratch, keyframing, motion capture cleanup, and adapting animations to another skeleton are outside its scope.

Start with one character and one short animation so your first import is easy to check. The featured image is a promotional illustration; the screenshots below show the preparation and export controls.

1. Prepare your animation in Daz Studio

Open your animated Genesis 8 figure and play the intended section of the timeline. Check that the movement behaves as expected and that the animation range includes the complete action.

If you use aniMate or aniBlocks, bake the animation to Daz Studio timeline keyframes before transferring it. Daz documents Bake To Studio Keyframes in the aniMate panel's right-click menu. See Daz's animation-transfer notes.

Save a working copy of your scene.

2. Set the figure's Pixel Motion name

In the Scene pane, select the main figure: the character's top-level entry, rather than its Hip bone, clothing, or accessories.

Open Edit → Figure → Scene Identification. For applicable selections, Daz also exposes Scene Identification under Edit → Object; see Daz's documentation.

Change both fields:

Use that exact spelling, with no space. Click Accept, then save your scene.

The highlighted fields show the original names. Change both to Genesis8 before export.

Changing only the visible name in the Scene pane may leave the internal Node Name unchanged. Set both fields in the dialog. Leave the Scene ID and compatibility-base fields unchanged for this naming step.

Keep the original Genesis 8 bone names and skeleton structure. Naming the figure Genesis8 identifies it for this workflow; naming alone does not turn an unrelated skeleton into a compatible one.

3. Export an animated FBX from Daz

With the prepared figure selected:

1. Choose File → Export.
2. Select FBX and give the file a recognizable name.
3. In FBX Export Options, use FBX 2014 — Binary, as shown below.
4. Enable Selected Only and Include Figures.
5. Enable Include Animation.
6. Leave Base Pose Only disabled so you export the movement.
7. Leave unrelated props, cameras, and lights out of this first test.
8. Check the staging list: the figure should appear as Genesis8.
9. Click Accept to export.

The essential result is an FBX containing the figure's skeleton and animation. The other geometry, morph, and texture settings in this screenshot are example settings, rather than requirements for every animation.

4. Import the FBX into Blender

Use a new Blender scene so the imported character is easy to identify.

1. Choose File → Import → FBX (.fbx).
2. Select the file exported from Daz.
3. Keep animation import enabled where your Blender version exposes that option.
4. Import the file.
5. Find the character and its armature: the skeleton controlling its movement.
6. Play the timeline and confirm that the animation transferred.

Blender imports FBX animation into Actions. If the character remains still, check that the imported action is assigned and that you are playing its frame range. See the Blender FBX documentation.

Check that the figure's Genesis8 identity survived the transfer and that its bones retain their original names. Avoid renaming bones or replacing the skeleton during conversion.

Compare the motion with Daz before exporting: check timing, direction, feet, hands, and overall posture.

5. Export a GLB from Blender

Once the imported animation plays correctly:

1. Select the character mesh and its armature, including any necessary parent objects.
2. Choose File → Export → glTF 2.0 (.glb/.gltf).

3. Set Format to glTF Binary (.glb).
4. If restricting export to selected objects, include the complete character and skeleton.
5. Keep Animation enabled and retain skinning data in the export.
6. Make sure the intended action or animation track is included.
7. If limiting export to the playback range, set that range to cover the complete movement.
8. Use animation sampling where needed to preserve the evaluated movement.
9. Enter a filename and click Export glTF 2.0.

Choose glTF Binary for the single GLB file you will upload.

Option names vary by Blender version. Its glTF exporter supports animated skeletons and packages GLB content into a single file. See Blender's glTF export documentation.

As a useful check, import the exported GLB into a separate Blender scene and play it. This can reveal missing animation before uploading; the final compatibility check happens inside Pixel Crowd.

6. Add it through the Pixel Crowd Store

Use the normal workflow for uploading an object to the in-game Store:

1. Select your exported GLB file.
2. Add a preview image that clearly represents the animation.
3. Enter the item name.
4. Choose its category and audience rating.
5. Set the cost and public/private visibility.
6. Upload the item and wait for completion.

Give it a descriptive name, such as Relaxed Standing Loop or Stage Greeting, so players understand what it does.

The file uploaded to Pixel Crowd is the GLB. The FBX is the intermediate file used to move the animation from Daz to Blender.

7. Set up Pixel Motion in your room

Open the Room Editor, find the uploaded item under Store Items, and place it in your room.

Select the imported object and locate GLB Animation in its editing controls. For a compatible file, the status should identify a Genesis 8 avatar animation and show the number of available clips.

Use Select Marker to position the interaction marker. Use Select Preview Avatar when adjusting the preview placement.

Check the movement against the room's floor, furniture, and surrounding objects, then save your room.

8. Let players use it

Leave editing mode and click the floor marker to perform the animation with your character.

Watch the whole movement. Check that the character starts in the intended place, faces the right direction, and moves comfortably within the scene. For repeating animations, watch the transition between the end and beginning.

Test with another player when checking network synchronization.

Can I use other animation software?

Yes. The workflow can begin in another animation package, provided the final export meets Pixel Crowd's requirements:

• The figure follows the Genesis8 naming standard.
• The skeleton retains compatible Genesis 8 bone names and structure.
• The GLB contains the intended skeletal animation clips.
• The exported animation plays correctly in Pixel Crowd.

If your animation begins on a different skeleton, adapt it to the compatible rig first. Renaming the top-level object alone is not sufficient.

If something does not work

Your first successful import becomes a reusable workflow: prepare the animation, preserve the rig, export, test, and build it into your room.

References

• https://github.com/daz3d/DazToBlender
• https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/files/import_export/fbx.html
• https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/3.2/addons/import_export/scene_gltf2.html

Last verified 2026-10-28