Tutorial on how to export an animated character from Blender to PlayCanvas.

[Bjorn-Slettemark]

I have written a small tutorial, for myself really, on all the steps to export a rigged character from Blender to PlayCanvas. It's a bit tricky - and I didn't find any tutorials on the subject. Interested in a PR for the docs?

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title: Importing Character Animations from Blender
tags: [animation]
thumb:

Exporting a rigged and animated mesh from Blender to PlayCanvas using the glTF format can result in missing weights or deformation if the export settings are not correctly configured. This guide outlines the necessary steps to ensure successful export and import of a skinned character with animation and weights.

Preparing the Rig in Blender

Rigify Basic Human rig works great in PlayCanvas (unlike Unity3D).

Before exporting, confirm the following:

• The mesh is correctly bound to the armature using an Armature Modifier.
• The rig must be parented under the mesh in the Outliner.
• The origin of the mesh and armature are aligned.
• All transforms are applied (Ctrl+A → Location, Rotation, Scale).

Important: Parent the armature to the mesh (not vice versa) in Blender. In the outliner, ensure the mesh is the parent node, which keeps the skinned mesh at root level in glTF—required by PlayCanvas to correctly interpret weights.

Key Export Settings

When exporting to .glb or .gltf, go to File → Export → glTF 2.0 and configure:

Skinning Export Settings:

Export Settings:

• Include → Selected Objects (if using selection)
• Include Skinning
• Include Animations
• Format: glTF Binary (.glb) (recommended for simplicity)
• Export Deformation Bones Only
  This removes non-deforming bones (like IK controllers) which PlayCanvas doesn't need and may misinterpret.

Fixing Validator Warnings

After exporting, validate your .glb using the glTF Viewer. If you see:

• NODE_SKINNED_MESH_NON_ROOT → Make the mesh a root object.
• ACCESSOR_INVALID_IBM → Apply transforms.

If you don't see any errors, it should be good to go!

Importing to PlayCanvas

1. Upload your .glb file to the Assets panel.
2. A Model and Animation asset should appear.
3. Preview the animation in the Assets panel.

Summary

This process ensures the full armature-based animation, including skinning weights, transfers cleanly from Blender to PlayCanvas. Avoiding non-deforming bones, improper parenting, or unclean transforms is key to achieving predictable and correct results.

[willeastcott]

This is useful information. It would be great to include it on the Developer Site. However, I'm wondering where this page would live:

1. Tutorials section - the problem here is that Tutorials are Editor projects. So this doesn't feel like the right place.
2. Assets section - Feels more appropriate. Maybe as a child of this page?
3. Animation section - This is more about the animation system and not assets, so probably not here.

I'd go with 2, I think.

Also, if you're going to reference a glTF Viewer, I would reference the PlayCanvas glTF Viewer. But it sounds like you care more about glTF Validation, in which case, I would recommend linking to the official Khronos glTF Validator.

[Bjorn-Slettemark]

Gotcha - If it's for the official documentation, I would like to make it a bit more comprehensive, including glTF actions and animation clips from Blender.

I see the point about glTF, did not know PlayCanvas had their own. I will check out Khronos gltf validator to see if it gives any valuable error messages.

[willeastcott]

Sounds good! 🙌