🎮 Import into Unreal Engine

So, you’ve captured a take with mimem and you’re eager to see it running in Unreal Engine. Fantastic! Two steps are always the same: export an FBX from mimem, and import it into Unreal. The one decision to make is where the motion gets retargeted onto your character — in mimem before you export, or in Unreal after you import.

Where to retarget: mimem or Unreal

Your motion is captured on mimem’s own skeleton, and it has to end up on your character’s. That can happen in either place.

Both retargeters solve IK, and neither is hard to set up — mimem’s per-limb strengths and Unreal’s IK Rig chains are doing the same job. mimem gives excellent results out of the box with fewer controls to think about. Unreal gives you more knobs, which is an advantage when a shot needs tuning and a distraction when it doesn’t. The quality gap is small either way.

Pick one or the other — there is nothing to gain from retargeting in both.

If you use runtime retargeting, retarget to the mannequin in mimem first

If you drive many characters from one animation library, upload the stock UE5 mannequin skeleton — or a MetaHuman — to mimem as your target character. Your clips come out already on that skeleton, ready to sit in the library, and Unreal’s runtime retargeting drives every other character from there exactly as it normally would.

Unreal Engine skeletons and MetaHuman are both tested targets. See Retarget to your own character.

1. Export from mimem

1. Process your motion in mimem — see the Getting Started guide.
2. Open the take. What you do next depends on the choice above:
   • Retargeting in mimem — load your character in the viewer’s Retarget section, set the IK strengths, and press Apply. There is no format to pick: the FBX carries your own skeleton. Full walkthrough: Retarget to your own character.
   • Retargeting in Unreal — leave the character picker empty and set Format to Unreal. This FBX uses an Unreal-compatible skeleton, which makes the in-engine retarget simple.
3. Leave Insert T-pose on (the default) — Unreal aligns the two skeletons against a reference pose when retargeting, and a T-pose on the first frame gives it one.
4. Press Export FBX. Options are chosen per download, so you can re-export with different settings at any time — see Exporting FBX.

2. Import the FBX into Unreal

1. Open your UE project (the Third Person template is perfect).
2. In the Content Browser, pick or create a folder for your clip (e.g., Content/Animations/mimem/).
3. Drag-and-drop the FBX into the Content Browser.
4. In FBX Import Options:
   • If you retargeted in mimem and that character is already in your project — set Skeleton to the skeleton it already uses and turn Import Skeletal Mesh off. You only need the Animation Sequence; the mesh is already there.
   • Otherwise — leave Skeleton empty and set Import Skeletal Mesh: On, Import Animations: On, Import Materials/Textures: Off.
5. Click Import.

You should now see an Animation Sequence — plus a Skeletal Mesh, a Skeleton and a Physics Asset if you imported the mesh too. Double-click the Animation Sequence to preview the motion.

3. Put the motion on your character

If you retargeted in mimem

You’re done — the Animation Sequence is already on your character’s skeleton. Drop it into Sequencer, or plug it into an Animation Blueprint for gameplay.

The Auto Retarget and RTG walkthroughs below are for clips that arrived on mimem’s built-in skeleton — you can skip them.

If you retargeted in Unreal: Auto Retarget to Manny or Quinn

1. In the Content Browser, right-click your Animation Sequence → Retarget Animations.
2. In the Retarget window:
   • Source Skeletal Mesh: already set (the mimem skeleton from import).
   • Target Skeletal Mesh: search for and select SKM_Manny (or SKM_Quinn).
   • Auto Generate Retarget: On (leave enabled).
3. In the list, select your animation and click Export Animations.
4. When prompted to rename, add a suffix like _Manny (example: Run_Manny) and confirm.

Result: A new Animation Sequence appears—your motion on Manny/Quinn.

Advanced: finer control with a Retargeter (RTG) asset

If hands and feet need tighter contacts on a different body shape, use a Retargeter for more control:

1. Right-click the original (source) Animation Sequence → Retarget Animations.
2. Click Export Retarget Assets (instead of Export Animations). UE creates an RTG asset.
3. Open the RTG. In the Asset Browser, double-click your animation to preview source vs. Manny side-by-side.
4. In the RTG toolbar/settings:
   • Enable IK for feet and hands chains.
   • Increase Blend To Source on those chains until contacts look right.
5. Click Export Selected Animations in the Asset Browser to generate the tuned versions.

Troubleshooting

• Can’t find Manny? Use a Third Person template, or search SKM_Manny in the Content Browser.
• Export button is greyed out in the retarget window: set Target Skeletal Mesh to SKM_Manny/SKM_Quinn, then try again.
• Foot Sliding: If you notice foot sliding, make sure to check our article on How to Get Accurate Foot Tracking
• Lifelike Finger Tracking : getting accurate finger motion will make your animations much more convincing. Make sure to checkout How to Get Accurate Hand and Finger Tracking

Unstable or drifting feet during retargeting

If feet do not properly lock to their IK targets (for example one foot drifting or behaving differently than the other), Unreal Engine’s IK solver iteration count may be too low, which can prevent the solver from correctly fitting IK targets.

Fix:

• Open the IK Rig used by the retargeter
• Increase Iterations in the Full Body IK Solver (e.g. from 20 to 100–200)
• Re-run the retarget

For offline animation retargeting, higher iteration counts have no downside and often significantly improve foot stability.

You’re done 🎉

That’s all it takes to see your mimem performance running on your character. From here, you can drop the clip into Sequencer, or plug it into an Animation Blueprint for gameplay. Happy animating!