PluginsUnreal Engine

AFK AI for Unreal Engine: Auto-rig plugin

Rig and animate a mesh without leaving Unreal. Right-click a static or skeletal mesh in the Content Browser, choose Rig with AFK AI, and about a minute later a rigged skeletal mesh with its animations appears in the same folder. There's nothing to compile, so it works in Blueprint-only projects too.

Download for Unreal EngineHow it works ↓

Version 0.1.0 · 27.3 KBafk-ai-unreal-0.1.0.zip
Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Three steps, inside Unreal Engine

  1. Unreal Engine

    Content > Characters

    M_Hero
    T_Hero
    Hero
    Edit...
    Duplicate
    Rename
    Rig with AFK AI
    1

    Pick a mesh

    Right-click a static or skeletal mesh in the Content Browser and choose Rig with AFK AI.

  2. Unreal Engine

    Rig with AFK AI

    Body type
    Human▾
    All animationsRig only
    FacingAuto ▾
    CancelOK
    2

    Click OK

    Pick the body type and whether you want its animations. Keep working while it rigs.

  3. Unreal Engine

    Content > Characters

    M_Hero
    T_Hero
    Hero
    Hero_rigged
    Skeleton
    PhysicsAsset
    Walk
    Idle_A
    3

    It's in your project

    A skeletal mesh arrives in the same folder, with its skeleton, physics asset and animations.

Install

  1. Download afk-ai-unreal-0.1.0.zip and unzip it. You get a folder called AFKAI.
  2. Put it in your project's Plugins folder, next to your .uproject file, so you have MyGame/Plugins/AFKAI/AFKAI.uplugin. Make the Plugins folder if there isn't one.
  3. Open the project, or restart it. AFK AI turns on two plugins that come with Unreal, Python Editor Script Plugin and Editor Scripting Utilities. If Unreal asks to restart, say yes.
  4. An AFK AI menu appears in the menu bar at the top of the editor.

To have it in every project, put the folder in the engine instead (Engine/Plugins/Marketplace/AFKAI in your Unreal install), then turn it on in each project in Edit > Plugins.

Download

Download for Unreal Engine

Free to download

File
afk-ai-unreal-0.1.0.zip
Version
0.1.0
Size
27.3 KB
Runs on
Windows, macOS, and Linux
SHA-256
92d030cac300ca417d611515d692933fed43685eb8dab9439f0f9f51903dc940

Requirements

  • Unreal Engine 5.1 or later, on Windows, macOS or Linux
  • Python Editor Script Plugin and Editor Scripting Utilities, which come with Unreal (AFK AI turns them on)
  • An afk.ai account: you sign in with Google. A free account gets 3 rigs a month.
  • An internet connection: the rigging happens on AFK AI's servers.

Use it

  1. Choose AFK AI > Sign in.... Your browser opens afk.ai: sign in with Google there, then go back to Unreal. The AFK AI menu shows your email and how many rigs you have left this month.
  2. In the Content Browser, right-click a static or skeletal mesh that was imported from an .fbx, .glb or .gltf file, and choose Rig with AFK AI.
  3. Choose its Body type, All animations or Rig only, and leave Facing on Auto. Click OK.
  4. Keep working while it rigs. The AFK AI menu shows the progress, and so does the Output Log.

If the browser can't get back to Unreal (a firewall, or Unreal on another computer), the afk.ai page shows a sign-in code. Choose AFK AI > I have a sign-in code..., paste the code and click OK. A code works for an hour.

Each rig uses one of your account's rigs, the same as on afk.ai/rig. A free account gets 3 a month, with the free animations; a plan gives you more rigs and every animation. A rig that fails doesn't count.

What you get back

Where
In the same folder as the original, selected: Hero_rigged for a mesh called Hero, a skeletal mesh with its skeleton and physics asset.
Animations
One Animation Sequence each. Double-click one to play it.
The file
Hero_rigged.fbx, saved next to the original source file, or in your project's Saved/AFK AI folder. Rig the same mesh again and you get Hero_rigged_2: nothing is overwritten.
Saving
Like any import, the new assets are written to disk when you save (File > Save All).
What AFK AI makes, in 3D: the model on a skeleton made for its body type, with its skin weights painted and its animations. Drag to turn it, and pick an animation to play. Knight: Medieval Knight by Andy Woodhead, CC BY 4.0.

Limits worth knowing

  • AFK AI rigs the file the mesh was imported from, as it is: an .fbx, .glb or .gltf up to 50 MB. A mesh imported from an .obj, or one whose file was moved, needs importing again first.
  • In Unreal 5.5 and later, the new importer doesn't always take every setting a plugin gives it. If the result isn't a skeletal mesh, drag the saved .fbx into the Content Browser and import it as a Skeletal Mesh with its animations.
  • A .gltf must have everything in one file. If yours comes with a separate .bin or textures, export a .glb instead.

Questions

Do I need to compile anything?

No. The plugin is Python, run by the editor's own Python plugin, so it works in Blueprint-only projects with no C++ or compiler.

It says the mesh has no source file. What now?

AFK AI rigs the file the mesh came from. If it came from an .obj, export the model from your 3D app as .fbx, .glb or .gltf and import that. If the file was moved or renamed, right-click the mesh, choose Reimport With New File, and pick it where it is now.

Can I use mannequin animations on it?

A humanoid's bones use the UE mannequin's names (pelvis, spine_01, thigh_l), so the IK Retargeter can match it to the mannequin and to your other characters automatically.

Which versions does it work in?

Unreal Engine 5.1 and later, on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Is AFK AI for Unreal Engine free?

It's free to download. Each rig uses one of your afk.ai account's rigs, the same as on afk.ai/rig: a free account gets 3 a month, with the free animations, and a plan gives you more rigs and every animation. A rig that fails doesn't count.

Does my sign-in end up in my files?

No. Your sign-in is kept on your computer, in your own user settings, never in a scene or project file, so sharing or committing your work never shares your account. Sign out forgets it.

Can I use the result in a commercial game?

Yes. The animations are CC0 (public domain), and your model stays yours.

Step by stepAuto-rig a character in Unreal Engine 5: from a static mesh to an animated skeletal meshRight-click a mesh, choose Rig with AFK AI, and a minute later a skeletal mesh with its skeleton, physics asset and animations is in the same folder.Read the guide →

AFK AI for your other apps

All plugins →

Rather rig in your browser?

afk.ai/rig rigs the same way, with a preview, fixes and every download format.

Rig a model