Sometimes, you might encounter characters with scales that don’t match.

Why Scale Can Be Off

This happens because the character’s size can vary a lot depending on where the model comes from.

For example, Roblox models are small by default.

Models made in 3D software such as Maya can vary in size a lot, as size is not always taken into account when modelling a character.

Then, there is an issue of the difference in measurement units - when they don’t match, so won’t the scale.
Models made in Blender are known to sometimes have this issue (it is further described here).

Why Scale Matters

Cascadeur uses physics tools such as AutoPhysics and Ragdoll to enhance user-made animations.

These tools rely on physics simulations - and for these simulations to work correctly, the characters should have ‘realistic’ sizes. If they are either too big (dozens of meters) or too small (~20 centimeters or less), physics might not produce correct results - and you also might encounter problems while rigging such characters.

This is why when you animate characters in Cascadeur, you should keep them to a ‘realistic’ size.

How to Change Scale

Cascadeur rigs are not designed to be scalable.

The reasons for this are:

1. Point Controllers in the Cascadeur rig only contain the global position. Global/Local Rotation and Scale aren’t present, so the controllers can’t be scaled.

2. Point Controller rig is ‘rigid’, which means that the Edges that connect controllers have fixed lengths that can’t be changed.

What you should do is scale the character skeleton and then create a rig for it.

The best way to do this would be to go back to the software you’ve used to prepare the model and change its size there.

However, this might not always be an option: for example, when you’re using a model you’ve downloaded from somewhere.
In such cases, you’ll need to adjust the scale right in Cascadeur.
And to do this:

1. Go to the Outliner.

2. There, find the Root object for the model.
Such an object is placed at the top of the hierarchy. It can be the first Joint in the skeleton, the 3D mesh itself, or just an empty object with no visual representation in the Viewport:

For example, the Manny sample character has a simple Transform object for root.

3. This Root object needs to be scaled.
This can be done in the Viewport using the Scale manipulator:

Alternatively, you can change the scale values directly on the Object Properties panel, under the Transform tab:

Just keep in mind that all three values should be the same.

Either way, as you scale the Root, the whole character will scale with it.
And once the scale is correct, you’ll need to generate the rig for the model.
This is done in the usual manner:

1. Enable the Rig Mode:

2. Create rig elements for the Joints.
For humanoid characters or basic quadrupeds, using Quick Rigging Tool is often the most convenient option.
But if you need more control, you might use the regular Rigging Tools panel as well.

3. After the rig elements are set, click the Generate rig button on the Rigging Tools panel:

And wait until the software finalizes the rig.
After that, the character will be fully rigged and ready for action.

Importing Animation to the Scaled Rig

If you import animation to a character that’s been scaled, you should keep in mind that if an animation has a different scale, applying it might cause problems.

1. Import animated skeleton to a new scene.

2. Add a Locator.
This is done by selecting Add → Locator from the Commands menu.

3. Parent the animated skeleton’s root to it.

4. Scale the Locator.

5. Select the Joints.

6. Copy the animation by using the Copy Interval (Ctrl + Shift + C) from the Edit menu.

7. Paste it onto the character by using Paste Interval (Ctrl + Shift + V).

If you character uses a standard Cascadeur rig, you can also use Retrageting:

1. Import the animation to a new scene.

2. Create a rig for it.

3. Use Retargeting to paste it to the scaled model.

Scaling Animation

Sometimes, you might need to scale an animated character.
This is mostly needed for animations imported from external sources.

Scaling Imported Animation

How to do this depends on how the root object behaves in the scene:

If it is placed at the center of the scene and does not move (i.e. the character moves in relation to it):

1. You can scale the root as described above. This will also scale the character’s motion.

But if the root moves along with the character, you should not scale it, as this will affect the character’s size, but not the distance the character travels.
In this case you’ll need to:

2.1. Add a Locator to the scene.
This is done by selecting Add → Locator from the Commands menu.

2.2. Parent the root to this Locator.
To do this, drag the root on top of the Locator on the Outliner panel:

2.3. Scale the Locator.
The character will inherit the Locator’s scale - and so will the animation:

Scaling Cascadeur Scenes

If you need to scale an animation in a Cascadeur scene with a rigged character model, you should prepare it first.

1. Bake the animation.
To do this, select the animated interval on the Timeline and press Alt + F.

2. Delete the rig.
This is necessary because Cascadeur rig (as mentioned above) is not scalable, so you won’t be able to scale the skeleton while it is in place.
If you are scaling an imported animation, these steps are unnecessary.
To delete the rig, right-click its top element in the Outliner and select Delete selected branches from the menu.

Once the scene is prepared, you can scale it as described in the Scaling Imported Animation part.

Adding Animation to Scaled Characters

And if you need to apply a pre-made animation to a scaled character:

1. Import the animation to a new scene.

2. There, scale it.

3. Select all the Joints.

4. Copy the animation (using the Copy Interval item in the Edit menu).

5. Go to the original scene.

6. There, select all the Joints of the character you plan to apply the animation to.

7. Paste the animation onto the character (Edit → Paste Interval).
Copying and pasting the animation should be done in Global Mode.

Scaling Parts of the Character

There are also cases where you might need to scale a part of the character: for example, to exaggerate the pose or emphasise the ‘central’ part of the motion.
As mentioned above, Cascadeur rig cannot be scaled. This means that for such an effect, you’ll need to scale Joints that make up the character’s skeleton.

1. Bake the animation as described in the Scaling Casadeur Scenes section.

2. Delete the rig.

3. Select a Joint you need to scale.

4. Go to the Object Properties panel.

5. Under the Node3d section, check if the SSC parameter is enabled.
This parameter compensates the scale for child objects when their parent is scaled, so their scale would remain the default (1, 1, 1).
If you only want to scale one particular Joint, it should be enabled.
If you want to scale an entire Joint chain, it should be disabled - for every Joint in the chain.

6. On the Timeline, select the frame on which you’ll be scaling the Joint.

7. Scale the Joint.It can be done in the Viewport (using the Scale manipulator), or on the Object Properties panel (using the Local Scale parameter in the Transform section).

See Also

Import FBX/DAE

Import USD

Scene Preparation