9 August 2026

How to Export iClone Animations to Cascadeur: Step-by-Step Workflow

Moving animation from iClone to Cascadeur is a practical way to combine fast motion creation with physics-based polishing. iClone is excellent for building performances quickly with motion capture, keyframes, Motion Director, or animation libraries, while Cascadeur shines when you need cleaner arcs, more convincing weight, and AI-assisted posing. The workflow is not difficult, but it does require the right export settings, skeleton handling, and a careful round-trip mindset.

TLDR: Export your iClone animation as an FBX, import it into Cascadeur, adjust the skeleton and timing, then use Cascadeur’s tools to refine posing, trajectory, balance, and physics. For example, a studio blocking a 6-second jump animation in iClone might spend 20 minutes creating the base motion, then reduce cleanup time by 30–40% by correcting arcs and contact poses in Cascadeur instead of manually editing every frame. The key is to bake the motion, keep consistent frame rates, and avoid changing the skeleton hierarchy during transfer.

Why Use Cascadeur After iClone?

iClone lets animators move quickly. You can capture facial performances, apply premade motion clips, blend gestures, and generate believable character action without starting from nothing. However, animations created at speed often need refinement: feet may slide, center of mass may feel off, jumps may lack weight, and action poses may need stronger silhouettes.

Cascadeur is designed for exactly that kind of cleanup and enhancement. Its AutoPosing, AutoPhysics, trajectories, ghosting, and interpolation tools make it easier to improve body mechanics. Instead of replacing iClone, Cascadeur becomes the technical polish stage in your animation pipeline.

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Before You Export: Prepare the Animation in iClone

Good exports start with clean preparation. Before sending your character to Cascadeur, review the animation in iClone from start to finish. Look for sudden pops, unwanted body offsets, or extra frames at the beginning and end of the performance.

• Set the correct frame rate: Use the same frame rate you plan to use in Cascadeur, such as 24, 30, or 60 fps.
• Trim the timeline: Export only the animation range you need. This makes editing easier and keeps files lighter.
• Bake the motion: Make sure procedural or layered animation is converted into actual keyframes where needed.
• Check root motion: Decide whether your character should move through world space or remain in place for game engine use.
• Use a consistent character: Avoid changing bone names, proportions, or hierarchy once your workflow has begun.

If your animation includes motion capture, this is also the time to do basic cleanup in iClone. You do not need perfection yet, but you should remove obvious errors such as twisted wrists, broken knees, or badly misaligned shoulders.

Step 1: Export the Animation from iClone as FBX

The most common bridge between iClone and Cascadeur is the FBX format. In iClone, select your animated character and open the export options. Depending on your iClone version and pipeline tools, you may see options for exporting the character, motion, mesh, textures, and animation range.

For Cascadeur, the most important data is the skeleton and baked animation. Exporting the mesh as well can be helpful because it gives you a visual reference while editing. If your main goal is animation cleanup, you do not need high-resolution textures or heavy materials.

1. Select the animated character in iClone.
2. Choose Export FBX.
3. Set the animation range to the exact frames you want to edit.
4. Enable options related to motion, skeleton, and baked animation.
5. Use a compatible preset if available, such as a general FBX or game engine preset.
6. Export the file to a clearly named project folder.

A good naming convention helps prevent confusion. For example, use names like hero jump v01 iclone export.fbx and later hero jump v02 cascadeur polish.fbx. Simple versioning can save hours when comparing takes or rolling back changes.

Step 2: Import the FBX into Cascadeur

Open Cascadeur and import the FBX file. Once the file loads, inspect the character carefully. Check whether the skeleton appears correctly, the mesh follows the bones, and the animation plays at the expected speed.

If the character looks too large, too small, rotated, or offset, do not immediately start editing. First, confirm import scale and orientation. Many animation problems happen because one program interprets units or axes differently from another. It is better to solve this at the import stage than after you have already polished the motion.

Step 3: Review the Skeleton and Rig Controls

Cascadeur can work with imported skeletons, but you should verify that the character is usable for posing. Look at the spine, arms, legs, neck, hands, and root. Make sure the hierarchy behaves predictably when selecting and moving parts of the body.

For humanoid characters, you may need to configure or confirm the rig structure so Cascadeur understands key body parts. This is important for tools such as AutoPosing and physics-based adjustments. If joints are incorrectly recognized, your poses may deform strangely or produce unnatural results.

Pay special attention to:

• Hips or pelvis: This is often the foundation of the character’s movement.
• Feet: Foot contact must be clean for walking, running, landing, and fighting motions.
• Hands: Check rotations if the character holds props or performs gestures.
• Spine and chest: These affect line of action and weight distribution.
• Head direction: Even small head adjustments can improve performance and intent.

Step 4: Clean Timing, Contacts, and Poses

Once the animation is imported correctly, play it several times. Do not start editing every frame immediately. Instead, identify the most important poses: anticipation, contact, impact, passing positions, extremes, and recovery. These are the moments that define the motion.

Use Cascadeur to strengthen silhouettes and improve balance. For example, in a punch animation, the body should not simply move the arm forward; the hips, spine, shoulders, and feet should support the strike. In a jump, the crouch, takeoff, airborne arc, landing, and recovery should all feel connected.

Focus first on large body mechanics:

• Correct foot sliding and weak ground contact.
• Improve the center of mass so the character feels balanced.
• Adjust arcs for hands, feet, hips, and head.
• Remove unwanted jitter from mocap or blended clips.
• Enhance strong poses without overcomplicating the motion.

Step 5: Use Cascadeur’s AI and Physics Tools Carefully

Cascadeur’s AI-assisted tools can speed up refinement, but they should support your animation choices rather than replace them. AutoPosing is useful when you want to move one body part and have the rest of the pose respond naturally. AutoPhysics can help create more believable motion by considering gravity, momentum, and balance.

Use these tools in passes. First, improve the main poses. Then adjust interpolation. Finally, use physics tools to test whether the motion has the right weight. If you apply too much automatic correction too early, you may lose the acting or style created in iClone.

Step 6: Export the Polished Animation from Cascadeur

After polishing, export the animation from Cascadeur as an FBX. Keep the skeleton consistent with the original export whenever possible. This is especially important if the animation will go back into iClone, into a game engine, or onto a character using the same rig.

Before exporting, check:

• The frame range starts and ends where expected.
• The animation is baked properly.
• The frame rate matches the original project.
• The root motion behavior is correct.
• No extra unwanted keys or offsets were introduced.

If you plan to bring the motion back into iClone, test with a short clip first. A 30-frame test can reveal scale, rotation, or retargeting issues before you commit to exporting a full scene.

Common Problems and Quick Fixes

The animation plays too fast or too slow: Check frame rate settings in both iClone and Cascadeur. A mismatch between 30 fps and 60 fps can make timing feel completely wrong.

The character is facing the wrong direction: This is usually an axis conversion issue. Revisit import or export orientation settings rather than manually rotating every key.

Feet slide after import: Confirm that the original iClone motion was baked and that root motion was exported correctly. Then use Cascadeur to pin or correct foot contact poses.

The mesh deforms strangely: The skeleton may not match the skinning data, or the rig may have imported incorrectly. Try exporting a simpler FBX with only the necessary mesh, bones, and animation.

Final Workflow Checklist

1. Finish your base animation in iClone.
2. Set matching frame rate and animation range.
3. Bake the motion and export as FBX.
4. Import the FBX into Cascadeur.
5. Verify skeleton, scale, orientation, and playback.
6. Refine key poses, contacts, arcs, and balance.
7. Use AI and physics tools for polish.
8. Export the final FBX for iClone, rendering, or game engine use.

Exporting iClone animations to Cascadeur gives animators the best of both worlds: fast performance creation and detailed motion refinement. With a clean FBX workflow, consistent settings, and a pose-first editing approach, you can turn rough mocap, library clips, or blocked keyframe animation into polished movement that feels more physical and expressive.