FBX exporter incorrectly solving bone orientations
lanayafan
Posts: 1
When i export my figure in FBX all bone orientations become messed up and unusable for posing (Impossible to correctly bend an elbow for example). Also "Export Subdivions" check does nothing. I tested Blender and Max import and both problems are there. I've tried all available FBX export options and different fbx versions, but nothing helped.
I've used an older version of DAZ Studio some years ago, like a version ~4.12 or so and FBX export worked perfectly, i used it to import figures into 3ds Max with correct bone orientations and skinned high resolution meshes. So what happened? This is really frustrating.
The only solution i've found so far is to use Daz to 3DS Max Bridge, which gives me a CAT Rig with correct bone orientations, but the dummy bones that the figure is skinned to are messed up too. So its not really good solution.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2026 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
What export options are you using?
I use these, but it seems some options are either ignored or do nothing. I tried checking Include Rotation Locks, Include Rotation Limits, Include Animations, but nothing solves the problem.
Basically all Local Rotations data for the bones is not there when i import FBX to Blender or Max.
I don't know 3ds Max but I know FBX format doesn't support subdivision levels other than base mesh for import / export. Blender itself can export / import FBX format with subd levels by using subdivision surface modifier but can only be used within Blender. DTB bridge and diffeomorphic addon can import and preserve subdivision data by using subdivision surface mofifier but the former only support to Blender 4.x, so using diffeomorphic could be a good choice.
As for the bone rotation issue, Blender's built-in FBX importer is pretty weak which cannot handle FBX file exported from Daz Studio and a few other applications... that's why there's a stronger add-on called Better FBX Importer/Export developed for the folks who use native FBX file in their workflow. The add-on does work it out (see screenshot down below..an FBX format of G9 imported by the add-on)
So, still suggest you use diffeomorphic with the pipeline of Daz Studio > Blender or DTB if you use Blender 4.x ~~ BTW, USD format fully supports all these but unfortunately Daz Studio doesn't support USD ~~