by Andrej scripts·Workflow
Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.
A narrowly scoped addon that solves one problem cleanly: getting bone animation out of Blender without carrying the rig. The developer's own cinematics-to-Unreal workflow points to where it fits, and the MIT license keeps it easy to adopt.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys converts an object's bone animation into a sequence of shape keys, with one shape key transforming into the next on every frame. Once baked, the animation carries no bones — it's stored entirely as shape keys, so you don't have to worry about bone hierarchy when exporting the result to other software such as Unreal Engine. The developer compares the approach to baking geometry to Alembic, except the result can be stored in .fbx, a format generally better supported for animation than Alembic.
Using it follows a short path: select a mesh object with an armature modifier driven by the animation, then run 'Bake Frames to Shape Keys' from the shape keys menu, or find it through the F3 search. The addon produces shape keys for each frame. The developer uses this for cinematics — animating in Blender, then baking and bringing the result into Unreal Engine as a Skeletal Mesh — and notes it can also bake animation inside Blender to keep it intact.
Released under the MIT license, the addon ships with documentation. A recent update optimized the baking mechanism, reported as roughly twice as fast, and addressed breaking changes for Blender 4.4.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys is best for blender animators moving bone-driven animation into Unreal Engine or other software as .fbx without maintaining bone hierarchy, and anyone wanting to bake animation to shape keys inside Blender.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys is completely free to download and use.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys is listed for Blender 3.5, 3.6, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4, and the developer notes it was tested across the 3.5 to 4.3 range. If you're on an earlier version than those listed, the developer invites people to reach out about support. A recent update specifically addressed breaking changes for Blender 4.4, so newer builds are covered. For the current version matrix, check the developer's page before installing, since compatibility can shift with new Blender releases.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys runs on a mesh object that has an armature modifier driven by your bone animation. Select that object, then choose 'Bake Frames to Shape Keys' from the shape keys menu, or open the F3 search and look up 'Bake Key Frames to Shape Keys'. The addon then produces a shape key for each frame of the animation, so one shape key transforms into the next on every frame. Documentation is included if you need more detail on the process.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys is well suited to exporting animation to Unreal Engine. By baking bone animation into a sequence of shape keys, the exported result no longer depends on bone hierarchy, which the developer likens to baking geometry to Alembic — except the animation can be stored in .fbx, a format generally better supported for animation than Alembic. The developer uses it for cinematics, animating in Blender and bringing the baked result into Unreal Engine as a Skeletal Mesh. It can also bake animation inside Blender to keep it intact.
Bake Key Frames To Shape Keys is listed as free in this catalog and is released under the MIT license, so it's permissive to use. Pricing and licensing can change over time, so check the developer's page for the current terms before you rely on it in a project. The addon comes with documentation, which is worth reading to understand the baking workflow. If you have questions or need it on an earlier Blender version, the developer welcomes contact for feedback and support.
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