Start in Roblox Studio with your character model properly rigged. If you haven’t exported an animation from an external 3D tool yet, that’s the first real gate. The submission for UGC review expects an FBX file with a single animation track, correctly named bone structure, and no extra helpers or empty objects that confuse the importer.

What the submission process actually looks like

You don’t send files through a web form. The “review” happens after you import the animation into Studio, assign it to an avatar or pet rig, and publish it as a UGC asset under the right category. Roblox then checks that the animation follows the technical specs, doesn’t break humanoid movement, and matches the marketplace guidelines.

For character animations this means the skeleton must follow the R15 or Rthro bone naming exactly. The animation should loop cleanly if it’s meant to be an idle or walk, and not clip the character through the ground. For pets, a custom rig is allowed, but you still need a root part and a hierarchy that makes sense to the engine.

How to prep your rig and files for review

Before you even open the upload window, double‑check that your FBX file uses Y‑up orientation and centimeter units. Studios that default to Z‑up or meter scale often cause the animation to import sideways or at a tiny size. If you’re working in Blender, apply all transforms (rotation, scale, location) to the armature, then bake the animation into keyframes on each bone.

Next, name your animation track inside the FBX file. Roblox reads the take name as the default animation name. Avoid spaces and special characters stick to something like Cat_Idle or Character_Walk. If you skip this, you’ll see a generic “Take 001” in the import menu and risk confusion later.

Make sure you’re following the full rigging requirements you can learn those from the Roblox UGC animation rigging specifications. That page details bone limits, required joints, and how to handle extra bones for accessories like hair or tails.

Why your animation might get rejected and how to avoid that

The most common rejection triggers are easy to miss. One is having keyframes on the root bone that translate the whole model. For a character animation, the root should not move from the origin; locomotion is handled by the engine, not by sliding the skeleton. Another is exporting hidden objects or the mesh itself when the review system expects only the armature.

Pay attention to animation priority. If you’re making a dance or an emote, set the priority to Action or Movement in the animation editor after import. Leaving it on Core (the default) can make the animation override basic movement and get flagged during testing.

For pet animations, the same root‑motion rule applies, but you also need to be careful about limb placement. A pet’s rig might have fewer bones than a humanoid, and that’s fine just avoid using IK constraints in the FBX, because the engine doesn’t interpret them.

Adjusting your workflow for pets and custom characters

If you’re animating a small companion or a fantasy creature, the submission steps are almost identical. The main difference is the expected bone count and the lack of a standard “Humanoid” object. You’ll typically import the FBX, place it under a Model in Studio, and assign a custom animation controller.

For characters with long hair or flowing cloth, include those bones in the rig and animate them manually. The engine won’t simulate physics from soft‑body modifiers in your external software. Export those extra bones as part of the same armature, give them clear names like Hair_01, and keyframe them gently to avoid jitter.

When your subject is a pet, check the pet animation best practices guide before exporting. It covers idle‑loop transitions, acceptable scale for small creatures, and how to set up a root part that keeps the pet from floating or sinking during the review test.

A quick pre‑submit checklist

  • FBX exported with Y‑up, centimeters, and all transforms applied.
  • Single animation track with a clear, lowercase‑and‑underscore name.
  • Root bone contains no translation keyframes (for humanoid characters).
  • No hidden meshes, cameras, or empty objects in the export.
  • Priority set correctly in Studio after import (not Core for overrides).
  • Pet rigs use a root part without animations that move the entire model.
  • Open Roblox Studio, use the Import 3D option, and test the animation on a dummy before publishing to the group.

Run through those points, publish the asset, and you’ll cut the back‑and‑forth during review significantly. The process is straightforward once the rig and export habits are clean.