What is FBX?

FBX is the de facto standard for 3D asset interchange - transferring models, animations, cameras, lights, and materials between 3D software. Supports geometry (meshes, NURBS), skeletal animations, morph targets (blend shapes), materials/textures, cameras, lights, and embedded media. Available in binary (.fbx) or ASCII formats. Proprietary format owned by Autodesk but widely supported due to ubiquity in film, game development, and VFX pipelines. Autodesk provides free FBX SDK for integration.

FBX dominates game development workflows: Unity and Unreal Engine natively import FBX. Used for transferring character rigs from Maya/Blender to game engines, importing motion capture data, and asset pipeline automation. Film VFX pipelines use FBX for cross-software workflows (Houdini → Maya → Nuke). Architectural visualization (3ds Max → Unreal). While proprietary, alternatives like glTF (Khronos open standard) gaining traction for web/real-time 3D. FBX remains industry workhorse due to comprehensive feature support and backward compatibility.

Did you know? FBX supports embedded textures - entire 3D scenes in a single file!

History

Kaydara created FilmBox for motion capture data exchange, evolving into the universal 3D interchange format after Autodesk's acquisition.

Key Milestones

  • 1996: Kaydara FilmBox released
  • 2006: Autodesk acquires Kaydara
  • 2009: Free FBX SDK released
  • 2012: Unity/Unreal native support
  • 2016: FBX 2020 specification
  • Present: Industry standard interchange

Key Features

Core Capabilities

  • Geometry: Meshes, NURBS, subdivisions
  • Animation: Skeletal rigs, keyframes
  • Materials: Textures, shaders
  • Lights/Cameras: Scene setup
  • Embedded Media: Textures in file
  • Wide Support: All major 3D tools

Common Use Cases

Game Assets

Unity, Unreal Engine

VFX Pipeline

Film production workflows

Animation

Character rigs, mocap

Arch Viz

Architectural visualization

Advantages

  • Universal 3D software support
  • Comprehensive feature set (geometry, animation, materials)
  • Embedded textures/media
  • Binary or ASCII formats
  • Free FBX SDK available
  • Industry standard for game dev
  • Backward compatibility

Disadvantages

  • Proprietary format (Autodesk-controlled)
  • Inconsistent implementations across software
  • Large file sizes (embedded data)
  • Version compatibility issues
  • Not human-readable (binary format)
  • Alternatives (glTF) emerging for web/real-time

Technical Information

Format Specifications

Specification Details
File Extension .fbx
MIME Type application/octet-stream
Format Binary or ASCII
Contents Geometry, animation, materials, scenes
Developer Autodesk
Status Proprietary, widely supported

Common Tools

  • 3D Software: Maya, 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Houdini
  • Game Engines: Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot
  • Viewers: Autodesk FBX Review (free)
  • Conversion: Blender, Maya, 3ds Max exporters