Getting Custom Player Animations to Show Up In-Game

If you installed an animation resource pack or a mod that ships custom player animations and nothing looks different, work through this in order.

Confirm the animation source is loaded

Custom player animations come from one of two places: a mod that registers them in code, or a resource pack that supplies animation files. Open your resource packs screen and make sure the pack is not just present but actually moved to the selected side. A pack sitting in the available column does nothing. If the animations come from a mod, verify that mod is in the mods folder and appears in the mod list without an error marker.

Check for a competing animation mod

Player Animator is designed to minimize conflicts, but two mods that both try to control the player's arm and body pose will fight. If you have more than one animation-altering mod, disable all but one and test. This is the single most common cause of "the animation loads but looks wrong or snaps back."

Test in third person, standing still

Switch to third-person view and perform the action the animation is tied to — usually attacking or using an item. Animations are far easier to judge when you are not moving, because walking blends over the top of them. If the pose appears and then immediately reverts, the animation is being overridden by another system rather than failing to load.

Reload instead of restarting when possible

If your setup supports reloading resources in-game, use it after changing packs. It is faster than a full restart and tells you immediately whether the pack is being read.