DeepMotion Animate 3D adds ‘Avaturn’ avatar-generation
DeepMotion has released Animate 3D 4.2, the latest version of its browser-based AI motion-capture tool.
New features include Avaturn, a new system for generating custom 3D avatars from selfie-style photos, on which the mocap data that Animate 3D generates can be previewed or retargeted.
The animations – which include both full-body and finger movements – can then be exported in FBX, BVH or GLB format, for use in 3D software like Blender or Maya, or game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
One of the original browser AI mocap tools, and also one of the most fully featured
Amazingly, we’ve never written about DeepMotion on CG Channel before, although it’s one of pioneers in the field of AI motion capture, and paved the way for a wave of recent browser-based mocap tools.
Founded in 2014 by games industry veteran Kevin He, the firm’s Animate 3D platform extracts animation data from uploaded video footage of an actor.
Users can then retarget the animation to an uploaded 3D character, then download the result in FBX, BVH or GLB format for use in DCC apps like Blender and Maya, or game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
Unlike some of its newer rivals, it supports both hand tracking and facial capture – facial animation is exported as blendshapes – plus automatic foot locking to stop a character’s feet from sliding.
Unique features include the Rotoscope Pose Editor, which enables users to refine the resuts of the AI capture process by manually ‘tracing’ the motion of the character in the source video frame by frame.
Animate 3D 4.2: new Avaturn platform lets users generate custom 3D avatars from simple selfies
New features in Animate 3D 4.2 include Avaturn, a new avatar-generation system developed by in3D, based on the technology behind its Avatar Creator Pro app for Android and iOS.
Avaturn enables users to generate custom 3D avatars by taking selfie-style photos on a mobile device, with Avaturn using the photos to shape and texture the character’s head.
Users can then customise the avatar by selecting readymade body shapes, clothing and hairstyles.
Avaturn is provided as a separate service to Animate 3D, and is currently officially in beta. It supports Animate 3D’s body and hand tracking, with facial tracking to follow on the official launch.
Updates to the Rotoscope Pose Editor and motion smoothing
In addition, the Rotoscope Pose Editor gets workflow improvements, including interpolation to reduce the number of joint positions that need to be traced manually, multi-joint selection, and auto-saving.
Other changes include AI-based motion smoothing for hand tracking as well as full-body tracking.
Price and system requirements
Animate 3D should run in any standard desktop web browser. Usage is priced on a credit basis, with one credit corresponding to one second of full-body animation, or two seconds of hand or face tracking.
Free accounts now get 60 credits per month, and can process video clips up to 20 seconds long, at up to 1080p resolution, and up to 30fps. They are limited to non-commercial use.
Paid accounts cost between $48/month and $800/month, or $204/year and $3,588/year, with higher tiers supporting higher-resolution and higher-frame-rate clips, and advanced features like motion smoothing.
Read a full list of new features in Animate 3D 4.2 on DeepMotion’s blog