Kinetix launches Kinetix Studio 2.0
Kinetix has rolled out a major update to Kinetix, its free AI-trained browser-based service for extracting 3D animation from uploaded video of an actor.
Kinetix Studio 2.0 introduces style transfer filters, making it possible to apply movement styles like ‘robot’ and ‘drunk’ to the animation generated, along with the option to blend multiple source animations.
Kinetix has now been refocused as a service for creating emotes for virtual worlds, but it’s still possible to download animation in FBX or glTF format for use in tools like Blender, Maya or Unreal Engine.
Extract body and hand animation from video footage for use in DCC apps and game engines
When we first wrote about Kinetix, it was a general-purpose browser-based service for extracting the motion of an actor from video footage.
Users can upload footage in AVI, MOV, MP4 or WEBM format, have Kinetix extract the body and hand motion – it doesn’t extract facial expressions – and download the animation in FBX or glTF format.
You can still do that – the documentation has tutorials on exporting to Blender, Maya and Unreal Engine – but the site has been refocused as a dedicated platform for creating emotes for virtual worlds.
The options for editing animation before export have been stripped back to cropping and blending, and users now have the option to mint emotes as NFTs or trade them on the Kinetix marketplace.
However, even if you aren’t part of the new target market, it remains a quick way of generating at least previs-quality animation, and it’s still free to use, accepting videos of up to a minute in length.
Kinetix Studio 2.0: new style transfer system and new options for blending animations
In addition, Kinetix Studio 2.0 introduces style transfer filters, making it possible to apply readymade styles to extracted movements: the first two styles available are ‘drunk’ and ‘robot’.
It is also now possible to blend animations by assigning different source animations to different parts of the character: for example, to use one take for the legs and another for the upper body.
Pricing and system requirements
Kinetix is free for use on videos up to a minute in length. It should work with any modern desktop browser – mobile browsers aren’t supported – although Kinetix recommends Chrome.
You can register for an account on the site with just an email address, which lets you export 3D animation, but to mint NFTs, you will need to connect a crypto wallet to your account.
Read a full list of new features in Kinetix 2.0 in the online release notes