5 ms·

Mesh2Motion – Open-source web application to animate 3D models

229 points by Splizard 1y ago

jackallis 1y ago
i need to map out tree house plans - can this be used?
- fsloth 1y ago
  I'm sorry I can't quite parse what you are asking. "map out" - do you mean you want to digitally design tree houses?
  - jackallis 1y ago
    yes, kind stranger. i need to design tree house, was not sure if this can be used. not so fond of sketch up.
    - drakythe 1y ago
      This software is for animating preexisting 3d models, not creating new ones from scratch, so no, it will not serve to model a tree house.
    - fsloth 11mo ago
      That’s actually a really interesting take (even though the OP software is not really for that). How would you _like_ to design this treehouse? Is the particular tree relevant here (do you have a photogrammetric scan of it for insrance) or are you planning to design a generic shape you are confident can be installed on the target trunk? Is the treehouse more of a plank platform for one or an actual multiroom house? Is the budget closer to 5$ or 50 000$?
- theossuary 1y ago
  No, use sketchup
raincole 1y ago
Pleasantly surprised to see a project like this without genAI nowadays. And for people inevitably asking "why not Blender," my answer is that the field of 3D content creation is so vast that some people need "gateway drug" like this (and SketchUp, and Daz3D, etc) before trying to throw themselves into Blender/Maya/Houdini's throats.
- fleischhauf 1y ago
  why? aren't you desperately longing for trying to put into a prompt how a model should be animated? /s
  - d0100 1y ago
    As a dev trying to create 3D games on my spare time, I actually am (I'm also eager to use stableprojector once I upgrade my 10yo pc) It's really hard having to be a 3D modeler, animator, art director, developer and having good enough taste to know you're never going to have the time to build what you find acceptable
    - AgentMatrixAI 1y ago
      First time making something 3D and code wise, codex has been very useful, even creating a in-game 3D editor as well as netcode The trickiest part is really using 3D and it comes with lot of extra scoping you normally take for granted: animation, uv texture, rigging for humanoids, making sure stuff doesn't clip through etc. Still learning Blender but its very slow. I haven't tried the MCP for it yet but I want to get proficient at it to be able to produce psx graphic models and textures...
      - nineteen999 11mo ago
        I'm kind of keen to see what mess Claude code could do with a small Unreal Engine 5 C++ project. Or what clever tricks it could actually pull off in that environment.
  - echelon 11mo ago
eps 1y ago
Having the skeleton be auto-deduced (through the ML or otherwise) would've been a very natural fit here as a feature. Knowing that it's basically possible to do, selecting the skeleton type and then adjusting it manually, joint by joint, seems ... archaic?
- nusl 1y ago
  Have you done 3D modelling/rigging/animating yourself before?
  - leohonexus 1y ago
    Why the condescending tone, OP has a point. Techniques like RigAnything[0] exist - whether this is within the scope of this project is another topic, but this seems like a reasonable request to me (especially considering how many x_2_y-named projects are ML related) [0] https://www.liuisabella.com/RigAnything/ https://www.liuisabella.com/RigAnything/
    - nusl 11mo ago
      This kind of work is way more difficult and involved than it appears to be. Sure, you can auto-rig stuff, but it won't be perfect and will require tweaking. Rigging alone is also very far from a complete result
retSava 1y ago
I can see this being huge for 3d-printing. Apply on a sculpted .stl, reposition and download/save the new pose. There is already stuff in Blender to do stuff like that, but Blender is almost like a hobby in itself, just like the actual printing is like a hobby (to learn and master).
reactordev 1y ago
Yessssssss...... This and more mocap's plz. Keep going! The multiple animation export to glb saves me a ton of time. This is great! Combine this with ArmorPaint and you're almost there. Blender is great but it's so heavy. Great job.
iammjm 1y ago
nice, animating spinning wheels or tracks on vehicles would be cool!
- scottpetrovic 1y ago
  can you give an example for clarification of what you are wanting to do? This web app is pretty flexible, so other types of rigs or animations could be added?
  - leohonexus 1y ago
    OP might be thinking about something like this paper "Rig My Ride: Automatic Rigging of Physics-based Vehicles for Games" by Katz et al. [0] https://melissa2661.github.io/RigMyRide/ https://melissa2661.github.io/RigMyRide/
  - iammjm 11mo ago
    In my particular case I have a bunch of .glb 3D models of vehicles and I would like to animate their wheels and tracks aka make them spin/turn
jdauriemma 1y ago
I just wanted to thank the creators of this app for making it usable without having to create an account. It's a breath of fresh air!
- scottpetrovic 1y ago
  Yes. I really have sign up and subscription fatigue, so I don't want any of that happening. There is too much of that on the web already.
stefanka 1y ago
Great project! It uses the motion library from the artist quaternius. He has some wonderful free and low-cost models.
seanwilson 1y ago
This is cool! I was confused how to get going at first and didn't realise it was a step-by-step wizard I had to follow, plus I only watched the demo video briefly. I loaded the human then clicked around the main area and couldn't get anything to happen, and almost gave up. Suggestion to help with this: Instead of starting with a blank slate, start right at the end of the process with the human model loaded and animated, then the user can go "back" and change things once they've seen the kind of results they can get.
- scottpetrovic 1y ago
  The next release I have for this has an "explore" page to start. What exists now is more of a 'build your own' page...which isn't great when visiting for the first time. See this small video of the new UX. https://x.com/scottpetrovic/status/1980697224142106716 https://x.com/scottpetrovic/status/1980697224142106716
devJdeed 1y ago
This is defo a well needed project. The only other alternative I can think about is Mixamo. Goodluck and hope this projects overtakes Mixamo
tantalor 1y ago
> Supports humanoid, four-legged, and bird creatures. Man is a featherless biped - tantalor
AgentMatrixAI 1y ago
amazing timing! been needing something like this since Blender has been tough. I've been working on a cybercafe simulator with Three.js and codex and animation is hard to get right https://x.com/AgentifySH/status/1981761490274464068 https://x.com/AgentifySH/status/1981761490274464068
nisten 1y ago
All in typescript too. Actually very impressive. Well, some webm videos and .glb 3dfiles but only the essentials it seems, the rest is all propper typescript. But a very nicely put together repo. Good job.
laurentlb 1y ago
Very nice project! Thanks for making it open-source and very easy to use. I hope you'll find contributors and be able to get a nice collection of animations! I'm starting a new project, I may have to use this tool in the next few months.
- Joel_Mckay 1y ago
  Could also check out the Auto Rig Pro ( https://artell.gumroad.com/l/auto-rig-pro https://artell.gumroad.com/l/auto-rig-pro ) plugin in Blender, as it does corrective shape-keys and makes exports to Unity/Unreal trivial. Also, FaceIt ( https://faceit-doc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ https://faceit-doc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ ) uses the iPhone Lidar with the Unreal App, and makes facial expression capture less buggy. Keep in mind most motion capture files are considered live-performances, and must be licensed by the original rights holders: https://www.mocapclub.com/Pages/Library.htm https://www.mocapclub.com/Pages/Library.htm https://github.com/MattiasFredriksson/io_anim_c3d/releases https://github.com/MattiasFredriksson/io_anim_c3d/releases This project sort of works for basic mocap (calibration needs ChArUco board): https://freemocap.org/ https://freemocap.org/ Or if you have the resources and athletic actors around: https://www.rokoko.com/ https://www.rokoko.com/ Or for student projects could try: https://www.mixamo.com/ https://www.mixamo.com/ Hope you make something awesome and fun =3
throwaway743 1y ago
This is great! I've been using mixamo and really sion, but would just love something open source that does both the body rigging as well as the facial rigging and lip syncing. It'd make life so much easier
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
klaussilveira 1y ago
What algorithm is it using for applying weights? Blender uses automatic bone heat weighting, but sometimes it can fail. There's an open-source plugin that does surface-based heat diffusion and also this really clever voxel solution: https://superhivemarket.com/products/voxel-heat-diffuse-skinning https://superhivemarket.com/products/voxel-heat-diffuse-skin...
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

229 points by Splizard 1y ago

jackallis 1y ago

i need to map out tree house plans - can this be used?

fsloth 1y ago
I'm sorry I can't quite parse what you are asking. "map out" - do you mean you want to digitally design tree houses?
- jackallis 1y ago
  yes, kind stranger. i need to design tree house, was not sure if this can be used. not so fond of sketch up.
  - drakythe 1y ago
    This software is for animating preexisting 3d models, not creating new ones from scratch, so no, it will not serve to model a tree house.
  - fsloth 11mo ago
    That’s actually a really interesting take (even though the OP software is not really for that). How would you _like_ to design this treehouse? Is the particular tree relevant here (do you have a photogrammetric scan of it for insrance) or are you planning to design a generic shape you are confident can be installed on the target trunk? Is the treehouse more of a plank platform for one or an actual multiroom house? Is the budget closer to 5$ or 50 000$?
theossuary 1y ago
No, use sketchup

raincole 1y ago

Pleasantly surprised to see a project like this without genAI nowadays. And for people inevitably asking "why not Blender," my answer is that the field of 3D content creation is so vast that some people need "gateway drug" like this (and SketchUp, and Daz3D, etc) before trying to throw themselves into Blender/Maya/Houdini's throats.

fleischhauf 1y ago
why? aren't you desperately longing for trying to put into a prompt how a model should be animated? /s
- d0100 1y ago
  As a dev trying to create 3D games on my spare time, I actually am (I'm also eager to use stableprojector once I upgrade my 10yo pc) It's really hard having to be a 3D modeler, animator, art director, developer and having good enough taste to know you're never going to have the time to build what you find acceptable
  - AgentMatrixAI 1y ago
    First time making something 3D and code wise, codex has been very useful, even creating a in-game 3D editor as well as netcode The trickiest part is really using 3D and it comes with lot of extra scoping you normally take for granted: animation, uv texture, rigging for humanoids, making sure stuff doesn't clip through etc. Still learning Blender but its very slow. I haven't tried the MCP for it yet but I want to get proficient at it to be able to produce psx graphic models and textures...
    - nineteen999 11mo ago
      I'm kind of keen to see what mess Claude code could do with a small Unreal Engine 5 C++ project. Or what clever tricks it could actually pull off in that environment.
- echelon 11mo ago

eps 1y ago

Having the skeleton be auto-deduced (through the ML or otherwise) would've been a very natural fit here as a feature. Knowing that it's basically possible to do, selecting the skeleton type and then adjusting it manually, joint by joint, seems ... archaic?

nusl 1y ago
Have you done 3D modelling/rigging/animating yourself before?
- leohonexus 1y ago
  Why the condescending tone, OP has a point. Techniques like RigAnything[0] exist - whether this is within the scope of this project is another topic, but this seems like a reasonable request to me (especially considering how many x_2_y-named projects are ML related) [0] https://www.liuisabella.com/RigAnything/ https://www.liuisabella.com/RigAnything/
  - nusl 11mo ago
    This kind of work is way more difficult and involved than it appears to be. Sure, you can auto-rig stuff, but it won't be perfect and will require tweaking. Rigging alone is also very far from a complete result

retSava 1y ago

I can see this being huge for 3d-printing. Apply on a sculpted .stl, reposition and download/save the new pose. There is already stuff in Blender to do stuff like that, but Blender is almost like a hobby in itself, just like the actual printing is like a hobby (to learn and master).

reactordev 1y ago

Yessssssss...... This and more mocap's plz. Keep going! The multiple animation export to glb saves me a ton of time. This is great! Combine this with ArmorPaint and you're almost there. Blender is great but it's so heavy. Great job.

iammjm 1y ago

nice, animating spinning wheels or tracks on vehicles would be cool!

scottpetrovic 1y ago
can you give an example for clarification of what you are wanting to do? This web app is pretty flexible, so other types of rigs or animations could be added?
- leohonexus 1y ago
  OP might be thinking about something like this paper "Rig My Ride: Automatic Rigging of Physics-based Vehicles for Games" by Katz et al. [0] https://melissa2661.github.io/RigMyRide/ https://melissa2661.github.io/RigMyRide/
- iammjm 11mo ago
  In my particular case I have a bunch of .glb 3D models of vehicles and I would like to animate their wheels and tracks aka make them spin/turn

jdauriemma 1y ago

I just wanted to thank the creators of this app for making it usable without having to create an account. It's a breath of fresh air!

scottpetrovic 1y ago
Yes. I really have sign up and subscription fatigue, so I don't want any of that happening. There is too much of that on the web already.

stefanka 1y ago

Great project! It uses the motion library from the artist quaternius. He has some wonderful free and low-cost models.

seanwilson 1y ago

This is cool! I was confused how to get going at first and didn't realise it was a step-by-step wizard I had to follow, plus I only watched the demo video briefly. I loaded the human then clicked around the main area and couldn't get anything to happen, and almost gave up. Suggestion to help with this: Instead of starting with a blank slate, start right at the end of the process with the human model loaded and animated, then the user can go "back" and change things once they've seen the kind of results they can get.

scottpetrovic 1y ago
The next release I have for this has an "explore" page to start. What exists now is more of a 'build your own' page...which isn't great when visiting for the first time. See this small video of the new UX. https://x.com/scottpetrovic/status/1980697224142106716 https://x.com/scottpetrovic/status/1980697224142106716

devJdeed 1y ago

This is defo a well needed project. The only other alternative I can think about is Mixamo. Goodluck and hope this projects overtakes Mixamo

tantalor 1y ago

> Supports humanoid, four-legged, and bird creatures. Man is a featherless biped - tantalor

AgentMatrixAI 1y ago

amazing timing! been needing something like this since Blender has been tough. I've been working on a cybercafe simulator with Three.js and codex and animation is hard to get right https://x.com/AgentifySH/status/1981761490274464068 https://x.com/AgentifySH/status/1981761490274464068

nisten 1y ago

All in typescript too. Actually very impressive. Well, some webm videos and .glb 3dfiles but only the essentials it seems, the rest is all propper typescript. But a very nicely put together repo. Good job.

laurentlb 1y ago

Very nice project! Thanks for making it open-source and very easy to use. I hope you'll find contributors and be able to get a nice collection of animations! I'm starting a new project, I may have to use this tool in the next few months.

Joel_Mckay 1y ago
Could also check out the Auto Rig Pro ( https://artell.gumroad.com/l/auto-rig-pro https://artell.gumroad.com/l/auto-rig-pro ) plugin in Blender, as it does corrective shape-keys and makes exports to Unity/Unreal trivial. Also, FaceIt ( https://faceit-doc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ https://faceit-doc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ ) uses the iPhone Lidar with the Unreal App, and makes facial expression capture less buggy. Keep in mind most motion capture files are considered live-performances, and must be licensed by the original rights holders: https://www.mocapclub.com/Pages/Library.htm https://www.mocapclub.com/Pages/Library.htm https://github.com/MattiasFredriksson/io_anim_c3d/releases https://github.com/MattiasFredriksson/io_anim_c3d/releases This project sort of works for basic mocap (calibration needs ChArUco board): https://freemocap.org/ https://freemocap.org/ Or if you have the resources and athletic actors around: https://www.rokoko.com/ https://www.rokoko.com/ Or for student projects could try: https://www.mixamo.com/ https://www.mixamo.com/ Hope you make something awesome and fun =3

throwaway743 1y ago

This is great! I've been using mixamo and really sion, but would just love something open source that does both the body rigging as well as the facial rigging and lip syncing. It'd make life so much easier

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

klaussilveira 1y ago

What algorithm is it using for applying weights? Blender uses automatic bone heat weighting, but sometimes it can fail. There's an open-source plugin that does surface-based heat diffusion and also this really clever voxel solution: https://superhivemarket.com/products/voxel-heat-diffuse-skinning https://superhivemarket.com/products/voxel-heat-diffuse-skin...

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]