GeoTracker for Blender is now production-ready
KeenTools has officially released GeoTracker for Blender, the new Blender edition of its popular object-tracking tool, after three months in public beta.
The stable release, available as part of the firm’s KeenTools 2023.3 update, adds new options for stabilizing the video being tracked, and for extracting textures from it.
An intuitive 3D object tracking tool designed for artists, not specialist match-movers
Originally available for Nuke and After Effects, GeoTracker for Blender is intended to make everyday motion tracking tasks accessible to VFX and motion graphics artists as well as specialist match-movers.
The plugin uses an intuitive workflow with users clicking in the viewport to ‘pin’ a tracking object – either a 3D primitive or imported 3D model – to the corresponding object in video footage.
GeoTracker then reconstructs the motion of the object throughout the course of the footage, generating a 3D track that can also be exported for use in other DCC apps.
The plugin can cope with changes in focal length during a shot, and artists can refine the results by using 2D or 3D masks to exclude parts of the frame occluded by foreground objects.
As well as hard surface objects like props and vehicles, GeoTracker can track faces, and can be used with custom 3D head meshes generated by separate plugin FaceBuilder for Blender.
New in the stable release: automatic texture extraction and video stabilization
To that, the final release adds some handy extra features, including the option to extract textures from the video being tracked and bake them to a 3D model.
The new functionality makes it easier to replace a real-world object in a shot with a 3D version that can be manipulated at will, as shown in the video above.
It is also now possible to stabilize footage by locking the view to the 3D model, or a point on its surface; and to export a selected pin as a Blender Empty.
The stable version is available as part of the KeenTools 2023.3 update, which also includes minor updates to the After Effects and Nuke editions.
System requirements, pricing and release date
GeoTracker for Blender is compatible with Blender 2.80+ on Windows, Linux or macOS. The macOS edition supports Apple Silicon Macs. The software is available rental-only.
Freelancer subscriptions cost $18/month or $179/year; floating Studio subscriptions cost $499/year. Subscriptions also include the Nuke and After Effects editions.
Read more about the new features in the stable release of GeoTracker for Blender
Read more about workflow in GeoTracker for Blender in KeenTools’ online guide
Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.