Digital Sorcery releases TouchAnimator app for iPad
[Original story posted on: 9 November 2012. Scroll down for updates] Digital Sorcery, also known as developer Brian Williamson, has released TouchAnimator, a 3D character animation tool for the iPad.
The app enables users to create simple keyframe animations for a set of pre-rigged characters by manipulating FK and IK controls or setting animation paths for joints.
Characters include a cartoon figure, some standard bipeds, a dragon, and an armoured knight.
Animation can also be manipulated via the dopesheet, though this is described in the tutorial as “experimental”.
Proof of concept
Currently, the only means of getting data out of the app is via a Blender plug-in, which means copying text data within the app, emailing it to yourself, then pasting it into the plug-in.
Exporters for other 3D packages are in development – although YouTube comments suggest that as yet, the app cannot import user-created characters at all, which will probably be more of a sticking point for most people.
Regardless, it’s an interesting proof of concept, although perhaps one more for the mobile games community: clearly, TouchAnimator is only going to be useful to you if you actually aim to do animation work on a tablet.
TouchAnimator is available now from the App Store, price $4.99. You’ll need an iPad running iOS 4.3.
Updated 28 December: Digital Sorcery has released an Android version of the app. You’ll need Android 2.0.1+. Download it from Google Play.
Updated 29 January 2013: The iOS version of the app has been updated to support iPhones as well as iPads.