Tools to watch in Fall 2024: Meshcapade Me
CG Channel is on holiday this week. While we’re away, check out five tools that caught our eye this year, but that somehow, we never managed to do a story on. Today: a lightweight 3D avatar generator and markerless motion-capture system, currently available free in beta.
German startup Meshcapade may comes out of computer vision research, but Meshcapade Me, its browser-based avatar generator, has obvious potential for entertainment work.
The technology generates lightweight animated 3D characters suitable for use in AR projects, motion graphics or games, matching a wide range of real-world data sources.
Its most recent feature, MoCapade, is a markerless motion-capture system capable of extracting the motion of an actor from source video.
What is it?
An easy-to-use app for creating lightweight 3D avatars from a range of real-world sources, including bodily measurements, 3D scans, photos and video footage.
Users can create male, female or gender-neutral avatars, adjusting key bodily proportions with slider controls, and apply simple readymade sets of skin textures and clothing.
It’s also possible to upload reference photos or video of an actor, and have Meshcapade Me automatically match the 3D avatar to their bodily proportions.
The most recent feature, MoCapade, also makes it possible to extract the motion of the actor, including finger motion, from the source video.
What kind of artists is it aimed at?
The underlying technology is an “avatar-as-a-service platform [for] e-commerce and the metaverse”, but the avatars can be used in AR, games, animation and motion graphics.
Why is it notable?
The range of different real-world data sources from which avatars can be generated.
What are its selling points?
Easy to use. Free to try.
What are its key technical features?
Meshcapade Me ingests a range of data sources, including 3D scans in OBJ format, photos in JPEG or PNG format, and video clips in MP4 or MOV format.
The 3D avatars it generates can be downloaded in OBJ or FBX format, for use in DCC apps and game engines. Animation can be downloaded in FBX format.
A Blender plugin helps Blender interpret Meshcapade’s SMPL body model, while an Unreal Engine plugin retargets animation generated by Meshcapade Me to characters in UE5.
What new features are planned?
We can’t find a online product roadmap, but you can see what was added in recent updates – the most recent is Meshcapade 2.8.0 – in the online changelog.
What are its system requirements?
Meshcapade Me is available as a standalone browser app for Android, iOS and desktop machines. It supports most common web browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.
The Unreal Engine plugin has been tested with Unreal Engine 5.3.
How much does it cost?
Meshcapade Me is currently in beta. Users get 2,000 credits on registering an account, plus 500 more free credits each day they log in.
The service is credit-based: generating an avatar from measurements or images costs 100 credits; generating an avatar from scans or video costs 500 credits.
It is also possible to buy credits in packs of 500 for €5 (around $5.50).
Where can I find more information?
You can find more details in the online documentation and API documentation.
Use 3D avatar generator and markerless mocap tool Meshacapade for free online
(You will need to register an account first)
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