Check out comparative animal anatomy reference tool Anastomia
CG artist Châu Võ Bá Trường – better known as Truong CG Artist – and games artist Hoan Nguyen (Mushō-genshin) have released Anastomia, a comparative anatomy reference tool.
The software lets users compare human skeletal and muscular structure with those of three animal species common in games, animation and VFX projects: the horse, wolf, and dog.
It looks to be a useful resource for creature designers and animators, and while it’s a commercial product, you can currently download it for free in early access.
A comparative animal anatomy reference app from a popular creator of Maya creature rigs
Regular readers of CG Channel will know Truong from his popular Maya creature and character rigs: our parent company, The Gnomon Workshop, often uses them in its tutorials.
Although he has released Maya scripts in his Gumroad store in the past, Anastomia – which he and Nguyen describe as the “resource we wished had existed when we first learned animal anatomy” – is his first major software product.
The desktop application enables users to compare vertebrate species – humans, horses, wolves and dogs – side by side, to identify which structures are equivalent in their anatomy.
Selecting and isolating a bone or muscle group in one viewport automatically makes the same changes in the other, helping to show how the structures differ between species.
The models have a range of display options – realistic, simplified and ‘big shapes’, which blocks out the main forms of the body – and shading and lighting options.
Currently free in early access, but if you like it, support the developers
Although Anastomia was only released late last month, it is being updated regularly, with the latest release, Anastomia 2025.2, adding the option to put the characters in custom poses.
The software has actually been in development for a while, initially as a mobile app, before the developers switched to the desktop version two years ago.
In the online changelog, Truong and Nguyen say that a key aim of the early releases is to collect user feedback.
“[Anastomia] needs a huge amount of (accurate) anatomy assets,” they write.
“While we already spent a lot of time, money and effort in learning, researching and developing, there is a bigger issue we need to address: we have no clue if this software will be welcomed.
“That’s why we decided to release this early version on Gumroad. Please let us know what you think.”
Although Anastomia is a commercial product, you can currently download it for free by signing up for a subscription on Gumroad, then entering the offer code free on the checkout page.
If you want to support future development, consider signing up for a paid subscription, or sending its creators your feedback via the email addresses at the foot of the Gumroad page.
Price and system requirements
Anastomia is available for Windows, Linux and macOS.
The software is available rental-only. For non-commercial use, a license costs $5/month. Commercial subscriptions start at $50/month.
At the time of writing, you can download the software for free by signing up for a commercial subscription on Gumroad, then entering the offer code free on the checkout page.
Download comparative animal anatomy tool Anastomia from Gumroad
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