πΊAnimate Anything Quickstart
This guide will explain each step of the Animate Anything processes.
The Animate Anything service is currently in an early access stage. As with all innovations weβve honed the spec for our MVP, choosing to offer a wide variety of categories for launch with a basic support function, so whilst Animate Anything is in its βexperimental phaseβ please bear with us.
To begin let's open the Animate Anything web tool and sign in or sign up to get started.
Before uploading make sure that your model (and relevant external files) have been prepared correctly. Please check out our guide on How to get the Best Possible Results for your Model.
Proceed to the upload page to upload your model to the Animate Anything web tool. You can either drag and drop or Browser your computer for the 3D model files.
When your files are uploaded you will see a list appear underneath of the drag and drop box. In this example we have provided an OBJ file which requires an MTL (and a PNG file for the texture of the model when applicable.)
Please keep the following restrictions in mind when uploading your model.
A single file must not exceed 30MBs.
All files must not exceed 100MBs.
One mesh at a time please!
Include necessary external files (OBJ requires a MTL file and unembedded GLTF files require a BIN file.)
Include all texture files if they are not embedded in the model file.
Models with more than 20k vertices will be decimated (reduced to 20k vertices.)
Once all files are uploaded, please review the model processing constraints and tick the checkbox to enable the continue button. Select continue to proceed to the next stage.
On the left side of the page you will see your 3D model appear and to the right you will see the model name and model type textboxes. If there is any uncertainty regarding the model types, select the question mark icon to learn more about the most common names for your model.
Provide the name you would like to give this model as well as what kind of model it is. In this example, I've uploaded a dog so the model type would be dog or canine. The model type field will check your input to make sure it's a verified subcategory. Then select the continue button.
You will be navigated to the model category page so that we can confirm that you are receiving the correct rig for your model. The model type correctly categorized the example model as a Canine & Feline under the quadruped category however there may be a circumstance where you will need to manually change the subcategory. Simply select a valid subcategory for your model to process. Select the continue button to proceed.
The next step is to ensure that the model is facing the correct direction, if you followed the Preparing your 3D model guide than your model should match the rotation reference image. If your model does not match the rotation reference, we can fix it right from this view. You can select the quarter circle on any of the front, side, or top views of your model to rotate.
If you make any mistakes and want to revert back to the original rotations, you can always select the 'Reset rotation' button to go back to default. Once the model is aligned with the rotation reference all that is required is to select if the model is symmetrical or not. The purpose of this symmetry identifier so to provide the best possible rig for both situations. In the next stage we will demonstrate how this effects the generation of the rig. Select continue to proceed.
Please note users are more likely to receive better results if the model is symmetrical.
Depending on the category selected during the previous page, your model will follow one of three paths.
Animation Workflow: You've uploaded a humanoid or animal to rig and animate the model.
Parts Workflow: You've uploaded a vehicle such as a car or bike to separate the various parts (wheels) for animation.
Static Workflow: You've uploaded an object that does not require animations such as an object or flora.
Animation Workflow:
Now that the Tweak your rig page has displayed, it's time to double check that we are happy with the results of the rig. We can rotate the model in the 3D view port by clicking and dragging and we can zoom using the middle scroll button. In this example, the auto-rigging process did a great job in placing the nodes however it's recommended to do some fine-tuning to receive the best possible results.
To adjust the bones of this rig, select the desired red node and use the provided arrow gizmo to move the node in 3D space. This gizmo should look familiar if you have used a 3D modeling software like Blender, Maya, 3DsMax, or even Unity and Unreal.
Remember during the last step we provided the information about it's symmetry? Since we marked this model as symmetrical, we can see it in action with the Mirror selection option. Additionally when you select any of the leg nodes, you'll see that the mirrored node is also selected. This feature is to simplify the process of make sure that the arm and leg bones remain perfectly symmetrical.
If you were to mark your model as asymmetrical, this option would be irrelevant and is not displayed.
Mirror selection can be disabled so that you can work with a single node at a time.
Keep in mind that you can always revert to the default rig by selecting the Reset Rig option. The same is true for the camera position of the 3D model viewport.
Once we are happy with the rig we can proceed to the file step, select the View Animations button to continue.
You will be redirected to our loading page while Animate Anything is animating your model. Once the animations have completed you will be navigated to the Animation page to see your final results!
Please note that the expected wait time for processing models during this stage is 8 - 30 minutes depending on the model type and vertices count.
Finally, we can see the animations in action! The page will display your 3D model's animation in the 3D view port to the left and a list of animations on right. From here you can select each animation buttons to view it in the 3D view port.
You can download a single animation by selecting the Download button in the viewport or download all animations by selecting the Download all animations button.
Please note it will take some time in order to generate all the formats, however the fastest format to be generated is the FBX version.
This version of the rigged and animated model will be saved in your "My World" page. This model will also be accessible in your favorite Anything World plugin to streamline the process!
Parts Workflow:
The parts workflow does not animate a vehicle model, rather it separates a single vehicle mesh into multiple parts.
All steps up until this point are the same as the other flows. Once we have applied the correct rotation and marked as symmetrical or asymmetrical from the rotation view, we can select the continue button to proceed.
This process is relatively quick and should only take 2 - 5 minutes to complete processing.
Once completed, you will be automatically be re-directed to the parts viewer page. The right panel will display the model parts key which represents the identified parts of the model. In the provided example we have a body (blue), a front wheel (pink), and a hind wheel (green).
This means that when download this model, there should be three separate mesh files. One for the front wheel, one for the hind wheel, and one for the body.
These parts will retain their global position when imported to your favorite 3D software or game engine!
Static Workflow:
Models will follow the static workflow when providing keywords that relate to plants, objects, or places. Your model will be accessible for all Anything World platforms such as the Anything Unity plugin and the Anything Unreal plugin. Animate Anything is a great place to store your model's for any project!
Here we have uploaded a palm tree as our example, once the tree has been identified we can proceed to the category page.
Once we have ensured that the model is categorized as a static model, we can proceed to the rotation page by selecting the continue button.
Here we can see how the model will be displayed when either importing the model to a Anything World plugin or when downloading the model.
Processing a static model is a very fast process and should take less than 2 minutes to complete.
From this view you can see your model as it will appear across all of the Anything World plugins as well as download the model as an OBJ file.
My World - Processed Models
All workflows will lead you to the processed models section of the My World page. Here you can see your personal repository uploaded models.
Keep in mind that your processed models are accessible from the Anything Unity plugin and Anything Unreal plugin. To access your processed models from these plugins, navigate to the My World panel and open the processed models sub section.
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