Can the Animate Anything web tool animate...

What would happen if I upload an unsupported model and gave it a category of a supported model?

That's a great question! In terms of extreme and even most mild cases where the uploaded mesh does not resemble the subcategory, you will likely fail to process. In some minor cases, users can successfully rig and animate a model that closely resembles the desired subcategory.

Can we redo the rig after the model has finished the Animate Anything process?

Unfortunately there is no way to re-rig the model once the model has completed the Animate Anything process, however we intend to fix that in the near future!

My textures or materials aren't displayed when I upload my model to Animate Anything! How do I fix this?

3D models lose reference to the necessary external image files often, especially when downloading them from 3D model website. Make sure those external image files are connected or associated properly in your 3D file. We recommend opening the file in Blender first to ensure that the file structure didn't break.

If your model looks like this then you most likely have a broken reference (meaning the picture file is not where the 3D file expected it to be). If this is the case there is an easy fix, (Assuming we are using Blender) simply open the Shader Editor by selecting the top left icon icon of any of the panels and navigating to the Shader Editor option under the General panels.

In the 3D viewport, change to Object mode and select the component that is missing texture (or open the material's properties panel).

From here we should see a box that is connected to the base color parameter for the Principled BSDF node. Selecting the file icon should open a file browser, from here navigate to the the missing texture file. Repeat for any relevant files (normals, metallic, etc.) by finding the associate parameter and replacing the missing file in Shader Editor.

The Animate Anything service is currently in an early access stage. As with all innovations we’ve 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 ”experimental phase” please bear with us.

To begin let's open the Animate Anything web tool and sign in or sign up to get started.

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.)

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.

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.

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!

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

Preparing your model for Animate Anything:

Pose: Models should not exhibit any sort of energetic activity.

Bipeds: The mesh should adhere to a "neutral pose" meaning bipedal models (models that walk on two legs) should be in a "T-Pose" or "A-Pose".

Quadrupeds: The legs for animals or other four legged creatures should point straight down.

Mesh:

It's recommended that the model's pose is mirrored or symmetrical when facing the camera.

The legs and feet of the mesh should not be touching or too close together . This may cause issues when processing the segmentation of the legs and feet.

The model should not have holes in the mesh.

The mesh of the model should not have inner faces.

The model should not have degenerate geometry:

The model should not have multiple mesh layers such as different clothing sub meshes.

The model should not have complex accessories such as swords, shields, big hats or long dresses.

Material/Textures:

Materials and textures should appear correctly when viewed in 3rd party 3D model editors such as Blender, Maya, 3DsMax, etc. before being uploaded to the Animate Anything tool.

It is recommended to either embedded the materials/textures in the 3D model file when relevant or strip the path for the external image files using a 3D modeling software (We recommend Blender).

Fixing missing materials and textures:

• FBX:

  • Embedding the materials and textures into the model's file can be done in Blender when exporting a model. To do this simply change the path mode to copy and enable the Embed Textures option. Embedding the textures correctly will allow the user to only upload the FBX file alone rather than all image files.
  • Additionally you can strip the path of the external image files by changing the path model to Strip instead of copy. Be sure to move all image files into the same folder as the .fbx! Users will be required to upload all external image files when stripping the paths.

• OBJ:

  • To ensure your OBJ model displays materials and texture files correctly it is recommended to open your file in Blender and re-export with the path mode set to Strip. Stripping the path will allow the user to put all files (OBJ, MTL, PNG, JPEG, etc.) in one folder. If done correctly, the model should display with texture and materials in any 3D viewing application include Animate Anything! Users will need to upload the external image files, when relevant, to Animate Anything for any OBJ models.

Alternatively you can open the MTL file and adjust the paths of the external files by adjusting the map_Kd value. Open the .mtl file in your favorite text editor and remove the file path while leaving the file name and save the .mtl file. Make sure to put the image files in the same folder as the .mtl and .obj files!

• DAE:

  • When exporting DAE from Blender, please ensure that the 'Copy' texture option is enabled. Users will need to upload the external image files to Animate Anything in this circumstance.
• GLB:

  • When exporting GLB from Blender, please ensure that the Materials option is set to 'Export' and that the Images option is set to Automatic. Doing this will embed the materials/textures in the GLB file. Users will not be required to upload external image files when following this process.
• GLTF + BIN:

  • Similarly to GLB, the Materials option is set to 'Export' and that the Images option is set to Automatic when exporting the file. Users will notice that a gltf, bin, and image file (where applicable). Users should upload all of these files to the Animate Anything web tool for the best results.

• GLTF Embedded:

  • The GLTF Embedded version will require the same steps as the GLB, and GLTF+BIN when exporting. The output for this version should be a single file that can be uploaded to Animate Anything without any additional work.

Face Direction: The model should conform with standard rotation - facing -Y axis in Blender; facing +Z axis in Maya.

Additional Resources: