DeepMotion Animate 3D

Overview

DeepMotion Animate 3D turns recorded movement into 3D character animation through markerless motion capture. It is a strong fit for animators and game creators who want to bring performers’ movement into a character workflow without limiting capture to a single person. The main trade-off is that credit use, plan caps and commercial licensing need to fit the work before it becomes a production tool.

Key features

Animate 3D accepts MP4, MOV and AVI video and tracks full-body motion, facial expressions, hand gestures and multiple subjects. Depending on plan, a clip can include two to eight people. That makes it useful for group movement, though each plan’s clip-duration and upload limits affect how much material can be processed in one take.

Movement can be applied to default characters, uploaded FBX, GLB or VRM characters, or avatars made with Ready Player Me and Avaturn. Face and hand tracking, physics simulation, foot locking, hand-to-ground contact, motion smoothing and a Rotoscope Pose Editor provide options for refining a capture. Motion transfer is supported, but image-to-animation is not.

Exports include FBX, BVH, MP4 and GLB; GLB export is available for custom characters. JPG, PNG and GIF are also supported. One credit covers one second of animation or one 3D pose, with face tracking and hand tracking each adding 0.5 credit per second or pose. Those extras can materially shorten the footage a monthly allowance covers. Credits reset monthly and do not roll over, so unused capacity is lost.

Uploaded videos are private to the account holder and inaccessible to the public and other Animate 3D users, according to the maker. For teams integrating capture into an application, DeepMotion offers an API and real-time SDK, with pricing by contacting sales. Account help and troubleshooting are directed through a support form and Discord.

Pricing

Animate 3D is freemium, with no free trial. The free Freemium plan provides 25 credits per month, 20-second clips, two people per clip, three custom characters, 1080p output and a 100 MB upload limit. It is suitable for personal exploration, but not commercial work: the free account is limited to personal, non-commercial use, and licensed animation requires a premium subscription.

Starter has 180 credits per month, 20-second clips, three people, five custom characters, 1080p output and a 150 MB upload limit. It raises the allowance modestly, but the short clip cap and low monthly credits make it better suited to small, occasional projects than sustained production. Innovator provides 480 credits per month, 30-second clips and up to four people per clip; it is a step up for somewhat longer, small-group captures, but the listed plan facts do not give its character, resolution or upload caps.

Professional includes 1,500 monthly credits, 120-second clips, six people, 20 custom characters, 2160p (4K) output and a 400 MB upload limit. It is the more practical tier for longer captures, larger casts and higher-resolution output. Studio offers unlimited credits, 360-second clips, eight people, 50 custom characters, 4320p (8K) output and 1.5 GB uploads. Its first 7,200 monthly credits receive highest job priority; later jobs run at low priority, so unlimited credits do not mean every job keeps the same queue priority.

Plan prices are custom pricing. Monthly credits reset rather than carry forward, which favors predictable monthly work over sporadic projects that need to bank unused capacity.

Platforms

Animate 3D is available on the web and through an API. The maker also offers a real-time SDK for application integration, with pricing available by contacting sales.

Who it's for

Choose Animate 3D if you need video-based motion capture for characters, want to capture more than one person, or need tools to refine body, face and hand movement. Its higher tiers are better aligned with longer clips, larger casts and higher-resolution exports. It is a poor fit for commercial users who need a free plan, for image-led animation, or for projects whose credit needs exceed a modest allowance but whose budget cannot accommodate custom-priced plans.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Tracks body, face, hands and up to eight people per clip on Studio, giving group scenes more room than a single-subject workflow.
• Pros: Supports uploaded characters, default characters and avatar creation, with several motion-refinement tools rather than capture alone.
• Pros: Exports include common 3D animation formats as well as video and image formats, supporting different downstream needs.
• Cons: Free use is personal and non-commercial, so licensed work requires a premium subscription.
• Cons: Tracking face and hands adds credit cost, and monthly credits expire at reset rather than rolling over.
• Cons: Per-plan prices are custom pricing, making it difficult to judge the cost of scaling up before contacting the maker.

Alternatives

If the priority is generating game assets rather than transferring recorded movement to characters, consider Meshy, which offers a free plan with 100 credits and 10 free monthly downloads for Meshy 6 Lite models, plus a Pro plan at $20 a month.

AnnoMotion is another freemium option, with a free tier offering 15 credits after email verification and eight free daily credits, as well as a Mini plan at £1, paid once. For other asset-generation options, see AI Game Asset Generators.

For additional tools in this area, browse Game Motion Capture Software, 3D Character Animation Software, AI Animation Makers, 3D Animation Software and AI Motion Capture Software. Asset Forge, DreamForge Asset Studio, Goblin3D, Hyper3D Rodin, Scenario and Spritefy are also alternatives to compare.

Verdict

DeepMotion Animate 3D is best for animators and game creators who need markerless capture across bodies, faces, hands or small groups, plus character options and motion-refinement tools. Its strongest case is the breadth of capture and the range from short free clips to Studio’s longer, larger-scale limits. Look elsewhere if you need commercial work on a free plan or cannot accept custom pricing and credit-based usage.