DeepMotion Animate 3D

DeepMotion Animate 3D is a web service and API that turns video into 3D character animation with markerless motion capture. It is best suited to animators and game creators who want to transfer recorded movement onto 3D characters, including multi-person scenes. Its combination of body, face and hand tracking is versatile, but credit costs and the free account’s non-commercial restriction make plan choice important.

Overview

Animate 3D accepts ordinary video rather than requiring marker-based capture. It can track full-body movement, facial expressions, hand gestures and multiple subjects, then apply the result to a character. That breadth makes it useful for more than basic body-motion capture, though face and hand tracking consume extra credits.

Character choices include default models, uploaded FBX, GLB or VRM files, and avatars created with Ready Player Me or Avaturn. The service supports motion transfer but not image-to-animation. It also offers an API and real-time SDK for teams integrating motion capture into their own applications; API pricing is custom.

Key features

Editing tools include physics simulation, foot locking, hand-to-ground contact, motion smoothing and a Rotoscope Pose Editor. These provide options to refine captured movement rather than relying only on the initial tracking result. The trade-off is that face and hand tracking add 0.5 credit each per second or pose, on top of the one credit charged for an animation second or 3D pose.

Video input supports MP4, MOV and AVI. Exports include FBX, BVH, MP4 and GLB, as well as JPG, PNG and GIF; GLB export is available for custom characters. Uploaded videos are private to the account holder and inaccessible to the public and other Animate 3D users, according to DeepMotion.

Pricing

Animate 3D is freemium, with no free trial. Prices for the named plans are custom pricing. Monthly credits reset each month and do not roll over, so unused allowance cannot build toward a larger project later.

• Freemium: 25 credits per month, 20-second clips, up to two people, three custom characters, 1080p and 100 MB uploads. The free account is limited to personal, non-commercial use, making it suitable for exploration rather than licensed production.
• Starter: 180 credits per month, 20-second clips, up to three people, five custom characters, 1080p and 150 MB uploads. It increases capacity over Freemium but retains the same clip-length ceiling.
• Innovator: 480 credits per month, 30-second clips and up to four people. It raises the clip and subject limits, but the listed allowance does not include custom-character, resolution or upload caps.
• Professional: 1,500 credits per month, 120-second clips, up to six people, 20 custom characters, 2160p (4K) and 400 MB uploads. This is the clearer fit for longer, higher-resolution work, though monthly credit usage still needs managing.
• Studio: Unlimited credits, 360-second clips, up to eight people, 50 custom characters, 4320p (8K) and 1.5 GB uploads. The first 7,200 monthly credits receive highest job priority; later jobs run at low priority, so unlimited credits do not mean every job gets the same queue treatment.

One animation credit covers one second of animation or one 3D pose. Face and hand tracking each cost an additional 0.5 credit per second or pose, which can quickly reduce effective footage volume on credit-limited plans. Licensed animation requires a premium subscription.

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 by contacting sales.

Who it's for

Choose Animate 3D if you need video-based motion capture, custom character support, or tracking for several people in one scene. Professional and Studio are better aligned with longer clips and higher-resolution output; Freemium is a personal-use starting point with a short clip cap. It is a weaker fit if you need commercial licensing without a premium subscription or expect face and hand tracking to fit comfortably within a small credit allowance.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Tracks bodies, faces, hands and up to eight people on Studio, covering group and expressive motion in one service.
• Pro: Supports uploaded FBX, GLB and VRM characters alongside default characters and avatar creation options.
• Pro: Offers multiple motion-refinement tools and exports including FBX, BVH and GLB.
• Con: Free use is personal and non-commercial; licensed animation requires a premium subscription.
• Con: Face and hand tracking each add credit costs, and monthly credits expire at reset.
• Con: The shorter plans cap clips at 20 or 30 seconds, limiting their fit for longer takes.

Alternatives

Rokoko Studio is worth considering for macOS or Windows users who want a free plan with 30 seconds per month of Vision AI video processing, five Studio imports monthly and one month of cloud storage.

QuickMagic suits readers who want a web or API option with a free tier offering 50V Coins, two queued videos and FBX export. Move AI is another motion-capture alternative, with a free allocation of 30 credits that do not expire and support for videos up to 30 seconds.

Autodesk Flow Studio may suit users looking for a free monthly credit allowance alongside Maya and Blender scene export. AIMoCap offers a free tier with 100 monthly credits, one concurrent upload and a 30-second maximum video.

Plask Motion is a web-based alternative with a free daily limit of 15 seconds and 1 GB of storage. FreeMoCap is the option to consider if a free, self-hosted tool across desktop platforms is the priority. mimem.ai offers a free tier with daily tokens, three monthly FBX exports and commercial use.

Compare more options in Motion Capture Software, Game Motion Capture Software, AI Motion Capture Software, Game Animation Software, AI Animation Makers and 3D Character Animation Software.

Verdict

DeepMotion Animate 3D is a strong fit for creators who want markerless video capture with body, face and hand tracking, flexible character input and multi-person support. Its main reason to choose it is the range of motion and character tools in one workflow; its main reason to look elsewhere is the credit and licensing model, especially for commercial projects or frequent face and hand tracking.