Reallusion Unleashes Ultimate Indie Toolbox at SIGGRAPH 2012
Real-Time Character Animation, Motion-Capture and 3-D Assets for Independent Game Developers, Filmmakers and CG Pros with the iClone Animation Pipeline, August 7-9, Booth #1109
Los Angeles, CA, July 19th, 2012—Reallusion, developers of award-winning digital storytelling, facial animation and 3D real-time filmmaking software, today announced the public debut of The iClone Animation Pipeline, a creative suite that answers the prayers of independent game developers, filmmakers and CG Pros everywhere by giving them a complete real-time production and development solution. The iClone Animation Pipeline can be experienced first-hand at SIGGRAPH 2012, August 7-9, booth #1109
The iClone Animation Pipeline brings the power of Reallusion’s what-you-see-is-what-you-get iCone5 production environment to game developers and video producers. iClone5 features a real-time viewport with pixel-shader preview during creation of character animation and motion capture. Buy or sell royalty-free game-ready content in the new Reallusion 3DXPortal marketplace to access professional 3D characters, props, motions and more assets for video games, television and film.
The iClone Animation Pipeline is a trio of character creation, facial and body-motion animation production and motion capture with exportable results for use with game engines like Unity3D or UDK and easily opens in Autodesk Max or Maya, Cinema4D or other 3-D production environment that supports FBX.
"Reallusion provides independent studios with a total character creation and animation solution with motion capture enabled by Microsoft Kinect for Windows," said John Martin II, VP of Product Marketing, Reallusion. "Reallusion iClone5 records and simultaneously previews motion-capture on your selected actor. Captured motion is able to be cleaned with the assistance of HumanIK and iClone’s motion-layer editing."
WHY IT MATTERS?:
"Reallusion's iClone5 is an impressive character creation, animation and motion capture toolbox for Unity developers. Unity welcomes Reallusion as a showcase partner for GDC 2012, " said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies
Character animation with iClone5 is a new approach to animation and offers short-cuts to creating walk-cycles or basic human gestures using the Motion Puppet tools and library of various emotional and action based character puppeteering modes.
Custom 3D content comes to life with iClone’s animation tools through the import capability of 3DXchange 5. Characters in FBX format may import and rig to iClone’s HumanIK rig with ease. Once rigged with 3DXchange your custom content may work in iClone and be able to animate with iClone’s motion capture, puppeteering and motion library of animation.
The iClone Animation Pipeline is also a gateway to Reallusion’s massive library of 3D game-ready content. Characters with WASD-ready animation and more; along with props and scenes are able to be purchased and exported though the iClone Animation Pipeline.
Reallusion is connecting the various 3-D communities with a content exchange solution. 3DXchange imports content in 3DS, OBJ, SKP, BVH and now FBX. The industry-standard 3D assets exchange format, FBX allows iClone to be a serious production option for animators, game developers and video producers.
HEAVY-DUTY PARTNERSHIP:
Reallusion has partnered with Microsoft Kinect for Windows to enable real-time motion capture animation for PCs. Reallusion iClone5 and Kinect for Windows is a complete and affordable motion-capture solution for casual video creation, virtual actors or pro animation. Motion capture for 3D character animation has long been a costly and highly technical endeavor requiring multiple cameras, large spaces and other specialized equipment. iClone5 and Kinect for Windows is changing the world of animation by making it easy, fun and very fast.
“Reallusion’s real-time motion-capture is a great example of the imaginative innovation achievable with Kinect for Windows,” notes JP Wollersheim, Kinect for Windows Group Product Manager at Microsoft. “The Kinect-enabled iClone5 makes character animation simple, fast and fun.”
"iClone (& 3DXchange5) is a potentially monumental tool for the indie community. I've been asking for this since its release and finally a company has created it. Motion capture using the Kinect. When Reallusion gave a presentation at GDC 2012 I was blown away..." added Jordan Thompson, Indie Games Studio.
BOTTOM LINE:
●FBX Animation & Content PipelineThe iClone Animation Pipeline provides the key to importing your custom 3D models in FBX format and then animating your characters in real-time with fast motion capture using Kinect for Windows and speedy clean-up with iClone’s motion editing. Quickly generate characters and motion for games and be able to export 3D content back to your game-engine or cg software environment in FBX or OBJ format.
●3DXPortal Professional 3D content marketplaceCharacters, motions and props fill a marketplace of royalty-free content ready for use in game development, filmmaking or interactive entertainment. Reallusion 3DXPortal features pro 3D content and assets from Reallusion and 3D industry partners like Mixamo. The 3DXportal is the largest library of real-time assets featuring human and non-human characters in assorted styles, theme-based motions for action, adventure, fantasy and sports, and props for scene and set design. Make money with your custom 3D assets as a Reallusion 3DXPortal vendor.
●The 1st Mocap-to-Animation Total Solution:
iClone is first in-house Kinect mocap studio that allows you to directly bring in motion data to control virtual actors without the burden of complex motion pipelines or tedious conversion issues. Get everything you need in this tightly packaged mocap studio solution!
●Real-time Character Control & Interaction:
With iClone5's Kinect motion capturing system, now you can control live characters with accessories, particle effects and physics interactions. No more hassles from traditional motion data capturing now you can capture any motion with real-time physics properties like playing a Xbox game.
●New 5.1 Mocap Features Using Kinect for Windows:
iClone 5.1 mocap plug-in includes enhanced APIs, providing better calibration, more articulate motion data and stability. It allows you to do head and wrist movement, mirror capture, half-body capture, and remote body commands. One of the most exciting feature should be the floor detection and alignment which makes some movements like kick, jump or turn around more believable.
●Smart Human IK Layering and Post-Editing:
The best part of iClone5 motion capture is that you may also adjust and refine your motions once you have finished capturing them. The enhanced HIK (human inverse kinematics) Motion Editor can help you adjust captured motions naturally by layering existing motions on top of each other.
●Cost-Effective Production:
iClone users include students, first-time animator and media professionals like the recent $100k funded Kickstarter project and motion picture, “The UnderWater Realm,” a project utilizing iClone5 and Kinect for Windows as a previsualization tool. The crew saved time and money by being able to get a good idea of how a scene will best be setup and shot from their work with iClone and Kinect.
●The Most Affordable Mocap Studio:
iClone5 offers the most affordable and intuitive motion capturing solution in the industry. You no longer need expensive or annoying marker suits. Just launch iClone5 and any depth camera and turn your PC into a professional filmmaking studio.
"Venturing out into a field of industry heavy-weights... is a challenging affair. That's why seeking out leading-edge tools is the key to achieving success. A critical component to our launch, is Reallusion's recent introduction of iClone 5 and 3DXchange 5. These powerful tools provide fast, high-quality character creation and facial animations; all done with un-paralleled ease. Not only does this bring intuitive tools to the masses, but also at an amazingly affordable price. The team behind this suite of tools, provide excellent support as well!" said Mike Bastien, Executive Producer, Virtual Ascension.
SEE FOR YOURSELF:
The iClone Animation Package is available in the following packages:
Bundle 1: iClone 3DXchange5 Pipeline Version cost £399.99 inc
Bundle 2: iClone5 Pro,iClone3DX5 Pipeline, Mocap Plugin, DA20,000 (for content export) cost £599.99 inc
Bundle 3: iClone5 Pro, iClone3DX5 Pipeline, Mocap Plugin, DA50,000 (for content export) cost £799.99 inc
