Mesh2Motion – Open-source web application to animate 3D models

(mesh2motion.org)

174 points | by Splizard 13 hours ago ago

33 comments

  • raincole 12 hours ago

    Pleasantly surprised to see a project like this without genAI nowadays.

    And for people inevitably asking "why not Blender," my answer is that the field of 3D content creation is so vast that some people need "gateway drug" like this (and SketchUp, and Daz3D, etc) before trying to throw themselves into Blender/Maya/Houdini's throats.

    • scottpetrovic 11 hours ago

      genAI doesn't seem to scale very well without large costs and subscriptions to pay for it. Doesn't seem good for an open source project.

    • fleischhauf 11 hours ago

      why? aren't you desperately longing for trying to put into a prompt how a model should be animated? /s

      • d0100 9 hours ago

        As a dev trying to create 3D games on my spare time, I actually am (I'm also eager to use stableprojector once I upgrade my 10yo pc)

        It's really hard having to be a 3D modeler, animator, art director, developer and having good enough taste to know you're never going to have the time to build what you find acceptable

        • AgentMatrixAI 7 hours ago

          First time making something 3D and code wise, codex has been very useful, even creating a in-game 3D editor as well as netcode

          The trickiest part is really using 3D and it comes with lot of extra scoping you normally take for granted: animation, uv texture, rigging for humanoids, making sure stuff doesn't clip through etc.

          Still learning Blender but its very slow. I haven't tried the MCP for it yet but I want to get proficient at it to be able to produce psx graphic models and textures...

      • echelon an hour ago

        I saw a post by a Gam Jam organizer recently.

        This person related that in the years prior to this one, artists were essential members of every Game Jam team. Getting art for the games was the hardest, most limiting step. Without an artist, the games were limited in scope. Not every team could get an artist.

        This year, many teams didn't have artists at all, and yet they were able to create more complete games with good looking art assets.

        This isn't "firing" artists. This is making engineers more effective.

        I work in the video space now, and I can't even begin to tell you how effective AI models make editors. It's like a super power.

  • laurentlb 6 hours ago

    Very nice project! Thanks for making it open-source and very easy to use. I hope you'll find contributors and be able to get a nice collection of animations!

    I'm starting a new project, I may have to use this tool in the next few months.

  • retSava 11 hours ago

    I can see this being huge for 3d-printing. Apply on a sculpted .stl, reposition and download/save the new pose. There is already stuff in Blender to do stuff like that, but Blender is almost like a hobby in itself, just like the actual printing is like a hobby (to learn and master).

  • klaussilveira 5 hours ago

    What algorithm is it using for applying weights? Blender uses automatic bone heat weighting, but sometimes it can fail.

    There's an open-source plugin that does surface-based heat diffusion and also this really clever voxel solution: https://superhivemarket.com/products/voxel-heat-diffuse-skin...

  • reactordev 11 hours ago

    Yessssssss......

    This and more mocap's plz. Keep going! The multiple animation export to glb saves me a ton of time. This is great! Combine this with ArmorPaint and you're almost there. Blender is great but it's so heavy.

    Great job.

  • seanwilson 9 hours ago

    This is cool! I was confused how to get going at first and didn't realise it was a step-by-step wizard I had to follow, plus I only watched the demo video briefly. I loaded the human then clicked around the main area and couldn't get anything to happen, and almost gave up.

    Suggestion to help with this: Instead of starting with a blank slate, start right at the end of the process with the human model loaded and animated, then the user can go "back" and change things once they've seen the kind of results they can get.

  • tantalor 8 hours ago

    > Supports humanoid, four-legged, and bird creatures.

    Man is a featherless biped

    - tantalor

  • devJdeed 8 hours ago

    This is defo a well needed project. The only other alternative I can think about is Mixamo. Goodluck and hope this projects overtakes Mixamo

  • jdauriemma 9 hours ago

    I just wanted to thank the creators of this app for making it usable without having to create an account. It's a breath of fresh air!

    • scottpetrovic 9 hours ago

      Yes. I really have sign up and subscription fatigue, so I don't want any of that happening. There is too much of that on the web already.

  • eps 11 hours ago

    Having the skeleton be auto-deduced (through the ML or otherwise) would've been a very natural fit here as a feature. Knowing that it's basically possible to do, selecting the skeleton type and then adjusting it manually, joint by joint, seems ... archaic?

    • nusl 11 hours ago

      Have you done 3D modelling/rigging/animating yourself before?

      • leohonexus 7 hours ago

        Why the condescending tone, OP has a point. Techniques like RigAnything[0] exist - whether this is within the scope of this project is another topic, but this seems like a reasonable request to me (especially considering how many x_2_y-named projects are ML related)

        [0] https://www.liuisabella.com/RigAnything/

  • AgentMatrixAI 7 hours ago

    amazing timing! been needing something like this since Blender has been tough.

    I've been working on a cybercafe simulator with Three.js and codex and animation is hard to get right

    https://x.com/AgentifySH/status/1981761490274464068

  • stefanka 9 hours ago

    Great project! It uses the motion library from the artist quaternius. He has some wonderful free and low-cost models.

  • iammjm 10 hours ago

    nice, animating spinning wheels or tracks on vehicles would be cool!

    • scottpetrovic 9 hours ago

      can you give an example for clarification of what you are wanting to do? This web app is pretty flexible, so other types of rigs or animations could be added?

  • throwaway743 6 hours ago

    This is great! I've been using mixamo and really sion, but would just love something open source that does both the body rigging as well as the facial rigging and lip syncing. It'd make life so much easier

  • jackallis 10 hours ago

    i need to map out tree house plans - can this be used?

    • fsloth 10 hours ago

      I'm sorry I can't quite parse what you are asking.

      "map out" - do you mean you want to digitally design tree houses?

      • jackallis 10 hours ago

        yes, kind stranger. i need to design tree house, was not sure if this can be used. not so fond of sketch up.

        • fsloth 3 hours ago

          That’s actually a really interesting take (even though the OP software is not really for that). How would you _like_ to design this treehouse? Is the particular tree relevant here (do you have a photogrammetric scan of it for insrance) or are you planning to design a generic shape you are confident can be installed on the target trunk? Is the treehouse more of a plank platform for one or an actual multiroom house? Is the budget closer to 5$ or 50 000$?

        • drakythe 9 hours ago

          This software is for animating preexisting 3d models, not creating new ones from scratch, so no, it will not serve to model a tree house.

    • theossuary 9 hours ago

      No, use sketchup

  • nisten 7 hours ago

    All in typescript too. Actually very impressive. Well, some webm videos and .glb 3dfiles but only the essentials it seems, the rest is all propper typescript.

    But a very nicely put together repo. Good job.