Previously relying only on traditional motion-capture and keyframing processes to animate biped characters, 3ds Max users can now gain access to Mixamo’s online collection of customizable, motion-capture quality character motions and bake them directly onto their bipeds.

“Mixamo is the first online platform to enable the application of motion data onto 3ds Max biped characters,” says Marc Stevens, Autodesk vice president, Games Group. “Mixamo’s expansive collection of high-quality motion data — which can be customized in real-time and automatically retargeted —will help to significantly boost productivity for 3ds Max biped users.”

Mixamo enables animators, game artists, and 3D professionals to browse through a collection of production-quality 3D character motions developed from motion-capture data. After selecting a desired animation, a user can customize the motion using director-level, slider-based controls in real time. Users may then upload personal biped characters to Mixamo, which automatically retargets the motion to the character. Once customization is complete, the user may download the motion directly into their production pipeline using the Autodesk FBX file format.

The Mixamo online service leverages the 2010 version of the freely available Autodesk 3ds Max FBX plug-in, and can be installed with Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 or later. Mixamo’s support of Autodesk Maya software control rigs is forthcoming.