SingularByte has introduced SmartAnim, its advanced rigging and animation plugin for Autodesk 3ds Max. The toolkit increases the range of controllers, solvers, helpers, and rigging tools available within the software, offering animators a broader set of options for creating detailed and complex character and object animations for film, games, and other projects.
SmartAnim includes an automatic rig system with facial rig capabilities, over forty types of control helpers, a pose management system, two new inverse kinematic solvers, twenty controllers, and a modifier for mirroring morphs. It also adds a new interface panel designed with dynamic controls for streamlined rig manipulation.
The rig system allows users to generate various rig types, such as biped, quadruped, centaur, and insect, using templates and adjustable parameters. These rigs support IKFK solvers, reverse foot parameters, twist bones, and UI pickers for efficient control. Face rigs can be created using bones or morph targets.
SmartAnim’s user interface tools include the UI Panel for interactive control pickers and sliders, the Pose Kit for storing and reapplying character poses, and customizable Control Helpers. The Animation Manager provides a unified system for managing poses, keys, and animations, compatible with both custom and SmartAnim rigs.
The plugin introduces two new inverse kinematic solvers. The IKFK Solver combines inverse and forward kinematics in a single hierarchy with support for stretching and soft IK. The CurveIK Solver facilitates the animation of bendable limbs and curved structures with fewer dependencies, aimed at character animation workflows.
For more information, visit SingularByte’s official website.
