For those dealing with extreme deadlines and limited manpower, Reallusion introduces Cartoon Animator 4 and Facial Mocap Plug-in, to simplify and fasten the whole animation production.

Reallusion launches Cartoon Animator 4 (formerly CrazyTalk Animator), the complete professional 2D character system, and it’s new Facial Mocap Plug-in (Motion LIVE 2D) which allows users to animate characters with their own facial expression in real-time. In the last decade,  says the company, Cartoon Animator has been widely used by million subscriber YouTube channels to online businesses, graphic designers, to marketers and award-winning directors.

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“Cartoon Animator 4 is one of the most accessible 2D character design and animation tools in the current market for both entry and professional users.” said John C. Martin, VP of Product Marketing, Reallusion. “ CTA 4 is a complete 2D character system with tools to design and animate in a new way with a unique motion UI and the industry-breakthrough 2D, 360 degree head creator. Indie, pros and first time animators can apply speed to creativity with a new approach to 2D animation.”

From virtual production to web broadcasting

Cartoon Animator 4 is, says Reallusion, more than a character animator, it is a total 2D animation toolbox that can turn images into animated characters, generate lip-sync animation from audio, accomplish 3D parallax scenes, produce 2D visual effects, access content resources, and wield a comprehensive Photoshop pipeline to rapidly customize and create characters.

Today’s challenges for most content producers such as marketers, trainers and YouTubers are the extreme deadlines and limited manpower. The Facial Mocap Plug-in (Motion LIVE 2D) offers a solution that can greatly simplify and fasten the whole animation production.

With Cartoon Animator’s Facial Mocap Plug-in, anyone can animate character with their facial performances via webcams or an iPhone TrueDepth camera to track expressions with head and eyes movements, and natural body animations driven by head position. This solution is designed for virtual production, performance capture, live TV shows and streaming web broadcasting.

Use a webcam or iPhone, add lip sync

The prominent features of Facial Mocap Plug-in (Motion LIVE 2D):

• Real-time Face Tracking via Webcam and/or iPhone
  Users can utilize any webcam or iPhone X to capture real-time face tracking via Facial Mocap Plug-in, the facial expressions will instantly project onto virtual characters in Cartoon Animator.
• Head driven body movement
  During facial mocap, users can also add upper body motions by capturing head movements, blending values, and adjusting arm or forearm rotation that can be directly blended during live performances.
• Real-time lip sync and audio recording
  The Timeline editor can edit motion clips, alter speeds, blend and refine captured phoneme expressions. Turn on the PC microphone for simultaneous audio recording for complete control over talking lip shapes.

From a 2D face to a 3D head

It is also possible to quickly transform a 2D face into a 3D head. The 360 Head Creator streamlines the workflow for head creation and expression setup, while directly applying it to the animation core through face key editing, puppeteering and the timeline system. The 3D Head Creator transforms static 2D art into 3D-styled characters with up to 360 degrees of motion for deeply rich performances. Artists can also use the Photoshop round trip in/out integration for editing multi-angle characters.

The Smart IK (Inverse Kinematic) ) Animation’s simple and functional design sets Cartoon Animator apart from other 2D applications, says Reallusion, as the intuitive IK/FK system auto-switches for a fluid, and logical workflow. Smart Motion Retargeting correctly applies any motion files to different body shapes, while automatically aligning new characters to the original motion pose.

Pricing and Availability:

• $199 for Cartoon Animator 4 Pipeline edition, $99 for Cartoon Animator 4 PRO edition (lower price compared to its CrazyTalk Animator 3 predecessor).
• The PC and Mac webcam facial tracker is a separate module along with the “Motion LIVE 2D” plug-in ($199), allowing users to freely choose what to purchase while giving them device expandability for future live performances.
• Available Cartoon Animator 4 Early Bird discounts. Offer ends on 5/31/2019.