Friday, November 22nd, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerKeenTools releases FaceTracker for Blenderhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"KeenTools has officially released FaceTracker for Blender, the new Blender edition of its markerless facial motion-capture tool.The add-on, previously available in open beta, can extract an actors facial movements from video footage and export the animation or FACS data for use in Blender or other DCC software.It was released as part of KeenTools 2024.3, the latest version of KeenTools suite of plugins, which also includes 3D head-generation tool FaceBuilder and tracking add-on GeoTracker.An intuitive markerless facial tracking add-on for BlenderFirst released six years ago as a Nuke plugin, FaceTracker is a markerless facial tracking tool for animation, visual effects or motion graphics work.It works by matching a 3D head model generated by KeenTools FaceBuilder technology, which is built into FaceTracker, to the motion of the actors head.FaceTracker automatically extracts the actors facial performance from the video footage. along with either the motion of their head or the camera itself.Users can improve the accuracy of the solve by using the built-in stabilization tools, or by masking out objects obscuring the actors face in the source video, like hair, hats and props.The resulting facial animation can be exported in Alembic (ABC), Collada (DAE), FBX or glTF/GLB format for use in other DCC applications, or as FACS animation data in CSV format.For visual effects work, it is also possible to texture the 3D head model from the video, generating a 3D reconstruction of the actors face for use in de-ageing or digital makeup work.Now a paid-for plugin, with support for animation retargetingThe Blender edition was released free in open beta with KeenTools 2024.2 in August, but gets a stable and paid-for release with KeenTools 2024.3.As well as paying for FaceTracker for Blender itself, users now need an active subscription to FaceBuilder to use the built-in FaceBuilder module.The stable release also introduces animation retargeting, making it possible to transfer facial motion from an actor to a 3D character with different facial proportions.The facial track can be transferred either to a Blender Rigify rig or to ARKit blendshapes, supported in a number of other DCC applications.Other changes in KeenTools 2024.3KeenTools plugins are also available for Nuke, and the KeenTools 2024.3 update makes those editions compatible with Nuke 15.0+ on RHEL 9 Linux.FaceTracker and GeoTracker both get workflow improvements, including a new Export tab.Pricing and system requirementsFaceTracker for Blender is available for Blender 2.80+ on Windows, Linux and macOS. The software is available rental-only.Individual FaceTracker subscriptions include both Blender and Nuke editions of the plugin, and cost $18/month or $179/year for individuals, or $499/year for studios.The software is also available as a product bundle with FaceBuilder, which costs $27/month or $269/year for individuals, or $749/year for studios.Read an overview of FaceTracker for Blender on KeenTools websiteRead more about how FaceTracker for Blender works in the online documentationRead a full changelog for KeenTools pluginsHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). 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