Animata, is an open source 2d animation application that allows for the quick setup of characters similar to the way the puppet tool would work inside of After Effects. Unlike the After Effects puppet tool however, Animata has the ability to add IK chains, and real time dynamics such as gravity that can affect characters, and the scenes themselves. Animata amazingly can take on and utilize input from outside sources as live input signals received from various physical sensors, microphones or cameras. Give Animata a try, as open source, it is free to download, and there are some video tutorials and sample files to get you started with the environment and setup.
Also, you may want to check out my previous post on setting up simple IK chains in After Effects using a script from Nicolas Dufresne.
Animata Jazz Pub from gabor papp on Vimeo.
Animata is a cross-platform open source real-time animation software for live performance developed in Kitchen Budapest in 2007.
The software makes it really easy to create scenes with virtual puppets, which can be moved according to live input signals received from various physical sensors, microphones or cameras.
This video demonstrates Animata reacting to live audio input.
Credits:
Bence Samu – video, animation, programming
Peter Nemeth, Gabor Papp – programming
Janos Gardos – graphics
Gabor Csordas – sound
http://animata.kibu.hu
