Character animation library and creation service Mixamo has added support for Blender, so that users of the animation tool can add animations to characters created either in Blender or in Mixamo's newly-launched Character Creator Suite. Mixamo says Blender users can import its animations into their projects in either Collada or BVH format-based workflows. According to the company, besides importing models created in Blender into Mixamo, users can also create rigged models using Mixamo, customize animations on characters and then bring them back into Blender. Mixamo claims its service can save Blender users up to 75 percent in production times and 80 percent in costs. Virtual world Tirnua has already been employing the cross-tool workflow, and the company's CEO, Luc Barthelet, claims that it's been able to add motions to its virtual environment "five-times faster than if we were to animate by hand." Adds co-founder and CTO Stefano Corazza: "With Mixamo, the Blender community can easily apply animations to any character in their 3D scenes by following a simple end-to-end workflow process that we developed." Mixamo previously offered a library of ready-to-use 3D character motions derived from motion capture data that developers could bake onto their own rigs, but it's recently expanded by offering an end-to-end solution.
