Mixamo, a company that provides an online 3D character animation service, is supporting Autodesk 3ds Max software biped system control rigs with a collection of online character motions.

Mixamo allows game developers to access a library of ready-to-use production quality 3D character motions derived from motion capture data. Once customized, users can bake the motion data "directly onto their bipeds," increasing efficiency of the development process.

"Mixamo is the first online platform to enable the application of motion data onto 3ds Max biped characters," said Autodesk Games Group VP Marc Stevens. "Mixamo's expansive collection of high-quality motion data -- which can be customized in real-time and automatically retargeted -- will help to significantly boost productivity for 3ds Max biped users."

Mixamo said that once users have selected an animation, they "can customize the motion using director-level, slider-based controls in real-time," automatically retargeting the motion to a character. Following this customization, users can "download the motion directly into their production pipeline using the Autodesk FBX file format."

The Mixamo online service can be installed with Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 or later. Mixamo's statement also said that support for Autodesk Maya software control rigs is "forthcoming."

[The preceding article by Kris Graft originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]