Mixamo is a web-based platform for creating 3D computer graphics, including character animation for games, films, and more.
The software, which was acquired by Adobe in 2015, makes animation easier for developers by auto-rigging characters and providing a massive roster of pre-made figures and pre-recorded animations.
But, although Mixamo is a fun tool to use, it does come with a few drawbacks. For example, the program has a steep learning curve, which presents an obstacle for new users. Also, the software is quite limited in the number of features and functionality it affords creators.
If any of these situations apply to you, then you might be better served by a different tool. Read on to discover 15 of the best Mixamo alternatives available to you.
Best Mixamo Alternatives
1. Character Creator
Character Creator is a powerful character creation platform for designers. Developed by Reallusion, this software allows you to easily generate, import, customize, and export realistic or stylized character assets.
Your creativity will no longer be limited and you can now create humans, creatures, and props even with no prior 3D experience.
You can import, characterize, and facial-rig any rigged biped model – even if it doesn’t exist in the platform’s character base.
Although similar to Mixamo in many ways, Character Creator also has some unique features, such as:
- Dynamic wrinkles
- Digital human for unreal auto setup
- Skin weight refinement
…and more
You can use the software in conjunction with other industry-leading tools like Blender, Unreal Engine, Unity, and iClone for streamlined animation, rigging, and asset management.
As any creator will tell you, there are no shortcuts to great animation, but this tool certainly makes things easier with interactive design, look-dev rendering, and other unique features.
You can use Character Creator as a SaaS (software as a service) tool, or you can download it to your Windows device.
2. Vyond
Vyond is yet another great alternative to Mixamo. It has a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate, making it ideal for non-tech-savvy users and experienced users alike.
Game developers can use this platform to create and animate unique 3D characters. Marketers can use it to communicate better with professional-grade animated videos.
Whatever your goals – engagement, education, or conversion – you’ll be able to drive awesome results thanks to features like team collaboration, animated GIF export, speech enhancer, and branding tools and guidelines.
Browse the platform by job role, category, or style to find the content and features you need. For example, you can choose between whiteboard, contemporary, or business-friendly visual styles for creating your animations.
In fact, you can even transform photos into characters with this software.
Create and customize characters to make them completely unique. Change fonts, prop colors, etc. to match your brand’s theme and style. This is important to help you maintain consistency in all your marketing collateral.
One feature that differentiates Vyond from Mixamo and other competitors is the auto character lip sync feature. This allows you to add audio to your characters and watch them come to life.
Most other video platforms provide mute cardboard cutout characters, but Vyond lets you move their mouths similar to how real human beings speak.
Find out more tools like Vyond in this post.
3. MakeHuman
MakeHuman is a modeling tool for building custom 3D human characters in minutes. You can export these models to several computer graphics and animation platforms to incorporate realistic human figures into images and animations.
This interactive tool is a free and open-source platform (FOSS) written in Python. One of the biggest benefits of using an open-source tool is that you can contribute to the code to help make the software better.
MakeHuman is a great alternative to Mixamo for creating 3D humanoid characters. It comes with unique features like tetra-parametric GUI and advanced muscular simulation using the platform’s proprietary Natural Pose System.
Another key feature that differentiates this software from Mixamo is its parametric modeling feature which changes the shape of model geometry when you modify the dimension value.
The platform also offers 3D sculpting, a tool that you can use to push, pull, grab, pinch, or smooth to manipulate a computer-generated 3D model.
MakeHuman works flawlessly on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It has a small size and doesn’t need a supercomputer when rendering scenes.
4. Animaker
Animaker is yet another Mixamo alternative that is geared toward beginners and non-designers. It allows you to create professional videos (both animation and live-action) even without any 3D experience.
You can also create GIFs and short videos in minutes thanks to professionally designed templates.
Animaker has the world’s largest asset library with everything you need to create your videos in one place.
Use the simple drag-and-drop builder to create powerful characters from scratch, or choose from pre-made versions that you can customize fully to suit your needs.
Access tons of ready-made templates and pre-built assets, including:
- 100+ scene backgrounds
- 100+ premium fonts and animation
- 200+ music tracks and sound effects
- 100,000+ graphic elements
- 100 million+ stock videos and photos
- 1 billion+ character combinations
With all these features and more, it’s clear to see why this complete video-making tool is preferred by so many creators and idea-makers.
Whether you want to create a business explainer video, content marketing video, onboarding video, or even a personal video like a birthday wish – Animaker has got you covered.
5. DAZ 3D
With the increase in the graphics processing power on modern smartphones comes more competition in app stores for game makers to build 3D titles that stand out.
This means increased creative and intensive work for producers and artists, and a tool like DAZ Studio can help.
The proprietary and freemium software serves as both a 3D modeler and a 3D animator, making it ideal for developers who want to pose human figures for animation and illustrations without the technical nitty-gritty of 3D or CAD software.
Most 3D software tools require you to create 3D objects from scratch, but DAZ allows you to manipulate ready-made models and seekers to save time and effort.
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, you’ll find all the assets you need to create stunning 3D characters and props.
Compared to Mixamo, DAZ 3D has a more developed catalog of ready-to-use characters, content, and photorealistic renders.
Moreover, the platform has a more modern interface that you can customize by assigning mouse buttons and keyboard shortcuts to match other programs in your pipeline.
6. AccuRIG
If you find yourself lamenting the amount of time and energy you spend on rigging your favorite characters, then this tool is a great option for you.
AccuRIG is a free Windows tool that provides you with next-generation automatic character rigging. With its one-click solution to streamline the entire process, you can now rig humanoid characters of all types, faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Transform any free static character into an animatable one. You can also leverage thousands of production-ready mocap animations using AccuRIG’s auto-rigging steps and ready-made characters from ActorCore.
Compared to Mixamo, AccurRIG offers significantly more downloadable characters – all of which are freely downloadable on online marketplaces.
You’ll be able to convert un-rigged figures into animation-ready characters in no time, making it easier for you to export your project to any other major platform such as Unreal Engine, Blender, Omniverse, Cinema 4D, MotionBuilder, etc.
One of the standout features of AccuRIG is its ability to automatically analyze joints to correct axes with a high level of accuracy. This helps to save time and effort – not to mention cost during production.
There’s also a procedural modeling feature that lets you create or modify 3D models or textures based on a predefined sequence of rules.
7. Blender
Blender is free and open-source software with time-saving features that developers will appreciate. It comes with tools for rendering, modeling, and sculpting digital characters to perfection.
Users also get animation and rigging tools that have been used for award-winning feature films and shorts.
Other impressive features of this free tool include VFX, masking and composting, camera/object motion tracking, and more. The platform also lets you draw in a 3D environment which allows you to push the boundaries of story art.
When you sign up, you get access to industry-standard libraries like MantaFlow and Bullet for powerful simulation tools.
And whereas Mixamo only integrates with Google Chrome and a few Adobe apps, Blender offers integration with multiple pipeline tools that are pivotal in successful productions.
The bottom line is that Blender has a massive range of features to offer. As a free and open-source platform, it does promote more agility than its competitors, technologically speaking.
Since it has a custom architecture, the platform’s user interface, window layouts, and shortcuts can be customized fully to fit your needs.
Unlike Mixamo, Blender supports all different aspects of the 3D pipeline, including modeling, animation, rendering, simulations, motion tracking, rigging, compositing, and video editing.
8. Poser
Poser is an exceptional 3D rendering platform for posing, animating, and rendering unique 3D characters. The tool lets you work with poly-mesh human and animal figures on Mac and Windows.
This is a well-supported software that takes the hard work out of the animation process thanks to an auto-rigging system, pre-recorded animation, and pre-modeled 3D characters.
You can get Poser 12, an advanced software package that offers professional-grade application integration, Superfly render engine, network rendering support, and many other awesome features.
This new edition comes with accurate shading and rendering, enhanced animations, and AI-based noise reduction tools like pre-denoiser and post-denoiser.
There’s also a new material management tab, as well as easier management of assets with distinctive new icons.
With Poser 12, you can cut down on your design and production time by choosing from thousands of pre-rigged and textured models. You can purchase the software with a one-time fee for a perpetual license.
9. Maya
When it comes to creating eye-catching photos and graphics, you’ll be hard-pressed to find software that outperforms Maya. With this powerful platform, you can create complete virtual worlds with complex characters and dazzling effects.
This 3D animation and VFX software from Autodesk has been used to create characters like Rocket, the raccoon in Marvel Studio’s Avengers: Endgame.
You can use it to animate lifelike Digi-doubles or cartoon characters that are just as impressive.
Use the software to accelerate workflows with powerful tools to help you iterate faster to improve productivity and meet deadlines. You’ll be able to add fine details to your scenes and characters for stunning visual outputs that keep clients happy.
Compared to Mixamo, Maya has a lot more to offer in terms of scalability. Many top artists rely on the software to build complex shots, characters, and even entire virtual worlds.
You can download a free trial to test out the software and see if it’s the right fit for your needs. The premium subscription costs $225/month and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
10. Cinema 4D
Cinema 4D is a professional animation, simulation, and modeling tool. Like Mixamo, this software allows you to rapidly build, rig, and animate unique characters for your design projects with zero 3D knowledge required.
In the newest version of the software, you’ll find standout features like comprehensive modeling symmetry, native OCIO support, and in-place asset management. You’ll also find artist-friendly features in the unified simulations, as well as support for soft body simulations.
The software’s latest update also introduces Pyro, a feature for creating smoke, fire, and explosions. These are quickly stimulated on the CPU or GPU.
This is a unique feature that you won’t find on Mixamo.
Other spectacular features include a new Redshift camera that offers intuitive physical controls and Redshift Effect settings. There’s also support for animated textures, color correction nodes, and ramps.
These are just some of the new tools that have been added to an already impressive character animation platform.
Suffice it to say that this is a fast, powerful, flexible, and reliable piece of software that will help you create professional 3D designs, motion graphics, VFX, and more.
11. XNALara
XNALara Posing Studio is a stable and mature tool for character animation. This 3D posing software is designed for Windows, and you can use it in conjunction with other platforms for complex scene animation.
The XNA model viewer has a rudimentary process to make a keyframe animation, and you can do this free of charge. The platform performs smoothly and you have a lot of options at your disposal, including a custom skybox, light source, etc.
Now anyone can create amazing pictures and frame-by-frame animations in real time with no 3D knowledge required.
You can upload stories, character descriptions, etc., and sell your custom creations to fans who love your style. You can even get paid a commission for selling other people’s art on the platform.
You can download this proprietary software for free on the website. If you want advanced features, you can upgrade to the premium membership starting from just $5/month.
This gives you access to features like enhanced profile customization, DeviantArt/NFT Protect, increased storage, and reduced monetization platform fees.
Check Out: Best Hero Forge Alternatives
12. Unity
Unity is a cross-platform engine that lets you develop real-time 2D and 3D projects for games, animation, and other industries. It’s one of the leading platforms for building and operating interactive RT3D content.
There’s an ever-growing library of premium assets (free and paid) to help you finish your projects faster.
Not only does the platform provide you with powerful tools for real-time character development, but it also offers a dynamic community of like-minded creators that you can interact with.
There’s a learning platform, Unity Learn, with over 750 hours of on-demand content to help you improve your creator skills.
The software is perfect for all industries. Game developers, artists, automotive designers, architects, and filmmakers can use the platform to bring their imaginations to life faster and share them sooner.
Unity is similar to Mixamo in many ways but there are some distinct differences between the two.
For example, while Mixamo has in-app animation customization, Unity offers so much more thanks to a comprehensive set of software solutions for multiple platforms, including web, mobile smartphones, tablets, desktops, consoles, and even virtual/augmented reality devices.
Explore: Best Tweening Apps To Create Animated Actions
13. Ready Player Me
Ready Player Me is a SaaS (software as a service) tool that is marketed as a cross-game avatar platform for the meta-verse.
You can use a selfie to create a 3D avatar to use on over 300 compatible games and apps.
The platform lets you join meetings in MeetinVR, discover virtual worlds in VRChat, and stream to online fans using LIV.
Ready Player Me’s full-body avatars are designed for compatibility with Mixamo animations. They include a full-body skeletal rig that is Mixamo-compatible and makes it possible to export and use animations from Mixamo.
RPM is the perfect platform for game development, but it also has a lot to offer other types of creators. For instance, you can create a custom avatar from a photo.
Simply take a selfie, customize your avatar, and export to over 7500 supported games and apps. You can use your personal avatar to represent you across all these virtual worlds.
Developers can integrate Ready Player Me directly into the apps using the platform’s free avatar SDK which is compatible with Unreal Engine and Unity, and works great on mobile, desktop, and web platforms.
With this software, you can animate your way. It’s the perfect avatar system that doesn’t require much effort – even from developers. You can integrate the software into your product in a relatively short period of time – and for free.
14. iClone
Created by Reallusion, the same software developer that brought us Character Creator, iClone is a Windows tool that helps you produce professional animations for films, videos, and games.
If you’re looking for a real-time 3D modeler that is extremely easy to use, this could be the ideal solution for you. The software simplifies 3D animation, which makes it ideal for new users.
In addition to the advanced body, hand, and facial animation features, iClone also goes beyond character animation with curve editing, alembic baked simulation, and smart management of content resources.
iClone also comes with features like dynamic wrinkles and progressive texture loading.
These features are handy when it comes to dramatizing stylized characters or humanizing realistic digital doubles.
You’ll be able to save tons of time with tools like face puppeteering and face key editing, and pro-level curve editing.
The depth of features offered by iClone makes it a worthy alternative to Mixamo. The higher price tag is justified by the fact that the platform has so many unique tools that you won’t find on Mixamo, including 3D rendering, collaboration tools, customizable branding, voice-over, and more.
15. KeyShot
KeyShot is the fastest 3D rendering software for next-level animations. It’s a great tool to lighten your character animation workload thanks to its many automation features, a drag-and-drop editor, and user-friendly interface.
You can apply materials lightning fast, and you get the most accurate appearances and real-world lighting for the most stunning visual results.
Compared to Mixamo, KeyShot supports a greater number of 3D formats, which means you can import files out of any major rendering software.
Another awesome feature that you don’t get on Mixamo is the live linking feature. You can use the platform’s extensive library to maintain updated versions of your geometry changes in KeyShot without losing any of your work.
Other built-in features of this software include drag-and-drop environment presets, texture mapping, interactive labeling, physical lighting, and much more.
You can sign up for a free trial to test out the core features of KeyShot and see if they work for you before committing to a paid plan.
Wrapping It Up: What is the Best Mixamo Alternative?
After conducting extensive research, I’ve found Character Creator to be the best Mixamo alternative.
It provides an easy way to create animated 3D characters and offers innovative machine-learning technology to automate different aspects of the character animation process, such as rigging, 3D modeling, and 3D animation.
Most Mixamo alternatives are 3D modelers, but many are also 3D animators. Use the information in this guide to help you choose the best option for your needs based on the specific functionality you’re looking for.
