- AI animation helpers and the step each covers
- Ten AI tools for different animation steps
- Which step does each tool help with?
- Fitting AI into an animation pipeline
- Where AI helps, and where your eye still does the work
- Five things to ask before adding an AI tool
- My advice for animators trying AI
- Frequently asked questions
AI for animators mostly helps with particular steps of the job rather than the whole film. The tools split into motion capture from video, help with keyframes and in-betweens, automated rigging, and lip syncing, so the right one depends on which step of your workflow you want help with. Ten options follow, in no particular order.
If you animate for a living, or you're learning, you've probably noticed AI tools creeping into every corner of the pipeline. Some turn a video clip into motion data, some help you pose and in-between, and some handle rigging or mouth shapes.
These ten are alphabetical and in no particular order. Each description comes from the maker's own website, read as of Nov 2026, and I've said which step each one helps with rather than judging the demo reels.
AI animation helpers and the step each covers
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Cascadeur | AI-assisted keyframe animation software | Posing and keyframing with AI help |
| DeepMotion | AI motion capture and body tracking | Text or video turned into 3D animation |
| EbSynth | VFX software for stylising video | Painted keyframes carried across a video |
| Everything Universe | 3D animation and automated rigging | Automated rigging for 3D models |
| Krikey AI | Animation app built on AI | Character rigging and quick 3D clips |
| Move AI | Markerless motion capture | Recording motion without suits or markers |
| Plask | AI motion capture from video | Footage turned into 3D character motion |
| Rokoko Vision | AI motion capture from video | Mocap that can grow into suits and gloves |
| sync. | AI lip syncing and visual dubbing | Matching mouth movement to new audio |
| Viggle | AI 3D motion and character swaps | Adding motion to characters |
Ten AI tools for different animation steps
Cascadeur
Best for: Keyframe animators who pose characters themselves, with AI motion generation for runs, jumps and combat, and a physics double showing a physically accurate result.
DeepMotion
Best for: Turning a video clip or a text prompt into 3D animation, with an API for developers who want to build it into their own tools.
EbSynth
Best for: Hand-drawn and painterly looks, since you paint the keyframes and the software fills in the frames between them across your footage.
Everything Universe
Best for: 3D artists who want models rigged automatically, from a company whose page puts 3D animation and automated rigging at the top.
Krikey AI
Best for: Making 3D character clips from text or video prompts, with automatic character rigging for lip sync and full body animation.
Move AI
Best for: Studios and teams that want markerless motion capture systems, from a company that says it has pioneered markerless capture since 2019.
Plask
Best for: Turning video into 3D character animation, then editing the scene and exporting FBX, BVH or GLB files for Blender or Unreal Engine.
Rokoko Vision
Best for: Animators starting with motion from video or text, with room to refine it in Rokoko Studio and move up to mocap suits and gloves later.
sync.
Best for: Lip syncing on existing footage: upload a video, give it a voice by cloning, generating or reusing its own audio, and get the synced clip back.
Viggle
Best for: Adding motion to a character or swapping characters in a clip, with an API for building motion capture into games and apps.
Which step does each tool help with?
Read the makers' pages side by side and half of these turn out to be about motion capture. DeepMotion offers 'Text to 3D Animation' and 'Video to 3D Animation', Plask is 'AI Motion Capture from Video', Move AI calls itself a 'Markerless Motion Capture' company, Rokoko Vision is 'AI motion capture from video', and Viggle says 'Turn your imagination into 3D motion'.
Only two help with the frames an animator draws or poses. Cascadeur describes itself as 'AI-assisted keyframe animation' software, and EbSynth's page puts the split plainly: 'You paint the keyframes', and the software does the inbetweens.
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The rest cover single jobs. Krikey AI is an 'AI Animation App' with 'AI Character Rigging', Everything Universe leads with '3D Animation and Automated Rigging', and sync. labs describes 'ai lipsync and visual dubbing'.
That's the split a searcher wouldn't guess. Five of the ten are motion capture or motion from video, only two help with keyframes and in-betweens, and rigging and lip syncing each have a specialist or two. If your hold-up is posing and timing, most of this list isn't aimed at you.
Fitting AI into an animation pipeline
- Motion from video. These tools turn a video clip into body movement for a 3D character. Expect to refine the motion in your own software, as you would with any capture data.
- Keyframes and in-betweens. These tools keep you in charge of the key poses and help with what happens between them.
- Rigging. Automated rigging gets a character moving without building a skeleton by hand.
- Lip syncing. These tools match mouth movement to new audio, a job one maker describes as visual dubbing.
- File formats. Check the tool exports something your 3D package or game engine reads, such as FBX, before you build a workflow around it.
Where AI helps, and where your eye still does the work
Each tool here describes a particular technical step. The decisions about timing, acting and appeal are still yours.
If you're new and want somewhere gentle to start, my guide to free AI animation tools for beginners is a better first stop, and my list of motion graphics software covers titles, explainers and 2D motion design.
Five things to ask before adding an AI tool
- Which step of my workflow does it help with?
- Does it export to the software I already use?
- Can I edit the result, or only accept or reject it?
- Who owns the motion, models and footage I upload?
- Does it work in 2D, 3D or both?
Do you make an AI tool for animators? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My advice for animators trying AI
Pick the step that slows you down most and try one tool for that step only. If it's body motion, start with motion capture from video. If it's posing and in-betweens, try one of the keyframe helpers. If rigging or lip syncing is the hold-up, try the specialist. Run it on a shot you've already finished, compare it with your own version, and keep it only if it fits the way you like to work.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI used for in animation?
Mostly for particular steps: turning video into motion data, helping with keyframes and in-betweens, rigging characters automatically and matching mouth movement to audio. The tools on this list each describe one or more of those jobs.
What is AI motion capture from video?
It's motion capture without a suit or markers. You record a person on video, the software works out their movement and applies it to a 3D character, and some tools let you edit the scene and export it to other software.
Can AI help with in-betweens?
Some tools help with the frames between your key poses. One on this list carries your painted keyframes across the frames between them, and another assists with posing and keyframe animation in 3D.
What is automated rigging?
Rigging is building the skeleton and controls that let a character move. Automated rigging tools set that up for you from a model, so you can move straight on to animating.
Do AI animation tools work with Blender?
Some say so. One motion-from-video tool on this list names exports for Blender and Unreal Engine. Check each maker's page for the formats and software it supports.
Are these tools for 2D or 3D animation?
Most of the tools here work in 3D. One is built for painted and hand-drawn looks on video, and one lip syncing tool says it works on animation as well as live footage.
