Playing with blocks isn’t just for kids anymore. The aniMate plug-in
for DAZ Studio, which allows artists to animate 3D characters through
drag and drop animation modules called aniBlocks, which blend into
any DAZ Studio project.

Created by GoFigure, producer of viral applications for Internet,
computer and mobile social networks, and DAZ 3D, developers of 3D
software and models, aniMate offers an extremely easy approach to
building animation sequences that is ideal for beginners, yet capable
of producing professional results, says Dan Farr, president and
co-founder of DAZ 3D.

Using aniBlocks, animated behaviors such as dancing, walking,
fighting and gesturing are dragged from the aniBlock library and
dropped into the animation timeline, blending automatically to any 3D
character within DAZ Studio. Behavior lengths may be set and modified
in real-time by pulling the edge of the aniBlock. Upon purchase,
aniMate comes equipped with a library of aniBlocks, while additional
aniBlocks may be purchased from DAZ 3D, or created using DAZ Studio’s
existing keyframe, PuppeteerT and Lip Synching technologies.

The aniMate plug-in, along with an extended library of professional
quality aniBlock add-ons, are available for purchase at
http://www.daz3d.com. Regularly priced at US$39.95, aniMate is being
offered at $29.97 until Oct. 15. Additional aniBlock motions are
available in sets ranging from $19.95 to $29.95.

DAZ Studio 2.3, required for proper installation, is free of charge
and available on Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher. It comes with
pre-configured 3D content that is ready to be loaded and rendered. To
purchase aniMate, additional aniBlocks or to obtain a copy of DAZ
Studio 2.3, register for a free account at http://www.daz3d.com, and
then visit