akeytsu vs Cartoon Animator
akeytsu
nukeygara.comCartoon Animator
reallusion.comSide by side
| Figure | akeytsu | Cartoon Animator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $149/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 3 |
| Spec score · Game Animation Software | 8.2 (#9) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Founded | 2014 | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Villeurbanne, France | Silicon Valley, United States |
| Purpose | akeytsu is a 3D character rigging, skinning and keyframe animation tool designed for animators. | Cartoon Animator creates animatable 2D characters from images, photos, paintings, layered Photoshop PSD files, and vector graphics. |
| Rigging | Its rigging tools include a hybrid IK-FK solver, reverse-foot controller, space switching, interactive blendshapes and mirroring. | Its 2D Bone Editor lets users build bone rigs and constrain areas with pins. |
| Support | Support resources include documentation, forums, tutorials and Discord, and the FAQ says the team usually replies within 48 hours. | The online manual directs users to product FAQs and further assistance, and the FAQ page says users can submit a Reallusion support ticket under the Cartoon Animator 5 category. |
Plans
Cartoon Animator
- TrialPrice not published
- Full$149 a month
- Cartoon Animator 5 Full$149, paid once
In their own words
akeytsu
akeytsu is a 3D character rigging, skinning and keyframe animation tool for animators, available on Windows and macOS. Its Auto-Rig creates a biped skeleton, skin weights and controls after the user places five hot points and selects spine and finger joints. A circular Spinner handles transforms and IK, alongside a hybrid IK-FK solver, reverse-foot controls, space switching, blendshapes and mirroring. Skin Bind uses two passes, including rigid zones and a delta-mush-powered algorithm; skin painting tools are also included. Projects use the native.AKT format, and the software interoperates through FBX while importing BVH and OBJ files. Integrations include game engines and 3D packages such as Unreal Engine 4, Unity, Godot, Maya and Blender. The maker recommends baking animation before export because other software cannot interpret its proprietary IK and RF controllers. A full-featured free trial lasts 30 days and is limited to one trial period per user; a free personal license is listed as renewable annually.
Cartoon Animator
Cartoon Animator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.