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Cascadeur

Cascadeur is a standalone 3D keyframe animation tool for humanoid and other character work. It combines AI-assisted posing and physics-based tools to help animators create, edit, and clean up motion in existing pipelines.

Cascadeur

Overview

Cascadeur is a standalone 3D keyframe animation program for humanoid and other character work. It is designed for creating animation from scratch, editing imported motion, and cleaning up baked animation without relying on motion capture.

The software combines AI-assisted posing with physics-based tools so animators can block key poses faster, inspect the physical result, and refine secondary motion while retaining manual control. The site also states that Cascadeur works with FBX, DAE, and USD files, making it easier to fit into existing animation pipelines.

Core features

Keyframe animation and cleanup

Create character animation in a standalone 3D application, with tools for building new keyframe animation and editing imported animation.

AI-assisted posing

Use AutoPosing, a neural-network-powered rig, to block poses faster by moving control points and letting the software position the rest of the body.

Physics-based motion tools

Apply AutoPhysics to preview more natural motion with physics-based adjustments while keeping the suggested animation visible on a green double of the character.

Animation unbaking

Turn baked animation back into editable keyframes with Animation Unbaking, including automatic keyframe and interpolation interval selection.

Rigging tools

Rig characters with the Quick Rigging Tool, including one-click rigging for supported skeletons from Daz3D, Character Creator, Mixamo, Unreal Engine, Metahuman, and Player.me.

Retargeting and cleanup workflow

Transfer animation between humanoid characters with copy/paste retargeting, and work with fingers, secondary motion, and video mocap cleanup in supported workflows.

Common use cases

  • Create character animation from scratch

    Block out character motion with AI-assisted posing, then refine the result manually with keyframe tools and secondary-motion controls.

  • Edit imported or baked animation

    Bring in existing animation, unbake it into editable keyframes, and clean up the result for further work.

  • Set up rigs faster

    Use the rigging tools and one-click supported skeleton setups to prepare character rigs before animation begins.

  • Move animation between characters

    Retarget motion between humanoid characters with different proportions and skeletal structures.

  • Choose a licensing path

    Use the plans and academic options for hobbyists, small teams, studios, schools, and teachers who need different licensing setups.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Standalone 3D software focused on keyframe animation rather than motion capture only.
  • AI-assisted posing and physics tools help speed up blocking and refinement.
  • Supports editing imported animation and unbaking baked motion into editable keyframes.
  • Works with common interchange formats and includes retargeting for humanoid characters.
  • Offers separate plans for individuals, teams, and education use.

Cons

  • The public pricing page at `/pricing` returns a 404, so pricing details are not clearly available there.
  • Some capability details are only surfaced on the plans page and help docs, so product positioning is clearer than full technical documentation from the homepage alone.

FAQ

Does Cascadeur require motion capture?

Cascadeur is a standalone 3D keyframe animation program, so it does not require motion capture to create character animation. The help documentation describes it as software for creating character animation without motion capture.

What file formats does Cascadeur work with?

The source material shows Cascadeur supports importing and exporting FBX and DAE files, and the plans page also lists USD and GLTF for paid plans. That makes it suitable for workflows that move character animation between other 3D tools.

Is Cascadeur free or paid?

The plans page shows a Free plan for non-commercial use, plus paid Indie, Pro, and Teams plans. It also indicates that some plans include free trials, and that Teams plans are available for 2–6 users with contact-sales purchasing.

Is there an education license?

Yes. The plans page lists an academic license program for teachers, professors, schools, and institutions, with classroom and student-device deployment options.

Quick Facts

Category
3D animation software
Platform
Standalone desktop software
Primary use
Keyframe animation for humanoids and other characters
Supported formats
FBX, DAE, USD; paid plans also list GLTF
Pricing shape
Free plan plus paid Indie, Pro, Teams, and academic licensing
Source domain
cascadeur.com