Trimotion-Animation Optimizer

Trimotion transforms heavy, uneditable mocap animations into lightweight, production-ready assets. Designed specifically for high-fps motion capture data (Rococo, Vicon, OptiTrack), it intelligently reduces keyframes by 50-90% without compromising visual quality.

Product Description
Trimotion transforms heavy, uneditable mocap animations into lightweight, production-ready assets. Designed specifically for high-fps motion capture data (Rococo, Vicon, OptiTrack), it intelligently reduces keyframes by 50-90% without compromising visual quality.

Key Features:

• Five powerful simplification algorithms including experimental Key Pose detection
• Animator-style workflow that makes mocap editable like hand-animated curves
• Real-time action switching and management directly in the addon panel
• Selective bone simplification for precise control over different body parts
• Batch processing for multiple rigs simultaneously
• Built-in animation analysis showing keyframe density and statistics

Simplification Methods:

• RDP (Smart): Geometric curve simplification with excellent quality preservation
• Key Pose (Experimental): Detects turning points like an animator, removes linear transitions
• Decimate: Fast frame-skipping for predictable results
• Adaptive: Error-threshold based removal for balanced optimization
• Blender Clean: Simple cleanup for nearly-identical keyframes

Highlights:

• Reduce 100fps Rococo mocap from 15,000 to 3,000 keyframes in seconds

• Make animations editable in Graph Editor with clean, manageable curves

• Export-ready for Unity, Unreal, Godot, and other game engines

• Professional Null Station quality with industry-grade algorithms

• Intuitive UI with action browser, renaming, and live statistics

Perfect for game developers, animators, VR creators, and anyone working with motion capture data who needs optimized, editable animations.

Installation

1. Download the addon as a ZIP file (Trimotion.zip)
2. In Blender 4.2 -4.5 LTS, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
3. Click Install... and select the Trimotion.zip file
4. Enable the addon by checking the checkbox next to "Animation: Trimotion"
5. The addon panel appears in 3D Viewport's N-panel under Trimotion tab

Quick Start

1. Import Mocap: Load your high-fps mocap animation (BVH, FBX, etc.)
2. Select Armature: Click on your animated rig
3. Open Panel: Press N in 3D Viewport, find Trimotion tab
4. Analyze: Click "Analyze Animation" to see current keyframe count
5. Choose Method: Select "RDP (Smart)" for best results
6. Set Strength: Choose "3x (Moderate)" as a starting point
7. Simplify: Click "Simplify All Bones"
8. Review: Check the reduction statistics and play animation

Action Management

The addon includes a built-in action browser similar to Blender's Action Editor:

• Click dropdown to switch between actions
• Click action name to rename it
• Use + button to create new action
• Use X button to unlink action from armature

Simplification Methods Explained

RDP (Ramer-Douglas-Peucker) - RECOMMENDED

Uses geometric curve simplification to preserve animation shape. Typically achieves 50-70% reduction with excellent quality. Best for general use.

Key Pose (Experimental)

Detects key poses like an animator - peaks, valleys, direction changes, and acceleration points. Removes linear transition frames, making animation fully editable. Achieves 70-90% reduction. Perfect for creating animator-style editable curves.

Decimate

Simple frame-skipping that keeps every Nth keyframe. Fast and predictable. Good for quick tests and when you need exact frame rate reduction (100fps → 50fps).

Adaptive

Tests each keyframe removal impact. Only removes if interpolated value stays within error threshold. Balanced approach between quality and reduction. Great for subtle animations.

Blender Clean

Removes nearly-identical adjacent keyframes. Conservative approach for simple cleanup. Use when animation already has good keyframe placement.

Settings Reference

Strength Levels:

• 1x (Mild): 10-30% reduction, highest quality
• 2x (Light): 30-45% reduction, very high quality
• 3x (Moderate): 45-65% reduction, high quality (RECOMMENDED)
• 4x (Strong): 65-80% reduction, good quality
• 5x (Very Strong): 80-90% reduction, acceptable quality

Advanced Settings:

RDP Sensitivity: 0.1-10.0 (default 1.0)

• Lower = more keyframes kept, higher quality
• Higher = more aggressive reduction

Key Pose Sensitivity: 0.1-5.0 (default 1.0)

• Lower = keeps more transition frames
• Higher = removes more, keeps only key poses

Adaptive Sensitivity: 0.1-10.0 (default 1.0)

• Lower = stricter error tolerance
• Higher = allows more error, more reduction

Workflow Examples

Example 1: Rococo Full-Body Mocap (100fps)

1. Import Rococo BVH (typically 15,000+ keyframes for 3 seconds)
2. Select armature
3. Click "Analyze Animation" (shows 15,000 keyframes)
4. Method: RDP (Smart)
5. Strength: 3x (Moderate)
6. Click "Simplify All Bones"
7. Result: ~5,000 keyframes (67% reduction), near-identical quality
8. Export to Unity/Unreal with optimized file size

Example 2: Making Editable Animation

1. Import mocap with dense keyframes
2. Click + button to duplicate action (backup)
3. Rename to "Editable_Version"
4. Method: Key Pose (Experimental)
5. Strength: 2x (Light)
6. Sensitivity: 1.0
7. Click "Simplify All Bones"
8. Open Graph Editor - clean curves, easy to edit!

Example 3: Facial Animation Cleanup

1. Select facial rig
2. Enter Pose Mode (Tab)
3. Select facial bones only
4. Method: RDP (Smart)
5. Strength: 2x (Light) - be conservative with facial
6. Click "Simplify Selected Bones"
7. Review and adjust if needed

Example 4: Batch Processing Multiple Characters

1. Import multiple animated characters
2. Don't select anything (or select any object)
3. Method: RDP (Smart)
4. Strength: 3x (Moderate)
5. Click "Batch Simplify All Rigs"
6. All armatures in scene processed simultaneously

Tips & Best Practices

• Always save your file before simplifying (Ctrl+S)
• Use "Analyze Animation" first to understand your data
• Start with 3x RDP - works for 90% of cases
• Test on one bone first using "Simplify Selected Bones"
• Duplicate actions (+ button) before simplifying for backup
• Facial animation: use 2x strength, be conservative
• Body animation: use 3x-4x strength for good optimization
• Key Pose method: creates animator-style editable curves
• Check Graph Editor after simplification to verify quality
• For extreme optimization, simplify in stages (3x, then 2x on result)
• Decimate method is ~5x faster than RDP for very large datasets.

Performance Notes

Processing time depends on rig complexity:
- Small rig (5 bones, 1,500 keys): <1 second
- Medium rig (25 bones, 7,500 keys): 2-4 seconds
- Large rig (50 bones, 15,000 keys): 5-10 seconds
- Very large rig (100 bones, 30,000 keys): 15-30 seconds

Requirements

• Blender 4.0.0 or later (tested through 4.2+)
• Works with all armature types
• Compatible with BVH, FBX, and any keyframed animation
• No external dependencies required