AnimStarter Face Mocap

Capture facial animation with just your iPhone — no mocap rig. Export clean data that drops straight onto your 3D character.

Capture facial animation with nothing but your iPhone !

AnimStarter Face Mocap turns your iPhone's TrueDepth camera into a face-capture rig. Record your performance, watch the blendshapes fire live as you act, and export clean animation data that drops straight onto your own 3D character. You get a solid, structured baseline in seconds ; so you spend your energy refining the acting instead of keying mouths from scratch.

Built for indie animators, studio artists, and students learning character animation alike. And the app is 100% free.

HOW IT WORKS - IT'S SUPER SIMPLE

1. Record. Hit record and perform. Live blendshapes show your capture in real time.
2. Transfer. Send the files to your computer; you instantly get a video reference (.mov), clean audio (.wav), animation data (.asfm), and an optional math-corrected version (_solved.asfm).
3. Animate. Import into Autodesk Maya with the companion ASFM Importer, connect your rig once, save a reusable profile, and transfer. Next time: load profile, import, done.

WHAT IT CAPTURES

• 52 ARKit facial blendshapes at 60 FPS
• Full head position and rotation (6 axes)
• A synchronized video reference (.mov)
• Uncompressed, perfectly aligned audio (.wav, 16-bit / 44.1kHz) for lip-sync

MADE FOR ANIMATORS

• Open .asfm format — a simple, documented CSV that's easy to read and retarget
• Invert L/R to instantly match any rig's left/right convention
• Companion Maya importer (available separately) for one-click retargeting and reusable rig profiles

OPTIONAL VERTEX SOLVER

• Refines mouth, jaw, cheeks and nose straight from the face mesh for cleaner shapes
• Keeps eyes, eyelids and brows on ARKit's native tracking, where it's strongest
• One quick calibration per performer and you're set

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

• 100% on-device — your recordings never leave your iPhone
• No account, no cloud, no tracking

Requires an iPhone with a TrueDepth front camera (Face ID).