The process of breathing life into 3D characters has traditionally been a daunting and costly task involving intricate software and motion capture systems. Cartwheel is on a mission to streamline the animation process, allowing creators to generate straightforward animations simply by describing them. This innovative tool leverages AI to produce essential movements, freeing creators to concentrate on more advanced creative facets.
“Animation hasn’t seen many breakthroughs since my early days in the field,” commented Jonathan Jarvis, Cartwheel’s co-founder and CEO and an experienced animator. “The issue is the intimidating blank screen, bombarded with countless controls and settings. Oftentimes, animators spend hours on a task before it materializes visually.”
Cartwheel is designed to bypass the initial hurdles, quickly converting a concept into rudimentary action. This means animators eager to craft scenes or characters need not exhaust extensive time on fundamental gestures like walking, swatting, or sitting.
“We expedite the process of generating motion akin to what you’d expect from a motion capture setup, or from manual keyframing, but with far greater speed. It’s enormously beneficial to rapidly visualize and then refine your idea,” Jarvis explained.
A deliberately simplistic interface features a solitary character and a text box where you can input just about anything, resulting in a basic but smooth animation within a matter of minutes, ready for export to your usual 3D editing software.
Several live 3D demonstrations are available on their website, showcasing various animations such as a boxing sequence or a character performing a solo waltz.
According to Andrew Carr, co-founder and Chief Scientist at Cartwheel, the technology behind these models is entirely bespoke.
“Our data sources are ethically sourced, with our team responsible for labeling the motions,” Carr elaborated. “Motion is rendered in a matrix format as denoted in literature, amalgamating poses, time, and velocity, etc. These motion matrices are then paired with textual descriptions and trained in a manner akin to training image or video generation algorithms.”
The output animations are typically “about 80% complete,” Carr posited. Jarvis noted that the tool can yield professional-level animations; though occasionally, results may vary. But even so, this AI-driven workflow represents a significant efficiency gain, particularly in collaborative environments where even minor modifications can involve multiple interactions.
These computational models are relatively lightweight, meaning they are not only cost-effective but could potentially operate on local devices.
Carr shared an exciting prospect, “With video models, you’re dealing with thousands of pixels per frame at 60 frames per second— an immense data volume. Our models, by contrast, predict much smaller data sets, enabling them to run on CPUs or older GPUs while also allowing more rapid model training.”
Jarvis speculates that eventually, Cartwheel might be capable of rendering animations dynamically—an ambitious milestone for interactivity in gaming, where characters often rely on a limited set of pre-set movements and dialogues.
This concept is not unlike Wonder Dynamics’ significant easing of 3D character integration, where the aim is not to outmode animators, but rather to bypass the tedious components of basic animation work. This approach has garnered support industry-wide, with major players such as Autodesk incorporating AI-assisted tools to prioritize creative tasks over routine ones, as evidenced by their recent acquisition of Wonder Dynamics.
While it may seem premature to conjecture about a startup’s future at its inception, Cartwheel has the potential to follow a similar path—either evolving into an indispensable feature within a broader suite or becoming a stand-alone, platform-agnostic facilitator of creativity for animators.
In any case, the company has already raised an impactful $5.6 million in seed funding, led by Accel and backed by a consortium of investors, including Khosla Ventures, Human Ventures, Heretic VC, MVP Ventures, Correlation Ventures, and Pelion VC—augmented by a traditional sprinkle of angel investors.
Cartwheel’s current aim is to serve as a valued resource among the array of applications animators utilize for their craft. Intrigued individuals can try their hand at the tool by participating in the beta program.
Jarvis enthuses over the technological advancement, “The fear of AI usurping creative roles is misguided. As a creative myself, I see these developments as a gateway to increased animation and motion, empowering an individual to do more. Eventually, we expect that the progression of this technology will reach major studios and foster extraordinary, yet-to-be-imagined works. But in the interim, there is a broad spectrum of creative levels to explore, and it’s here where much of the genuine creative endeavor is happening.”
FAQs
What is Cartwheel?
Cartwheel is an innovative startup providing a tool that simplifies the 3D animation process, using AI to create basic movements from textual descriptions. This allows animators to quickly visualize and refine their ideas without the need for time-consuming traditional animation techniques.
How does Cartwheel work?
Users input textual descriptions of the motion they want to create, and Cartwheel’s AI generates a corresponding animation matrix. The resultant animation can then be exported to standard 8D editing software for further refining and use.
Who founded Cartwheel?
Jonathan Jarvis, an animator and CEO, and Andrew Carr, Chief Scientist, co-founded Cartwheel.
Can Cartwheel create animations for non-human characters?
While Cartwheel is currently focused on human animations, the potential to create animations for non-human characters is on the roadmap.
Is Cartwheel available to the public?
Cartwheel is currently available for beta testing. Interested creators can sign up for the beta on the Cartwheel website.
What is the funding status of Cartwheel?
Cartwheel has secured a $5.6 million seed funding round led by Accel, with participation from several venture capital firms and angel investors.
