Pose characters, clean motion capture and refine movement with Cascadeur’s keyframe, rigging and physics-assisted animation tools.
Cascadeur is desktop software for creating and editing 3D character animation. It combines keyframe controls with AI-assisted posing and physics tools, allowing an animator to work with editable movement rather than accept a finished generated clip. The current product supports motion-capture cleanup, animation editing, character rigging and AI-assisted motion generation.
AutoPosing helps create a natural pose from a smaller set of control points. Inbetweening generates motion between keyframes, while AutoPhysics offers a physically informed reference for weight, inertia and secondary movement. Ragdoll tools support falls, impacts and collisions. These systems give the animator additional ways to develop a performance while retaining control over timing and character intention.
Rigging tools support humanoids and quadrupeds, and retargeting transfers movement between characters with different proportions or skeletal structures. Motion-capture cleanup addresses problems such as sliding feet, knee pops and unwanted intersections. Animation layers provide a way to make non-destructive adjustments rather than overwrite every part of the source performance.
Cascadeur supports several common scene and animation formats, and Unreal Engine Live Link previews changes in an engine workflow. Export availability depends on the licence. Windows, supported Linux systems and Apple-silicon Macs have official desktop builds; users should check the current hardware requirements before downloading.
The Free tier is for non-commercial use and limits export to Cascadeur’s own CASC format. Paid plans unlock interchange exports and additional features. Indie has an eligibility threshold tied to revenue or funding, while Pro and Teams support broader professional use. Annual individual plans have specific perpetual-build rights that should be read in the current licence terms rather than assumed for every subscription.
A useful evaluation starts with a representative character and a short motion sequence. Check the rig, refine contact points and test the required export into the destination application. Physics assistance can improve a starting point, but the animator still determines performance quality and verifies that the motion works in the final scene.
