KeenTools 2021.3 (5 August 2021)

Changes in Nuke package

  • JoinBlendshapes and MixBlendshapes nodes
  • FACS blendshapes node for FaceBuilder
  • Exporting animated FACS blendshapes from FaceTracker
  • Reworked FaceBuilder node
  • Smart Residuals in FaceBuilder (automatic reducing of pins)
  • Reworked viewer stabilisation
  • Better performance in FaceBuilder when used with expressions
  • Better UX in tracking over keyframes: they don't just stop tracking anymore
  • Better tracking and pintooling performance
  • Bone animation can now be exported within a .chan file
  • Pre-analysis in GeoTracker and FaceTracker can now be properly automated
  • Better pre-analysis dialogue in FaceTracker and GeoTracker
  • New, more stable Hardware ID
  • Loads of minor fixes and improvements

Changes in FaceBuilder for Blender

  • Auto-updating functionality (the last time you need to update it manually)
  • Smart Residuals (automatic reducing of pins)
  • Better performance with expressions
  • Added user preferences
  • Local viewport, better performance
  • Minor fixes and improvements

The most important part of this release is the three new nodes for Nuke, and what it basically means is that we brought blendshapes to Nuke. You can join geometries with the same topology to create a new geometry with blendshapes which you can animate without leaving Nuke. You can also join animated geometries and mix them with different ratios. You can pass geometry with blendshapes to GeoTracker, track it and then animate the blendshapes on the already tracked geometry. And finally, the FACS node creates 51 ARKit-compatible FACS blendshapes for FaceBuilder geometry right in Nuke, so you can animate a FaceBuilder head, or track it with FaceTracker and then adjust expressions using the blendshapes.
Watch the short overview to see how it all works:

All three nodes are free while in beta. We’re really hungry for your feedback here! Please don’t hesitate to ask questions and suggest ideas related to the new nodes!

To track precisely, you want your keyframes to be consistent, and to help you make them as consistent as possible we reworked the viewport stabilisation in GeoTracker and FaceTracker. It now stabilises the viewer around the object or around selected pins wherever they reside on the screen. Watch this video:

Both FaceBuilders — for Nuke and Blender have been reworked from scratch and got a new auto-reducing algorithm for pins, which smoothes the facebuilding process. In addition, the Blender add-on now uses a local viewport with better performance and got user preferences. Finally, a proper updater was added — forget about downloading and deleting ZIP-files — just push the buttons and follow the instructions on the tool panel.

As always, we're always happy to see your feedback! Please share your thoughts!