FrameFormer: Unlock Sculpting on Your Alembic Animations!

Tired of Alembic caches being "final"? Wish you could tweak, sculpt, and add details directly in Blender after importing? FrameFormer is your solution!

The Animator's Dilemma: Baked-in Limitations

Alembic files are industry-standard for transferring animated geometry, but once they're in Blender as a Mesh Sequence Cache, they're often a "look but don't touch" asset. Need to:

• Add a subtle wrinkle for a character's expression on just a few frames?
• Sculpt a battle scar that stays throughout the entire shot?
• Quickly fix a small animation glitch on a specific frame without re-exporting everything?

Traditionally, this meant going back to the source application, re-exporting, and re-importing. Not anymore!

Introducing FrameFormer: Your Alembic Sculpting Toolkit!

FrameFormer intelligently converts your Alembic mesh sequences into a flexible and non-destructive shape key system right within Blender. This unlocks two powerful sculpting workflows:

1. ✨ Frame-Specific Sculpting:
   • Each frame of your animation gets its own dedicated sculpt layer.
   • Changes made on frame 15 only affect frame 15.
   • Perfect for nuanced expressions, impact deformations, cloth wrinkles, or quick fixes.
   • Fine-tune the intensity with a "Frame Blend" slider.
2. 🌍 Global (Overall) Sculpting:
   • Create "Overall Shape Keys" that influence your mesh across all frames.
   • Ideal for persistent character features (scars, muscle definition), stylistic adjustments, or corrective shaping that needs to apply globally.
   • Sculpt directly on these layers and control their overall intensity.
     

   

   
   

Why You'll Love FrameFormer:

• 🚀 Effortless Conversion: Select your Alembic objects, click "Convert," and you're ready to sculpt!
• 🛡️ Non-Destructive Power:
  • Instantly toggle between your sculpted masterpiece and the original Alembic animation.
  • Not happy? Revert to the original cache with a single click. No commitment issues here!
• 🤝 Multi-Object Mastery:
  • Multi-Edit Mode: Sculpt on one object, and see the changes magically appear on all other selected (and converted) objects in real-time! (For corresponding shape keys).
  • Batch Operations: Add/remove overall shape keys, toggle visibility, or discard changes for multiple objects at once. A huge time-saver!
• 🧠 Smart & Intuitive UI: The FrameFormer panel adapts to your selection, only showing you the tools you need, when you need them.
• ⏱️ Custom Frame Ranges: Convert the entire animation or just a specific range for faster iteration and focused editing.
• 🛠️ Automatic Sync: No manual keyframing of shape keys needed; FrameFormer handles keeping your per-frame sculpts active on the correct frame.

Who Is FrameFormer For?

• Character Animators: Add nuanced secondary motion, expressions, and details directly in Blender.
• VFX Artists: Make quick fixes or enhancements to cached simulations.
• Motion Graphics Designers: Add sculpted detail to animated Alembic assets.
• Anyone working with Alembic caches who needs that extra layer of direct, in-Blender artistic control!

What You Get:

• The FrameFormer Blender Addon (ZIP file).
• Clear documentation and access to community support via GitHub.
• Future updates with improvements and new features.

Stop fighting your Alembic caches and start sculpting them! Add FrameFormer to your Blender toolkit today and unleash a new level of creative freedom on your animated projects.

Technical Requirements:

• Blender Version: 4.4 or newer
• Input: Objects with Mesh Sequence Cache modifiers (typically from Alembic .abc imports)

Support:
For questions, bug reports, or feature requests, please visit our GitHub Issues Page.