AI 2D Character Auto-Rigging Tool

    Inspiration: Rigging static layers into bone-driven puppets is tedious but mandatory for 2D animation.

    Target Customers: 2D animators, indie game developers, illustrators who want their art to move.

    Pain Points:

    • Hours of Manual Work: Setting bones, weights, controllers is repetitive.
    • Steep Learning Curve: Requires understanding of inverse kinematics and software quirks.
    • Costly Software: Pro packages like Toon Boom or Moho aren't cheap.

    Solution (Micro-SaaS): Upload layered art, download a fully rigged character—done.

    MVP Core Features:

    • Layered File Upload: PSD/SVG with separated limbs.
    • AI Skeleton Detection: Auto-build bone hierarchy based on layer names & shapes.
    • AI Weight Painting: Calculate vertex weights for natural deformations.
    • Controller Generation: Auto-create simple handles for animators.
    • Standard Export: Spine- or Lottie-ready JSON / runtime files.

    Development Investment (Technical Implementation): High—requires proprietary CV/graph algorithms.

    • Tech Stack:
      • Custom ML models for layer parsing & weighting.
      • PSD/SVG parsers; GPU back-end.

    Traffic Acquisition & Validation Strategy (SEO Enhanced):

    • Step 1 – Market Validation
      • "Free Your Hands" Landing Page: "Upload a PSD, Download a Rigged Character in Minutes."
      • Illustrator Outreach: Rig a few artists' characters for free; collect testimonials.
    • Step 2 – SEO-Driven Growth
      • Keyword Strategy:
        • Primary: "auto rigging software", "AI character rigging", "2D rigging tool".
        • Long-Tail: "free online rigging for PSD", "Duik alternative", "how to rig a character without coding".
      • Growth Flywheel: Technical blog on automatic weighting → free limited rigs → subscription unlocks batch processing & advanced exports.

    Potential Competitors & Analysis:

    • Key Competitors: Adobe Character Animator, Duik, Spine, Moho.
    • Competitors' Strengths: Powerful manual control, mature runtimes.
    • Competitors' Weaknesses: Mostly manual, steep learning curve, high price.
    • Our Opportunity: Turn rigging into an on-demand service, compress hours into minutes, target illustrators not served by pro tools.