kimodo Kimodo + KineFX: Text-to-Character Motion Workflow

[raducius]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to share a new feature now available in Houdini AI Assistant: Animation Maker.

It brings text-to-character motion generation directly inside Houdini, using Kimodo for motion generation and KineFX for importing, retargeting, and continuing the animation workflow inside Houdini.

Demo: 
https://youtu.be/dqLJe_3Qlic?si=TEZFXFNnDwSD1ndD

The integration is currently available in the Houdini AI Assistant build on Gumroad.
Houdini AI Assistant:
https://rart.gumroad.com/l/HoudiniAIAssistant

Current workflow:
Prompt → Generate Motion → Adjust Character Position → Regenerate

The current build supports:
- Text-to-character motion generation
- Multi-prompt timeline
- 2D root waypoint controls
- Full-body keyframe guides
- Hand and foot guide tracks
- KineFX retargeting workflow

The idea is not just to generate a motion clip externally, but to make the result editable and usable inside Houdini. The generated motion can be imported as BVH, retargeted through KineFX, adjusted, and reused as part of a Houdini character workflow.
At the moment this is still an early Windows beta and focused on humanoid motion, since Kimodo is trained around human skeleton animation.
APEX support is something I’m also looking into.

I’m currently testing different workflows around:
Timeline-based prompt segments
Motion transitions between prompts
2D path control
Full-body constraints
Hand / foot end-effector guides
BVH import and retargeting reliability

I’d be very interested to hear thoughts from Houdini users working with KineFX, APEX, retargeting, or character animation workflows.
Houdini AI Assistant:
https://rart.gumroad.com/l/HoudiniAIAssistant



Would this kind of prompt-based motion generation be useful in your Houdini pipeline?
And what would be the most important control features for production use?

Thanks,
Radu