Image to rigged 3D model API: one picture in, an animated character out

Concept art, a sketch, a render, a photo of a figure: send afk.ai's API one picture of a character and get back a 3D model that's rigged and already has every animation for its body type, 172 for a humanoid, in one GLB. One request, 25¢.

We make afk.ai, so weigh that accordingly. The other APIs' prices come from their own pricing pages and docs, checked in October 2026 and linked below.

The short answer

What it does: a picture in; a 3D model with a skeleton, skin weights and every animation for its body type out, from one API request.
Price: 25¢ per character from your credits: the 3D model, the rig and every animation; refunded if it fails. No charge per animation and no subscription.
Time: about 2 to 3 minutes, or up to about 5 minutes when the GPU has to start.
Compared: Bake3D also goes from one image to a rigged character in one job, at about $2.44 or more with an intro motion and presets. Tripo, Meshy and Ludo.ai chain two to four calls and charge for each animation: a humanoid with ten animations is about $1.55 on Tripo, 81¢ to $1.30 on Meshy and 30¢ to $1.05 on Ludo.ai.

What one request does

01
The picture becomes a textured 3D model
The background is cut away, a state-of-the-art image-to-3D model builds the character's shape from the picture, then paints its PBR textures (colour, metal and roughness) to match. Stray specks are cleaned off and a character that came out leaning is stood upright. That takes about 80 seconds.
02
It gets a skeleton and skin weights
The same AI rig as afk.ai/rig fits the skeleton for the body type you pick (human by default) and weights the skin. Props in the character's hands, a sword, a shield, a broom, move with them.
03
Every animation goes on
All the animations made for that skeleton are added: 172 for a humanoid, from idles and walks to attacks and dances.
04
You download one GLB
A standard glTF binary with the mesh, skeleton, skin weights and animation clips, for Unity (glTFast), Unreal, Godot, Blender and three.js.

Try it from the command line

Create a key on your API dashboard and add credits, then run the CLI (Node.js 18.17 or newer). It uploads the picture, waits, and writes the rigged, animated GLB.

Command line

export AFK_API_KEY=afk_...   # from afk.ai/developers/dashboard
npx afk-rig character knight.png -o knight.glb
# Done in 135 s: 172 animations, 15.2 MB, charged $0.25 from your API credits. $4.75 of credits left.

Node.js

import { AfkRig } from 'afk-rig'

const afk = new AfkRig() // reads AFK_API_KEY
const { job } = await afk.character('knight.png', { type: 'human', output: 'knight.glb' })
console.log(job.result.animations) // 172
console.log(job.billing) // { charge: 'character', amount_usd: '0.25', state: 'charged' }

The same package is an MCP server, so an AI agent can call image_to_character as a tool. Pass --type for another body type, and -a none for the rig without animations. The full reference is on the developer page.

What it costs

25¢ per character from your credits: the 3D model, the rig and every animation; refunded if it fails. It comes from the same prepaid credits as afk.ai's rigging API (top-ups from $5; credits don't expire). The 3 free rigs a month cover rigging your own models, not characters.

You can see the charge at every step. The job's billing says held with amount_usd: "0.25" while it runs, then charged once the GLB is ready, or refunded if the picture couldn't be made into a character. The CLI ends with the charge and your balance (“charged $0.25 from your API credits. $4.75 of credits left.”), and the MCP tool returns both to your agent.

Already have a 3D model? Rigging it with every animation is 5¢ through the same API. See auto-rigging API pricing compared.

Image to rigged character APIs, side by side

API	Picture to humanoid + 10 animations	Calls	Animations	Billing
afk.ai	25¢	One job: POST the picture, then check on it and download the GLB	All of them, included: 172 for humanoids	Prepaid credits from $5, no subscription
Bake3D	$2.44 to $4.06	One job (generate with rig: true), then an export request	A four-second intro motion with the rig; built-in presets (walk, run, jump and more) free; each described motion 10 credits	API on the Pro ($29 a month) or Studio ($79 a month) plan; credit packs too
Tripo	$1.55	Three or more tasks: image to model, rig, then retarget (up to 5 animations a request)	10¢ each	Pay as you go: 1¢ a credit, top up from $1
Meshy	81¢ to $1.30	Three tasks: image to 3D, rigging, then animation	A walk and a run with the rig; others 3 credits each, up to 10 a request	API needs a paid plan: Pro $20 a month (1,000 credits) up to Ultra $100 (8,000)
Ludo.ai	30¢ to $1.05	Several steps: generate the model, rig it, then animate it	0.5 credits each (a promotional price); 640+ presets, or motion from a text prompt	API on the Pro or Studio subscription ($50 a month, or $420 or $3,600 a year)

A textured model at standard quality, a rig and ten animations, at each provider's rates over its regular plans with API access; new-user offers and enterprise contracts are left out. Ranges run from the cheapest to the dearest way to buy credits. Bake3D's price is its rigged standard character, with its built-in presets free. Prices checked October 2026; they change, so check the provider's page before you decide.

afk.ai

25¢a character

One request makes a textured 3D model from the picture with a state-of-the-art image-to-3D model (PBR textures: colour, metal and roughness), rigs it for the body type you pick and adds every animation for it: 172 for a humanoid, in one GLB, in about 2 to 3 minutes. 25¢ per character from your credits: the 3D model, the rig and every animation; refunded if it fails: the price is held while it runs and charged only when the file is ready.

Calls: One job: POST the picture, then check on it and download the GLB
Rigs: Any of afk.ai's 13 body types; humanoids work best from a picture
Billing: Prepaid credits from $5, no subscription
Source: afk.ai developer API

Bake3D

$2.44 to $4.06a character

The closest to what afk.ai does: one image in, a rigged character out, from one generate job with rigging turned on. A rigged standard character is 65 credits, and credits cost 3.76¢ to 3.87¢ on its plans or 4.8¢ to 6.25¢ in packs, so about $2.44 to $4.06. The rig comes with an attempted four-second intro motion; built-in presets cost nothing to export, and motions described in text are 10 credits each. It also exports FBX and USDZ, takes up to four views of the subject, and has draft, standard and high mesh qualities.

Calls: One job (generate with rig: true), then an export request
Rigs: Characters, animals, winged and many-limbed creatures, vehicles and more
Billing: API on the Pro ($29 a month) or Studio ($79 a month) plan; credit packs too
Source: Bake3D · Bake3D API docs

Tripo

$1.55a character

A strong image-to-3D model with a full rigging API, as separate tasks: image to model (20 credits untextured, 30 with a standard texture, more for HD), an auto-rig (25 credits) on the finished model, then animation retargets at 10 credits each, up to five a request, polling each task as you go. At 1¢ a credit, a textured humanoid with ten animations is 30 + 25 + 100 credits: $1.55. Output can be GLB or FBX, with Mixamo, Unity, Unreal or VRM bone names for humanoids.

Calls: Three or more tasks: image to model, rig, then retarget (up to 5 animations a request)
Rigs: Bipeds, quadrupeds, six- and eight-legged creatures, birds, snakes and sea creatures
Billing: Pay as you go: 1¢ a credit, top up from $1
Source: Tripo API pricing · Tripo quick start · Tripo auto rig · Tripo retarget

Meshy

81¢ to $1.30a character

Image to 3D is one task (30 credits with 2K textures on its latest models, and a pose_mode option for an A or T pose), rigging another (5 credits, with a basic walk and run), and the animation library a third (3 credits an action, up to ten a request). Rigging is for standard humanoid characters only. A textured humanoid with ten animations is 65 credits, at 1.25¢ to 2¢ a credit: about 81¢ to $1.30.

Calls: Three tasks: image to 3D, rigging, then animation
Rigs: Textured humanoids only
Billing: API needs a paid plan: Pro $20 a month (1,000 credits) up to Ultra $100 (8,000)
Source: Meshy API pricing · Meshy image to 3D · Meshy rigging · Meshy animation · Meshy plans

Ludo.ai

30¢ to $1.05a character

A game-asset generator whose API, MCP server and CLI can make a model from an image, rig it and animate it, as separate steps. A prop-quality model is 4 credits and a hero model 15, a rig 1 credit and each animation 0.5 credits. Credits cost 3¢ to 5¢ depending on the plan, so a model with a rig and ten animations is about 30¢ to 50¢ at prop quality, or 63¢ to $1.05 as a hero model.

Calls: Several steps: generate the model, rig it, then animate it
Rigs: Any shape with its general rig; preset animations are made for humanoids
Billing: API on the Pro or Studio subscription ($50 a month, or $420 or $3,600 a year)
Source: Ludo.ai 3D generator · Ludo.ai pricing · Ludo.ai rig and animate docs

When another API is the better pick

afk.ai's characters are built for getting something that moves, cheaply and in bulk: prototypes, game jams, user-generated characters, agents that make characters on the fly. If you need a hero asset with high-detail geometry, FBX output, several views of the subject or control over the mesh's quality, Tripo, Meshy and Bake3D offer more control over the model itself. You can also generate the model with them and send the GLB to afk.ai to rig it with every animation for 5¢.

Meshy's rigging is for humanoids only. Tripo, Bake3D and Ludo.ai rig other shapes too, as afk.ai does across 298 animations and 13 body types.

How we worked out the prices

Every price comes from the provider's own pricing page or API documentation, checked on 26 October 2026.
Each price is a textured model from one picture at standard quality, a rig and ten animations for a humanoid, with credits turned into dollars at the plan's price divided by the credits it includes.
Where an animation set comes with the rig (Meshy's walk and run, Bake3D's intro motion and presets), we count it as included.
Spotted a price that has changed? Tell us at support@afk.ai and we'll fix it.

Questions

›Is there an API that turns an image into a rigged, animated 3D character?

Yes. afk.ai does it in one request for 25¢, with every animation for the body type included (172 for humanoids). Bake3D also makes a rigged character from one image in one job, for about $2.44 or more, with an intro motion and built-in presets. Tripo, Meshy and Ludo.ai can get you there by chaining their image-to-3D, rigging and animation endpoints, paying for each step.

›How much does an image to 3D character cost through afk.ai's API?

25¢ per character from your credits: the 3D model, the rig and every animation; refunded if it fails. Credits are prepaid, from $5, with no subscription. The price is held while the job runs and charged only when the GLB is ready; the job shows it (billing.state: held, then charged or refunded), and the CLI prints what it charged and the credits you have left. The free monthly rigs don't cover characters.

›What kind of picture works best?

One character, whole from head to feet, facing the camera, well lit, on a plain background, with arms held a little away from the body. Pictures where hands touch the body or the legs overlap can come out with joined limbs, and a cropped picture gives a cropped character. PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to 20 MB.

›Does it work for animals and creatures?

You can pass any of afk.ai's body types (four-legged and hoofed animals, birds, dragons, spiders, snakes, fish and more), and the character is rigged and animated for that type. Humanoids are what it does best from a picture; for other creatures, check the result before you build on it.

›What do I get back?

A GLB with the mesh (about 40,000 triangles), its PBR textures (colour, metal and roughness, 2048 × 2048), a skeleton, skin weights and the animation clips for its body type, standing on the ground and facing +Z. It imports into Unity (with glTFast), Unreal, Godot, Blender and three.js. If you need FBX or a hero asset with more detail, make the model with a 3D tool and rig it with afk.ai's API for 5¢ instead.

›How long does it take?

About 2 to 3 minutes when our GPUs are already running: about 80 seconds to make the textured model, then about a minute for the rig and the animations. The first request after a quiet spell takes up to about 5 minutes, while the image-to-3D GPU starts. The API is asynchronous, so you get a job id straight away; the CLI and the JavaScript client wait for you.

›Can I use the characters commercially?

Yes, as long as you have the rights to the picture you send. The character is yours, and the animations are CC0 (public domain), so it can ship in commercial games and apps.

See the developer API Get an API key

More for developers: auto-rigging API pricing compared, and rig a model in your browser for free.