Plugins3ds Max

AFK AI for 3ds Max: Auto-rig plugin

Rig and animate a model without leaving 3ds Max. Select it, click Rig, and about a minute later a rigged copy appears next to it, on a layer of its own, ready to play. Your original stays exactly as it was.

Download for 3ds MaxHow it works ↓

Version 0.1.0 · 32.7 KBafk-ai-3ds-max-0.1.0.zip
Runs on Windows

Three steps, inside 3ds Max

  1. 3ds Max
    Perspective
    1

    Select your model

    One or more objects. Geometry goes with its materials and textures; cameras, lights and bones stay behind.

  2. 3ds Max

    AFK AISign out

    you@example.com · 2 rigs left this month

    Body type
    Human▾
    All animationsRig only
    FacingAuto ▾
    Rig

    Rigging: adding the animations…

    2

    Click Rig

    In the AFK AI window, pick the body type and click Rig. Keep working while it rigs.

  3. 3ds Max
    Perspective
    Hero_rigged
    3

    It's back in your scene

    The rigged copy appears to the right of the original, on its own layer, with its first animation ready to play.

Install

  1. Close 3ds Max. Download afk-ai-3ds-max-0.1.0.zip and unzip it.
  2. In File Explorer, type %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins in the address bar and press Enter. If that folder doesn't exist, make it: a folder called ApplicationPlugins in %APPDATA%\Autodesk.
  3. Copy the AFK_AI.bundle folder into it.
  4. Start 3ds Max. There's now an AFK AI menu in the menu bar.

To install it for everyone who uses the computer, copy it into %ProgramData%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins instead. To put AFK AI on a toolbar or a keyboard shortcut, use Customize > Customize User Interface, category AFK AI.

Download

Download for 3ds Max

Free to download

File
afk-ai-3ds-max-0.1.0.zip
Version
0.1.0
Size
32.7 KB
Runs on
Windows
SHA-256
431e19eff133ff309c84d085e9530e782e21eba100526338e3572560ecfae25a

Requirements

  • 3ds Max 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026, on Windows
  • An afk.ai account: you sign in with Google. A free account gets 3 rigs a month.
  • An internet connection: the rigging happens on AFK AI's servers.

Use it

  1. Choose AFK AI > Rig with AFK AI.... Dock the window at either side of 3ds Max, or leave it floating.
  2. Click Sign in. Your browser opens afk.ai: sign in with Google there, then go back to 3ds Max. The window shows your email and how many rigs you have left this month.
  3. Select the model. Choose its Body type, then All animations for every animation for that body type, or Rig only for just the skeleton. Leave Facing on Auto.
  4. Click Rig. The window shows the progress: uploading, rigging, adding the animations, downloading.

If the browser can't get back to 3ds Max (a firewall, or 3ds Max on another computer), the afk.ai page shows a sign-in code. Click I have a sign-in code in the window and paste it. A code works for an hour.

Each rig uses one of your account's rigs, the same as on afk.ai/rig. A free account gets 3 a month, with the free animations; a plan gives you more rigs and every animation. A rig that fails doesn't count.

What you get back

Where
To the right of the original, selected, on a layer of its own called name_rigged. Its skeleton hangs from a point helper of the same name.
To move it
Move the name_rigged point helper: the mesh follows its skeleton. Don't move the mesh itself.
Animations
The first comes in, and the window says which one and how many the rig has. To use another, import the saved file again (File > Import) and pick it under Animation > Take.
The file
name_rigged.fbx, saved next to your scene file, or in your project's import folder. Keep it: 3ds Max reads the textures from the name_rigged.fbm folder beside it.
What AFK AI makes, in 3D: the model on a skeleton made for its body type, with its skin weights painted and its animations. Drag to turn it, and pick an animation to play. Knight: Medieval Knight by Andy Woodhead, CC BY 4.0.

Limits worth knowing

  • 3ds Max brings in one animation at a time from an FBX file, so the rigged copy arrives with its first animation. For another, import the saved FBX again and pick its take.
  • Windows only, as 3ds Max is, and 3ds Max 2022 to 2026. A newer 3ds Max needs a new version of the plugin.
  • Models up to 50 MB. If yours is bigger, remove hidden parts or very large textures, or lower the polygon count (an Optimize or ProOptimizer modifier).
  • Every click on Rig that reaches AFK AI uses one of your rigs, even if you click Cancel while waiting.

Questions

Why does only one animation come in?

3ds Max imports one animation at a time from an FBX file, so AFK AI brings in the first and tells you how many the rig has. To use another, import the saved name_rigged.fbx again with File > Import and pick it under Animation > Take.

There's no AFK AI menu. What now?

Check that the folder is called exactly AFK_AI.bundle and sits directly in ApplicationPlugins, not in another folder inside it, then restart 3ds Max. You can also open it from the MAXScript Listener: python.Execute "import afk_ai_max; afk_ai_max.show()"

How do I update or uninstall it?

Close 3ds Max and replace the AFK_AI.bundle folder with the new one, or delete it to uninstall. In 3ds Max 2022 to 2024, the empty AFK AI menu stays until you remove it in Customize > Customize User Interface > Menus.

Is AFK AI for 3ds Max free?

It's free to download. Each rig uses one of your afk.ai account's rigs, the same as on afk.ai/rig: a free account gets 3 a month, with the free animations, and a plan gives you more rigs and every animation. A rig that fails doesn't count.

Does my sign-in end up in my files?

No. Your sign-in is kept on your computer, in your own user settings, never in a scene or project file, so sharing or committing your work never shares your account. Sign out forgets it.

Can I use the result in a commercial game?

Yes. The animations are CC0 (public domain), and your model stays yours.

Step by stepAuto-rig plugins for nine 3D apps and game engines: Blender, Maya, Unity, Unreal and moreOne AFK AI plugin for each of nine apps. Select a model, click Rig, and about a minute later it's back in your scene or project, rigged and animated.Read the guide →

AFK AI for your other apps

All plugins →

Rather rig in your browser?

afk.ai/rig rigs the same way, with a preview, fixes and every download format.

Rig a model