https://github.com/chenjd/render-crowd-of-animated-characters

Animation Baker and Instancing for Animated Characters: Using GPU to implement large-amount animation characters rendering. The animation map for vertex shader to modify the vertex position of the mesh at runtime. Using GPU instancing to reduce draw calls.
https://github.com/chenjd/render-crowd-of-animated-characters

animated-characters animation-map baker draw-calls gpu-instancing unity vertex-animation vertex-animation-texture

Last synced: 1 day ago
JSON representation

Animation Baker and Instancing for Animated Characters: Using GPU to implement large-amount animation characters rendering. The animation map for vertex shader to modify the vertex position of the mesh at runtime. Using GPU instancing to reduce draw calls.

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/chenjd/render-crowd-of-animated-characters
• Owner: chenjd
• License: mit
• Created: 2017-07-30T05:18:17.000Z (almost 8 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2024-12-28T22:33:56.000Z (5 months ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-04-13T13:13:34.552Z (about 1 month ago)
• Topics: animated-characters, animation-map, baker, draw-calls, gpu-instancing, unity, vertex-animation, vertex-animation-texture
• Language: C#
• Homepage:
• Size: 9.8 MB
• Stars: 1,671
• Watchers: 71
• Forks: 297
• Open Issues: 5
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

        
# AnimMap Baker For Animated Characters 

![GitHub](https://img.shields.io/github/license/chenjd/Render-Crowd-Of-Animated-Characters)

![](https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-win--64-brightgreen)

![](https://img.shields.io/badge/unity-2023.2%2B-brightgreen)

#### BlogPost

[How To Render 10,000 Animated Characters With 20 Draw Calls In Unity](https://medium.com/@chen_jd/how-to-render-10-000-animated-characters-with-20-draw-calls-in-unity-e30a3036349a)

#### Description：

Using GPU to implement large-amount animation characters rendering. The animation map for vertex shader to modify the vertex position of the mesh at runtime. Useing GPU instancing to reduce draw calls. 

#### Supporting Shadows

[![](https://assetstorev1-prd-cdn.unity3d.com/package-screenshot/9e708bba-1a7d-4df6-8c1d-f209a8052f84.webp)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUNq5sDMAg8 "")

#### Using Unity’s AR Foundation to create 10,000 toy soldiers in the real world on an Old iPhone 7.

[![](http://img.youtube.com/vi/choBOPO1xgo/0.jpg)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=choBOPO1xgo "")

The initial version was released on GitHub on 30 Jul 2017, and of course, it is still on GitHub. However, if you can buy me **a cup of coffee**, I will be very

happy :-).

[:heart: Sponsor](https://github.com/sponsors/chenjd)

[:heart: Animation Baker and Instancing for Animated Characters on Asset Store](https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/animation/animation-baker-and-instancing-for-animated-characters-183598)

Recently I added support for Unity 2023 and the Universal Render Pipeline (URP), so it can be used from Unity 5.X to Unity 2023.

And I will create a video tutorial to demonstrate how to use it. If you want to know more about the implementation behind it, you can read this [article](https://medium.com/chenjd-xyz/how-to-render-10-000-animated-characters-with-20-draw-calls-in-unity-e30a3036349a) I wrote.

#### Features:

✅ Support Unity 2023.

✅ Support Shadows.

✅ Using the animation map to modify the position of vertices of your characters at runtime to avoid a lot of cost of skin calculation.

✅ Using GPU Instancing to reduce the number of draw calls, only 20 draw calls are

needed to render 10,000 soldiers playing attack actions in the demo scene.

✅ Using the animation map to modify the position of vertices of your characters at runtime to avoid a lot of cost of skin calculation.

✅ Using GPU Instancing to reduce the number of draw calls, only 20 draw calls are needed to render 10,000 cats playing idle actions in the demo scene.

✅ Support AR Foundation.

✅ Support URP(SRP Batcher)only 7 draw calls are needed to render 10,000 cats playing idle actions in the demo scene.

#### Model Resource Link：

[RTS Mini Legion Footman Handpainted](https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/86576)

---

#### Bake legacy animation info into anim map：

![1201111111111111.gif](http://upload-images.jianshu.io/upload_images/1372105-004a0ddd0f256df1.gif?imageMogr2/auto-orient/strip)

![120111111111111.gif](http://upload-images.jianshu.io/upload_images/1372105-35954dfd4ca03f7b.gif?imageMogr2/auto-orient/strip)

animated characters without animator & skinnedmeshrender.

#### GPU Instancing & mesh render for large number of animated characters：

![1372105-fa2cb8df2d12c0b3.gif](http://upload-images.jianshu.io/upload_images/1372105-310c57df8cfc83bc.gif?imageMogr2/auto-orient/strip)

10,000 animated characters with 22 drawcalls.