MikuMikuDance (MMD)

MikuMikuDance is a free 3D animation program that lets you load 3D character models in the PMD and PMX formats and animate them. It allows you to very easily move the 3D figure around in the space by posing its bones, and even alter the facial expression of that 3D figure. You can also apply motion data (VMD files) made by you or by others to the figure. This all allows you to create highly customizable animations and dance routines, usually synchronized to music.

Additionally, you can add various other models into the program. Accessories in the .x format can be loaded as props, backgrounds and stages, so you can entirely decide where your characters will be and what they will be interacting with. Several models can be animated in the same scene, and the built-in Bullet physics engine moves hair, clothing and other parts in a realistic way.

MikuMikuDance itself provides camera, lighting and self-shadow controls. Visual effects such as lens flares, glow and advanced lighting are added with MikuMikuEffect (MME), a separate plugin made by the community.

If you are an actor or dancer it's possible to integrate this software with Microsoft's Kinect so you can use the sensor for motion capture and record the exact movements that you want to occur on screen.

You can save both the motion data and the pose data (VPD files) into files which can then be shared online with other users, and render the finished animation to an AVI video file.

MikuMikuDance was created by Yu Higuchi as part of the Vocaloid Promotion Video Project (VPVP) and first released in 2008. It is freeware for Windows, available as a 32-bit (DirectX 9) version and a 64-bit version, and the latest version, 9.32, was released in December 2019. The program is not open source, and a large community shares models, motions, effects and tutorials for it.

MikuMikuDance lets you animate 3D characters with shared motion data and export the result as a video or as motion and pose files.