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Flex - Figure Reference

FLEX is a fast and versatile figure reference tool designed for all kinds of creatives. Quickly customize, pose, light, and capture 2D reference of a male or female character for illustration, storyboarding, architectural visualizations, and more.

All Reviews:

Very Positive (70) - 81% of the 70 user reviews for this software are positive.

Release Date:

Aug 1, 2019

Developer:

The Dada Factory

Publisher:

The Dada Factory

	Interface	Full Audio	Subtitles
English	✔

Early Access Software

Get involved with this software as it develops.

Note: This Early Access software is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to use this software in its current state, then you should wait to see if it progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“PLEASE READ: Active development on Flex is currently paused while I work on finishing some longstanding projects & keep myself alive with contract work. I'm hoping to do some much needed maintenance and bring Flex up to date with the latest PC & Mac operating systems soon.

My long term plan with FLEX is dependent on how much of my free time I can devote to the project. As of now my bandwidth is very limited, but I do hope to be able to return the project to active development soon.”

Approximately how long will this software be in Early Access?

“I am anticipating FLEX to be in Early Access until mid-2024. Once FLEX has a robust set of features, is performant, and bug free, I will release the full version here on Steam.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The full version release of FLEX has a number of planned features that are currently in development. These include:

Improved IK System - A more fluid and flexible IK system to handle better character posing.
Additional Morphs - Additional character modifications for improved customization.
Additional Content - Additional clothing and hair content for each character.
Customizable Textures - The ability to load different texture maps for hair & clothing.
Image Effects - Sketch, Oil Paint, and Toon Shading for more stylized character creation.

Beyond these core improvements there are many features I am excited about adding post-launch.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version of FLEX contains a majority of the total planned features in a functional state. Create, customize, pose, and capture multiple male or female characters. Enjoy these features in the Early Access version of FLEX:

Over 100 individual morphs for body, face, and expression.
20 hair and clothing selections for each gender.
120+ full body animations and 60+ static poses.
Quick and intuitive hand posing with 20 preset poses.
Easy to grasp inverse kinematics let you fluidly manipulate the character’s pose.
3-point lighting with intuitive light direction control and high quality shadows.
Image effects and artist-assist capture options.
4k image capture size with optional transparent background.
Scalable UI for small to full screens.
Support for mouse & keyboard, touchscreen and trackpad input.
Saving & Loading - Save and load character presets.
Undo & Redo - Quickly undo or redo actions.
Multiple Characters - Add multiple characters to your Flex scene.

”

Will this software be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“By purchasing the FLEX application while in Early Access, you benefit from a reduced price. When FLEX enters full release, you can expect the price to increase as a reflection of added features, content and improved stability. The reduced Early Access price allows you to not only use FLEX at a discounted cost, but to also participate in the development of the final product. Together we can make the best figure reference tool available!”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“The purpose of FLEX’s Early Access release is to gather feedback from the artists that would use our figure reference tool. I want to hear about your experience, and we want to see what you create! Reach out on social media or participate in our Early Access Feedback Survey to have your voice heard.

Instagram:
Twitter:
Feedback Survey: ”

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$7.99

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About This Software

FLEX is a fast and versatile figure reference tool designed for all types of creatives.

Built on a cutting edge character creation platform, FLEX provides you with the same avatar customization of video games combined with powerful figure posing and lighting tools. Kiss your wooden mannequin model goodbye!

FLEX’s realistic and customizable models, clothing, and hairstyles allow you to bring what’s in your imagination to life – for anything from figure reference and illustration, to storyboarding, architectural visualizations, and more.

Once your unique character has taken form, it’s time to make them FLEX. Incorporating 60 static poses and over 120 animations, FLEX allows you to find the perfect pose pronto. Creating your own more extreme poses with the articulated joint gizmos is intuitive and fluid.

Lights, camera, action! Visualize your character in the right light with FLEX's 3-point lighting system. Before you capture your creation, make adjustments to the camera settings until it’s picture perfect. With the ability to export your posed figure on a transparent background, FLEX makes it simple to incorporate your creation into your other creative projects.

See your creations come to life in real-time! Select a male or female base model and you’re ready to start crafting your character. Uniquely morph your mannequin with the ability to quickly change skin tone, muscularity, and proportions. Muscle map, flat-grey, and topology textures highlight the contours of the physique, or further customize your model with a variety of modern wardrobe and hairstyle options.

Achieve the perfect pose with ease! Select one of over 60 preset poses to get you started. Want a pose that suggests a little more motion? Chose from over 100 animation clips, ranging from basic gestures to more complex locomotion. Slide through each animation’s timeline to capture the perfect moment in time. Fine tune the pose by dragging the joint gizmos to position your character's body and hands with precision.

Set the scene with realistic 3-point lighting! Adjust the key, fill, and rim lighting in real-time, while using the preview window to see your character from all angles. Adjust the tint, shadow strength, and global rotation of the lighting sources to create realistic shadows and highlights. When everything is picture perfect, save your image in up to 4K resolution. FLEX characters can be captured on a transparent background for use in other creative projects.

FLEX is designed for fast and friendly figure drawing reference, no 3D model export is available.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Created Characters can be viewed without clothing, and feature simple, black undergarments. Black undergarments can be removed within the settings menu, however genitals remain hidden.

Characters can also be viewed with an anatomical muscle texture overlay. This option does not feature undergarments.

System Requirements

Windows

macOS

Minimum:

Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics or Equivalent
Storage: 2 GB available space

Recommended:

Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 960 or Radeon 560
Storage: 2 GB available space

Minimum:

Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics or Equivalent
Storage: 2 GB available space

Recommended:

Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 960 or Radeon 560
Storage: 2 GB available space

* Starting February 15, 2024, the Steam Client will no longer support 32-bit games or macOS 10.14 or lower.

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What Curators Say

2 Curators have reviewed this product. Click here to see them.