AI can do many things, and Adobe is leveraging the technology to allow people to create animations of their faces.

Among the sweeping updates Adobe made across all of its Creative Cloud applications at the Adobe 2018 MAX show, the company has included the 'Characterizer' tool, which combines users' face with reference artwork to create motion-capture puppets, into its Character Animator app

Characterizer began as a research project and tech demo. Utilizing AI capabilities, the tool can be used to unlock a new level of artistry.

"In this release of our Adobe Sensei AI-powered animation tool, we are delivering even more creative possibilities with Characterizer, lowering the barriers to unique puppet creation and new features that accelerate animation, including Replays, Magnets, and more," said Adobe on its blog post announcing the tool.

To use the app, users must first give it several images of their face making a variety of expressions. This is to enable the AI to make accurate motion tracking, similar to how Deepfakes work. Then, users have to feed it a piece of art, such as a portrait or cartoon, to determine the visual style of the character.

After that, Adobe' Sensei AI will analyze the images, and combines the face pictures it gathered with the artwork.

Characterizer has slider controls in which users can adjust the level of stylization, and to fine-tune facial regions and expressions to get the result they want.

"In a matter of seconds, you have a completely unique puppet that’s ready for your performance, regardless of your previous animation experience," said Adobe. "You can use a webcam or other connected camera to record performances, just like you would with any Character Animator puppet, and transform your own image into a work of animated art."

As with most AI-powered visuals, the results and effectiveness will vary.

But unlike a basic style transfer on an image or video, Characterizer renders a fully editable puppet, including the same control points and adjustable layers users would have with any Character Animator puppet. What this means, users can create puppet that doesn’t have to look like them, nor resembling the portrait they may have initially referenced.

The tool simply provides users with a powerful starting point.

Characterizer isn’t totally new, as it was first introduced during Adobe’s Sneak Peeks session at MAX in 2017. At that time, it was called the ‘Puppetron' for Character Animator, which was in turn a sneak for After Effects called Project Animal back in 2014.

With more companies using AI to enhance what they have, Adobe here is included. The big theme at MAX in 2018 is that Adobe is giving AI a bigger role to empower users to become more creative. And features like Characterizer show that AI technology is still evolving.

"There’s always going to be someone with the next Animoji, or Snap filter or lens," said Adobe’s Sirr Less, a senior product manager for Character Animator. "Whatever the thing of the moment, there will always be someone who does that and well."

"But the real beautiful advantage to our animation products is not just they work, but how they work with each other."