I’ve come across an interesting web site: www.sitepal.com, which, I believe, is worth mentioning. The idea of creating animated speaking characters is quite old and there are a number of companies like mediasemantics.com, codebaby.com and noahx.com that do the same for some time now, but it seems like SitePal has taken this online service to the next level in terms of model quality simplicity of character customization and web implementation.

Compared to its competitors, SitePal offers higher quality models as well as wide variety of patterns, details and accessories. Important points are: Multilanguage support, ability to create a 3D model based on a photographic picture and an option to record speech by phone.

The lacking aspect is poor customization of speech emphases, no emotions, and flat behavior pattern. All models seem quite calm and artificial. One more point is speech synchronization. While simpler models make natural movements, the motion of photorealistic personages is far from being perfect. I sincerely hope that the next generation of speaking characters will be improved and we’ll see even more impressive product.

15 days trial and inexpensive packages make this exiting web add-on affordable to many small businesses. Visit www.sitepal.com to see all the details and take a look at the video below.