The Reallusion team is saddened to announce the death of our great colleague, Mike Sherwood, (3Dtest) who passed away on June 19, 2022, at the age of 56 in his residence due to heart disease. Mike joined Reallusion in 2017 and participated in the development of major features in Reallusion software including CC3 new base, iClone facial expression system, lip-sync, and facial mo-cap profiles. Whether it’s product development, content design, or tutorial videos, Mike always gave his all to empower and improve user experience. Steadfast and persistent in his ideals, one could always count on Mike for giving deep discussions, fresh ideas, persuasive arguments, and encouragement to fellow teammates. Ultimately, driven as he was, he had become the engine that pushed us courageously forward.
Mike had always desired to become a developer and finally, he was able to realize his dream by working with us from across the globe. His bereaved family has also expressed their gratitude to us for having allowed Mike to work a fulfilling job; likewise, it had been a pleasure for us all along.
See some of Mike Sherwood’s greatest contributions to the 3D industry by watching the following videos and clicking on the image links:
In May 2022, Mike made some video tutorials demonstrating iClone 8’s extended facial controls for Face Edit and Face Puppet. The design of which was mostly led by Mike as he worked closely with Taipei R&D team members until all features were thoroughly polished prior to release.
In 2019, Mike innovated on Headshot, which is a best-selling, AI-based, photo to 3D head creation plugin for Character Creator. Apart from designing this product, he also created iconic visuals to exemplify its full potential.
In addition to Headshot, Mike had also personally crafted incredible facial morph systems with the ability to approximate any resemblance using over a thousand morph sliders.
See how Mike turned the art of facial creation into science by referencing true-to-life facial anatomy.
Mike volunteered to design an advanced facial mocap process with the addition of multiplier and smooth passes. In turn, making the facial capture workflow manageable and equipt to producing quality animation data.
Mike was the absolute best facial performer Reallusion had ever worked with. So much so that we often refer to him as a living FACS machine due to his ability to activate any muscle group in his face beyond the ability of most people. His theatrical abilities were especially handy in the demonstration of the iPhone facial tracking system.
This was the first webinar that Mike hosted for Reallusion in 2017, after the debut of Reallusion’s Motion LIVE facial capture technology.
Mike Sherwood will be dearly missed by his family at Reallusion, however, his spirit of innovation will live on, and we will continue to chart new and exciting courses for Reallusion products.
Condolences from the Taipei office
No one could compare to Mike Sherwood when it came to his passion for Reallusion and drive to bring 3D characters to life. His depth of knowledge, logical thinking, artistic skill, hands-on expertise, and tireless encouragement won the respect of the entire team. His inspiring spirit and dogmatic insistence had transformed our routine Wednesday meetings into a “Cult of Creativity” which elevated all members who were fortunate enough to be on the same adventure.
Charles Chen, CEO
No one will ever be like Mike to Reallusion. Without Mike, Reallusion won’t be the same as we are today. A true, genuine friend. His integrity, his passions, and the nonstop demand for perfection were revealed in our product design to overwhelming market applause. We have been so fortunate to have Mike over the last five years unselfishly sharing his great vision with us and delivering great results—Mike was a true Reallusioner. We all felt so honored to co-work with him, a great team member from the UK, so close to the team here in Taipei and so familiar, and yet, never having met him in person. It’s our great loss and I believe Mike will carry on his next journey to the wonderland. Mike, rest in peace, and a salute to you!
Jackie, Sales Director
Even though Mike wasn’t acquainted with me, I have learned so much from him ever since Headshot plugin and Character Creator v3.3 and the latest v4.0. Especially the way he strove for greatness and set up the highest verification standards for the RL team. I even told my colleagues that Mike was my invisible mentor because I was able to spot critical issues that would affect the quality of our applications with his help. I was shocked to hear about this bad news, but Mike’s legacy will remain and his spirit will stay with Reallusion. I hope he has a good time on the other side and continue to make the impossible possible with his infinite creativity!
Calvin, QA Team
I wish Mike all the best in heaven. He may be long gone now, but his spirit will be with us forever. This has been an amazing journey ever since 2016, when the team at Reallusion was really lucky to have Mike as a close teammate and supervisor. He would always share his knowledge, logical analysis, and clear methodology for every research project. Furthermore, I regarded him as our spiritual mentor, always inspiring us to face the challenges while keeping faith in difficult times. His continuous dedication brought new meaning to Reallusion products.
Jonathan, Head of Content Team
10 comments
Not someone I’ve met personally though, but truly, he was a great teacher with an amazing online personality.
May his soul rest in peace.
I’m quite sure, I acquired several add-ons where he participated as part of the core team. His quality, excellence and mastery to detail was always vivid and apparent on the final product. Our English Learning Centers have received the benefits of his passion and craftsmanship. He will truly be missed but his work will leave a mark on present and future users of all the awesomeness created by Reallusion products.
This is such sad news! I was just listening to his tutorials on the 3D scan pipeline for the third time today just because of how much I loved his presentation. He was one of my favorite presenters, he had such great presentation style and fantastic knowledge to share. Such sad news, he really seemed like a wonderful guy.
May you rest in peace Mike, you’ve done amazing things for us down here on Earth and have left us with a wealth of amazing innovation and teachings. What you’ve done for Reallusion and all of us end-users won’t be forgotten. You’ve helped change and further pioneer the wild west that is this ever changing industry and as a Game Developer, I’ve learnt alot from your tutorials and make quick progress because of your innovation within Reallusion’s team. Thank you for sharing your intellect with us during your time here, and again, may you rest in peace Mike.
Rest In Peace to my online Reallusion Instructor. I’m sadden to hear this because I knew with iClone 8 & CC4 out, I had someone to go to for help using the latest features. Along with the other great Reallusion Instructors, Mike help me to use my imagination more through his teachings. I hope to help and have an impact to the next generation like Mike did.
My deepest sympathies to the family and the entire Reallusion team. Really like you. Only now could I get to know Mike’s importance and multi-talent, and for that, I also trust that his memory will be in the minds of each of you. I’m sure that was his wish. Faith and courage.
USE AT YOUR RISK. Do not use abusively. July 1, 2022 at 8:42 a.m. MST or July 2 at Japan, China, Russia, Korea, Phillipines, Vietnam, Australia. We read of email magazine.reallusion.com of purported illness and death of Mike Sherwood, who had done a bunch of tutorials regarding the use of REALLUSION (R) software including the facial recognition. We of internet access and participations are a global village, an internet family, and similar as employees at a building who notice others, their doings, and are affected if something should befall someone. With considerations of his family, also affected, we presume he was liked with emotional entwinings, as he seemed to be enthusiastic, affable and focused on his interests with intense obsessive involvings. We gained of his learnings and his teachings. He contributed his unique perceptions and observations, and how to do and accomplish amongst complex technicalities. He filled a gap of explaining how to use the software. Thanks to REALLUSION (R) for notifying us and for providing access to post a comment.
Mike, Thank you for your enormous contribution to the 3D world, thru iclone, I learned 3d. And I was amazed at how incredibly smart and productive you were to the reallusion dream. You were and are Reallusion, Rest in Peace. Animatedlife3d thanks you
Mike’s tutorials were always great because they were made with passion. Even if he didn’t always have the best microphone setup (ha ha), he had an excellent voice and was an articulate speaker, in addition to his remarkable gift for FACS replication. I’m surprised to learn how much involvement he had in some of my favourite add-ons and features. Very sorry for his family. I’ll be watching his tutorials and using the features he helped build for years to come. Thank you sir.