Brian P. Dean
Brian P. Dean is a highly respected animator with over 20 years of experience at studios such as Blue Sky Studios and Sony Pictures Imageworks. His portfolio includes Robots, Ice Age, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Over the Moon. Today, Dean is co-founder of Amulet Studios, where he pioneers real-time workflows in Unreal Engine to develop original projects like Star Streamers.
In his latest review video, Dean dives into Reallusion’s Character Creator 5 (CC5)—a powerful update for 3D character artists, animators, and studios looking to push realism, speed, and compatibility further than ever before
Follow Brian’s YouTube Channel
What Is Character Creator?
Character Creator 5 (CC) is Reallusion’s standalone tool for building fully rigged 3D characters. Artists can start from a base mesh or preset, then refine their design with morph sliders for face and body. Characters can be stylized, realistic, or fantasy-inspired, and are automatically prepared for animation with complete body and facial rigs.
The ecosystem extends further with:
- Reallusion Content Store for clothing, hair, and accessories.
- GoZ integration with ZBrush for sculpting workflows.
- CC Face Tools for precise blend-shape editing.
- ActorCore, a massive motion library for quick animation.
- Export compatibility with Unreal, Unity, Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, and Marmoset via the free Auto-Setup tool.
These features already made CC a go-to for many creators in CC4.
So, what’s new in CC5?
The Big Upgrades in Character Creator 5
Higher Resolution & More Detail
CC5 introduces a new character profile with higher mesh resolution. This unlocks more geometric detail—perfect for sculpted wrinkles, exaggerated stylized surfaces, and realism that previously relied only on normal maps.
With additional morph shapes, animators gain finer control over facial expressions and subtle body movements.
4K–16K Textures
While 4K textures cover most needs, CC5 now supports 8K and even 16K texture editing for production teams pushing ultra-high fidelity. For stylized creators, this flexibility ensures artwork holds up across formats, from cinematic close-ups to VR.
Revamped Eyelashes & HD Eyes
CC5 revamps character eyes and eyelashes:
HD Eyes provide higher resolution textures, adjustable iris size, and detailed color customization for expressive, lifelike results.
Eyelashes are now fully geometric rather than texture-based, giving natural volume and control over top/bottom lashes independently.
Actor Morphing System
Character Creator 5 introduces ActorMixer, letting artists blend and combine features from multiple characters. Whether adjusting entire body presets or just tweaking a nose shape, this feature accelerates custom design workflows.
Unreal & Metahuman Compatibility
Perhaps the most impactful update: Character Creator 5 is now fully compatible with Metahuman and Unreal skeletons. This eliminates tedious conversion steps that Dean described as time-consuming in past workflows. Artists can import CC5 characters directly into Unreal Engine and take advantage of Metahuman tools such as audio-driven lip sync and the facial Control Rig for facial animation.
Dean highlights this as a massive time and cost saver:
- No more third-party plugins.
- No more rebuilding characters as Metahumans.
- Direct access to Metahuman tools for CC5 characters.
Real-Time Animation in Action
In his video, Dean demonstrates the power of this compatibility:
- He imports a CC5 character, Dinglezorp, into Unreal Engine.
- He applies Metahuman’s audio-based facial animation tool for instant lip sync.
- He layers ActorCore body animations for full character performance.
The result: a seamless fusion of workflows that blends the best of CC5 and Unreal Metahuman technology.
Why CC5 Matters for Animators and Studios
Character Creator 5 isn’t just an incremental update—it’s a workflow revolution. Key benefits include:
- Creative Freedom: Build stylized, realistic, or fantasy characters without being locked into one style.
- Faster Production: Save time with direct Unreal/Metahuman compatibility.
- Scalability: Suitable for indie creators and large studios alike.
- Cost Efficiency: Fewer plugins, fewer conversion steps, and reusable characters from CC4 to CC5.
- Future-Proofing: With 8K+ textures and real-time integration, CC5 is built for the next generation of animation pipelines.
Conclusion: Brian Dean’s Verdict
After testing CC5, Brian Dean concludes that the Metahuman compatibility and upgraded detail make this the strongest version yet. For anyone working in 3D animation—whether for games, film, or virtual production—Character Creator 5 delivers freedom, efficiency, and professional-grade results.
Follow Brian P. Dean
Amulet Studios:
https://amuletstudios.com/
IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2655631/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/amulet_studios
FAQ
Can I upgrade old CC4 characters to CC5?
Yes. The base mesh remains the same, but CC5 allows more subdivisions and morph sliders. You can upgrade old characters without starting from scratch.
Does CC5 only work with Unreal Engine?
No. CC5 supports export to Unity, Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, and Marmoset. Unreal integration is a highlight, but not the only option.
Do I need Metahuman to use CC5?
No. CC5 is a standalone character creator. Metahuman compatibility is optional, designed to give users more flexibility in Unreal.
Is CC5 suitable for indie creators?
Absolutely. While production houses can scale CC5 for large projects, indie creators benefit from its one-stop solution for character design, rigging, and animation.
Related Topics
- Reallusion Officially Launches Character Creator 5, Powering the Next Generation of HD Character Creation
- Character Creator 5 Release Rescheduled to August 27
