Animating Ancient Fantasy: ALHIQ ‘The Dragon Shield’ with Character Creator, iClone, and ActorCore

Currently, I am a Fulbright grantee pursuing an MFA at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. I struggled for years to master Blender. I finally found my breakthrough during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was inspired by Ian Hubert’s “World Building in Blender” video. This led me to launch my passion project, Blendreams. I share my renders and animations on Instagram. I also offer tutorials on YouTube. Today, Blendreams has grown into a community of over 100,000 followers.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to use the free Blender Auto Setup plugin. This will help you create a seamless workflow between Character Creator (CC4), and Blender. We will cover everything from exporting characters and integrating motion capture data to refining animations and optimizing your project. Whether you’re just starting out. Or you are looking to enhance your existing skills. This guide will provide practical tips to ensure a smooth and efficient process.

“The CC/IC Auto Setup for Blender brings everything from Character Creator and iClone. It sets up everything correctly to ensure the best quality, providing a lot of customization options afterward.”

Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

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How to Export Your Character from Character Creator to Blender: A Comprehensive Guide

Creating characters in Character Creator 4 (CC4) for film projects in Blender is an exciting and detailed process. Once your character is ready, exporting it to Blender can open up a world of possibilities for further animation and refinement. This guide will walk you through each step. This includes motion capture integration to final adjustments in Blender. It ensures your character transitions smoothly between these platforms.

Recording and Retargeting Motion Capture

For my project, I used the Rokoko Smart Suit Pro II to record motion capture data. The process is straightforward and can be applied to any motion capture or animation file:

1. Drag and Drop: Simply drag and drop the FBX file onto your character in Character Creator.
2. Retarget the Animation: Click on the character, select the same file again to retarget the animation properly.
3. Reference Pose: Rokoko sets the first frame to a T-pose, which is crucial for accurate retargeting. If your animation lacks a reference frame or you’ve cropped the beginning, skip this step.

This process is also applicable in iClone. You can further clean up the animation. You can also export directly from Character Creator.

“I’ve been using Character Creator 4 (CC4) for over a year. As someone who focuses on telling human-centered stories through animation, its seamless integration with Blender has been invaluable. It’s intuitive workflow allows me to bring my characters to life effortlessly, helping me tell the stories I envision with clarity and precision.”

Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

Exporting the Character from Character Creator or iClone

There are two primary ways to export your character from Character Creator or iClone:

Method 1: Traditional Export

1. File Export: Go to File > Export > FBX > Clothed Character.
2. Select Blender: From the drop-down menu, choose Blender.
3. Texture Settings: Set Max Texture to 4K for the highest quality. Convert the image format to JPEG for smaller file sizes.
4. Animation Settings: If your character has animation, ensure you click “Current Animation.” Define the animation length and set the frame rate appropriately. In Character Creator, choose “All” for the animation length, which will automatically match the project length.

Note: In iClone, set in and out points manually if your project length is extensive, as exporting with “All” checked can be time-consuming.

5. Final Export: Click Export, and create a new folder for the characters to keep everything organized.

“iClone truly simplifies the character animation process! The ability to export fully rigged characters and convert them into a Rigify rig with IK controls in Blender with one click is incredibly useful. This feature makes the workflow much smoother and more efficient.”

Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

Method 2: Using the Blender Pipeline Plug-in

For a slightly faster workflow, the Blender pipeline plug-in is an excellent alternative. This plug-in allows for seamless export of characters between Blender, Character Creator, and iClone.

Installation Guide:

• Follow this installation guide for downloading and installing both the free Blender Pipeline plugin, and the Blender Auto Setup tool.

Importing the Character into Blender

To import your character into Blender, you’ll need the free CC Tools add-on (Blender Pipeline Plugin).

1. Download and Install CC Tools Add-on: Then in Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Install. Install the add-on and enable the Rigify add-on as well.
2. Using CC Tools: The CC Tools add-on appears in the “N” panel, which you can toggle with the “N” key. If you have wrinkles enabled in iClone and facial animation, ensure the wrinkles option is checked.

Rigify Integration

1. Import Character: Click on Rigify, then import your character by navigating to your file.
2. Set Up Rigify Rig: This will bring in your character with the Rigify rig. It will set up a complex node system. It gives you flexibility over the materials. You can make adjustments to the wrinkles and other settings in the “N” panel under “Character Build Settings.

Animation Adjustment in Blender

Blender offers robust tools for fine-tuning your character’s animation.

1. Clean Up Keyframes: Open the Graph Editor. Select all bones in Pose Mode. Delete unnecessary keyframes, particularly those for scale.
2. Non-linear Animation: Use the Non-linear Animation panel to create an additive animation layer. Change the Blending option from “Replace” to “Combine” for easier animation adjustments.
3. Enable Auto IK: In Pose Mode, enable Auto IK for simple clean-ups. Regular IK can be enabled from the CC Tools add-on under the “Item” tab in the “N” panel.

Running Python Scripts

When reopening your project file, Blender may prompt you to run a Python script. This script powers the options in the “Item” tab, so ensure you trust the script’s source before executing it.

Transferring Characters Between Project Files

To transfer a character between project files:

1. Copy Character: Select the character’s rig, right-click, choose “Select Hierarchy,” then copy (Ctrl+C).
2. Paste into New Project: Paste the character (Ctrl+V) into the other project file.
3. Adjust Light Path Settings: Set the transparent light bounces manually under light path settings for proper rendering.

Transferring Facial Animation

If you need to transfer facial animation between characters:

1. Keyframe All Shape Keys: Use the following script in Blender’s scripting panel to keyframe all shape keys:

import bpy
def add_all_keyframe(obj, attr="value", frame=1):
 if obj.type != 'MESH': return
 blocks = obj.data.shape_keys.key_blocks
 if not blocks: return
 for k in blocks:
 k.keyframe_insert(attr, frame=frame)
add_all_keyframe(bpy.context.object)
bpy.context.scene.frame_set(bpy.context.scene.frame_current) #update ui

2. Run the Script: Click on the character without keyframes and run the script. Copy the keyframes from one character and paste them into the other.

Attaching Accessories in Blender

Attaching accessories is straightforward:

1. Reset Bone Positions: In Pose Mode, reset the rotation and position of all bones using Alt+R and Alt+G.
2. Attach Object: In Object Mode, position the accessory. Then Shift-click on the bone in Pose Mode. Parent the object to the bone (Ctrl+P > Bone).

Fixing Clothing Issues

If your character’s skin is peeking through their clothing:

1. Masking: Instead of deleting hidden faces during export, use Blender’s masking options to hide the protruding areas.
2. Add-on for Masking: Check out my free add-on for one-click masking in Blender. See Masking tutorial.

Conclusions

By following these steps, you can ensure that your characters created in Character Creator are imported into Blender with precision. They will be ready for further animation and refinement. Whether you use the traditional export method or the Blender pipeline plug-in, the process is streamlined and efficient.

Final Scene: You can check out the final scene created using this process. The characters were voiced by Jonny Cruz. Melis Caner (@melniverse) also lent her voice. The scene was constructed using KitBash3D Cargo and the Trashkit add-on.

For those interested, special discount codes are available:

• Trashkit: Use code “blendreams10” for 10% off here.
• KitBash3D: Use coupon code “Blendreams20” for 20% off here.

Happy animating!

Follow Onur Erdurak

Website:
http://blendreams.com/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@onurerdurak

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https://www.instagram.com/blendreams/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/blendreams

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@blendreams

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