Reallusion Magazine

Academy of Arts Instructor Enhances Caricature and Star Wars Actor with Character Creator and iClone

May 29, 2023May 29, 2023 fionnfanLeave a comment

Using the Dynamic Wrinkle System on a Caricature of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lifelike Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars

John Blalock

John’s background and education are in the traditional visual effects pipeline, mainly as a Compositor. Over the years, he has had the opportunity to work at visual effects studios such as Rhythm & Hues, along with game companies such as Sony Playstation (SCEA) in cinematic compositing. While he enjoyed those studio experiences, he found a greater love in passing along what he has learned and has taught in the college education sector in Southern California for over 12 years, including the Academy of Art University.

He still takes on some freelance and consulting work but was bitten by the “real-time” bug back when he saw a beta version of iClone 6 demoed at Siggraph years ago — and has been entranced by their possibilities and integration with other tools, such as Unreal, ever since. John is also co-founder of the YouTube channel AsArt and also runs a tutorial-based channel, Johnny HowTo. He would love for you to stop by and join him on his adventures!

Reallusion’s Dynamic Wrinkle system

Just like how the eyes are the “windows to the soul”, expression-driven wrinkles can reveal a persons’ emotions, and at times, their thoughts. When it comes to 3D animation, incorporating dynamic wrinkles may fall short of improving a poorly executed animation, but will certainly enhance the character’s presence. Picture an old woman recounting a story: the expressiveness of her creased brows allude to years of experience and, subconsciously, the tell-tale signs from her furrows captivate and lull as she speaks. On the other hand, the fast and tense wrinkles that appear on the bridge of the nose and around the mouth of a snarling man alerts us to potential danger and keeps us on our toes.

Apply Realistic Dynamic Wrinkles on the Character.

Having digital characters act to this degree is no easy task due to the need for sophisticated technologies; Technologies that have historically been reserved for high-end digital film and commercial characters, and utilized by a few AAA game titles on occasion. Regardless of use-case, budget remains the deciding factor because having expression-driven wrinkles is just too prohibitive in terms of time and effort required to create the underlying systems.

Then came Reallusion with their groundbreaking approach to real-time wrinkles. Having done the heavy lifting, Reallusion’s solution is at the ready to add an extra level of immersion to any digital actor — and it’s only a click or two away. For both realistic and stylized characters, there is really no reason not to take advantage of this new technology, and it’s a feature I have been eager to get my hands on for quite some time.

The Dynamic Wrinkle system was first announced as a late lifecycle update for iClone 7. That didn’t end up happening, but what has now arrived in iClone 8 and Character Creator 4 is absolutely worth the delay. Simply click a few buttons and your actor is given dynamic wrinkles. On top of that, the wrinkle parameters can be adjusted and tweaked to be as subtle or pronounced as you want. My first foray involved taking a few of my premade characters and running them through the painless setup process in Character Creator. The fact that it worked well with realistic and stylized characters was a pleasant surprise.

My hands-on experience with Dynamic Wrinkles

“Uncle Arnie” is my caricature of Arnold Schwarzenegger: He’s not quite as fit as he once was, but still has the underlying musculature that made him a household name. He’s still bombastic and expressive however, which makes him the perfect test candidate for Reallusion’s new wrinkle system.

My initial creation process used several pipeline features of Character Creator. That includes exporting a base mesh into the Wrap software, re-importing, combining with a CC body preset, and then the extensive reworking of both the head and body via morphs and other tools. While it took some time, it also worked perfectly for what I needed. Arnie being an older file, a quick conversion of the facial profile was also required, which was a single-click effort on my part. Finally, I enabled dynamic wrinkles… and that was it!

On the spur of the moment, I decided to use him for a quick one-minute opening for our channel’s video (AsArt on YouTube) covering the new wrinkle system. It involved some quick face motion capture using an iPhone Xs combined with some equally quick lighting, camera work, and subtle hand animations. The final render came straight out of iClone 8. Even without much polish, the near-instant results were quite pleasing. I would eventually use the legacy wrinkle set from the Wrinkle Essentials content pack to age Arnie even more — he’s seen some rough times, after all! All of this was as easy as pie to deploy, literally just drag and drops!

Eventually the intent is for Uncle Arnie alongside my caricature of Sylvester Stallone in a “Beavis and Butthead-esque” online series titled “Arnie & Stone”. When I get to it, Stone will surely be getting the wrinkle treatment as well!

Applying Dynamic Wrinkles on Realistic Characters

Having tested the wrinkle system on stylized characters, I decided to test it on realistic characters. Lucky for me, I had made a digital double of Grand Moff Tarkin for another AsArt video that showcased the digitization process of an existing actor. For those of you who are not as nerdy as myself, Grand Moff Tarkin is Darth Vader’s boss in Star Wars: A New Hope, played by Peter Cushing, an actor with a uniquely gaunt physique.

(Left: Dynamic wrinkle is off. Right: Dynamic wrinkle is on.)

Tarkin’s wrinkle integration was even easier, as his facial profile didn’t even need to be converted. I simply activated the checkbox, adjusted a few sliders, and that was it! Since he has a much paler complexion, I enjoyed the look of the reddening skin tones as the wrinkles activated, making his performance more immersive and believable like how real skin reacts when it expands and contracts. Also, since he’s a much older character, I used a more saggy wrinkle profile, even though he looked just fine with the default profile.

The Dynamic Wrinkle system is the real deal of vital tools that artists can’t do without. And it’s ultra-simple to use. I plan on making some slight adjustments to the some of the wrinkles positions to adhere to the character’s distinct skin textures, but, with the already-dynamic nature of the wrinkles, it’s actually pretty difficult to even notice they don’t perfectly line up — that is, unless you’re the one doing the animation!

(Left: Dynamic wrinkle is off. Right: Dynamic wrinkle is on.)

Free Download :

• Character Creator

• iClone

Learn more :

• John Blalock: AsArt. Johny HowTo

• Dynamic Wrinkle Arises

• Where to Find New Wrinkle Assets inside Character Creator 4 (Free Embedded Content)

Product Release

CC-to-ZBrush Posing Pipeline, Available Now!

May 26, 2023May 29, 2023 fionnfanLeave a comment

Strike Unlimited Poses with Pose Tools

Reallusion has partnered with Maxon to develop an innovative approach on character posing that was years in the making. We are now pleased to announce the Character Creator (CC) to ZBrush Posing pipeline as the ultimate fruition of this collaboration.

The ZBrush Posing pipeline greatly streamlines the character posing workflow. Thanks to the auto-rigging tool (CC AccuRIG) that works with ZBrush subtools containing both soft and hard surfaces, you can perform custom pose editing with HumanIK and hand gesture controls in just minutes. All details sculpted in ZBrush are preserved through the intuitive GoZ and subdivision workflow, while the Reallusion motion and mocap ecosystem offers boundless pose possibilities.

The free Pose Tools plugin allows you to build and manage your personal library, refine individual poses, and switch between poses with a single click. Experience the excitement of creating limitless poses with CC at your fingertips — Download the pipeline tools below and unleash a multitude of ZBrush poses with Character Creator today.

Release note | Strike Unlimited Poses | ZBrush Character Pose Management | Free Download

See the feature highlights of the CC-to-ZB Posing pipeline :

Auto-rigging for ZBrush Characters that works with individual subtools. – Multi-mesh models can be auto-rigged with automatic skin weighting in the seamless CC-ZBrush roundtrip.

Limitless pose possibilities from motion clips and mocap sequences.

Custom pose editing with HumanIK and hand gesture controls.

Hard/soft surface treatment and nuanced accessory management

Powerful & Flexible Pose Management. – Free ZBrush plugin for character artists.

1. A Liberating Posing Workflow

The Character Creator (CC) Pose Tools for ZBrush seamlessly integrates with ZBrush layers, facilitating CC’s automated rigging, posing, and real-time updates across all subtools. Alongside pose management, it allows intricate detailing of character designs at high resolutions, letting you refine poses with precision.

2. Auto Rig ZBrush Characters

Rig Multi-mesh Models : Parsing Hard and Soft Surfaces

Rigging ZBrush characters with multiple subtools is no longer a challenge. With AccuRIG, joint positions are accurately placed, and naturalistic skin weights are applied to soft surfaces. Hard surfaces are automatically attached to the nearest bones, ensuring solid integrity. The flexibility to manually fine-tune bone placement, adjust skin weights, and modify bone attachments is readily accessible at all times.

Automatic Skin Weighting and Bone Placement

The animation quality of a rigged character is highly dependent on the proper skin-weight assignments related to its governing bones. AccuRIG mimics the weight-paint patterns of professional riggers for natural articulation of the body joints.

3. Roundtrip Character Design with GoZ

Design Evolution : Iterative Design

With the innovative GoZ roundtrip design, artists can effortlessly refine a character’s body shape while maintaining the integrity of its mesh flow and vertex count. GoZ enables the seamless reapplication of poses, eliminating the need to recreate the character rig. >> Learn more

Adding Accessory

With the ability to add and interchange accessories, a single model can transform into a diverse collection of unique figures. These accessories can be quickly applied to any body part and synchronized with their counterparts using GoZ. The gallery in Character Creator serves as a centralized hub for managing a wide range of accessories across characters, enabling the attachment of weapons to the hands and the strategic placement of armor parts.

Accurate Physics Simulation

Whether elevating the cinematic presence of super heroes with flowing capes or choreographed dancers with gracefully twirling ribbons, physics simulation is imperative in creating a sense of believability. By eliminating the need for sculpting fabric wrinkles and folds, physics can establish natural cloth formations, ready for artistic refinement.

4. Powerful Posing

Motion to Unlimited Poses : Thematic Poses from the Motion Library

Unlock a world of unlimited poses with our thematic motion library where each frame of animation becomes a potential source for unique poses. Character Creator offers an extensive collection of free animations and poses to inspire creative choices. Additionally, ActorCore provides access to thousands of premium mocap animations and meticulously hand-keyed, stylistic motions, all thoughtfully organized into distinct categories.

Human IK & Gesture Controls

Experience the unparalleled ease of creating natural poses with the renowned HumanIK editor, à la Maya and MotionBuilder. Maintain impeccable character balance while adjusting root movement or lean the body when dragging a limb. A comprehensive collection of gesture control gizmos and a gesture library are also provided, saving countless hours of meticulous finger tweaking.

Detail Refinement

Go beyond adjusting silhouettes and dive into the exquisite details of each pose, like sculpting flexed muscle and intricate wrinkles. These changes will be recorded exclusively for the current pose, without spilling into other poses.

5. Powerful Pose Management

Growing Library

Updating subtools while adding or switching layers in ZBrush involves significant work. However, Pose Tools can directly receive poses from Character Creator, efficiently manage the pose library, and automatically update all subtools when transitioning between poses. Finally, say goodbye to the tedious process of manual updates!

Scale Fitting

ZBrush models can be resized to match the scale conventions in Character Creator, a crucial initial step towards achieving accurate auto-rigging and posing compatibility between these two programs.

Overall Subdivision

Freely traverse the subdivision levels of all subtools. Increase or decrease the subdivision levels or apply the highest or lowest subdivision level all at once.

Overall Detailing

Utilize Detail Layers to embellish character design. These overlaid effects can be applied to all poses managed by Pose Tools, providing a versatile and efficient way to enhance the character’s appearance.

>> Learn more : Benefits of CC-to-ZBrush Posing Roundtrip

6. Free ZBrush Plugin for Character Artists

With ZBrush Pose Tools, designers have the freedom to effortlessly manage and refine multiple poses for the same character. Switching between poses is just a click away — the ultimate in convenience and flexibility! >> Free Download

ZBrush Layers to Poses

To make the most of ZBrush Pose Tools, start by importing existing poses from ZBrush layers. There is the option to import all layers or selectively import hidden layers. These converted layers are labeled with “ccPose_” to maintain synchronization between ZBrush layers and the pose library.

One-Click Posing

The process of updating subtools while adding or switching layers in ZBrush can be quite elaborate. On the other hand, Pose Tools offer a seamless solution by effortlessly transferring and managing poses. Moreover, it automatically refreshes subtools when necessary, streamlining the workflow.

Easily Add New Poses

Create new poses with just one click to enable layer recording for all subtools involved. This feature integrates ZBrush mask posing and modifications from the Transpose Master.

Edit & Refine Poses

Enhance each pose by adding muscle and wrinkle details. These changes will be recorded exclusively for the current pose, without spilling into other poses.

>> Learn more : Continuous Workflow with ZBrush Pose Tools plugin

Website: Strike Unlimited Poses | ZBrush Character Pose Management | Free Download

Forum: CC-to-ZBrush Posing Pipeline Discussion

Learning

Animate Illustrations with Blender Grease Pencil, Affinity Designer, and Cartoon Animator

May 25, 2023May 25, 2023 sylviapaoLeave a comment

About the Artist

Katherine Dellimore is a 2D digital animator from the UK who specializes in making animated videos and tutorials on YouTube. Many of her followers know her as “KDSKETCH” or “KD” for short. Her YouTube channel focuses on the creation of 2D animation while she elaborates on the process for character design, storyboarding, and various tips for aspiring animators.

Katherine is no stranger to Cartoon Animator (CTA), having experimented with CTA 4 back in 2019. Among her videos, two tutorials stand out the most to us: one introduces CTA’s newer and more advanced features — with lip-sync topping her favorites — and the other demonstrates the use of mocap plugins for creating motion capture animation. She continues to release new tutorial videos regularly, including CTA5’s latest features: vector animation and spring dynamics.

Add on Free Form Deformation

In this video, KD showcases the advantages of integrating free form deformation (FFD) into 2D character animation for bringing objects to life. Using tools like Blender Grease Pencil and Affinity Designer, KD expertly designs an intricate Asian-style deity, magical balls, and other simple-style characters. Not only does she apply FFD effects, but she also incorporates spring bones into certain parts of the character.

(Customize bone settings with the spring editor)

To showcase the layering of the background, KD utilizes the highly accurate 3D Camera System, providing an immersive experience. The end result is a creative and unique animation, made possible by the abundance of quick-and-easy presets available in Cartoon Animator.

KD is renowned for her meticulous attention to detail and her ability to explain software features and tips in an easily understandable manner. If you aspire to become an animator, this video is an absolute must-watch!

Know more:

2D Animation Software for Cartoon Maker | Cartoon Animator

FREE for 30 days plus over 1,700 ready-made assets:

2D Animation Software Download | Cartoon Animator

Learning

iClone 8 User Tutorial : Applying iClone 8 Motion Blur to Action Animations

May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 enocburgosLeave a comment

**Final scene render by Benjamin Sokomba Dazhi**

Benjamin Sokomba Dazhi – Professional iClone Animator

Hi, I’m Benjamin Sokomba Dazhi and I welcome you to this iClone 8 (iC8) tutorial where we are going to talk about how to apply iClone 8 Motion Blur to your action animations in order to give them a more energetic and cinematic look.

The new features of iClone 8 Motion Blur effects provide a solution for streaking or blurring objects in motion to simulate speed. This is a must-have effect to help you create more believable animations which can be be adjusted for intensity and blending frames. Motion Blur Effects can be used for moving object or backgrounds, but in this tutorial we will use it on a character.

Let’s get to it.

To star, I’ve got my entire scene set up with Light and a character already in place. I’ve also put a fast paced fight motion in the character. Now the first thing we are going to do here is go to the Visual tab by the left. (Fig 1.0)

Under Visual, you’ll see a panel called Motion Blur.

Tick the Motion Blur. (Fig 3.0)

Now you’ll see that there are different parameters here. (Fig 4.0)

We have Intensity which is by default on 50 .

Then we have the Frame Blend. (Fig. 6.0)

The Frame Blend is on zero by default, but you can make the value less or more as shown in Fig 7.0.

So now that we have already ticked the Motion Blur, we are going to play it to see how it looks. You can see the Motion Blur is obvious in the scene and you can see the effect in real-time as shown below.

Next, if you want to reduce the Intensity of the Motion Blur, you just go to the parameter slider as shown in Fig 9.0 below and take it lower or higher.

Let’s try it on a lower value say 20 and see the effect. You can see it’s there but it’s not too much, so it’s kind of balanced. (Fig 10.0)

However if you want it to be more obvious in the scene then you can just increase the value.

Now let’s increase the value to say 70. You can see that 70 is way too much as shown in Fig 12.0 below.

Hence, we should reduce the value to 50 which is the default value. In Fig 13.0, this gives a more balanced effect.

You can go a little lower with the value as well, say 25.

It looks much better now. (Fig 15.0) Based on your preference you may either stick to 25, or you can go back to 50 as the default. Here I’m going to work with 25 in this tutorial.

Next, there’s a feature called Frame Blend and the value is either 0 or 1.

The Frame Blend has this ghosting effect that you can use if you want to achieve a “dreamy” type of look. It just depends on the type of visuals you’re trying to create. (Fig. 17.0)

Now, you can also drag the slider to the middle, in order to reduce the ghosting effect as shown below. (Fig 18.0)

The ghosting effect can come in handy when creating visuals depending on what you’re trying to achieve. So I’m going to leave it at 0 as I prefer just the Botion Blur effect I already created.

I played the animation from the Camera View and you can see the Motion Blur in real-time. You can play with the parameters too and work on the effect you hope to achieve.

This is pretty straight forward and it’s something you can create out of the box by working with the different Intensity levels of the Motion Blur.

Finally, there’s also a feature which is the Reset Motion Blur for a switch effect on the camera. This may be used when you want the Motion Blur to always reset when there’s a Camera Wwitch. That is another way to work with Motion Blur. This is shown in Fig 21.0 below.

There’s also a tutorial on the Reallusion page on how to work with Camera Switch.

So, this tutorial shows exactly how I achieve Motion Blur effects with iClone 8 in my scenes.

I hope this gives you an insight and helps you implement Motion Blur the proper way in your projects, to make your scenes and visuals more cinematic and appealing.

Thank you very much!

————————————————————

Follow Benny Dee:

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/therealbennydee/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ8aa9y8s52q90DvV3yI1OA

Featured Story

How Teens Animate with Photoshop and Cartoon Animator

May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 sylviapaoLeave a comment

About Jop Govers

Salutations to my fellow animators and animation fans around the world! My name is Jop, and three years ago, I embarked on a journey to master the craft of animation. My tool of choice is Cartoon Animator, especially its latest edition, CTA5. If you have a chance to check out its features, you’ll notice that it is chock-full of awesome features, which I have also explored in my short animation.

Storyboarding with Photoshop

It all begins with an idea, which I jot down using keywords and sketches on my iPad. Once my thoughts are captured, I create all my panels in Photoshop. This saves me a lot of time and allows me to visualize what visuals or action sequences work best for my story. My storyboards are usually loose and sketchy, often featuring stick figures instead of detailed characters. As long as they serve the purpose of establishing the story, they don’t have to be perfect. The initial steps of creating an animation aren’t very different from those of a painter or sculptor, that is starting out with the broad strokes before splitting hairs.

Creating Background Art

To set the stage for my story, I envisioned a desolate desert landscape, a place where you wouldn’t want your car to break down. Starting with a basic horizon line in my initial sketch, I gradually added layers to create a sense of depth and dimension. With Cartoon Animator 5, I was able to layer the mountains and ground planes to give the scene more visual interest and enhance the dynamic camera movements in my animation.

To populate the scene, I drew various reusable props such as loose rocks, cacti, and skulls, which I scattered strategically in different backgrounds throughout the story. Not only did these props save me time, but they also helped maintain visual consistency and continuity between scenes.

2D Character Design

To rig my characters, I used Reallusion’s PSD templates, which are incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. All I had to do was swap out the default 2D character design and sprites with my own creations. If you’re just starting out with animation, I recommend studying existing examples of how the rigging templates work and how characters move their joints and facial features. Reallusion’s website has plenty of examples, and you can also find helpful videos and courses on platforms like YouTube. While it may require some time investment, it will definitely pay off in the end, as it did for me when I was a beginner at rigging.

Create Animated 2D Character

Cartoon Animator 5 has a great feature called the 360 Head and Facial Animation Set Up. If you set up your character properly in a PSD Editor beforehand, it becomes simple to use in CTA5 with these tools.

2D character animation

I then began outlining the movements by keyframing essential actions and facial expressions. The only exception was utilizing a 3D walk cycle, which makes 2D character animation in CTA5 a breeze. Here I rest easy and let the new features in CTA5 bring my 2D character to life.

Compositing in After Effects

For compositing, I relied on After Effects. I utilize various blurs with different blending modes to achieve a more cinematic look, and also apply basic color correction techniques such as saturation and color filters.

Video Editing and Sound Design

My editing process began by combining my voice-over with the storyboard panels. As I completed my animation scenes, I replaced the storyboard panels with the final animation clips. I want to give a special shout-out to my talented friends at Studio Ghibletz who helped me with their amazing voice-over and writing for my project.

Wrapping Up

I highly recommend CTA 5 for all users, for beginners and pros alike as it is an easy-to-learn and intuitive-to-use animation tool. CTA 5 includes a bunch of user-friendly features and toolsets which give me the ability to unleash my creativity without compromise. Like no other tool I tried in the past, CTA really allowed me to kick-start my dream to become an animator. I therefore am, for sure, a great fan and will keep on using it for many projects to come.

Know more:

2D Animation Software for Cartoon Maker | Cartoon Animator

FREE for 30 days & get 1,700+ ready-made assets:

2D Animation Software Download | Cartoon Animator

CreativeJop Studios:

https://www.youtube.com/@creativejop

Learning

How to Customize Eyes and Teeth in Character Creator for One Piece Nami

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 fionnfan1 Comment

A Dev Guide to Creating Reusable Asset Library for the Reallusion Marketplace

Introduction

Greetings, I’m Peter Alex and in this article I will demonstrate some advanced tricks in creating anime-style toons in Character Creator 4 (CC4). The problem I was facing is that CC’s design is focused around realistic characters; Yet, I was aiming for the imaginative style of One Piece. The areas I’ll be focusing on are the teeth, eyes, eyelashes, and skin. I’ll also be adjusting the facial profile, creating a Head Preset, and applying elements of the newly created components to another stylized character. So I encourage you to read on to equip some of the core concepts that can be expanded upon for your own projects.

To start off this tutorial, you’ll need to download and install the “CC4 Blender Pipeline Tool Plugin” for CC4. >> Download here.

Then you’ll need to download and install the “CC/iC Blender Tools” plugin for Blender. >> Download here.

Creating New Teeth

While some cartoon styles do comprise realistic teeth, I’m specifically going for a very simplified, anime style.

1. I’ll start by exporting the character using the Blender Pipeline Add-on in Character Creator.

2. Then, I’ll import the FBX file using the CC/iC Add-on in Blender.

3. With the avatar imported, I’m going to use the geometry of the original teeth to build the anime teeth. I’ll grab an edge loop from the top of the gums and extrude a simple shape for the top teeth. Then I’ll extrude and add some depth. I will then delete the top row of polygons, which will allow for easy UV unwrapping.

4. I will repeat this for the bottom teeth, then combine the teeth into one object.

Note:

Since the geometry has been extruded from the original teeth, I do not need to add vertex groups or weight maps. These teeth are also bound to the armature by default, using this method. If you create more complex teeth using another method, you will need to assign the appropriate groups and weight maps and bind it to the armature.

For the Top Teeth, the vertex group must be “CC_Base_Teeth01”.
For the Bottom Teeth, the vertex group must be “CC_Base_Teeth02”.

5. With the teeth created, export the character using the CC/iC add-on and import the FBX using the Blender Pipeline Plugin in Character Creator.

Note:

You may experience a warning during the import process, but the import should otherwise be successful.

Adjusting the Eyes

With the teeth created, I will work on the eyes. This is a simpler process than the teeth, as I’ll mostly be altering the textures. You will need an image editor for this process; If you do not have Photoshop, you can use an alternative such as Krita.

Clicking on the material channel and initiating the texture launcher will send the texture to your image editor. I will be editing the diffuse texture.

In Krita, I will be creating a very simple texture to replace the realistic version. Just a white to pink radial gradient for the sclera and a black circle for the pupil and iris. I will save the texture, which is linked to a temporary file. Unless the link is broken, saving the file in Krita will update the texture in Character Creator.

I will then manually copy this eye texture over to the other materials for the eye, as they are not linked to the saved file.

I see that this is still insufficient, due to the properties of this material, so I will adjust the Sclera brightness.

I will use this same process to create stylized eye lashes. In this case I will edit the opacity map, and use it as a reference when making the adjustments. Opacity operates on a black to white spectrum. Black is invisible, white is visible.

Creating New Skin

Next, I will simplify the skin texture. There are a few ways to do this — I will use the simplest method. Select the diffuse texture slot for the head. In the Adjust Color dialog, dial the Contrast to -100.

Copy the texture then save it in the same slot. This will be the same as importing a gray texture. Adjust the Saturation, Hue and Brightness until you achieve the desired skin tone.

Copy this texture and place it in the slots for the Body, Arms, and Legs. This will create a simple foundation for your skin. If the normal maps are providing too much detail, dial down the normal intensity.

You can make further adjustments to the skin by activating the Skin Color options. I wanted to subtract some detail, so I didn’t use it initially.

I’ll make a few other adjustments before I start altering her facial profile. I will increase the scale of her Pupil and Iris. This can be done through the Morph Editor if you have the Headshot plugin, and can be done to a limited degree by manipulating the materials for the Cornea.

Adjusting Stylized Teeth

Next I’ll adjust the placement of her teeth. Although first I notice that the stylized teeth have odd normal effects. You can fix this by selecting the teeth and smoothing the normals in the Edit Normals options.

Now I will adjust the teeth by referencing the thumbnails of each major expression.

I will make additional corrections such as the placement of the eyelashes and eyeballs. Make these adjustments prior to using the facial profile editor so you don’t have to redo them.

Using the Facial Profile Editor

The next step is to modify the facial profile. But first, I will adjust the eye elements by selecting Correct Eyeblink in the Character menu. Often the eyelash will need to be manually corrected, especially for stylized characters. In addition, eyes this large present a problem since they bulge beyond the elasticity of the eyelids, causing them to clip through the geometry when the character blinks.

There are two ways to correct this problem: deform the eyeballs for the blinks or adjust their positions. For this character, I chose the latter method because the eye positions can be mirrored as opposed to deformations.

To reposition the eyes, I used the Proportion Editor and switched to Face and made sure that symmetry was disabled. When needed, I checked Show Expression to reference the current expression.

I then selected the eye bones and translated them slightly backwards and baked the expression. The eyeballs will now retreat to mitigate the clipping during the blinks. In all but extreme cases, this should resolve the issue.

Accommodating Custom Expressions

I previously created custom expressions for this character, but the teeth were not compatible with the original data. To fix this, I will dial in the expression and adjust the teeth to fit, then rebake it so that the new teeth will acquire the new data. Adjusting the teeth is surprisingly easy with the transform tools while in the Edit Mesh window.

Saving the Edits to the Eyes and Teeth

Saving an asset generally requires two steps. Select the asset you want to save and go to the designated category in the Content window and click Save. A thumbnail will be automatically generated for you based on the current camera. You can replace it with another image at any time.

Creating a Head Preset

The head consists of several components: The morph, facial profile, eyes, teeth, eyelashes, skin and material settings — and now the wrinkle settings with the latest update (I’m sure in the future it will contain even more components). Each of these components can be saved as a preset, and the Head preset unifies them.

Creating a Head preset is relatively easy. First, you must separate the body and head using the Create > Head & Body Morph Sliders command. Next, go to the content window, select your character, and click save while in the Head Morph & Skin category.

A body preset can likewise be saved, although it contains less components.

I will demonstrate the presets I’ve created on a new character. I’m going to load a demo character and use it as a base to apply the presets I just created. I’ve cleared the existing morphs, leaving the character in its default neutral state.

Any preset or accessory can be applied by double clicking or dragging the item onto the character from the Content window. The preset loads fine, although there is an obvious clash between realism and cartoon styles. Loading the body preset and stylized hair minimizes this.

All of her presets are now loaded to this demo avatar, including the facial profile, which is part of the head preset. The ability to load an entire head setup helps with mixing character designs.

Finally, I will apply the teeth and eyes to another stylized character, so I can explain the issues you may have to solve with your project. First, note that your character must have the same tier of facial profile for the custom teeth or eyes to load. For example, these teeth were created with the Extended Facial profile, so the character must have an Extended Facial profile applied for the teeth to load.

You can see that the initial alignment with this character is off, but it can be easily corrected using the transform tools in Edit Mesh. After which you can align the teeth better by comparing the position with the icons in the Facial Editor.

Using the Facial Editor to examine expressions is an important part of adjusting the facial profile. This menu allows you to go through common expression combinations and see if there are any issues, such as geometry clipping or misalignment with other assets, such as the teeth or tongue. Ideally you want the expression to match the thumbnail, and adjusting the teeth to match key expressions is an important step.

I’ve scaled down the iris size a bit, as I find them to be too dilated. Previously I had used both the sclera UV radius and the morphing options to achieve a large iris, but I can use just the Sclera UV option to decrease the Iris scale. The difference is that adjusting the UV radius impacts the texture, whereas the morphing options impact the geometry.

These teeth were aligned with the previous stylized character, so the offset was based on her teeth’s initial position. For the best results, design your teeth around the avatar’s neutral shape.

The biggest issues are with the custom expressions for this character. The rest of the expressions work well.

You can see the side-by-side comparisons here. As I mentioned, you may not need toon assets to convey a cartoon style, although I think for the anime character it would be difficult to do without.

Conclusion

The presets in Character Creator are extremely powerful and can be leveraged for many different styles, including cartoons. While the base avatar is designed with realism in mind, the ability to save facial profiles and import custom anatomy can push the software into other categories. Character Creator becomes powerful with every update, and I encourage content creators and artists to add this amazing software to their pipeline.

Free Download :

• CC/iC Blender Tools (addon installed in Blender)

• CC4 Blender Pipeline Tool Plugin (addon installed in Character Creator 4)

• Character Creator

Learn more :

• Peter Alexander (Mythcons): ArtStation. Facebook

• Blender-Character Animation Pipeline

• Reallusion

Events

Reallusion, K-Meta, and Daoudata Team Up for Metaverse-Themed Educational Collaboration

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 ericchangreallusion1 Comment

Summary

Reallusion was invited by the Korean government for The Global Advanced Technology Training Workshop . Hosted by the Korean Metaverse Industrial Association (K-Meta), the program accumulated over 300 online and offline students with positive feedback. Thanks to K-Meta and Reallusion’s Korean distributor Daoudata, Reallusion Team completed the 3-day workshop and provide a hands-on iClone and Character Creator training to the participants successfully.

K-Meta and the Global Advanced Technology Training Workshop

The Korean Ministry of Science & ICT (MSIT) announced its pan-government strategy on the metaverse project as part of the Digital New Deal 2.0 initiative in 2022. The MSIT appointed the Korean Metaverse Industrial Association (K-Meta), a non-governmental organization to follow this initiative. One of its missions is to design a series of educational training programs to cultivate industrial talents and speed up metaverse development in Korea. The Global Advanced Technology Training Workshop 2022 was the official program, and Reallusion is one of the brands selected as the overseas lecturers for this program.

Mr. MK Kim, K-Meta’s Senior Manager lead the Reallusion Team and completed a three-day training workshop at the Metaverse Campus in Pangyo, Korea. The workshop is titled “Into the Character Metaverse with Reallusion”, covering the fundamental knowledge of Character Creator 4 and iClone 8. Prior to the course, Reallusion designed a dedicated handout and uploaded all the tutorials on its LEARN portal. This portal allows the students to learn the software without time limitations and boundaries.

Nearly 300 students participated in the seminar offline and online. After the workshop, the students will also be assigned homework to practice and enhance their character animation skills. The submitted students will also receive a one-year license for Character Creator 4 and iClone 8, allowing them to polish their skills after the event. K-Meta believes that this workshop will help the Korean government incubate more 3D talents and fill up the labor demand for the metaverse-related industry.

Feedback from the Students

During the workshop, many students experienced the smoothness of iClone and Character Creator. Take a look at the student’s responses here.

Gukil Han / Hanco Systems
“I think I will be able to work on 3D games and animations more efficiently, and I think we can actively utilize Reallusion to speed up our development for 3D games or metaverse solutions in the future.”

Ara Kim / Carpenstreet Inc. (Acon3D)
“I could use Character Creator much more widely than I thought. Not only character creation, but also skin cloning for clothes, and adding animation as well. I think I will use it a lot in the future”

Suryeon Kim / Loco Ent.
“Reallusion is an easy and fun tool, just like playing a game. I think I can collaborate with many artists with my modeling and animation projects.”

Daoudata and the Reallusion Partnership

Founded in 1992, Daou Data Corp. (KOSDAQ: 032190) is engaged in providing IT solutions in Korea. The company’s IT solutions services include software distribution, security solutions, analytical solutions, cloud services, and consulting services. Daou Data Corp. also provides consolidated billing services that facilitate payment by IC-based credit card, cash card, e-money, membership card, and MS card. With over three decades of operation, the company distributes and partners with multiple major accounts, including Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, Epic Games, Google Apps, NVIDIA, and Sophos.

Daoudata partnered with Reallusion since April 2021, and they have helped Reallusion gain brand awareness tremendously in Korea. Reallusion clients cover many business sectors, including game studios, academic institutes, corporates, and governmental sectors. At the moment, we already have major Korean clients, including Pearl Abyss, Netmarble, and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).

According to Daoudata’s Deputy General Manager Mr. Mun Yong Sam, Reallusion’s software has great compatibility with various 3D software such as 3dsMax, Maya, Blender, ZBrush, and Unreal Engine. These are all commonly used in the Korean media & entertainment industry by creatives. With governmental support in the metaverse development project, he expected growth in Reallusion software demand soon. Therefore, we co-hosted an exciting gathering, receiving positive feedback from all regional sales representatives. If you also wish to promote Reallusion tools in Korea, please reach out to Daoudata Team at ysmun@daoudata.co.kr for more information.

Learn More

News

Reallusion’s Participation with Libel Academy in the 2023 International Book Fair in Bogota

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 enocburgosLeave a comment

The 35th edition of the Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBO) was a resounding success, attracting over 600,000 visitors who flocked to the event to celebrate the world of books and literature. Lasting for a span of two weeks, FILBO provided a platform for authors, exhibitors, and enthusiasts to come together and engage in a wide range of cultural activities, including talks, workshops, training sessions, and book presentations. Among the participants was Reallusion, a leading provider of real-time creation and animation technology, in partnership with Libel Academy.

Reallusion’s presence at FILBO emphasized its commitment to the Latin American market and its dedication to fostering growth and innovation in the region’s digital art and animation sector.

Libel Academy, known for its comprehensive courses in digital art and animation, showcased its various Master Course packages during the event. These packages offered training on popular software such as Character Creator, iClone, ZBrush, Blender, and more. Attendees had the opportunity to explore the latest advancements in these technologies and gain valuable insights from experts in the field.

One of the highlights of the event was the presence of Certified Trainer – Luis Duarte from CGARTIFEX Studios, who presented the latest developments in Libel Academy’s ZBrush-Character Creator Reposing master course. Duarte provided live demonstrations, showcasing the power and versatility of these tools in creating lifelike and dynamic characters. His presentation drew considerable attention and enthusiasm from the audience.

Reallusion’s Director of Marketing, Enoc Burgos, was also actively involved in the event where he engaged in live, one-on-one interactions with attendees, including university students, educators, and even representatives from Colombia’s Police Authority. Reallusion’s Character Creator technology, integrated with Unreal Engine, has been employed by the police for virtual reality (VR) training. Cadets can now practice simulated encounters with the populace on virtual Colombian streets, enhancing their preparedness and decision-making skills in real-life scenarios.

Beyond the professional engagements, Reallusion’s participation in the event was also an occasion to connect with Hispanic fans. By being present at FILBO, Reallusion provided a unique opportunity to engage with the region’s enthusiasts and professionals in their own setting. This direct interaction fostered connections and opened doors for collaborations, enabling the company to better understand the needs and aspirations of its Latin American audience.

Moreover, Reallusion’s presence at FILBO underscored its commitment to the growth and development of the South American region. By showcasing their cutting-edge technologies and providing training opportunities, Reallusion and Libel Academy aimed to contribute to the advancement of digital art and animation in the continent. This dedication to fostering talent and nurturing creativity bodes well for the future of the industry in Latin America.

The 2023 FILBO proved to be an excellent opportunity for universities and educational institutes from all over Colombia. They were able to explore and experience the latest offerings from Libel Academy, including courses and software. This exposure allowed students and educators to stay at the forefront of digital art and animation, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in their respective fields.

In conclusion, Reallusion and Libel Academy’s participation in the 2023 International Book Fair in Bogota, provided a vibrant platform for professionals, students, and enthusiasts to explore the latest advancements in real-time creation and animation technology. Through live demonstrations, training sessions, and personal interactions, attendees had the opportunity to expand their knowledge, enhance their skills, and establish valuable connections thanks to the tremendous dedication and effort from the entire team at Libel Academy! Here is to the next show! 🥂

Featured Story

Libertas Review: Level-up Your Fighting Scene with Hand-To-Hand Combat Pack

May 5, 2023May 5, 2023 ericchangreallusionLeave a comment

Erik Larson (Libertas)

Born in Chicago, Libertas started out with a passion for filmmaking at an early age, and ever since he’s had the desire to tell grand and fantastical stories featuring brave heroes on epic quests in lush and vibrant worlds, much like his Assassin’s Creed-inspired micro-short film “Modern Assasin Training Session.”

Libertas admits to always dreaming bigger than his shoestring budget could afford. Even still, he loves creating characters and their costumes to see them come alive, especially in his YouTube short films. Outside of his day job as the Manager of Videography and sole 3D generalist at his company, he spends his free time, once again, dreaming big and crafting new characters, costumes, and props for his digital actors who are instrumental in bringing his epic stories to life for the audience community and not just himself.

My Experience and Honest Review

The Hand-to-Hand Combat motion pack contains sixty-eight motions across four categories, including “Sparring”, “Evade & Counter Attack”, “Takedown & Throws” and “Win or Lose”. These motion-captured animations are designed for fights in games or films. Each animation is paired with its corresponding reactionary animation, and these combine as short choreographed sequences of high-action stunts that are useful for any close-quarter hand-to-hand combat situations. There are several things that I like about this pack, mentioned below.

Erik Larson (Libertas Review) gives his opinion on Reallusion’s Hand-To-Hand Combat Pack

Paired-up motions

As already stated, each action is paired with a reaction. If you’ve ever looked for any interactive fighting animations from Mixamo or Rokoko Studio, you’ll know how difficult it can be to find matching animations. You will typically find awesome attacking animations, but there are usually no corresponding defensive animations. If you do find one, odds are they are not in sync, and you’ll have to spend a lot of time modifying the animations to match them up. Since these animations are paired up, it makes it very easy to put the characters in visually stunning fight scenarios.

Easy to work with

Since these motions are paired up, they are extremely easy to work with. Typically, all I need to do is add my characters to the scene and then add the corresponding animations to my characters. I positioned the secondary character to line up with the first contact point of the animation. I then drag the transform point for that secondary character back to the beginning, and just like that, my characters are interacting wonderfully. Most of the time that’s all I need to do. The only time I’ve seen this become an issue is if there’s a drastic height difference between my characters. It seems these animations were recorded with actors of relatively the same height. So, if there is a height difference in your characters, the animations might not connect perfectly. But that’s an easy fix using iClone 8’s animation layers, or even easier with Reallusion’s Reach Target System. You can dial in the animations quickly with these tools, and be on your way.

High usability, diverse motions

Overall, these animations just look great, being that they are recorded with professional stunt actors. I feel like a lot of care went into providing a wide variety of animations that can be quickly applied, and give us good-looking choreographed sequences in no time. I also like how the fights are not completely one-sided in these animations. In most of the sequences, both characters are engaged in the fight; they both throw fight-ending punches and kicks upping the ante for the outcome. This makes it a lot more compelling for the action sequence and keeps the tension high throughout.

Hand-to-hand combat motions applied on ancient soldiers.

Hand-to-hand combat motions applied on modern athletes.

Tips & Tricks: What Magic is This?

The drawback of these animations for me is that they’re not all that stringable, and I find it challenging to flow from one fight sequence to the next to create longer choreographed sequences. If you want to overcome this problem and create stunning combat scenes, I have a few tips for you.

Add Expressions

Adding simple facial expressions to your characters makes your characters and actions come to life. I use the face key tool to quickly add changes to my timeline. If you want to use my trick on how to cut between the character’s transitions by focusing on one of the character’s expressions, I would recommend taking a look at the Digital Souls Pack from Reallusion.

Bring more tension to the film by adding facial expressions!

Use Wide Angle Lenses

Without getting into too much in-depth on the choice of lenses and camera angles, if you want to accentuate the action, I personally like to use wide angle lenses: either a 35-millimeter or 24-millimeter lens; and bring the camera closer to my characters. This will place the viewer closer to the action, but will also provide a wider field of view in order to get more of your character’s movements in the scene. However, wider-angle lenses can distort your characters. Having lower sweeping camera angles can also bring a more dynamic feel to your scene. So keep your camera moving and avoid static shots for more visual interest.

Animation speed

Last but not least, keep an eye out for your animation speed. These animations were recorded with a lot of speed and intensity, which is a good thing. But it can also work against you. Sometimes, it’s more important to slow down the motions, in order for the viewer to visually comprehend what’s going on. The best fight sequences tell a story in and of themselves. And sometimes, we need to slow things down in order to communicate that story and emotion to our audience. So when using these animations, be mindful that you may want to slow them down a bit to help communicate the motions better to the viewer. This can be done directly in iClone 8, or if you export them out to programs like Blender as I do, you will be able to do that in various ways with your favorite 3D software.

Learn more

If you are interested in using the characters seen in the video, you can get them from Erik’s Content Store Page “Libertas Armory”.

• Erik Larson (Libertas) http://www.libertasvideo.com/

• iClone https://www.reallusion.com/iclone/default.html

• Character Creator https://www.reallusion.com/character-creator/

•Previous review of the Parkour Pack

• Reallusion https://www.reallusion.com/