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iClone Video Mocap Delivers a Studio-Free Lifesaver for Indie Artists

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AI-enabled video-to-mocap generation smashes barriers to entry.

Like many indie creators, Nick Shaheen works in a small home setup: a desk, a camera, and whatever chaos happens around him. He doesn’t have access to a mocap studio, and inertial suits come with their own frustrations: drifting sensors, unstable Wi-Fi, constant recalibration, and late-night battles with straps and batteries.

This is the gap iClone Video Mocap was built to solve. With just a single camera and a bit of space, Nick can capture a performance and drive a 3D character in minutes. No suit, no prep, no technical friction. It even let him animate an entire three-person band — all performed by himself within the comfort of his room.

Nick Shaheen

I’m Nick Shaheen, a radiologist by profession and a CG artist by passion. My journey into animation started in an unexpected place: in medical illustration. Early in my career, I spent a fair bit of time creating motion graphics and anatomical visuals to help explain complex medical concepts. That experience taught me the power of visual storytelling and deepened my appreciation for animation as a way to communicate ideas dynamically.

Nick’s Instagram / YouTube Channel

A Fast, Effortless Path From Video to 3D Motion

iClone’s Video Mocap system uses QuickMagic AI to transform any single-camera recording into a fully retargetable motion file. Key capabilities include:

  • Full-body, upper-body, or hand-only tracking
  • No calibration pose required
  • Up to 60-second recordings per generation

To make the most of the 60-second limit, creators can also combine smaller clips into a single video and generate them all in one task. 

The workflow couldn’t be simpler: drop the video into the Video Mocap window, choose a performer and tracking mode, then click Apply & Generate. iClone returns:

Complex hardware setups become unnecessary — the entire mocap workflow is reduced to a single upload and a few minutes of processing.

How Video Mocap Makes an Immediate Difference

1. Fast Capture on a Tight Schedule

Nick often needs to mocap on the spot, but he has no time for gear setup, addressing sensor drift, or calibrating for accurate capture. With Video Mocap, he can record a quick take and get instantly usable animation, just by acting naturally in everyday clothes. This responsiveness has become an indispensable core of his creative workflow.

2. Ideal for Stylized, Exaggerated Motion

For a stylized short featuring a mime rock band, Nick found that Video Mocap handled exaggerated, expressive motions surprisingly well. Without restrictive gear, he could perform freely, giving the animation a spontaneous and lively feel.

3. For Puppet-On-String Animations

Marionette animation is difficult to replicate with mocap suits, with the subtle pop and slack moments that are hard to capture. Acting out the performance directly in front of a camera gave Nick the exact puppeted style he wanted, and the included reference video made for an easy cleanup process afterwards.

4. Capturing the Vibrancing of TikTok-Style Dancing

Highly energetic TikTok dance motions are tedious to hand-key. Nick recorded these performances and processed them through Video Mocap, instantly applying accurate dance cycles to stylized characters with minimal effort.

5. Beautifully Captures Delicate Choreography 

One pleasant surprise was Video Mocap’s ability to capture elegant motion, such as ballet poses and smooth transitions. The resulting animation provided Nick with a strong foundation he could quickly polish inside iClone.

Remote Performance Capture: A Major Advantage

One of Nick’s favorite discoveries was the ability to capture performances remotely. Collaborators anywhere in the world can simply record themselves (even on a phone) and send the video. Nick converts the footage into mocap inside iClone without shipping gear or arranging studio access. For indie workflows, this level of flexibility is transformative.

Best Practices for Optimal Capture

Although iClone Video Mocap is already remarkably precise and easy to use, there are still a few tips that artists should follow to overcome some limitations with the technology:

  • Occluded limbs or obstructed body parts may not track cleanly.
  • Sitting, crouching, and lying poses are less reliable.
  • High-speed athletics and multi-actor interaction are better suited for dedicated mocap systems.
  • Props should remain visible in the recorded frame.

These limitations are consistent across all video-to-mocap solutions and are manageable with basic planning. Thankfully, iClone features a robust set of built-in motion editing tools to fix or refine anything that needs adjustment.

The Main Takeaway

Video Mocap isn’t a replacement for a fully equipped mocap studio — at least, not yet. Its real strength lies in quickly capturing performances and making mocap accessible and natural for everyday use. It’s an ideal tool for creatives who value convenience and plug-and-play features that can instantly enhance their existing workflows and creative processes.

For Nick Shaheen, it has become one of the most practical tools in his pipeline, transforming simple video clips into production-ready 3D motion. It brings motion capture into the spaces where enthusiasts work their magic. Whether in bedrooms, home offices, or small studios, iClone Video Mocap proves to be a valuable addition to any creative arsenal.

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Learning

A Stylized Wolverine Workflow with Character Creator 5, ActorMixer & Blender HD Workflow

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Mythcons

Greetings, my name is Peter Alexander. In this demonstration, I’m going to walk you through how you can leverage Character Creator 5‘s new ActorMIXER as a powerful stepping stone to create unique, stylized characters. We’ll use the CC Base Mesh as our foundation, and ActorMixer will provide the next layer from which to build, making professional character creation that much easier. For this demo, I’ll be creating a stylized version of Wolverine, using the Blender Autosetup pipeline, which is both cost-effective and efficient for creating characters and assets.

Visit Mythcons’ ArtStation

Phase 1: The Foundation in Character Creator 5

The first step is to establish the base form. Think about the character you want to build. Is it a caricature? I’m using a sketch of Wolverine as my guiding reference.

  1. Stylized Proportions: I start by using the standard CC tools to give the character a stylized body-to-head ratio.
  1. ActorMixer: After subdividing, I head to ActorMixer. The “wheel” I am using is the Caricature MIXER Pack, now available in Content Store. This wheel features a mixture of exaggerated options, providing a fantastic jumping-off point.

  1. Refining the Shape: My goal isn’t to finish the character here, but to get a solid base. I want a decent amount of muscle and a prominent jaw and head shape. Moving between the wheel points allows me to quickly shape the head and features. 
  1. Exaggeration: Finally, I jump into the Proportion Editor to add more exaggeration to the torso. You can also achieve this with the morphing tools, which allow you to lengthen, shorten, and adjust various points on the body just by clicking and dragging. 

Phase 2: First Pass in Blender (Sculpting & Hair)

After adding some basic clothing, I send the character to Blender using the Blender Pipeline Menu (found in the Plugins category after installation). Once loaded in Blender, I begin creating his signature hair.

  • Hair Creation: I highly recommend using the Hair Tool add-on (or a similar dedicated tool) if you aren’t familiar with Blender’s native hair system. These add-ons are relatively inexpensive and make the process much easier. This tool allows me to draw out hair strands simply by holding ‘D’ and drawing lines.

  • Initial Sculpting: After getting the hair in place, I enter Sculpting Mode to make adjustments to the face, mostly using the Grab brush. I find that adding detail to the face is easier after other features, like hair, are already present.

After some adjustments, light texturing around the face, and adding chest hair for that classic rugged look, I move on to his clothing.

Phase 3: Asset Creation and Texturing

I’ll create the shirt and pants directly in Blender. While CC5 has presets, this method offers full control.

  • Modeling: Everything in 3D can be built from a single vertex or primitive. I start with a simple plane and begin extracting edges. Once I have enough geometry, I shape it around the character. 
  • Pro Tip: You should not create double-sided cloth geometry. Instead, either cap off the holes or extrude the edges to create the illusion of thickness.
  • Texturing: To add texture details, I use a free add-on called UCUPaint. By importing images (like a belt buckle or fabric texture) and setting the Projection Coordinates to Decal, you can strategically place textures exactly where you want them on the mesh.

  • Rigging: Once your assets are created, you can rig them by selecting the asset, then the armature, and pressing Ctrl + P to parent the clothing. If you’re not familiar with this process in Blender, an alternative is to export the clothing as an FBX, import it into Character Creator, and use the Transfer Weights function. Both are viable solutions.

Phase 4: Round-Trip for Expressions & High-Res Detail

With the assets complete, I send the character back to CC5 using the Go CC button.

  1. Facial Expressions: I’m ready to adjust his expressions in the Facial Profile Editor. For an exaggerated character, you can use Mesh Edit with Soft Selection to make adjustments. You can also dial an expression slider past 100 and bake it for a more extreme result. 

  1. Troubleshooting: I notice the tongue is too small for his mouth, so I exit the editor to scale it up.
    • Important: After making a significant mesh change like this, you should always run Auto-Position bones in the Adjust Bones menu. 
  1. Polishing Expressions: Back in the Facial Profile Editor, I go down the list looking for issues like teeth poking through the mesh, and I use the sculpting tools to fix them.

Now, for a final detail pass, I’ll send the character back to Blender one more time. This time, I use the Go Blender Morph feature, exporting at Subdivision Level 2. This provides a dense mesh with enough resolution to sculpt fine details like muscle striations directly into the model.

When complete, the pipeline sends these changes back to Character Creator not as a new base mesh, but as a morph slider. This is a powerful, non-destructive workflow that lets me dial in the high-frequency detail precisely within the CC interface. 

Phase 5: The Finishing Touch – Retractable Claws

Finally, I’m going to create the claws and make them retractable using Shapekeys in Blender.

  1. Create one claw in Blender and duplicate it.

  1. Animate the retraction by scaling the claw.
  2. Set the transform reference point by using an aligned cursor position and selecting ‘Normal’ as the transform direction.
  1. Turn on Proportional Editing and set it to affect only the selected mesh.
  2. Name the Shapekeys according to each claw’s position (e.g., L_Claw_1, L_Claw_2, etc.).
  3. Export the final claw set as an FBX.

After importing, you can transfer the skin weights. You will also need to manually weight each individual claw at 1.0 (100%) intensity to its respective hand bone. Otherwise, the claws will deform incorrectly with the fingers.

This hybrid approach truly opens up a new world of possibilities, blending the speed and powerful rigging systems of Character Creator with the deep modeling and sculpting freedom of Blender. The result is a fully-featured, animation-ready character, complete with custom assets and expressions, all built with an efficient and flexible pipeline.

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Featured Story

Manairons: How an Indie Game Team Brought a Catalan Legend to Life with Character Creator

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Gerard Martínez – 3D Character Artist & Lighting Lead at Jandusoft

I’m Gerard Martínez, a 3D artist from Barcelona specializing in cartoon-style characters. I am also a 3D instructor and teacher. I have the privilege of combining two of my greatest passions: 3D art and teaching.

This story is co-produced with 3CAT.

A Magical Story About Work, Tradition, and Freedom

Some stories are born from an idea. Others, from necessity.

Manairons, our video game, was born from both.

From day one, we knew we wanted to make something different: a game with soul that felt handmade and cultural, yet carried a powerful visual identity. But there was one small problem: time. Our schedule was tight, and our team was small.

If we wanted to build a world as alive as Vilamont, the small Pyrenean village where the story unfolds, we needed tools that could help us stay creative without slowing down production.

That is where Character Creator changed everything.

The Origin of Manairons

The story of Manairons is inspired by Catalan folklore and the tiny magical creatures known as “manairons,” said to accomplish any task in mere seconds.

In our game, the town’s mayor, Llorenç, discovers a magical container that holds a colony of these beings. Little by little, the village becomes trapped in an endless cycle of work. At first, the manairons seem like a blessing. Factories never stop, production grows, and Vilamont begins to thrive.

But as their magic spreads, the villagers lose their trades, their sense of purpose, and eventually, their freedom.

The player takes on the role of Nai, a manairó who decides to rebel against Llorenç’s orders and free the town from their absolute control.

At its core, Manairons is a story about balance: between progress and essence, technology and humanity, control and freedom.

A Vision with Soul

From the very beginning, we knew that Manairons had to move players emotionally before even explaining itself. We did not want players to understand the world through words, but to feel it at first sight.

That vision was made possible thanks to Ivet Macías, our Art Director, Producer, and 3D Artist, who became the visual heart of the project. Under her guidance, the art direction was built around three pillars: atmosphere, narrative tone, and emotion.

Working alongside her was Eliant Elias, our Concept Artist, whose sensitivity transformed abstract ideas into soulful images. Exaggerated silhouettes, faces that were both tender and unsettling, and colors that breathe nostalgia and mystery defined Manairons’ visual identity.

Together, they achieved a balance between the familiar and the uncanny, creating a world that feels close yet slightly off, inviting players to look twice.

Handcrafted and Painterly

Visually, Manairons merges a handcrafted aesthetic with painterly detail. Every texture looks as if it has been brushed by hand, and every light carries emotion. We wanted the player to feel as if they were walking inside a painting.

We took inspiration from Lost in Random, Little Nightmares, and Arcane, yet the final result became deeply personal, rooted in Catalan culture and in our own artistic language. Even though the tone is dark, the game ultimately tells a story of hope.

The Challenge: A Coherent, Fast, and Flexible Pipeline

The character pipeline was one of the most demanding yet rewarding parts of production. Only two people, Ivet and I, handled the entire process of modeling, rigging, and texturing. That meant we needed a workflow that was solid, fast, and predictable.

We started from a Character Creator 4 base mesh, one of the software’s biggest advantages.

Its templates come production-ready with optimized topology, clean UVs, and functional rigging right out of the box. That alone saved us weeks of work, which was invaluable in a project with such a limited schedule.

From there, the Ultimate Morph Pack became our key tool. With its extensive library of sliders, we could define proportions, musculature, and facial features without breaking rig compatibility. The result was a strong, expressive silhouette perfectly adapted to our stylized look.

Bernat Batum: A Character with a Heart (and a Story)

One of the clearest examples of this workflow is Bernat Batum, one of the game’s main bosses. From the start, we wanted him to convey humanity, even within his mechanical stiffness, which came from the manairons’ magic.

I began with a Character Creator 4 base and then sent the model to ZBrush via GoZ to sculpt finer details. Ivet supervised the overall balance to ensure every element stayed true to the project’s visual direction: a stylized and expressive cartoon style.

Once the sculpt was complete, we brought it back into Character Creator 4 with full compatibility, without losing weights or UVs. That seamless integration allowed us to iterate quickly, test materials, and maintain artistic consistency throughout the process.

The Painterly Touch of Eliant Elias

During texturing, collaboration was key. I handled the base materials in Substance Painter, focusing on general tones and physical properties. Then, Eliant added his painterly touch, with brushstrokes, stains, and small imperfections that gave each surface a handcrafted soul.

Thanks to Character Creator 4, we could re-import and preview textures with precision before integrating them into Unreal Engine, ensuring visual accuracy at every stage.

Cartoon Rigging and Animation in Blender

All rigging and animation were done in Blender. Even though Character Creator 4’s rig is robust, we decided to design our own to achieve a more cartoon-like movement, with elastic poses, broader expressions, and a more narrative body language.

This gave the characters life and reinforced the visual tone of the game: dark but full of humanity.

Once animation was complete, the characters were integrated into Unreal Engine 5, where I worked on lighting to highlight textures and maintain the balance between the magical and the handcrafted.

A Pipeline that Empowers Creativity

The combined workflow of Character Creator 4, ZBrush, Blender, Substance, and Unreal Engine gave us two things every artist values: coherence and creative freedom.

We reduced iteration time by more than 40% while maintaining full control over every artistic detail. For a small and focused team, that kind of efficiency makes all the difference.

Working with Character Creator 4 taught us that efficiency can also be creative.
It was not just about speed, but about building a stable, predictable workflow that encouraged experimentation without technical risks.

That reliability gave us the freedom to test new ideas while maintaining rig and texture compatibility. It allowed us to focus on what truly matters: the art, the emotion, and the soul of the characters.

A Philosophy of Creation

Through Manairons, we learned something that is now part of our creative DNA. When a tool offers both technical stability and artistic freedom, the result is not just efficiency but the space to create with purpose.

Character Creator 4 was not just another piece of software in our pipeline. It became the bridge between our artistic vision and technical execution. It allowed us to tell our story with sensitivity and detail.

A Glimpse at Character Creator 5


After wrapping up character production, I had the chance to test Character Creator 5, and the experience was incredible. Seeing how much the tool had evolved after spending so many months working with CC4 was truly surprising.

The first thing you notice is the fluidity of the system. Everything feels lighter, faster, and even more integrated with Unreal. The new facial rig immediately stood out to me: it is more expressive, more natural, and opens up exciting possibilities for storytelling and animation.

From an artistic standpoint, maintaining visual consistency across projects is now easier.
You can organize libraries, adapt characters to different art styles, and still keep production-level quality.

In short, Character Creator 5 strengthens exactly what artists value most: speed, stability, and creative freedom.

Where Tradition Meets Technology

Thanks to Character Creator 4, Manairons was able to preserve its handcrafted essence without sacrificing efficiency. It became the tool that united tradition and technology, combining the sensitivity of handmade art with the power of a modern production pipeline.

For us, it was never just about building characters. It was about giving life to stories that move people, that speak of culture, identity, and the joy of creating.

Conclusion

If you are a creator or developer searching for that balance between control and freedom, between time and detail, then Character Creator 4, and now Character Creator 5, are the allies that truly make a difference.

They helped us bring a Catalan legend to life, a world filled with light, texture, and soul.

Thank you, Reallusion, for giving us the opportunity to create with heart.

Watch the trailer of Manairons

Follow Gerard Martínez Sánchez

ArtStation

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From Everyday Clips to UE5 Cinematics with iClone Video Mocap

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Fast workflow for turning real-life footage into UE5-ready animation

How can an independent animator capture professional-grade motion without suits, markers, or a fully equipped studio? In this creator spotlight, Michael Tiedtke shows how the iClone Video Mocap plug-in can turn simple video footage into polished 3D animation ready for real-time production. With nothing more than a webcam, a smartphone, and a few stock clips, he constructs an entire cinematic sequence — demonstrating how AI-powered mocap can supercharge an animation pipeline for the modern creator.

Michael Tiedtke

Michael Tiedtke is a Pipeline Technical Director at Stiller Studios, where he develops advanced workflows and tools for real-time animated feature production. His work draws on deep expertise in character rigging, simulation, and the Unreal Engine. He is currently contributing to the film Handbok för Superhjältar – Röda Masken. Outside the studio, Michael runs a widely viewed YouTube channel with over a million views. There he shares practical, production-tested tutorials on 3D, VFX, and real-time animation for artists at all levels.

Follow Michael’s YouTube Channel

From Simple Video to Solid Mocap

Michael started with the most accessible recording setup possible: a webcam on a tripod and OBS Studio. Instead of worrying about cinematic lighting or composition, he focused on clarity—giving the AI what it needs to extract clean movement.

His guidelines for better results:

  • Keep the camera at chest or head height.
  • Stabilize the frame (no shaking).
  • If possible, turn off motion blur.
  • Don’t wear baggy clothes.
  • Keep the whole body in view as much as possible.

These small considerations help the Video Mocap tool track characters faithfully, even before any editing begins.

Video Mocap in iClone automatically detects performers, trims the clip, and processes the motion in the cloud. Despite using basic cameras, the results often show strong weight shifts, believable foot contact, and natural movement ready for refinement. The tool is free, and motion generation uses DA Points, offering an affordable, flexible alternative to hardware mocap and other services.

Polishing Motion Inside iClone

With motion applied to a character, iClone’s animation tools take over. Michael used Motion Modifier for quick posture adjustments, then fine-tunes details with the Motion Layer. Reach Target helped to keep hands locked convincingly to chairs, props, and table surfaces, while Motion Trail helps him sculpt smooth arcs for jumps and flips. Even a short cleanup session can turn raw AI tracking into a production-ready clip.

Recovering Tough Shots

To push the system, Michael intentionally used problematic footage, such as cropped legs, motion blur, fast flips, and a dancer in a white dress on a white background. When tracking failed, he repaired the missing moments with a mix of keyframing and iClone’s motion-editing tools, blending AI-generated and hand-adjusted motion into one seamless animation. Nearly any clip becomes usable with a bit of creative editing.

From iClone to Unreal Engine with Live Link

With his animation polished, Michael sent everything into Unreal Engine 5 through Unreal Live Link. This connection lets him see his iClone characters and motions inside Unreal instantly, making it easy to check timing and placement in the final scene. Any adjustments he made in iClone updated live in Unreal, and once the motion was transferred, he used UE Control Rig to fine-tune character positioning directly in the engine. When everything is lined up, he baked the animation into level sequences for rendering.

A Faster Path to Animation

Michael’s workflow showcases a new era of mocap. That is motion capture from everyday video, converted with the Video Mocap tool, refined in iClone, and finished through Unreal Live Link. The process is fast, flexible, and remarkably accessible, even for creators without studio equipment. His final short film, assembled entirely from these methods, demonstrates just how much can be achieved with a camera, iClone, and a modern real-time pipeline.

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In David Stapp's review, he disclosed that Character Creator 5 is truly compatible with his Unreal MetaHuman workflow. The softwrae is aimed at professionals who need an easy, intuitive workflow for creating custom characters from scratch.
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Influencer Spotlight: Character Creator 5 Review by Virtual Production Insider

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In David Stapp's review, he disclosed that Character Creator 5 is truly compatible with his Unreal MetaHuman workflow. The softwrae is aimed at professionals who need an easy, intuitive workflow for creating custom characters from scratch.
In David Stapp’s review, he disclosed that Character Creator 5 is truly compatible with his Unreal MetaHuman workflow. The softwrae is aimed at professionals who need an easy, intuitive workflow for creating custom characters from scratch.

David Stapp / Virtual Production Insider

Hi everyone, I’m David Stapp. With over a decade of experience in the film industry, I’ve had many opportunities to hone my craft in post-production, VFX, and even cinematography. And over the past few years, I’ve been able to leverage the skills and insights I’ve gained from my experiences by channeling them into virtual production, which is a major passion of mine.

I now specialize in Unreal Engine environment creation and cinematics, along with ICVFX stage operation and supervision, blending creative vision with technical expertise. I’ve also launched a YouTube channel called “Virtual Production Insider” where the goal is to make virtual production as approachable as possible for people from all walks of life.

Virtual Production Insider YouTube

My Journey with Character Creation Tools

For the past few years, Metahumans have been the easiest way to create high-quality, realistic 3D characters. But now, Character Creator 5 is here, and it’s coming for the crown. And I’m not going to lie, it’s got me second-guessing my entire character workflow. I’m the director of virtual production at Form Studios. I use Metahumans a lot—like a whole lot. They really have been an integral part of my journey in Unreal Engine 5 and using it as a filmmaking tool.

We finally got some pretty big updates to MetaHumans in the recent release of Unreal Engine 5.6. I made a whole video that explores all of those upgrades and all those new features, so definitely go check that out. But there are still some areas where MetaHumans are lacking. I wanted to try out Character Creator 5 to see how it stacks up. Luckily, Reallusion hooked me up with a copy of Character Creator 5 and a lot of its plugins so that I could try it out. But I promise you that everything you’re about to read is my opinion. We’re going to dive deep into what this program can do, how it stacks up against the MetaHuman workflow, and honestly, who this program is for.

The Evolution: Major Upgrades from CC4

Before opening the program, I researched the upgrades from Character Creator 4. I’ve used CC4, but the quality wasn’t competitive with MetaHumans, and the transfer workflow to Unreal Engine wasn’t great. With Character Creator 5, they’ve heavily upgraded their character models. The new features include:

  • More subdivision options.
  • Skin textures that go up to 8K
  • Way more blend shapes for way more accurate facial animation.

They also offer a wide variety of plugins for customization. For example, the HD ultimate morphs pack adds quick definition and facial features. The new ActorMixer Core Library lets you mix and match features from different presets. This is similar to the MetaHuman Creator mixer, but CC5 definitely offers more customization beyond the starting point.

Character Creation in CC5: A Quick Demo

I want to give you a quick demo of how easy it is to get up and running. I loaded the HD-based Aaron clothed avatar, which is a full character with hair, clothing, and high-quality skin textures applied. If you click the morph button, you can start adjusting features. And with the morph button enabled, you can highlight over different body parts and drag them to adjust things like cheekbones, the tip of the nose, ears, and eye size. The “Edit Mesh” feature can modify the character, showing the wireframe and allowing you to grow, shrink, or use other tools to really dial in the mesh. This applies to the body as well.

While Unreal Engine 5.6 has the parametric body system, CC5 is the winner when it comes to manipulating the body and adding imperfections or tweaks to the skin. For example, the realistic human skin pack gives you tons of options for adding wrinkles, acne, moles, scars, and even tattoos. Between the plugins and the marketplace, there are thousands of objects to customize your character. This variety is an area where Metahumans have been lacking, as the built-in options in the Metahuman Creator are pretty limited. CC5 wins on the sheer amount of assets, but with the caveat that many are paid options.

“I think this was super smart by Reallusion. They’re not looking at Metahumans as a competitor, but an extension of Character Creator 5. The updated bone structure can match with MetaHumans when using their new export preset, and the Auto Setup tool makes it super easy to take your character to other DCC platforms like Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, and even Blender.”

David Stapp / Virtual Production Insider and Lead Virtual Production Artist at Forms Studio

CC5’s Greatest Strength: The Metahuman Workflow

It is now so easy to take your character out of Character Creator 5, import it into Unreal Engine, and swap it out with your existing Metahuman. Here’s how:

Creating the Control Rig Assets

Once imported, find the skeletal mesh asset. Right-click on the skeletal mesh and select Create CC control rig. This creates a new rigs folder with the essential body and face control rig assets.

Export & Import Summary

  1. In CC5, go to File > Export > FBX > clothed character. (Note: If the export button is hidden, check your Windows display settings to ensure scaling is at 100%.)
  2. In the export dialogue, select the Unreal Engine UE5 skeleton preset. Uncheck embed textures. Choose a higher subdivision level (like 2) for a more detailed mesh. Hit export.
  3. In Unreal Engine, ensure the Reallusion Auto Setup tool is installed.
  4. Install the Character Creator UE control rig plugin from Fab and activate it in your project’s Plugins menu.
  5. Drag the exported FBX file into a content folder. The Auto Setup window will pop up—select high-quality shader and hit okay.
  6. In the traditional FBX import box, make sure use T0 as ref pos is unchecked and import morph targets is checked, then click import.

Final Swap

In Sequencer, I have a Metahuman talking to the camera. Now we replace it.

  1. Click the Metahuman, and hit edit in the blueprint.
  2. Delete all hair from the face component (a Reallusion recommendation). (Tip: Duplicate your Metahuman blueprint first!).
  3. Replace the Metahuman body mesh with the imported Aaron body mesh asset.
  4. Replace the face mesh with the imported Aaron face mesh asset.
  5. Hit compile and save.

Just like that, the Character Creator 5 avatar is in our Sequencer, with the body and face animation applied. This truly opens up the possibilities for creating custom characters and using them seamlessly in Unreal Engine.

My Conclusion: Metahuman Companion

Character Creator 5 is pretty amazing. It has so much customization and so much at your disposal—something that I feel has been missing from the MetaHuman creator. Who is this for? If you are a casual user who creates Metahumans occasionally, CC5 may not be right for you. This is aimed more at professionals who need an easy, intuitive workflow for creating custom characters from scratch. If you constantly create characters for your cinematics, I highly recommend checking it out with a Free Trial of Character Creator.

I don’t view this as a Metahuman killer; I think this is a Metahuman companion. It works really well in tandem with it. I’m excited to integrate this into my workflow because it will give me so many more options for customizing the face and body, and it’s amazing that I can easily bring them into the Metahuman blueprint with very little effort. But if you want to upgrade your workflow and easily customize characters, I recommend checking it out—it’s very low risk with the free trial.

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Riding the Digital Grid: David Sujono’s CC5 + Cinema 4D Workflow

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David Sujono

Freelance 3D Motion Designer David Sujono has built a reputation for cinematic, motion-driven visuals that fuse technical precision with artistic flair. Based in Sydney, Australia, David collaborates with agencies and studios worldwide — formerly serving as 3D Lead at Collider Studio, and earning top honors such as 1st place in Rokoko’s Perfect Loop Challenge and 2nd place in Pwnisher’s Chasm’s Call Challenge.

Today, he’s pushing his creative boundaries even further with Character Creator 5, iClone, and the CC4D Tools, crafting high-fidelity digital humans and dynamic animation workflows directly inside Cinema 4D + Redshift.

Building the Hero: From CC5 Base to Tron’s Digital Realm

David’s latest short film project revisits the visual language of Tron, with a reimagined protagonist inspired by actor Bruce Boxleitner. Using the new CC5 base character, he explored different head and body variations in the Character Creator 5 and its ActorMIXER feature, blending multiple morph sources to fine-tune ethnicity, facial structure, and overall proportions — all in a non-destructive, real-time workflow.

“It was awesome seeing how close I could get — CC5 has so many specific morphs that let me tweak every aspect I wanted,”

David Sujono, Freelance 3D Motion Designer

Armed with a side-by-side reference board, he focused on sculpting subtle details like the nose bridge, eye depth, and head silhouette, leveraging CC5’s new HD morphs and corrective systems. The improved eyelash system and HD eye shaders provided an extra layer of realism, while the new aging morphs opened creative possibilities for his next film — featuring a father-and-son narrative.

CC4D Integration: Seamless from iClone to Cinema 4D

The technical backbone of David’s project lies in the CC4D Tools 1.0.5, which now fully supports CC5’s HD facial rig and Redshift materials.

Using the Import Character feature within CC4D, David brought the entire rigged character into Cinema 4D — automatically linking the control rig, materials, and shaders in one go.

“The CC4D plugin is amazing — it automatically sets up Redshift materials and the control rig, saving me hours,” he said.
“The iClone HD face control rig transfers 1:1, and the new facial rig gives me insane control over nuance and expression.”

This seamless bridge allowed him to iterate on animation in iClone, export facial and body motion separately, and swap takes without breaking rigs — a huge efficiency gain for solo creators managing full CG productions.

Animating the Light Cycle: Rokoko Meets iClone

To bring the iconic Light Cycle sequence to life, David used his Rokoko Smartsuit Pro II with a custom saddle setup — simulating motorcycle posture for realistic performance capture.

He captured multiple takes while referencing a previz timeline to sync motion with camera beats, then brought the mocap data into iClone, where he refined movement using reach targets for the hands and feet.

“Capturing movement was crucial. Doing this all by hand would’ve taken weeks,” David explained.

The Motion Layer system helped fine-tune subtle movements — adjusting neck rotations, torso lean, and timing for cinematic emphasis. After smoothing and baking, the results delivered an authentic, weighty performance for the Tron rider.

Facial Motion & Lip Sync: Precision with Dollars Link and AccuLips

Facial performance was handled via Dollars Link, pairing David’s iPhone Live Link app directly with iClone to capture real-time facial mocap. He carefully tuned brow, cheek, and eye movements to keep the performance expressive yet natural.

For speech, David relied on AccuLips to manually refine visemes and enhance lip-sync precision.

“AccuLips is a lifesaver. Facial mocap alone never nails dialogue perfectly — being able to hand-adjust visemes brings the realism up a notch.”

The final animation pass was polished using iClone’s new HD Face Controls, then imported seamlessly back into Cinema 4D via CC4D Tools, maintaining perfect alignment and material fidelity.

Designing the Tron Universe: Procedural Worlds in Cinema 4D

David’s film unfolds across two primary environments: a mountainous tunnel and a vast digital landscape.


He built the terrain using Cinema 4D splines and procedural noises, shaping the tunnel path and animating the Light Cycle along it. For the open-world shots, he combined spline extrusions, displacements, and greeble generators to create depth and complexity with minimal manual modeling.

Textures generated in JSplacement added a futuristic edge through emission maps and digital noise patterns. He layered volumetric lighting, VDB clouds, and soft atmospheric gradients to achieve the film’s signature neon glow.

Final compositing in After Effects involved film grain, glow effects, lens dirt, and cinematic color grading, delivering a look that feels both nostalgic and modern.

Reflections on Workflow & What’s Next

“The fidelity I can achieve with CC5 is incredible — and CC4D makes it effortless to move between tools,” David noted.
“Having materials auto-convert to Redshift saves so much time, and iClone gives me the flexibility to iterate animation faster than ever.”

Looking ahead, David is developing a new short film slated for next year — a heartfelt father-and-son story. He plans to push realism even further using ZBrush detailing, CC5 HD morphs, and iClone’s performance capture tools to create his most photorealistic characters yet.

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News

CC4D Tools 1.0.5 is Now Released — Bringing CC5 Characters to Life in Cinema 4D

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A Smarter Bridge Between Character Creator and Cinema 4D

The wait is over — CC4D Tools 1.0.5 is now released, delivering the most powerful bridge yet between Character Creator 5 (CC5) and Cinema 4D.

Developed by Reallusion partner Benjamin Broschinski, the CC4D plugin has become the go-to solution for Cinema 4D artists who want to import, rig, and animate Reallusion characters with professional precision.

What was once a tedious import and rigging process has evolved into a seamless, production-ready workflow, allowing artists to transfer, rig, and animate characters faster than ever.

This new update introduces full support for CC5 characters and the advanced CC5 HD facial profile, bringing next-generation facial detail and animation control right into Cinema 4D.

Face Rig HD — Next-Level Facial Animation

The headline feature in this update is the CC4D Face Rig HD, bringing Metahuman-style facial control straight into Cinema 4D.

Built for CC5’s HD facial profile, the rig lets you drive micro-expressions, corrective morphs, and constraint-based deformations using predefined Xpresso setups.

In practice, this means you can now animate complex facial movements in Cinema 4D with the same fine-tuned precision you’d expect directly inside Character Creator 5. It’s a game-changer for anyone focusing on cinematic storytelling or realistic character performances.

Sharper, More Realistic Eye Shader

Visual realism takes a noticeable leap forward with two new shader templates: EyeTearline Plus and EyeOcclusion Plus.

These subtle but crucial additions smooth out the transition between the eyeball and eye socket, creating a soft fade that eliminates harsh edges and prevents visible mesh intersections.

The result: a more natural, polished look, especially in close-up shots where every pixel counts.

Complete Character Pipeline for Cinema 4D Artists

Beyond the new headline features, CC4D Tools 1.0.5 continues to deliver a comprehensive, artist-friendly pipeline that connects your Reallusion characters with Cinema 4D in just a few clicks.

  • Import Character – Automatically imports FBX files with optimized joints, cleaned morph targets, and optional rig and material setups.
  • Control & Face Rigs – Attach fully-featured FK/IK control rigs or facial systems directly to your character—no manual rigging required.
  • Auto Material Setup – Convert imported textures into Redshift materials in seconds, complete with wrinkle maps and properly configured parameters.
  • Motion Import Tools – Bring in body and facial animation seamlessly from Character Creator, iClone, ActorCore, Mixamo, Rokoko, or Moves by Maxon.

A Refined Workflow for Artists

With version 1.0.5, the CC4D Tools not only keep pace with Character Creator 5—they fully embrace its next-gen capabilities.

Whether you’re an independent creator refining cinematic performances or part of a studio pipeline, CC4D Tools 1.0.5 ensures a consistent, efficient workflow from Character Creator to Cinema 4D—ready for animation, lighting, and rendering in minutes.

FAQ

What’s new in CC4D Tools 1.0.5?

The update introduces full support for CC5 characters, HD facial rigging, and new eye shaders for enhanced realism in Cinema 4D.

Can I import animations from iClone or ActorCore?

Yes. Motion import is supported from iClone, ActorCore, Mixamo, Rokoko, and Moves by Maxon.

Which render engine does it support?

The Auto Material Setup creates materials for Redshift, ensuring instant compatibility and realistic renders.

Do I still need to rig manually?

No. CC4D Tools automatically apply full FK/IK and facial rigs — no manual setup required.

Are CC4 characters still compatible?

Absolutely. CC4D 1.0.5 supports CC4, CC5, and AccuRig characters for a unified workflow.

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Featured Story

The Making of 3D Gorilla Animations: Capturing the Beast in Motion

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Over 130 lifelike gorilla movements, professionally performed and motion-captured.

About ActorCore

Reallusion ActorCore is a premium motion capture library designed for professional 3D production, offering over 4,700 high-quality animations spanning a wide range of themes, from everyday actions and conversations to combat, stunts, and paired performances. Constantly pushing creative boundaries, ActorCore holds a reputation for delivering mocap animations that are often difficult, time-consuming, or costly for studios to produce on their own, while making them accessible and affordable to everyone.

Gorilla Series

Following the acclaimed success of the Wire Stunts and Legendary Heroes series, Reallusion is now venturing beyond standard human motion with a new collection that explores primeval behaviors. Inspired by films such as Planet of the Apes, Tarzan, King Kong, and Warcraft, and supported by industry expertise and the production-scale resources of a major studio, this ambitious project captures authentic gorilla movements. While primate themes often appear on the big screen, this kind of motion data has been largely out of reach for 3D creators… until now.

In collaboration with Quantum Stage, a professional motion capture studio in Switzerland renowned for its directing expertise and stunt performers capable of simulating realistic primal behaviors, Reallusion creates the Gorilla Series—a distinctive collection of high-quality 3D animations available on the ActorCore 3D asset store. These animations authentically capture the strength, movement, and personality of hulking gorillas, making them perfect for wildlife documentaries, zoo simulations, or cinematic storytelling.

See how the Quantum Stage process and professional mocap acting replicate lifelike gorilla movement:

Research and Planning

To achieve natural movement, Reallusion and Quantum Stage conducted extensive research on gorilla behavior. The study organized actions into key categories: daily routines such as walking, running, crawling, and jumping; alert behaviors like scanning the environment and responding to threats; terrain navigation across different levels; and social interactions, including attacking, taunting, defending, and escaping. Together, the study has captured the full range of gorilla motion for use as a production reference.

Imitation of Gorilla Motion

Creating realistic gorilla animation involved two key steps. First, the mocap studio captured the human performer’s body and skeletal motion, much like a traditional motion capture session. The second step focused on accurately adapting these movements to a gorilla’s anatomy. Although gorillas share a similar skeletal structure with humans, their body proportions differ significantly: their hips, chest, and shoulders are much broader, their upper arms and forearms are considerably longer, and their legs are noticeably shorter. By carefully adjusting these proportions, the final animation preserves both anatomical accuracy and authentic primate movement.

“When we shot this animation we specifically observed gorilla motion and behavior from movies such as the King Kong series and Planet of the Apes, and also nature documentaries about how the primates behave with other animals and with each other. It is a very big part of the whole makeup of a gorilla and that shows in the performance. We tried to replicate these as closely as possible,”

Tobias Baumann, Founder, Quantum Stage

Preparing for Action

The most crucial element in capturing authentic gorilla motion is the performer. The actor must combine physical prowess with the creative ability to understand, visualize, and embody gorilla behavior and movement. With high-quality motion capture, every subtle emotion and intention of the performer is recorded, translating directly into the animated character’s movements and expressions.

For this project, the studio collaborated with Ophir Raray, a stunt actor and motion capture artist specializing in creature performances, wire stunts, and movement-based roles. With a background in gymnastics, capoeira, and military training, he brought both life and realism to the gorilla performance. The capture process was physically demanding and technically challenging, requiring the actor to maintain consistent energy, posture, and motion, so that all movements flowed naturally from a precise starting point.

“The preparation involves a lot of research, including researches of animals, apes, and gorillas, their movements, also their psychology, sounds and breath, which are some of the most important things for the performance, to give a life-like performance that the audience can really feel,”

Ophir Raray, creature performer and movement expert

The Right Tool for the Job

To ensure accurate kinesthetics, the team used arm extensions, allowing Raray to mimic the true skeletal proportions of a gorilla. This tool enabled him to move with the correct weight, rhythm, and balance, fully transforming his performance into that of a believable primate. These techniques and tools were essential in bridging human expression and performance with animal motion and behavior, ensuring that the animation captured not only anatomical accuracy but also conveyed personality and emotion.

“Using arm extensions is a very specialized skill, and it requires the body parts, muscles and movements that you normally don’t use. It’s a behavior that you as a human never really experience but the tools allow you to actually move like a gorilla and you can really feel that you are becoming a gorilla,”

Ophir Raray, creature performer and movement expert

Available Now on ActorCore

A product of hours of dedication and passion, the Gorilla Series is now available on ActorCore. The pack includes four motion categories: Routines, Locomotion, Aggression, and Evasion. The full collection features 131 mocap motions designed for jungle scenes, wildlife simulations, educational content, or any project that requires realistic gorilla movement and behavior.

Whether you’re creating games, cinematic animations, or storytelling sequences, this motion set provides the versatility needed to bring your scenes to life. The collection also includes core poses, instinctual reactions, expressive gestures, combat responses, and terrain-based movements. The Gorilla Series offers the perfect mocap content to bring wildlife adventures into your productions. 

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Learning

The Ultimate CC5 3D Lighting Guide: Create Cinematic Realism with Free Presets

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Lighting is one of the most powerful tools for defining mood, realism, and style in Character Creator 5 (CC5). The free 3D lighting presets give you an excellent foundation to start with — but to truly make your character shine, you’ll want to move beyond simply applying a preset. Fine-tune the lighting to match your character, theme, and camera angle for the best visual results.

This guide walks you through how to make the most of CC5’s Lightrooms and how to adjust presets so they perfectly complement your scene.

Corresponding Lightrooms to CC5 Key Visuals

Reallusion’s Lightrooms are designed to reflect the aesthetics of CC5’s promotional visuals, making them ideal reference points for achieving professional-quality lighting. Each Lightroom offers a ready-made setup that you can adapt to your own scene instead of starting from scratch.

Before making adjustments, take a moment to study the Lightroom you’re using — observe the direction of the key light, how the fill balances the shadows, and whether rim lights are adding separation and depth to your character.

Refer to the Content Resource Page for related examples and presets.

Drag and Drop to Switch Light Presets

Switching between lighting setups in Character Creator 5 is as simple as dragging and dropping. Each preset instantly updates your lighting, letting you preview different moods and angles without manual tweaking.

Apply the Same Light Preset to Different Characters

Apply one light preset to multiple characters to keep a consistent visual tone. Subtle differences in skin tone, facial shape, and materials will still stand out—keeping your renders unified yet distinctive.

Using Lightrooms Effectively

1. Break Down the Lighting Setup

Understanding the default lighting setup is essential. Open the Scene Manager and toggle each light on or off to observe how it shapes the scene. Notice which light defines the face, which adds depth to the shoulders, and how they interact to create balance. Once you understand each light’s role, refining the look becomes much easier.

2. Troubleshoot with On/Off Toggles

If your character appears too bright, flat, or lacks shadow definition, toggle off one light at a time to identify the cause. This method helps isolate problem lights quickly and prevents overcorrecting with unnecessary adjustments.

3. Adjust Light to Match Character Height

Lighting presets are designed for average proportions. If your character is taller, shorter, or posed differently, the light may hit at the wrong angle. Raise or lower the lights so they illuminate the character’s face naturally.

4. Rotate Lights Around the Character

Pivot your lights around the subject to refine highlight and shadow balance. Even a subtle 15–30° rotation can dramatically shift the mood and emphasize your character’s best features.

5. Extend Portrait Lighting to Full Body

Most presets are tuned for upper-body shots. For full-body renders, extend the light range downward so the legs, feet, and shadows are properly illuminated. This ensures the character doesn’t appear to be floating under inconsistent lighting.

5-1. Duplicate Existing Lights with Dummies

If one light works well but doesn’t cover enough area, duplicate it and link the copy to a light dummy. This extends coverage while keeping the original lighting balance intact.

5-2. Add a Shadow Catcher

Ground shadows add realism. Use a shadow catcher plane to anchor your character in the scene—without it, even good lighting can look artificial.

5-3. Adjust Shadow Darkness and Range

Avoid setting shadow darkness to zero or your scene will appear flat. Increase intensity for more weight, and extend the range so shadows fade naturally to the ground.

5-4. Duplicate the Full-Body Light to Add a Fill Light

Duplicate the main light to create a soft fill. This secondary light reduces harsh shadows and adds surface detail while keeping the key light dominant.

5-5. Reduce Fill-Light Shadow and Adjust Intensity

Lower the fill light’s shadow strength to prevent double shadows, then fine-tune brightness until it complements the key light smoothly.

5-6. Use PCSS as an Optional Choice

PSCC (Percentage-Closer Soft Shadows) softens shadows farther from the object for a more natural falloff. It may, however, cause visual artifacts—use selectively and check results from different angles before final rendering.

6. Enhance Eye Reflections

Eyes bring characters to life. Slightly adjust the light position to create strong catchlights in the eyes. This subtle touch adds realism and enhances the emotional depth of your character.

7. Post Effects

Lightrooms and iAtmosphere include built-in post effects for instant visual enhancement. Free LUT resources can be added, removed, or adjusted to refine color tone and elevate the overall mood and atmosphere.

8. Use Depth of Field (DOF) for Focus

DOF not only adds a photographic touch but also draws attention to your character’s face. A subtle background blur enhances the mood and helps separate your subject from the scene.

9. Don’t Forget Shader Adjustments

Lighting alone won’t achieve realism if shaders aren’t properly set. Adjust skin, hair, and clothing shaders to respond correctly to your light setup. For example, fine-tuning roughness or specular levels helps prevent skin from looking plastic or overly shiny.

GreaseMicro Roughness Scale: -0.4

MatteMicro Roughness Scale: 0.2

NaturalMicro Roughness Scale: -0.2

Final Thoughts

The free lighting presets in Character Creator 5 are more than quick solutions—they’re powerful starting points for creative customization. By breaking them down, adjusting for character proportions, extending their range, and fine-tuning shadows, reflections, and shaders, you can achieve cinematic, expressive lighting that feels uniquely yours.

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