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Innovating the Future of 3D Animation Education at CMII

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The Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII) has been at the forefront of integrating cutting-edge technology into its curriculum, ensuring that students are well-prepared for the dynamic world of media and entertainment.

Professors at Creative Media Industries Institute in Atlanta, Georgia , James Martin and Max Thomas, have been instrumental in this innovation, particularly in the fields of Advanced Visual Effects (VFX) and 3D Animation. Leading the way with projects focused on helping students develop their storytelling skills along with a valuable introduction to core technical requirements that will help them compete in the everchanging world of 3D animation and VFX.

CMII Professor James Martin, 3D Animation

Professor James Martin’s approach to teaching 3D Animation (CMIS 4160) is a testament to how modern tools can revolutionize education. Using Reallusion iClone software, Martin introduces students, many of whom are first-time animators, to animation through practical, real-world production scenarios. The course is structured around three comprehensive modules: Character Animation, Crowd-Simulation creation, and Motion Capture Animation cleanup.

CMII Professor James Martin, 3D Animation

“Reallusion iClone provides an accessible yet powerful toolset for students to immerse themselves in the world of animation. By simulating real-world production scenarios, students not only learn the technical skills but also understand the workflow and collaboration required in the industry.”

James Martin, CMII Professor 3D Animation

3D Animation CMIS 4160

25 Students – 16 Weeks – 3 Modules

Character Animation: In this module, students delve into the fundamentals of character animation. They learn to create and edit animations using the Timeline and Non-linear editing techniques in iClone. This hands-on approach helps students grasp essential concepts such as Transition Curves, Motion Blending, and Pipeline exporting. Through custom motion creation, they explore face, body, and hand animation, which are crucial skills for any aspiring animator.

Crowd-Simulation Creation: This module introduces students to the complexities of creating large-scale character animations to bring scenes to life. By working on crowd simulations, students learn to manage and animate multiple characters simultaneously, a skill highly valued in the industry.

Motion Capture Animation Cleanup: In the final module, students engage with motion capture data, learning how to clean up and refine this data for use in their projects. This involves applying motion editing and Motion Layer editing techniques to character rigs, combining keyframing and curve editing to achieve performance animation.

The Role of Discord in Learning

A significant innovation in Martin’s course is the integration of Discord as a teaching tool. This platform fosters a sense of community and accountability among students, allowing them to share their work, receive peer feedback, and grow collectively. Peer reviews on Discord are crucial as they enable students to critique, respond to feedback, and refine their projects in a collaborative environment.

The curriculum is delivered through a blend of online and lab-based instruction, supplemented with highly curated tutorials, assessments, and live training. Over 16 weeks, students benefit from lectures, demonstrations, and materials provided by Reallusion and curated by Professors James Martin and Max Thomas. The use of Discord extends the learning environment beyond the classroom, enabling students to remain engaged with their projects and peers.

3D Animation Student Showcase

Throughout the semester, students showcase their work on Discord, culminating in final projects that highlight their skills and creativity. These projects demonstrate the comprehensive knowledge and competencies they have acquired, setting the stage for successful careers in animation. Each semester the CMII invites students to showcase their work at a public event that allows students to present their semester projects and receive opportunities to to engage with local businesses, university administrators and fellow students.

Top 10 Student Animation Projects from each 3D Animation module:
Character Animation, Crowd Sim, Mocap Cleanup

Module 1: Character Animation: Alex Criss

Module 1: Character Animation: Ian Chasse

Module 2: Crowd Simulation: Alex Criss

Module 2: Crowd Simulation: J Wilson

Module 2: Crowd Simulation: Travis Le

Module 2: Crowd Simulation: J Clark

Module 3: Mocap Clean Up: Ian Chasse

Module 3: Mocap Clean Up: Alex Criss

Module 3: Mocap Clean Up: J Clark

Module 3: Mocap Clean Up: Emily Tran

Continuing Innovation at the CMII – Preparing Students for the Evolving Animation Pipeline

The innovative teaching methods and tools employed by Professors James Martin and Max Thomas at CMII exemplify the institute’s commitment to providing cutting-edge education. By integrating tools like Reallusion iClone and platforms like Discord, they prepare students not just to enter the world of animation but to excel in it. The skills and experiences gained in these courses equip students to contribute to the vibrant entertainment industry in Georgia and beyond.

At the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII), the curriculum is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the animation pipeline, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of digital media and animation. The courses emphasize the importance of mastering a wide range of tools and technologies, connecting students to industry-standard software and practices. 

The teaching pipeline at CMII is meticulously designed to mirror real-world production workflows. Students begin with foundational skills in modeling and animation, gradually progressing to more complex tasks such as rigging, motion capture cleanup, and integrating animations into interactive environments. This structured approach ensures that students not only learn the technical skills but also understand the workflow and collaborative nature of the industry.

Reallusion Toolset and Workflow Curriculum

Students at CMII are introduced to a robust pipeline of character and animation tools, essential for a career in animation and VFX. The curriculum covers:

  • Reallusion Character Creator and iClone for learning how to create and animate highly transferable characters for games, films, virtual production and AEC visualizations and simulations.
  • Unreal Engine: Students learn to integrate their animations into Unreal Engine, a leading platform for creating interactive experiences and real-time 3D content.
  • Nvidia Omniverse: The integration of Nvidia Omniverse allows students to collaborate and simulate complex scenes, leveraging real-time ray tracing and AI-enhanced workflows.
  • Unity: Unity’s versatile platform is used to teach students about creating interactive animations and game development.
  • Maya: An industry staple, Maya is employed for character rigging, animation, and VFX, providing students with a strong foundation in professional-grade software.
  • Generative AI workflows as an artist’s tool and how to incorporate AI into the creative process.

Lifelong Learning in a Rapidly Evolving Industry

The courses at CMII emphasize the necessity of lifelong learning. With technology and industry standards constantly evolving, students are encouraged to stay aware of the latest developments and continuously refine their skills inside the institute and beyond. The comprehensive training in various tools like Reallusion and Unreal ensures that graduates are adaptable and ready to tackle the challenges of the competitive animation and entertainment industry.

James Martin, CMII Professor 3D Animation

By equipping students with a diverse skill set and a deep understanding of the animation pipeline, CMII prepares them for a future in an industry that demands both versatility and specialization. The integration of tools like Unreal Engine, Nvidia Omniverse, Unity, ZBrush, Blender, and Maya ensures that students are not only proficient in current technologies but are also prepared to adapt to future advancements. This comprehensive education model fosters a culture of lifelong learning, essential for success in the rapidly evolving world of animation and VFX.

Reallusion is offering the following benefits for educators and students:

News

World’s Lightest Face Capture Device with iClone AccuFACE

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It’s Time to Ditch the Bulky Helmets:

Rokoko Unveils World’s Lightest Face Mocap Device

Copenhagen, Denmark – May 22, 2024 – Rokoko, the leader in affordable motion capture technology, is thrilled to announce the launch of the Headcam. Designed to address the long-standing issues of cumbersome, bulky helmets and the impracticality of iPhones dangling over your face, the Headcam offers a non-intrusive, portable, and versatile solution for real-time face capture at an accessible pre-order price of just $495.

Goodbye Bulky Helmets

Everyone has seen footage of large, uncomfortable, and restrictive helmets used by motion capture actors. Rokoko’s Headcam eliminates these issues with its lightweight, ergonomic design, offering unrestricted freedom of movement without the neck-aches. Weighing just 240 grams, the Headcam features a high-resolution 60 fps camera, dimmable LED lights, and a built-in microphone, all housed within a perfectly balanced and adjustable head rig.

“We created the Headcam to solve the problem of the bulky and often comically impractical helmet that has dominated the facial motion capture industry.. As the demand for animation and 3D content continues to explode, we believe it’s crucial to offer tools that are not only effective for professionals but also accessible to creators at all levels.”

Jakob Balslev | Founder and CEO of Rokoko

Empowering creators in the age of 3D and animation

In line with Rokoko’s product ethos, the Headcam is designed to be workflow-agnostic, and can integrate with AccuFACE, Faceware, and VSeeFace for a multitude of use-cases. Furthermore, Rokoko’s new Face Capture app for Android also comes with its own mocap solver, which is included free for the first 12 months with pre-orders, and syncs the Headcam directly to their Studio software enabling real time full-body performance capture. This adaptability makes the Headcam an essential tool for a wide range of animation and 3D projects, from indie animators to professional studios.

Facial mocap with iClone’s AccuFACE

“AccuFACE plugin for iClone is an AI facial tracker powered by NVIDIA RTX GPU, capable of capturing facial expressions from Rokoko Headcam and conventional video files to empower remote collaboration with performers around the world.”

Enoc Burgos | Director of Marketing at Reallusion

Balslev continues that “Camera-based solutions are often impractical, but essential for face capture since sensors can’t be placed on the face. There’s a clear lack of sensible solutions for smooth face filming. With the Headcam, we’ve addressed this need and are excited to see what our community will create with it.”

The Headcam can be pre-ordered today for $495, with worldwide shipping starting early August.

About Rokoko

Rokoko is a pioneering company in the field of motion capture technology, with offices in Copenhagen, Athens, and San Francisco, serving over 300,000 users in more than 125 countries. We are dedicated to empowering creators with tools that bring their digital characters to life in the most intuitive and efficient ways possible.

Learning

How to Make Good Use of Reallusion Stores & Content

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One problem that faces any animator is content. Props, terrains, characters, and all those things that go with making an animated production. For a lot of animators, it seems there is never enough content anyway, whether it was purchased, freebies, or homemade.

It wasn’t that long ago that there wasn’t much content available for animators in any form. There has long been content for image renders, but in times past and even today, a lot of those assets are too poly-heavy to be used in animation. The computational overhead would bring a lot of computers to a crawl. A workable framerate would be almost impossible to achieve.

A lot of early iClone users learned to make content for their projects. Reallusion was a leaner company as most are in their early days, and the focus was on software development. They still managed to provide a lot of great content but as I stated earlier, there is never enough.

Flash forward to today where there is a staggering amount of content available for iClone. Reallusion, by itself, is releasing more content on a regular basis than I can keep up with as a writer.  Reallusion content has always been professionally made with best practices and has proved to be exemplary in visual quality and construction.

In addition to the Reallusion Content Store, there is the Marketplace that is open to third-party iClone content developers. These assets run the range from professional to budget-friendly. There is also a rating system for the content developers and their products by users who have purchased any of those products.

Then there is ActorCore, a website full of characters and motions that can give a boost to any project. Professionally produced content from animators… for animators is a core strength of Reallusion content and ActorCore is at the forefront.

In terms of general content available, you can storm a castle, fly into space, have a talk show, a hospital drama, a daytime drama, a daytime hospital drama… the possibilities are almost endless.  

There is so much content available currently that it can be a bit confusing to new users as to which store to use and what their purpose is. The Software Store, Content Store, Marketplace, and ActorCore all serve different purposes so let’s take a look at what these stores provide.

The Software Store

This is where you purchase software applications like iClone, Character Creator and Cartoon Animator (2D).

Bundles & Specials:

  • iClone Unreal Live Link – a cinematic pipeline from iClone to Unreal Engine. Don’t panic over the listed price. The plugin was designed for large studios so there is a free Indie Live Link program that you can use if you qualify. Annual gross revenue from design work must be less than USD 100,000. You can get more info at the bottom of the live Link page. There is also a free 30-day trial.
  • Animation and Film – 3D Animation & Character Creation
  • Ultimate Digital Human – Realistic Character Creation
  • Draw to Animate – Works with PSD Tools and WACOM

The Content Store

The Content Store really must be seen to be believed. There are so many professionally produced assets from Reallusion and select developers that it is difficult to convey in words. Just to say it has characters, props, and other 2D/3D assets is a vast understatement.

It is a vault of 2D and 3D goodies that can improve a project and remove the burden of asset creation allowing you to focus on animating and telling a story.

There are themes, genres, and one-off custom creations that you can use in your next production from a children’s cartoon to a historical documentary. The Content Store contains a huge inventory and mixture of assets that meet just about any need.

Actorcore

ActorCore is another store loaded with content and bills itself as a “One-Stop platform for 3D motions, characters, and rigging due to its vast amount of assets available for immediate download”.

Not only are there 3D motions and characters, but there is also the free character auto-rigger, accuRIG. This free download is a powerful character rigging tool that allows you to map out or create enough bones to get quality animation.

Features of ActorCore:

3D Motions:

  • ActorCore provides a vast library of high-quality 3D motion assets suitable for various applications, including games, films, interactive projects, architectural visualization (arch viz), training, simulations, and digital twins.
  • These motions are meticulously designed to meet different demands and themes, ensuring the best quality and accessibility.
  • Whether you’re animating characters for a business simulation, a training program, or a cinematic project, ActorCore has you covered.

3D Characters:

  • ActorCore’s 3D characters come in different styles, catering to diverse needs.
  • Photorealistic People: These characters are created from 3D scans, resulting in highly realistic human models.
  • Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, and Toon Figures: These characters are crafted using Character Creator, offering versatility and creativity.
  • The characters are animation-ready, and you can easily import them into your preferred application with specific download formats for optimal rendering quality.
  • They feature color and material variations, allowing you to customize skin, hair, outfits, and accessories to create unique actor styles.
  • The character rigs are complete, ensuring realistic animation from head to toe. With consistent facial topology, you can edit expressions and control lip-sync.

3D Viewer:

  • ActorCore’s 3D Viewer offers complete customization for mobile viewing, web embedding, and content sharing.
  • With the preview window, you can easily assemble uploaded characters or try out motions in ActorCore, and enjoy the best viewing experience with a customized camera view, light setting and motion list.

Smooth Transitions and AAA Motion Production:

  • ActorCore employs a specially designed motion system for seamless transitions between primary and secondary stance modes.
  • Each motion pack undergoes a strict design process to deliver the best quality and meet project expectations.

Multi-Platform Support:

  • ActorCore’s massive 3D character animation library is compatible with all major 3D programs.
  • You can easily retarget motions to selected characters and find step-by-step guides and tutorials for each program.

ActorCore is compatible with Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, MotionBuilder, Blender, 3ds Max, Cinema 4d, Nvidia Omniverse, and, of course, iClone, Character Creator and Cartoon Animator.

The Marketplace

A lot of what I wrote earlier about the Content Store is also true of the Marketplace with the content of the marketplace being produced by users and third-party content developers. In no way does this mean the quality of assets is inferior to the Content Store, they are just sourced from the public instead of in-house.

The Marketplace contains over 200,000 assets from budget-friendly to high-end assets and everything in between. The marketplace also operates as a community store that has a rating system for vendors and products so you can have an idea as to the quality of the product and read or leave feedback.

There are so many talented developers in the Marketplace that it can be hard to choose what to download. Some people draw inspiration from the characters they see in the Marketplace and create stories to match those characters.

One of the advantages of using the Reallusion Marketplace is the access to free trial content. You can select Trial Content from the Marketplace, download them via the Content Manager to try before purchasing. If you are satisfied with the trials, then you can directly add them to your cart for checkout.

You can think of the Marketplace as a huge world bazaar stuffed full of 2D and 3D assets of all sorts from all sorts of places and creators.

Reallusion Prime

Reallusion Prime is not a store but an annual subscription service that provides access to a library of digital assets, including characters, animations, props, and other 2D and 3D animation assets, which users can use in their animation projects.

  • Membership Cost: For an annual fee of $99, you gain access to a range of perks and discounts.
  • 15% Off Storewide: As a Prime member, you enjoy an extra 15% discount on all your purchases throughout the year. This discount applies to both software and content available in Reallusion’s online stores, including the online Software Store, Content Store, Marketplace, and ActorCore.
  • Bonus Points: When you shop in any of the Reallusion stores, you receive 500 Bonus Points each month. These points can be redeemed for future purchases.
  • Renewal Offer: When it’s time to renew your membership, you can do so for just $79/year.
  • Wide Selection of Assets:
    • 2D & 3D Animation Software: Access professional animation tools with perpetual licenses (no subscription required).
    • Branded Content Assets: Explore a wide variety of 2D and 3D assets.3D Motions, Actors & Auto-Rigging: A one-stop platform for all your 3D needs.
    • Community-Created Asset Creations: Discover content from the developer community.
  • Flexible Subscription: You can cancel your Prime membership anytime if needed.

Reallusion Prime provides substantial savings, exclusive offers, and a wealth of creative resources for animation and content creation. Subscribing to Prime can significantly enhance your budget and creative toolkit.

Not long ago Reallusion launched an authoritative structure Reallusion Workgroup for small studios or enterprises to no longer have to share private account credentials among teammates. The solution involves designating managers and administrators responsible for licensing and purchasing software and assets for the staff. They also require the capability to allocate and oversee licenses while maintaining control.

With the Prime for Team plan, contractors are able to deliver their work in a secure, private environment, ensuring confidentiality. This plan is specifically tailored for collaborations, to accommodate two versatile usage scenarios: outsourcing services and group projects. Whether you’re leading a seasoned production house, steering a startup studio handling client productions, or seeking collaboration with contributors for your creative ventures, Reallusion Workgroup is a helper to elevate your entire production process.

Summary

There is no way to properly convey the sheer amount of 2D and 3D content available in the Content Store, Marketplace, and ActorCore. All the stores are setup for easy purchase and download with assets being available through the Smart Content Manager for iClone and Character Creator or formats friendly to most of the industry-leading 3D software applications.

If you are undecided about purchasing a Reallusion product you can rest assured that a lack of content will not be a problem and for some can be a deciding factor when looking for animation tools.

FAQ

Where can I download Reallusion content assets?

You can download assets from the Reallusion Content Store and Marketplace, which offer characters, motions, props, and environments for tools like Character Creator, iClone, and Cartoon Animator.

Are Reallusion Marketplace assets safe to use?

Yes. Marketplace assets are reviewed by Reallusion and sold by verified developers, ensuring compatibility with Reallusion software and reliable downloads.

What is the difference between the Reallusion Content Store and Marketplace?

The Content Store features curated content packs created by Reallusion and certified developers, often sold as bundles and supported with official customer service. The Marketplace, on the other hand, is a community-driven platform where independent creators sell their own assets directly to users. Marketplace items are typically sold individually and may include trial downloads, while the Content Store focuses more on professionally packaged asset collections.

Can you try Reallusion Marketplace content before buying?

Yes. Many assets in the Marketplace offer a trial download feature, allowing users to test content before purchasing. This “try before you buy” approach helps creators evaluate whether an asset fits their project before committing to a purchase.

Can you sell your own assets on the Reallusion Marketplace?

Yes. Creators can become Marketplace developers and sell their own characters, motions, props, and other digital assets to the global Reallusion community.

SOFTWARE STORE

CONTENT STORE
MARKETPLACE

ACTORCORE

MD McCallum - WarLord

MD McCallum – WarLord

Digital Artist MD “Mike” McCallum, aka WarLord, is a longtime iClone user. Having authored free tutorials for iClone in its early years and selected to write the iClone Beginners Guide from Packt Publishing in 2011, he was fortunate enough to meet and exchange tricks and tips with users from all over the world and loves to share this information with other users. He has authored hundreds of articles on iClone and digital art in general while reviewing some of the most popular software and hardware in the world. He has been published in many of the leading 3D online and print magazines while staying true to his biggest passion, 3D animation. For more information click here.

WARLORD’S WORKSHOP

2024 Reallusion 3D Character Contest: call for entries
Events

Join the 2024 Reallusion 3D Character Contest

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Groundbreaking character workflow for leading studios worldwide

From character design and modeling to animation, Reallusion is revolutionizing the 3D industry with innovative pipelines with ZBrush, Unreal Engine, Blender, Omniverse that automate character production without sacrificing creative flexibility. Reallusion’s extensive content ecosystem provides ready-made models and motions suitable for various mediums, including games, films, architectural visualization, digital doubling, and twinning. Character Creator stands out as the premier character creation platform, while iClone offers the most intuitive real-time animation editing. Combined with the rich asset library on ActorCore, character designers and artists can achieve impressive results at unprecedented speeds.

Calling for passionate and exceptional 3D artists

The 2024 Reallusion 3D Character Contest offers the 3D art community an excellent opportunity to experience industry-leading solutions and learn from seasoned professionals. It’s also a great platform to showcase your talent and skills to a global audience, gain valuable feedback, and see how you compare with your peers. Reallusion invites all enthusiastic 3D artists to participate, including concept artists, character artists, 3D scan artists, animators, digital modelers, and sculptors. Discover how easily iClone and Character Creator can enhance your existing artistic pipeline and how ActorCore provides the foundation to rig any character for real-time animation.

Explore fully-licensed Reallusion software for 3 months

Reallusion is excited to welcome new artists by offering free 3-month access to its software and plugin suites for qualified applicants with exceptional skills. To apply, simply submit your online portfolio (like ArtStation) for review. This one-time offer includes the chance to experience Character Creator, iClone, AccuFACE, Headshot, Face Tools, and Unreal Live Link.

Sponsored by the biggest names in the 3D industry with a $45,000 prize pool

This event is sponsored by top names in the animation industry, with $45,000 in cash and products up for grabs. Physical prizes include NVIDIA RTX-4070 laptop and full mocap solutions from Rokoko and Noitom. Software prizes include KitBash3D Cargo, Texturing.xyz, 3Dconnexion, Keen Tools and a Maxon One license that includes ZBrush.

Reallusion is also honored to have well-regarded judges such as ZBrush Guides founder and Blender expert Pablo Munos, and renowned Blender filmmaker Martin Klekner.

Contest categories for submission

The 2024 Reallusion 3D Character Contest features three main categories: “Best Character Design,” “Best Character Animation,” and “Best AccuRIG Character.” Each category offers unique cash and product prizes. The “Best Character Design” and “Best Character Animation” categories are further divided into “Realistic” and “Stylized” subcategories, mirroring their respective prize distribution models. In all, there are five contest categories:

  • Best Character Design (Realistic & Stylized)
  • Best Character Animation (Realistic & Stylized)
  • Best AccuRIG Character

Gain exposure, win prizes, and become a partner

Besides cash awards and special prizes, Reallusion will offer distinguished contestants featured on renowned 3D media sites. Selected artists may also be invited to join the digital content creation ecosystem and monetize their work, or be contracted for showcase projects. What are you waiting for? Join now and submit your entry before September 1 to win big!

Product Release

Reallusion Introduces CC UE Control Rig for Streamlined Character Animation in Unreal Engine for FREE

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Reallusion continues its legacy of advancing character design and animation workflows across premier 3D software platforms. With the introduction of Unreal Engine 5.4, Reallusion proudly presents CC UE Control Rig, empowering Unreal Engine users to seamlessly animate CC characters using the familiar Metahuman interface for full-body animations. To mark this milestone, Reallusion is releasing two complimentary sample characters, Nia and Kevin, which can now be downloaded for free.

The CC Control Rig, meticulously crafted using Unreal Blueprint, is compatible with both Unreal Engine versions 5.3 and 5.4. It can be effortlessly integrated with essential tools including CC Auto Setup and Unreal Live Link to streamline the workflow from Character Creator to Unreal. Direct character transfer, automatic digital human shader assignment, and simplified control rig setup are just a few of the benefits that CC UE Control Rig adds to the developer’s arsenal.

Animate characters imported from Character Creator, Actorcore and AccuRig with CC UE control rig

CC characters enable a versatile character and motion ecosystem powered by Reallusion offerings

Despite Unreal Engine 5.4’s recent introduction of UE Modular Control Rig and notable advancements in Metahuman animation, preparing fully customized or original IP characters for UE animation remains difficult. Addressing this challenge head-on, Character Creator offers unparalleled freedom in character customization, streamlined ZBrush pipeline integration, and access to the diverse Reallusion content ecosystem. By employing CC topology, full auto-rigged characters, whether they be realistic humans, cartoon personas, or humanoids, can be smoothly transferred into Unreal Engine.

Reallusion offers a versatile CC character and motion ecosystem

Beyond characters, Reallusion provides an extensive array of ActorCore mocap animations. Once a suitable motion pack is chosen, dynamic animations within iClone can be effortlessly deployed or generated. These animations can then seamlessly import into Unreal via LiveLink or FBX, resulting in substantial time savings in production.

Animation can be seamlessly imported into Unreal via LiveLink or FBX

Complete support for the CC3+, AccuRIG, and ActorCore crowd characters

Aside from providing extensive support for CC characters, the CC UE Control Rig also accommodates custom-made models by having biped models undergo the automatic rigging process in AccuRIG. Moreover, when dealing with large 3D crowds, movements of low-poly characters sourced from ActorCore can be tweaked using the UE Control Rig, enabling adjustments to facial expressions and body movements. By integrating these capabilities with CC mesh decimation tools and iClone Crowd Simulator, massive crowd simulations can be readily incorporated into any project at minimal production cost and time.

Unlock the limitless possibilities of characters from Character Creator, ActorCore, and AccuRIG.

Fulfilling the needs of final-stretch production in Unreal Engine

The CC UE Control Rig empowers directors and animators to effortlessly refine CC characters’ facial  expressions and postures within Unreal Engine for the ultimate polish on a finished production. This tool facilitates smooth integration of characters into their environments, precise interaction with objects, and even reach constraints such as hand or foot placement on moving vehicles. Moreover, harnessing CC characters enhances the creation of expressive talking animations, realistic wrinkle dynamics, and refined body and gesture controls.

Charles Chen, Reallusion CEO, notes: “Our long-term aim has been for CC to stand as the premier solution for original, animatable characters in Unreal. With the introduction of CC UE Control Rig, we’ve taken the final step towards full CC character integration to achieve that vision.”

Free Reallusion plugin and sample projects are accessible to all enthusiasts

CC UE Control Rig is a complimentary plugin accessible for download on the UE Marketplace. To encourage widespread adoption to the robust and practical features of CC UE Control Rig, Reallusion is providing two sample projects, Kein & Nia, for free download.

Character Giveaway – Download Nia and Kevin for Free!

Related resources:

Featured Story

How a Digital Painter creates Animated Drawings with Cartoon Animator

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Davey Baker

Hey everyone, my name is Davey Baker and I’m a digital painter working in the entertainment industry. My roles often include 2D/3D concept art for computer games and 2D illustrations for TTRPG. I’m lucky enough to have had many years of experience working with some of the best companies in the business, including Wacom, Intel, Corel corporation, 20th Century Fox, Imagine FX. I’ve worked across a range of positions, from creating promotional material for software/hardware companies, 2D illustrations for board games, 2D/3D concept art for video games to comics and album covers. One of the achievements I am most proud of is earning the title of “Corel Painter Master Elite”.

Firstly, I have to admit that I’m not an animator. Yes that’s right, I have zero experience in this field other than a couple of failed walk cycles, many years ago. This being said I have, however, always had a great interest in animation. As children most of us enjoyed the wonderful world of cartoons and I’ve no doubt this contributed to my love of art. Fast forward to my years as a young adult and those cartoons and comics stayed firmly with me but had now evolved, animations were not only for children’s entertainment. 

I remember watching Fistof the North Star for the first time. This was the first 2D animation adult film I’d ever seen. I was an instant fan and others such as Akira, Ninja scroll, Devilman, soon became firm favorites. These films absolutely fascinated me. They were all hand painted like those early cartoons of my childhood, but now incredibly, teams of people told their stories of fantasy horror and futuristic doom, in full length films. For me, the traditional-looking hand-painted backgrounds always impressed me the most and inspire me to this day. They’re truly beautiful works of art and more importantly, they’re alive with the magic of 2D animated drawings!

As I mentioned earlier, I have no skills or knowledge of how to animate drawings and you might be wondering why I am here telling you all this. Well, I’ve always had that burning desire to tell my own stories. So I started looking for animated overlays to add to my 2D art, hoping it would take my still images to the next level. 
Unfortunately, I soon found this just wasn’t enough, I wanted more control and customization over my scenes. So I started looking again, this time for 2d Animation software. This is when I found Cartoon Animator and I’m happy to say it was exactly what I was looking for and more! Let’s get into some of the tools I’ve used in making my first animated sequence.

Create animated drawings without keyframing using Motion Pilot

I would like to start with something new to CTA 5, that is the Motion Pilot feature. This amazing tool has various ways to animate drawings and plenty of settings within CTA to finetune everything, before and after. The “Flock” settings were something I particularly enjoyed playing around with, the results and speed to get there were also nothing short of impressive.

You may be surprised to learn that all the birds’ movements in these scenes were captured in real time. What does that mean? Well, by using the new Motion Pilot and selecting a leader, then box selecting the rest of the flock, you can click “Apply to Selected Objects”.This now means once you start to move the lead bird across the screen the whole flock will also follow a similar path in relation to their original positions. 

The “Random” setting also allows the starting point of each bird’s animation to have a delay resulting in a nonuniform realistic flight progression. So, once you hit “Record”, the leader can follow your cursor and the flock will follow for the duration of the scene — so simple! I also tried this with a bunch of characters but added a walk preset to the group via the motion dropdown… and it worked perfectly. Super quick and fun for animated drawings, and fully customizable too.

The fastest way to rig 2D characters for animation using Character Composer

Next, I wanted to add a walk cycle to my 2D character animations. This was made easy by selecting one of the existing CTA 5 dummy actors, swapping out the body parts with my own and applying a preset 2D motion animation from the extensive library.

The premade walk cycles that you can also customize are nothing new to CTA but well worth mentioning, as they have saved me days, sometimes even weeks, of trial and error. As a complete beginner I was pleasantly surprised to get professional animated drawings with ease, and managed to progress through my ideas quickly. If I’d tried this manually I may have given up after numerous unsuccessful attempts. I should add there are enough presets in the library to keep you busy for a long time but if you are an animator, there is obviously no shortage of tools to create everything from scratch.

Bringing animated drawings to life using FFD transformation

Finally we have another new feature called the FFD Editor. This reminds me of a free transform tool often found in 2D painting software. Once you open the FFD editor, you’ll notice a grid section appear over the item you currently have selected.

The grid has a bunch of circular points at each intersection that can be dragged around to distort your image. You will automatically create a new keyframe whenever there is a change to one of these points on different parts of the timeline. So you move some points to distort the shape, scrub along the timeline and make another change — easy-peasy! The newly created keyframes under the FFD tab can still be moved up and down the timeline to change the transition speed but you can also right-click on each one and use some transition presets, like smooth, accelerate, etc. The default is set to linear, and you can see the current status appear whenever you hover your cursor over each keyframe. 

Why I recommend Cartoon Animator as 2D Animation Software

The potential for this tool is endless and although manually creating keyframes and adjusting by hand may seem like it’s slow… imagine drawing each frame traditionally, there would be hundreds! This would also be impossible for me to do with my style, as each image would be unique and the transition between them glitchy. It simply wouldn’t work. The fact that this function now exists opens many doors to animated drawings of different styles!
Overall I couldn’t be happier with CTA 5 as a 2D animation software, and I’m really looking forward to learning more as I progress through all the other functions. I can’t wait to continue animating my story and I know I’ve barely scratched the surface with what CTA 5 can do! Happy animating guys!

Follow Davey

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

Instagram: instagram.com/daveybaker_art 

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The original article was written by Davey Baker and is also featured on Cartoon Brew.

Learning

Tips for Beginners – iClone 8

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There are a lot of questions out there that don’t merit an article but deserve an answer and when combined with other tips and tricks can smooth out your animation journey. With this in mind, there will be some future articles like this one that focus on multiple tips having to do with iClone.

In this article, we are going to focus on some tips for beginners to provide some easy alternatives to more complex actions until your skills have improved. Some of these may also save some time and frustration for longtime users too.

Using Visibility to Simplify Complex Actions

Sometimes experienced animators can forget how confusing linking and attachment is to new users with no 3D background. New users might not even know those tools exist as there is so much to learn, but they can grasp visibility on and off very easily. This is an alternative method to linking as both can accomplish the same task, but visibility works without having to know anything about Reach Targets.

For example, take the simple everyday task of picking up an object like a drink. This is one of those motions that, unless necessary, should be implied with camera cuts that show everything but picking up the drink. The actor is shown approaching the object, looking at it, then the camera cuts away to another view and then cuts back with the drink in hand.

An easy fix, but depending on the script or direction, you may be forced to show the entire interaction of picking up the drink. If you have to keyframe most or all of this motion with Reach Targets, then that gets into intermediate to pro-level experience, but visibility can save the day.

We will use two drinks. One drink in the character’s hand with visibility off and one drink on the table or countertop where the drink will sit with visibility on. 

I’m generalizing from here (refer to the video for more details).

Place the drink into the character’s hand first by positioning and attaching it to the hand. Then use a motion or keyframing to get the character to the table or countertop. You can just have the character already standing at the table by the drink if you wish.

NOTE: In this example, I used two motions from the Shopping pack.  Market_CustomerBasket_Pick_M_01 and Market_CustomerBasket_Pick_M_01 edited in the timeline for the parts relevant to picking up an object.

The whole thing hinges on TURNING ON the visibility on the drink attached to the hand and TURN OFF visibility for the drink sitting on the table. This must be done on the SAME FRAME so one is instantly visible while the other is instantly invisible. No timing issues, no Reach Targets, and minimal keyframing.

The plus side is it is easier to duplicate the drink in hand for the static drink with easy placement since it’s just detach and toggle off visibility.  Again, see the video below for more details on the process.

NOTE: When allowed, it might be more judicious to use a camera cut to show the character within reaching distance of the drink instead of approaching it to eliminate the extra animation of handling the drink when a camera cut will fulfill your needs. Don’t over-animate.

Radial Blur to Mimic Circular Motion

Not all motor vehicle props have free-moving wheels that you can animate. Other props like pulleys or any rotating part fall into the same category. While you might get away with not having animated parts on props you cannot say the same for car wheels.

In some cases, the wheels, tires, and everything else were exported as a single mesh that cannot be extracted for whatever reason. This is where the radial blur image steps in. Use your image editor to edit the diffuse map and apply a radial blur to the tire and wheel texture. This implies the spinning of the object.

You can alter the other maps like normal, metallic, and roughness, but you can remove those maps if necessary for the car wheel and tire.

It’s not an elegant solution but it works as long as the spinning objects are not close to the camera. This also eliminates more manual animation.

There is yet another solution such as placing a separate tire and wheel prop over the original, then animate the movement.

Image Manipulation

I’m not implying that no one reads the manual. In a perfect world where all of us intensely studied the manual versus the real world where some of us don’t even know a manual exists… I highlight the simple tool of the RIGHT CLICK MENU when dragging and dropping images into an iClone scene.

This is an often-overlooked tool for beginners who are already learning as much as they can as fast as they can. This has been covered before in articles and tutorials but is worthy of mention again as so many users seem unaware of this right-click menu option.

Instead of using the usual LEFT CLICK when you grab an image to drag and drop into iClone, use a RIGHT CLICK instead and you will be presented with a menu about what to do with the image.

Using the Right-Click Image Manipulation Menu

Dummies for… Lots of Things

Dummies are basically proxies or go-betweens to get something done that is not native to the application. In its basic form, a dummy is a low poly object like a box (four faces that are not visible in the render) that can be attached to or between objects for more control over attributes like transform and scaling. You can attach Particles to a dummy which the Prop Distribution tool can then see and utilize.

There are many uses for dummies including:

  • Positioning and Scaling: Dummies can be used to precisely position and scale objects within your scene. Instead of directly manipulating the objects themselves, you can use dummies as reference points for alignment and sizing or group scaling.
  • Animation Control: Dummies can act as control objects for animating other objects or characters. You can parent objects to dummies, allowing you to manipulate them collectively or independently during animation sequences.
  • Camera Targeting: When setting up camera movements, dummies can serve as targets for the camera to focus on. This allows for smooth and controlled camera movements, especially in complex scenes.
  • Proxy Objects: Dummies can be used as stand-ins for more complex objects or characters during the initial stages of scene creation. This can help improve performance while you’re still working on the overall composition of your scene.
  • Organization: Dummies can help organize your scene hierarchy by acting as parent objects for groups of related elements. This can make it easier to manage and manipulate complex scenes with multiple objects and characters.
  • Scene Center Point or Checkpoints: Dummies can be used individually or in groups to center your camera on to jump around within a scene. This can speed up scene creation by providing shortcuts to work areas without having to manually reposition the preview camera every time.
  • “Look At” Control: A dummy can add more versatility for cameras or props to look at as they can be animated independently of the target to do things like view certain parts of another prop. This can add a small measure of control beyond the built-in “look at” feature in iClone.

As iClone has matured there is less need for dummies as many functions are built-in, but there is a lot to keep up with and they have their place in the right situation, particularly for beginners that might not know all the available tools and functions.

Linking Versus Attaching

This has been covered many times, but it is always worth going over again as the concept is very simple but necessary knowledge. If you want to save items with a character, then ATTACH them. They will become accessories parented to the bone you selected during the attachment process.

If you want to animate the accessory like dropping it or letting it go, then you will need to switch to a LINK as ATTACH is not editable on the timeline where Link is as far when to Link and Unlink.

NOTE: There is an attachment hierarchy to keep in mind. You may find yourself attaching an accessory to another accessory, but it attaches to the character bone NOT the accessory. To attach one item or accessory to another you need to DETACH the main accessory and then attach the second item to that accessory. After this reattach the original accessory to the proper bone and the parenting will be correct for pivot points.

“Bulldozer” by wzah520 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

These are just a few of the tips I’ll be passing along because they’re small details that make for better animations and create a pleasant animation experience. A lot of tips that work in earlier versions of iClone still work in the current version.

Not everything can be documented in the manual, because… you know… we all read that immediately, right??? Seriously, it’s hard to keep up with everything and even if you did read the manual first, you’d need almost superhuman comprehension and retention to remember everything.

Hopefully, some of these tips will help smooth the road ahead for you and if you have a tip or trick you want to share then please do so in the comments.

NOTE: There is an excellent tutorial on advanced mesh level extraction and attachment for Character Creator. See the video below for more information.

iClone Manual

Visibility
Dummies
Link
Attach

Character Creator

Mesh Extraction

MD McCallum - WarLord

MD McCallum – WarLord

Digital Artist MD “Mike” McCallum, aka WarLord, is a longtime iClone user. Having authored free tutorials for iClone in its early years and selected to write the iClone Beginners Guide from Packt Publishing in 2011, he was fortunate enough to meet and exchange tricks and tips with users from all over the world and loves to share this information with other users. He has authored hundreds of articles on iClone and digital art in general while reviewing some of the most popular software and hardware in the world. He has been published in many of the leading 3D online and print magazines while staying true to his biggest passion, 3D animation. For more information click here.

WarLord’s Workshop
Featured Story

Populating a futuristic KitBash3D City with iClone Crowd Simulation

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This article is featured on BlenderNation

Onur Erdurak

I’m Onur Erdurak, a director, writer, and 3D artist from Turkey and I love telling stories. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Cinema from Izmir University of Economics. While studying in Izmir, I applied and got accepted to the Erasmus Student Exchange Program and studied Cinema in Slovenia for a year.

While studying I made my first short film with no budget, one location, and one actor – which was with my uncle. Luckily my uncle Kemal Erdurak was already a professional actor so I put my skills in VFX, writing, and everything in between to the test, and with the help of a great team we made; my debut short film “STRANDED”. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner in 2018.

Currently, I am a Fulbright grantee, and I am pursuing an MFA degree at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. After a few failed attempts over the years trying to learn Blender. I finally got started after watching Ian Hubert’s “World Building in Blender” video. This was when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, I viewed this as a chance to enhance my skills and knowledge.

After a couple of months of learning, I started @blendreams to share my creations. “Blendreams” got started as and still is my passion project. I share my renders and animations over there and share what I’ve learned during my journey on my YouTube channel as tutorials. I am incredibly grateful that this passion project now has over 100,000 followers on Instagram.

For my next project, I’ve been experimenting with easy ways to create animated Crowds; as this is one of the most difficult, and tedious parts of animation. I wanted to test iClone’s Crowd simulation tools on a large scale city, and share my experiences of using it for populations and Dune 2 inspired scene.

“The crowd simulation tools in iClone 8 are incredibly efficient at populating scenes with high-quality 3D actors featuring facial expressions. This capability allows me to quickly fill out my scenes, enabling me to focus on the finer details of my scene.”

Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

First the location with KitBash3D

I needed a location for my scene to take place in, and I knew it was going to be a futuristic dystopia. I used KitBash3D Cargo; it is a software that holds the entire asset library of KitBash3D. Any of their assets can be imported into all the popular 3D software with one click with Cargo. They also have a bunch of free assets here and a full free kit called Mission to Minerva. Using that kit, I’ve built this environment inside Unreal Engine, and we did some virtual production tests at home on a TV. Melis Caner is the actress in these shots.

Back to our Metal City – using KitBash3D CARGO, I got a bunch of building models from the “Heavy Metal” and “Steam Punk” kits. After importing in the models, it is a lot like playing with toys. Blocking the buildings together to create the city center. For the wide shots of the city, I used this geometry nodes set up. I have some of the buildings in a different collection and they are distributed on this plane using a basic distribution setup in geometry nodes.

Using iClone to simulate crowds

Reallusion recently introduced crowd simulations inside iClone, these crowds can be exported out to any 3D software, and they are super-fast way to create realistic crowds.

First, when I open iClone:

I go to Edit -> Preference -> change the preset to Blender so the navigation buttons are familiar.

This preference is saved and I only had to do it once.

Then, go to edit again, project settings this time, and change the frame rate of the project. I set it to 24 frames per second.

Change iClone preset to Blender
Change iClone frame rate to 24 frames per second.

These are the crowd simulation types inside iClone:

  1. Actor Group
  2. Volume Blocks
  3. Walkways
  4. Navigation Meshes
With iClone crowd simulation set spawn points, control density, orientation, and formation.

All these types can also be used together. First, the Actor Groups; this is my favorite and quickest way to populate scenes. I pick out the crowd interaction I like, drag and drop it into the scene, adjust their animation length.

Unless you choose the “Expressionless” option for these actors come in with facial animations.

Drag and drop Actor Groups into iClone for crowd simulations
iClone crowd simulation lets you add expressions to crowd actors

To create the other types of crowds, we go to:

Create -> Scatter -> Generate Crowd

Generate crowd in iClone

This opens this dialogue box and makes things little more complicated and more exciting. With it we can create the area we wish to scatter crowds in. With the “Create Volume” checked, if I click and drag, I create a volume. This volume can be moved and scaled. The number of characters changes as the scale of the volume changes.

With “Pick Object”, I can choose a surface to scatter the crowd in. This surface can also be a custom modelled surface.

Adding construction worker crowds to the ship

I want to put a crowd simulation of workers on top of this ship. I modeled the surface out of a plane in Blender. Then exported it out as an “FBX”. Import it into iClone, and choose that as the surface. Back to our crowd sim dialogue box.

We have a bunch of options here. I go for random, but “Formation” can be used for crowds in stadiums, theaters or for creating army formations.

After adjusting the settings, we have to bring in our actors into the Actor Pool and animations into the motion pool.

Mixing different animation packs and actors together, many types of combinations become possible for any use case you might have for crowds. I used actors from “Construction Workers Volume 1″ and “Factory Workers Vol.2” and animations from the “Motions for Construction” and “City life” packs.

https://actorcore.reallusion.com/3d-character/pack/construction-worker-vol-1?info=1
https://actorcore.reallusion.com/3d-character/pack/factory-workers-vol-2?info=1
https://www.reallusion.com/ContentStore/iClone/pack/Motions_for_Construction/default.html
https://www.reallusion.com/ContentStore/iClone/pack/Motion-City-Life/default.html

Clicking on “Generate Placement” is basically changing the seed value, randomizing the placement of the actors. Clicking on “Deploy Actors” throws the actors into the scene, choosing animations from the motion pool with the fitting tag.

We can also add manually any custom tags to actors or animations. After their animations are assigned, they will start moving around. Their animations, however, will end and they will freeze at their final frame. But, if we click on the loop, their animations will loop.

Click drag and box select all of our actors animated.

Then go to FILE-> Export-> Export FBX. Make sure it is set to Blender and 24 frames per second. Click Range and adjust the animation length. Max texture size 1K should be enough. Convert image format to -> JPEG

Create a folder and export it out.

Inside Blender, you can just import it as FBX. I usually prefer using the CC Blender tools add-on to import anything that is coming out of Character Creator or iClone. Although in this case, importing as “FBX” worked just fine.

Walkways and Crowds for the City Center

For the city center, I plan to create different walkways and crowds, using all the crowd sim types available inside iClone. I model a basic surface with a plane where I want to have the crowds. Export it as “FBX” and import it into iClone. Go to create and choose path, to create the first walkway. Click to create a walkway, then press “escape” when you are done.

Under the Motion Director (MD) panel, I can adjust the width of the walkway. Create, scatter, generate crowd, pick object, then click the walkway. This time I will choose the “iMD” option here, instead of “motion”. Having selected a walkway as the object, I can click on this and get all the iMD walking animations in here.

With deploy actors, the actors get in position but there are no animations. For that, we have to click the “play” on the Motion designer play button here. This takes us to the Motion Director workspace.

Choose “Record Selected” from this drop-down menu, select all the actors in the scene and play to the desired length. With iMD animations the actors are smarter as they will avoid each other, and walk back on the path once they reach the end. After the playback is at about 200 frames, I stop it.

Then I used some actor groups then, created volume for more crowds. Export them out to a folder, import them into Blender and we have our city center.

Creating Custom Crowd for Dune Inspired Scene

Inspired after watching Dune: Part Two I wanted to see if I could create a similar scene of this shot with the iClone crowd simulation.

Dune: Part 2 courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

I first started in Blender, creating the environment and the atmosphere. I suggest this video for a detailed explanation of my process:

Using a character from the pack “Sci-Fi Figures Vol. 1” I used the character “HAAS – M”. I hand placed the 3 in the foreground and the rest of the actors were scattered using the “Create Volume” in iClone.

I worked on its textures for like a day, mixing in different types of sand textures and texture painting blood on them.

Dune scene recreated with iClone

To create the knife from the film I imported a sword model from KB3D Cargo and changed it in blender to look like the “Crysknife” from the film.

I downloaded some animations from ActorCore, searching things like “victory”, “celebration”, “Keeling”, “praying”. Then I threw those animations with the character, and I was almost done. I checked random start frame and loop check boxes.

Deploy actors, import them into Blender. Swap their textures with the custom one I worked on in Blender.

Then to increase the numbers even more, I used a little bit of geometry nodes. You can find the set up I used in this video:

I placed some more Crysknifes into their hands, render it out, a little bit of color grading and we have the final shot.

Follow Onur Erdurak

Website:
http://blendreams.com/

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

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

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/blendreams

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

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The original article was written by Onur Erdurak and also featured on BlenderNation.

Featured Story

Posing John Constantine as a MultiVersus Character in Blender

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This article is featured on BlenderNation

Renan Fabricio

My name is Renan Fabricio, a 3D Character Artist from Brazil with 7 years of experience in the game industry. I currently work at Revolving Games. Most of my career has been remote due to the lack of game studios in Rio de Janeiro when I started.

Initially, I worked on various projects creating one or two characters each. In 2019, I pursued full-time remote opportunities and was hired by a Brazilian indie studio to develop a vertical slice for the Soulslike game Deathbound. During that year, I designed 7 characters for the demo, which helped secure investment from Tate Multimedia, allowing us to complete the game. I’m proud of this achievement, though I am no longer with the studio.

For the past two and a half years, I’ve been a 3D Artist at Revolving Games, working on undisclosed projects.

A vertical slice of some characters made for Deathbound.

Introduction – Posing characters in an existing game

Constantine, a DC character, holds a special place in my heart and in the hearts of many Brazilians due to the 2005 film starring Keanu Reeves. With this in mind, I decided to create a 3D stylized version of Constantine from the comics, as this game features DC characters. This article will not only demonstrate the workflow of character creation but also posing characters in Character Creator.

My personal fanart project of Constantine for the MultiVersus Game

Driven by my love for fighting games and the desire to work on projects like Multiversus, I sought out someone on ArtStation who was creating Multiversus fan art concepts. I wanted a collaborator who could create a 2D concept, allowing me to focus on the 3D design. 

I found Francisco Matias, also a Brazilian, who graciously accepted my invitation and created 2D concepts of Constantine. You can check out his portfolio. I am very grateful to him for believing in this collaborative fan art project.

Character concepts by Francisco Matias.
These are the poses I ended up creating in 3D; also illustrated by Francisco Matias.

Every time I embark on a long personal project, I strive to incorporate a new software, addon, or technique into my workflow. This approach ensures that my process becomes more efficient, faster, and stays aligned with industry standards.

Previously, I noticed that posing characters in ZBrush took a considerable amount of time and was one of the most challenging steps for me, especially since I am not a professional rigger. Posing seemed quite daunting, particularly when I needed to create multiple poses for the same character. I aimed to showcase the character in at least four different poses, along with additional props, to highlight various aspects of the design.

I began my search for auto rigs on YouTube and stumbled upon an incredibly detailed tutorial of Character Creator 4 on Michael Pavlovich’s channel. I highly recommend checking it out, as it enabled me to start working in CC4 in less than a full day.

Blockout in ZBrush

During the blockout stage, my primary focus is on resolving proportions. It’s much easier to address this early on rather than having to make adjustments later with multiple subtools. Following this, I block out the main shapes of the character and its clothing, ensuring that the silhouette works effectively. The meshes may appear messy at this stage, but they serve as a base for the subsequent step, which involves retopology in Blender.

Timelapse of the blockout stages.

Retopology with Blender Add-on

I’ve been using Blender for about three years now, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my time with it. I’d like to recommend a paid add-on called RetopoFlow for anyone interested. While I used to do retopology in 3ds Max or TopoGun, I always aim to consolidate my workflow within a single software. 

I’ve found Blender to be incredibly powerful for retopology tasks, including making seams and unwrapping UVs. Investing in RetopoFlow has significantly sped up my workflow and streamlined my retopology process.

Using RetopoFlow addon in Blender.

UVing with Blender Addon

Another paid Blender add-on that I absolutely love is UV Packmaster. It automates UV mapping in an incredibly organized manner, unlike anything I’ve seen before, and it’s remarkably fast. 

What’s more, it allows you to seamlessly transition between manually organizing your UVs and automatically filling in gaps with less important shells. This significantly reduces the time spent on UV mapping and streamlines your workflow. Additionally, it includes quadify tools, making it particularly effective for cylindrical objects, belts, straps, or even thin and straight UV shells.

Using UV Packmaster addon in Blender.
The complete high-poly sculpt of Constantine; I kept his mouth open to ease the baking process.

Returning to ZBrush with the new topology geometry, I utilized it as a base mesh to create the high-poly model. Given that the character features simplified information and a stylized design, this process was expedited.

Texturing

I won’t delve into every layer of my textures. Instead, I’ll emphasize the importance of grayscale in stylized characters. In Substance Painter, you can easily access this feature by clicking on the Display Settings icon, enabling post effects, and accessing color correction. Set the saturation slider to 0, allowing you to consistently monitor your values while creating the texture.

In my endeavor to emulate Constantine within the context of an existing game, I thoroughly examined grayscale and color variations. This involved capturing screenshots of my character and creating mockups in Photoshop using screenshots from the game. 

Many games offer media kits available for download on their websites, which provided me with additional resources for testing Constantine in various scenarios. This process was instrumental in evaluating how effectively my character matched the color values of the game.

How I check my grayscale values in Substance Painter.

Furthermore, I highly recommend studying texture references directly from the game itself. Analyze how skin textures are painted, observe the colors of materials like leather, and note any presence of color gradients on characters. These insights can greatly inform your own character design process.

Props

For the props, Francisco created a sheet with action poses for movesets. I selected several poses and allotted myself one full day to work on each. I applied the same grayscale and mockup testing approach to these assets to ensure they balanced well with the character.

Rigging Before Posing Character

To begin, I imported my FBX character into CC4. When rigging, I selectively choose the parts that I wanted to be influenced by the bones. Therefore, elements such as hair, eyes, and teeth were temporarily hidden.

This is the character minus the unweighted parts and accessories.
A screenshot of the auto-rigging process.

Immediately, you can recognize the power of rigging in CC4. The AccuRIG grants you the ability to edit every aspect and provides image references before you press the auto-generate button. As someone not well-versed in professional rigging, this feature saved me from a lot of headaches.

After auto-rigging, there are plenty of animations you can use to test your character and ensure everything is working correctly.

Posing Characters in Character Creator

In this article, I utilized one of the moves that Francisco drew. You can either start posing from scratch, as I did, or use an animation and pause at a suitable keyframe to begin from there.

Posing the character inside CC4.

One of my favorite features of CC4 is the ability to apply presets of hand gestures. This feature saves a ton of guesswork and prevents your character’s hands from looking broken. 

Simply click, drag, and paste the hand gesture you want to apply. Additionally, the hands controllers on the right side of the screen are game-changing. You can click, hold, and drag the palm of the hand to open or close it. It almost feels like cheating because of how effective this feature is for posing your character

Applying hand presets onto the character.
Making preset poses inside CC4.

Another fantastic feature of CC4 is the ability to save your poses as presets. This means that I’ve saved previous poses, and if I wanted, I could easily revert to them and make adjustments. All you have to do is save the pose, and then double-click to apply it to your characters. This functionality adds a layer of flexibility and convenience to the posing process in CC4.

These poses can be applied to other characters too. The presets are compatible with characters from CC4, allowing you to create poses, save them as presets, and apply them to your characters later on. This flexibility enhances the usability of the poses and streamlines the posing process for various character designs.

Refining Poses in Blender

After achieving a satisfactory auto rigging and initial pose, I imported my model back into Blender to start refining it. First, I painted out some weight influences from bones that I didn’t want affecting certain areas, like the head, and then adjusted the arms slightly.

Creating a character that interacts with a prop is always a challenge, so I spent extra time refining the angles of the book and the hands. Integrating CC4 into my pipeline proved to be worth it, as it streamlined the process. We’ve all seen beautiful artwork pieces in artist portfolios that are only shown in T or A poses, often because posing characters can be daunting and time-consuming. With CC4, I found it much easier to achieve dynamic poses.

For the clothes, I used sculpting brushes in Blender. The main brushes I used were Grab, Smooth, Pose, and Mask. I separated small objects like buttons and the tie to prevent distortion but ended up stretching the buttons slightly to add a dynamic feel to the gesture.

It’s important to view your character from all angles, but I focused primarily on the angle that Constantine would be viewed from in a 3D fighting game.

Conclusion

All poses were created starting in CC4. For a more in-depth look at my process, I’ve created a video detailing the entire creation journey.

That wraps up my overview of creating this character. I want to extend my gratitude to Reallusion for recognizing my work and providing me with the opportunity to showcase my workflow with CC4.

A special thanks goes to Michael Pavlovich for his outstanding tutorial videos on how to use CC4. They were incredibly helpful and made the final steps of my personal project much easier to complete.

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The original article was written by Renan Fabricio and also featured on BlenderNation.