Hello everyone! I am an action figure collector and 3D animator based in the US.
For over a decade, I have been honing my skills in the mesmerizing art of 3D scanning and animation. Since 2011, I have been pushing the boundaries of creativity and technology, capturing the essence of action figures and bringing them to life in captivating animations.
In 2021 I embarked on a thrilling new chapter, focusing specifically on action figures that have enthralled generations. From the classic heroes like Spiderman, Green Goblin, Wolverine, Batman, and Joker to the ever-beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their arch-nemesis Shredder, I have been meticulously scanning and animating these iconic characters, channeling the magic and excitement of the comic books and animated series.
Make It Move Media
Make It Move Media is a channel I created to showcase action figures and iconic superheroes and villains from comic books and movies. I wanted to do it in a way that leaned into my 3D scanning and animation hobby, bringing a sense of wonder and excitement to our action figure culture.
Ultimately, I want to grow my followers and create content that they want to share and comment on, plus I love hearing reactions from comic book and action figure collectors. The best comments are how the videos I create remind them of their childhood and how they played with their action figures in their head, with their imagination — I want to bring that to life!
I’ve been going at this for over a decade, but have over the last 8 months seen my channels really start to gain a following. I am self taught; Everything from 3D scanning and animation has been learned through YouTube tutorials, long nights grinding on scenes and a passion to make things move (hence the name). I am mesmerized by 3D animation and always have been. I learn a new technique with almost every 10-12 second scene I create. That is part of the fun — finding ways to do what I have yet to learn.
Today, I want to show you how fast and easy it is to bring 3D character scans to life with AccuRIG, a rigging tool by Reallusion. A lot of people have asked me how I animate my action figures. This is one of the tools I go to almost every time I create an animation. Watch my workflow:
Turn Toys into 3D Action Heros
First, I did a 3D scan of the Spiderman toy and loaded it into AccuRIG. This free auto-rigging program is great since it offers many features with a very straightforward interface to navigate the process. Just a few clicks and some minor adjustments, I have got my Spiderman fully rigged – body and hands. This would take hours without this awesome rigging tool. I can then use the preset animations in AccuRIG to quickly test the rigging, and the results are impressive.
Auto-rig body and hands with AccuRIG.
Hundreds of Action Animations
I wanted to give my Spiderman some thrilling moves; so I uploaded the character to ActorCore 3D store, with just one click. Over 2,000 motion captures, professionally-made, well-organized by category, are there for me to pick and choose from. I can preview everything right inside my web browser, which is pretty slick because there is no guessing.
Under the category “Action & Adventure”, I can find tons of motions to use on Spiderman. There are also themed packs specifically designed for action adventure movies and games, such as “Packour”, “Run for Your Life”, and “Hand-to-Hand Combat”. After several testings, I can grab all the motions that I want to animate Spiderman with. Download and export the FBX files to Blender. It is that simple.
Upload rigged characters from AccuRIG to ActoreCore 3D store.Test over 2,000 mocaps and find the suitable moves for the character.
Animation and Rendering inside Blender
I use Blender for all of my 3D animations. It is an open source 3D software suite with which you can animate and render. Simply locate my Spiderman FBX file inside Blender. I find it ready rigged and with a full mesh. With the imported motion, my Spiderman is animated and ready to roll! And I can continue animating inside Blender to create my next 3D action short.
Export a rigged character with a full mesh to Blender.
It’s Pretty Phenomenal
A few years ago — I am talking probably five years ago — this workflow would have been impossible. Three years ago, this would have been hard. Now this thing is ready to rock, fast and easy — thanks to AccuRIG. So I highly recommend it.
Deb Ethier – animator, graphic designer, writer, and musician
About Deb Ethier
I’m Deb Ethier, animator, graphic designer, writer, and musician for Rusty Bolt Theatre and Seat of the Pants Film Lab (which is basically just me!). I started making short and micro-short animations back in 2016 and my films (from comedies to full dramatic narratives) have been honored with awards at film festivals around the world.
I’d like to share a bit of what went into making “Madcap Catnap” featuring Louie the Cat (one of my favorite characters), and how I used several software resources to achieve the finished film.
Turning Realistic 3D Dolls into 2D Characters
The idea of a cat’s dream world allowed me to play with fun concepts. I had used Louie as an animated 2D character before, but never with this many pose variations. The original Louie is a 2.5 inch tall needle-felted character! I often make my characters as real 3D “dolls” so I can photograph them from every angle to process into animated 2D characters.
Using GIMP and png-enhancing software I decide what angles I need and transform those. Louie’s size offered a bit of a challenge, but I finally got the wool texture right so he looked like the tiny, blocky felted creature that he is.
There were eventually several “Louies”; mostly free bone, a couple more traditionally rigged in CTA5.
Creating Facial Animation
His face animation is really important as it needs to show emotion. I prefer morph heads in Cartoon Animator for various reasons, one being that the eyeballs actually sit in the eye sockets giving lots of expression to facial animation.
Morph heads can be tricky at first, but taking the time to do a lot of careful tweaking back and forth between previews and adjustments really pays off.
The dream world had to be surreal. I often get my inspiration from paintings, and partially went with the look of the Post-Impressionists this time, adding my own graphic touch. Layering these in CTA5 with flat color-field landscape elements throws the world further off-kilter.
Animating 2D Characters with Spring Bones
The new features in CTA5 (like Spring Bones) make it a very versatile 2D animation software. Before, I would rig tails as a spine and either keyframe manually or use one of the premade spine animations. However, by rigging the tail with Spring Bones, a lovely, smooth movement was achieved. A banner was also rigged this way. But I think the most fun application of this new feature was in the final chase scenes through the dream tunnel. I rigged the entire front and rear views of Louie with Spring Bones to give that comical frantic wiggly walk-run that cats often do. It gave a great cartoon feel, and I could still add facial animation easily.
Adding Free-Form Deformation Effects on Props
The Free-Form Deformation (FFD) editor was also extremely useful as I was able to make the “crop” of underwear dance in the wind by applying FFD to each pair of shorts (after capturing images of the underwear from various angles in Blender).
Layering and moving the camera along the z-axis (as in Louie’s run down the road) remains one of my favorite original abilities in CTA as I love to push the dimensional boundaries in 2D animation software. For that scene, I simply animated the back of Louie running separately and layered it with the rendered scene so it appears as if we’re seeing it from Louie’s POV.
Rendering Props and Making Effects in Blender
CTA5 was at the forefront in this project, but I also have other tools that work really well with it. Blender is one of these. I’m just a beginner in this 3D software but it wasn’t that hard to get the basics for this project. Manipulating characters and props (either original or from premade models) in Blender allows you to save images at any angle for importation into CTA5 for rigging.
One of the most pivotal things that I found Blender really useful for when it comes to CTA5 is creating rotating or turning characters or props. In this film, I used a propeller and windup key (but there are lots of other possibilities). Animate and render as an image sequence in Blender for input to CTA5. (I use popVideo for input because my image sequences were quite long, but the new version of CTA allows for short APNG sequence import).
You can reverse that workflow too. For the cat food can I animated the label in CTA5, rendered it as an image sequence, and imported this into Blender to be attached to the can. I then keyframed the camera position and rendered out for import back to CTA5 via popVideo. I think there could be a lot of use for this technique.
The dream tunnel at the end is an effect made entirely in Blender, following a tutorial. Load it as a video into CTA and you have a wormhole! I think there is a lot of scope for expanding the play between Blender and CTA5, something I intend to explore further.
When it comes to a video editor, I look for versatility and available plugins. I have used HitFilm Express (with all the add-ons) for a long time, but their business model changed when the company was taken over by Artlist. In searching for a viable alternative I came across Vegas Pro and it seems to be a very good fit. I am just learning its ins and outs, but have found it to be user-friendly with a lot of support available. I particularly liked the fact that it is an excellent host for some of my favorite third-party effect plugins — but Vegas Pro also has a lot of native plugins.
To test its user interface, I created the title sequence for the film with it and applied effects to sets, props, characters, and scenes. I then tested it with some of my favorite effects combinations from Hitfilm. It performed remarkably well. To test it further against Hitfilm, I created an easy blur effect for fast movement without using motion blur (which can really bog down the render). I duplicated the video and applied a long-angle blur to the bottom copy. Stretched it out, angled it correctly, and positioned it against the original, while playing with opacity. It works well in both pieces of software and is a very useful, easy smooth effect to use. Vegas Pro will likely be phased-in as my main video editor.
Although I love integrating other software into my animation workflow, CTA still remains my main tool. It’s very versatile, well-supported, and quite adaptable to my many styles of animation. It just keeps getting better with the addition of new features on every update!
Give Amazing Poses to ZBrush Characters with ZBrushGuides
Hello, my name is Pablo Munoz Gomez, and I’m an enthusiastic 3D concept and character artist who is deeply committed to the spread of knowledge. My expertise lies in 3D sculpting, visual development, and engaging in mixed-media projects. I take immense pride in being the creator of the ZBrushGuides website, the 3DConceptArtist academy, and the 3DSnippets project. These platforms serve as outlets for showcasing my work, sharing my workflows, and assisting fellow artists in honing their skills across a wide range of subjects.
The basics
Before we begin, let’s address some preliminary details. This tutorial will demonstrate the process using ZBrush 2022.0.5 version, but the plugin is compatible with newer versions of ZBrush as well. Additionally, I’ll be utilizing the latest version of Character Creator 4 (version 4.3), with which I have already created a Spider-Man stylized character for this demonstration.
The character mentioned here is composed of three separate subtools: one for the body, one for the clothing, and an additional subtool for the zippers.
Typically, I prefer to work with a character in a relaxed symmetrical pose or an “A-Pose”. I utilize sculpting layers to introduce variations to the mesh, including different poses. For example, I can save a “swinging” pose for this character on its own layer. By enabling that specific layer, I can view the pose. However, since sculpting layers are specific to the selected subtool, I need to create a new layer for each subtool and manually toggle them on or off to reveal the corresponding pose for each subtool.
To achieve the complete pose for this character, you’ll need to activate the “swinging” sculpting layer for the body subtool, as well as for the clothing and zippers. While it may not seem too challenging initially, this task can become quite tedious when you have over 10 subtools to manage.
Thankfully, ZBrush Pose Tools can greatly assist you with this task by simplifying the process of storing, editing, and managing multiple poses that involve multiple subtools. It provides a streamlined solution for handling and organizing poses, making your workflow much more efficient.
Pose Tools workflow
After installing the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin, you can locate it in the ZPlugin palette, specifically under the name “ZBrush Pose Tools”. Initially, you might notice that some options appear grayed out since no poses have been created within the plugin yet.
1) Bringing in existing poses
If you have a character with various layers already posed, you can effortlessly transfer all those layers to the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin by utilizing the “Convert Layers to Pose” button. However, it’s crucial to ensure that you have correctly named each layer for every subtool. This naming convention ensures that the entire pose can be conveniently saved within a single “switch” or pose.
By simply clicking a button, the plugin seamlessly transfers all your poses into individual switches. These switches allow you to easily toggle poses on and off, enabling effortless switching between different poses. It’s important to note that the versatility of this plugin extends beyond humanoid characters. You can utilize it to manage poses for any object or entity since it leverages the layer system in ZBrush. Thus, the plugin offers flexibility in managing poses for a wide range of subjects.
2) Refining select poses
Another awesome capability of this plugin is the ability to edit each relevant layer within a pose, allowing you to make precise adjustments and refine the mesh’s appearance. To do this, simply select the desired pose and click on the “Edit current Pose” button. This action activates recording on the layer corresponding to the selected “switch,” allowing you to begin sculpting and make necessary modifications to achieve the desired results.
3) Creating new poses
Certainly, you have the freedom to utilize any tool within ZBrush to fine-tune your poses or even generate new poses directly from the plugin. The procedure for creating a new pose, or a new “switch”, is just as straightforward as editing or converting existing poses. Simply click on the “Record New Pose” button, provide it with a name, and the plugin will automatically create a new sculpting layer for each subtool while initiating the recording of subsequent modifications. This allows you to seamlessly capture and refine changes for the newly created pose.
In the standard workflow, you would begin by selecting or masking the areas of the mesh that you wish to protect. Then, you can employ the Transpose line or the Gizmo 3D to manipulate and rotate the relevant parts of the mesh, creating the desired pose. Once you have completed the pose, simply click on the “Save New Record” button to preserve the newly created pose.
This process can become a bit tedious when dealing with multiple subtools. However, you can simplify it by using the Transpose Master plugin. This plugin, included in ZBrush, enables you to temporarily merge all your subtools, making it easier to manipulate them collectively. The great advantage is that once you’ve finished tweaking the pose, you can save your changes into layers. The procedure is straightforward. Simply open the Transpose Master plugin in ZBrush and click on the prominent “TPoseMesh” button. This will create a new layer with the pose, which you can then transfer back to the Pose Tools plugin.
Now, you can create the pose for your character. When you’re prepared, enable the “Layer” switch and click on the “TPose \ SubT” button. This action will transfer your modifications to the working file, including all subtools and the new pose, onto a layer. Next, simply utilize the “Convert layers to pose” button in the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin to incorporate your new pose into the switches.
4) Saving ZBrush projects
In ZBrush, there are various ways to save your progress. Personally, I find it beneficial to save multiple versions of my tools as I work on developing a concept. It’s worth mentioning that when you save your ZTool and load it again on another day, you might not immediately see your saved poses in the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin. However, there’s no need to worry because your poses are not lost. Simply click on the “Refresh Pose list” button located at the top of the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin. This action will scan the layers of your subtools and reconnect them to the switches in the plugin.
ZBrush to CC4 roundtrip
The ZBrush Pose Tool plugin is an excellent tool for managing poses and it significantly reduces the time required for the process. However, the most time-consuming aspect is actually creating the poses. Luckily, you can leverage Character Creator 4 with AccuRig to swiftly generate a rig for your characters, pose them, and subsequently transfer them back to ZBrush. This integration streamlines the workflow and expedites the posing process.
1) Auto-rigging ZBrush characters
For my Spiderman character, I utilized AccuRig to generate the rig, enabling me to create a series of dynamic poses. These poses were then seamlessly transferred to ZBrush for further editing and fine-tuning. This combination of AccuRig and ZBrush allowed me to efficiently refine the character’s poses and enhance their overall appearance.
I have an extensive video series on my Youtube channel and the Reallusion website that delves into the process of rigging a character using CC4. For now, let’s focus on the steps involved in creating a pose in CC4 and transferring it back to ZBrush.
To begin, in ZBrush, position your character in an A-Pose and click on the “Visible” button located at the top of the Tool palette. This action will send all the visible subtools to CC4, allowing you to commence the rigging process.
In CC4, I already have the rig set up for the character, and this is how it appears:
2) Posing ZBrush characters
To pose the character, select it from the scene tab. Then, open the modify window and navigate to the posing section. Finally, click on the “Edit Pose” option, keeping in mind that this feature is only available once the character has been rigged.
You can use the pop-up window to choose the controllers for the rig and manipulate the limbs to create your desired pose. This aspect of the process is really fun, and you also have the option to utilize Reallusion’s extensive library of premade poses and animations.
Once you are satisfied with your pose, you can take advantage of the convenient ZBrush Pose Link plugin from Reallusion. This free plugin is specifically designed for CC4 and simplifies the process of transferring your pose to ZBrush, automatically saving it into your ZBrush Pose Tools plugin.
To access the ZBrush Pose Link plugin in CC4, navigate to the top menu and locate the Plugins section. From there, you can select the ZBrush Pose Link option and choose “Send current pose to ZBrush Pose Tools”.
The plugin will transmit your pose to ZBrush, generating a separate sculpting layer for each of your subtools and seamlessly converting those layers into a new pose switch within the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin.
That covers the main steps. Now, you can proceed to rename this newly created pose and organize it alongside your other poses within the same ZTool in ZBrush.To conclude the process, select a pose that you prefer among the different alternatives you generated in CC4. Then, employ vibrant and colorful lighting in Marmoset Toolbag 4 to render the chosen pose.
The render is actually something else you can do directly from CC4 and is just a matter of playing with the lights a bit.
I aimed to create a concept that resembled an illustration inspired by the movie “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” To achieve this, I imported the rendered image into Procreate and proceeded to refine the concept further by applying paint over techniques.
That concludes this article, hope you find this breakdown of the process useful!
Hello! My name is Deryck Pelegrini, and I’m a 3D artist from Brazil. I reside on a small island near Sao Paolo, where I find joy in both creating 3D art and indulging in my passion for surfing the waves.
Professionally, my focus lies in developing 3D characters for games. However, in my personal projects, I enjoy sketching and exploring dynamic poses for moving characters. It brings me great satisfaction to see some of my work featured on ZBrushCentral, and I have had the opportunity to discuss these pieces on ZBrush LIVE a couple of times. I am truly passionate about sculpting and using shape and color to narrate stories through my art. Consequently, I love experimenting with “digital clay” in ZBrush, where I can explore fluid shapes and incorporate new techniques into my projects.
Lately, I have been dedicating a lot of time to practicing with new tools. In this article, I would like to share my latest creation, “The Three Dancers,” and discuss how I utilized the new Pose Tool Plugin for ZBrush, developed by Reallusion, the creators of Character Creator (CC). With this plugin, I was able to create a series of unique poses using a single mesh, and I am excited to share my process with you.
Design Concept
The concept behind my latest piece was to create a visually striking artwork that embodies the essence of a museum exhibit. As a sculptor, I thoroughly enjoy experimenting and pushing the boundaries of my craft by exploring new sculpting and painting techniques. One aspect I particularly love to explore is the pose of the character, as it brings the artwork to life and allows me to envision the character in a pivotal moment of action. I strive to create sculptures that possess a sense of freedom and fluidity, leaving room for the viewer’s imagination to fill in the gaps as they observe the piece. This approach enables a more interactive and engaging experience for the audience.
Pose Tools for ZBrush
The plugin’s name is CC Pose Tools for ZBrush. It is a free plugin that enables you to easily create and switch between various poses for your character with a single click. With Pose Tools, you can seamlessly send your model from ZBrush to Character Creator for rigging and posing through Pose Link.
Additionally, you can take full advantage of the extensive library of motions and poses, effortlessly sending them to ZBrush with just a few simple clicks.
My Sculpting Process
Step 1 – References
When I envision dynamic poses and movement, dance is among the first things that come to mind. The graceful and fluid motions of the human body can make it appear as light as a feather and as flexible as bamboo. Here are a few references that have served as inspiration for this project:
Step 2 – Selecting the Base Mesh
To maximize the potential of your sculpture, it is highly recommended to ensure that the mesh has a well-balanced distribution of polygons. This allows for uniform levels of detail when subdividing the geometry in ZBrush. For this particular project, I will be utilizing the “Male Neutral” base from Character Creator, which features a commendable human topology. The mesh consists entirely of quads, making it ideal for subdivision and achieving high levels of sculpting detail. As a result, the base mesh is already prepared for subdivision, providing an excellent starting point for this project.
Step 3 – Sculpting the Base Mesh
Prior to embarking on our initial pose creation, I will begin with a sculpting pass to establish the bone structures and muscles of my character. This initial layer of sculpting will be fairly rough, serving as the foundation for all subsequent poses to be developed.
Step 4 – Creating the First Pose
To commence, we will utilize the Pose Tools Plugin. In order to create a new pose, we will employ the “Record a New Pose” option.
After clicking on the button, we will be asked to name this new pose.
There are various methods available to store your poses using Pose Tools. For this particular project, I utilized Pose Tools in conjunction with the Transpose tool and the Mask Brush to achieve the desired pose.
Once you have moved, rotated, and pulled on the character to achieve the desired pose, it is time to save the pose within Pose Tools. The process is incredibly straightforward, requiring just a simple button press and your pose will be promptly saved in the plugin under the previously chosen name.
To revert back to your base pose, simply deselect the Pose Tools pose slot. By doing so, you will seamlessly return to the original base pose, allowing you to proceed to the next pose with ease.
Step 5 – Editing the Poses
However, my pose was not yet complete. As a result of the movements I made on the character, there were several artifacts present in “Pose01”. Fortunately, Pose Tools offers a straightforward solution to address this issue. By clicking the “Edit Current Pose” button, we gain the ability to re-sculpt and modify our mesh, allowing us to rectify any undesired artifacts.
Now comes the phase of sculpting and refining the sculpture. My objective here was to imbue the model with a unique essence, accentuating the bony landmarks to add a certain allure and ensure a clear definition of the character’s shapes. To achieve a clay-like finish, I employed one of my preferred brushes known as “Clay Layer Strong”, crafted by the talented artist Pablo Munoz Gomez.
Step 6 – Creating the Second Pose
To create “pose 02”, I followed the same steps as before:
1. Begin from the base pose. 2. Choose the “Record New Pose” option. 3. Assign a name to the new pose. 4. Utilize the Transpose and Mask Brush to position the character in the desired pose. 5. Save the new pose.
Once the pose was blocked out, I proceeded to sculpt the model once again using the “Edit Current Pose” feature. This allowed me to rectify any distortions that may have occurred due to the initial pose the character was placed in. By employing this function, I was able to correct these distortions and finalize the sculpture with the same level of quality achieved in “pose 01”.
Step 7 – Creating the Third Pose
Following the previous steps, I employed Pose Tools once again to create “Pose 03”. I began by establishing a rough initial blockout for the pose.
Afterward, utilizing the “Edit Current Pose” feature, I addressed any imperfections and completed the sculpture in a manner consistent with my approach mentioned before.
Step 8 – Colors
Lately, I’ve developed a strong interest in incorporating color into my sculptures, and this project was no exception. Another exciting capability provided by Pose Tools is the ability to apply different color schemes to the same mesh using PolyPaint for each pose slot in your file. To achieve this, simply select the desired slot with the corresponding pose, enter “Edit Current Pose” mode, and begin painting the geometry using ZBrush’s PolyPaint feature. By employing this method, I successfully created a series of three poses, each adorned with its unique color scheme, while utilizing the same underlying geometry.
Conclusion
The Pose Tools plugin offers the flexibility to easily manipulate both the pose and color of your model using a shared mesh, allowing for swift changes with just a single click. This highly optimized plugin seamlessly integrates with the ZBrush layer system, delivering exceptional speed, while boasting an intuitive and functional interface. It serves as an excellent tool for generating diverse pose variations of a character and exploring different possibilities within a single piece, all while maintaining editing control. Keep in mind that there are multiple ways to utilize this plugin; the aforementioned approach is just one example. I encourage you to enjoy the creative possibilities it presents!
For a CC-to-ZB Roundtrip Solution
The Character Creator Pose Link is a specialized plugin designed to facilitate the creation of various poses for your characters. With this powerful tool, you can effortlessly switch between different poses with just a single click, streamlining your workflow and saving valuable time.
Pose Tools even offers seamless integration between ZBrush and Character Creator 4 (CC4), allowing you to easily transfer your models back and forth. Furthermore, you can leverage the extensive library of poses available in the CC Pose Library, providing a wealth of options and serving as an excellent foundation for your projects. Transferring these poses from CC4 to ZBrush is a breeze using ZBrush Pose Link. With just a simple click, your selected poses will be stored and easily accessible within Pose Tools.
Mobile scanning provides a convenient and cost-effective method for creating 3D models. However, unwieldy scanning conditions may result in compromised quality. By selecting the effective surfaces, Character CreatorHeadshot 2.0 plugin AI can overcome these challenges by seamlessly filling in the missing areas, such as the ears, skull, and neck, ensuring high-quality results.
In the latest Character Creator Headshot 2.0 plugin release, many people have been curious about how Reallusion managed to create the face scan from an iPhone. Here, we would like to share our own experience with a powerful iPhone 3D scanning app we used in this demo.
While there are numerous 3D mobile scanning apps and AI solutions for converting videos to 3D models available in the market, our production process has been made remarkably easier and the results have been highly satisfactory, thanks to the following key features from SCANDY PRO app:
Accessibility for iPhone Users: This app is specifically designed for iPhone users, utilizing the iPhone’s depth camera for enhanced model precision. Users can easily access the app as it is standalone. Additionally, the app captures color texture simultaneously with the scanning process, ensuring a comprehensive and accurate result. The affordable pricing makes it accessible to a wide range of users, allowing them to own the app , similar to other Reallusion products.
No Cloud Computing Required: Scandy app performs all the necessary calculations solely on the iPhone itself. Users can see the scan mesh progressively being built up in real-time during the capturing process. This eliminates the need to send data to the cloud for computing and wait for results. The real-time feedback provided by the app allows users to confirm the scan results and make necessary corrections with ease. The main challenge lies in ensuring that the subject remains still during the scanning process to obtain an accurate mesh.
Seamless File Transfer: After completing the scan, users can easily send the scan file to their PC via email or use Mac Airdrop if they have a Mac device. No additional registration is required, and users can immediately access the 3D model (OBJ) and texture files (around 1.5k * 1.5k) directly from their iPhone. The polygon count/file size is approximately 50K triangles, and while the mesh quality may not be perfect compared to photogrammetry, it is well-suited for Headshot 2.0 purposes. An important benefit is that users have the option to keep their works private without the need for public display, resulting in a fast turnaround time.
Mesh and Texture Quality: The app also supports multiple file formats, including OBJ and USDZ. The mesh density and vertex color are optimized to ensure high-quality results. While some limitations may exist, such as potential color banding, the overall mesh and texture quality is satisfactory for most applications.
José Tijerín is a digital illustrator, 3D sculptor, and creator of video games such as “Dear Althea” available on Steam. His content pack “We’re Besties” and “We’re Homies” are currently for sale in the Reallusion content store.
Hi, I’m José Tijerín, a digital illustrator, 3D sculptor, and videogame developer. You can check out my latest game, “From the Streets to the Script: A Carabanchel Story,” available on Steam. In this article, I will share my method for creating cartoonish wrinkles. >> Download hi-res anatomical textures used in this video
Creating cartoonish wrinkles for 3D characters is a breakthrough that helps bring them to life — and Character Creator’s (CC) Dynamic Wrinkle system enhances this process for both cartoon and realistic characters. Before we begin, read my article ‘Disney 2D Animation Style Remade with Character Creator 4’ (Part1. Part 2) for essential concepts in creating a solid 3D base model that looks professional without technical issues.
To add dynamic wrinkles, ensure your character is based on the CC base topology. Activate the dynamic wrinkles and select an empty layer in the “Texture Settings” section. Clicking “Individualize” generates a texture combining the base and wrinkle textures. Customizing wrinkles is a simple, fast, and visual process that involves replacing images.
Generating Realistic Wrinkles from AI Tools
Creating hyper-realistic dynamic wrinkles can be challenging if drawn by hand. Fortunately, Reallusion provides professional dynamic wrinkle packages — and now enhanced by AI. By capturing the front face of our character and leveraging AI image generation, we can achieve fabulous results.
Left: Original wrinkle in Character Creator .Right: AI-enhanced wrinkle.
Simply download and edit the desired image (using an image editor, like Clip Studio) to cut out the wrinkle area and paste it into our character’s base texture. We can convert the texture to a normal texture using specialized software, then replace the image in the dynamic wrinkles menu of CC. This straightforward process yields custom-tailored results.
CC provides sculpting tools for adding wrinkles directly onto the facial model. With brushes, we can precisely add wrinkles, adjust intensity and softness, and combine them with dynamic wrinkles for unique outcomes.
It’s crucial to remember that facial wrinkles go beyond expressing emotions, they can also convey moods like optimism and anxiety. By experimenting with various wrinkle-expression combinations, we can create expressive and captivating characters.
Simulating Dynamic Wrinkles for 4 Major Character Types
In this video, we will explore four different types of expression wrinkles for cartoon characters, transitioning from 3D to 2D. The four types include unlit 3D, 3D classic, cel shading, and anime styles.
Style 1 : Cartoon Unlit
Let’s create a 3D cartoon style without lights using brushstrokes to add details, resembling a painted look commonly seen in video games. First, create a “model sheets” schematic to define unique wrinkles and expressions for each character, ensuring uniqueness. Export the custom character from CC and import it into a texture creation program like Substance Painter.
In Substance Painter (SP), apply the base texture to the character’s face and paint the wrinkles while considering the lighting. This method is preferable for painting wrinkles directly on the texture, as mesh deformation can make it challenging to predict their appearance when the rest of the face is deformed.
After customizing the wrinkles in SP, load the image into the texture set in CC and activate the Dynamic Wrinkle system. Adjusting the speed at which the wrinkle texture appears with facial deformation enables pronounced and clear expressions for cartoon characters. Utilize CC’s facial profile editing system to fine-tune wrinkle details.
Style 2 : Classic 3D Cartoon
Since cartoon wrinkles have distinct hard lines resembling strokes, it’s important to convey skin elasticity while avoiding excessively large grooves. Reallusion’s “Wrinkle Essentials” package offers high-quality textures for realistic wrinkle and crease visuals. This package is valuable not only for realistic characters but also provides diverse facial wrinkle variations that enhance the unique features of cartoon characters.
For customizing wrinkles, extract the dynamic wrinkle textures and modify them in an image editor. This ensures a professional finish tailored to our character, as we’ve previously discussed with Reallusion’s offerings.
Style 3 : Cel-shaded look
To achieve dynamic facial expressions, lines are commonly used to simulate wrinkles and enhance specific facial cues. However, it’s important to avoid excessive lines that overwhelm the face. Manga provides a good example, where lines on the forehead emphasize anger alongside wrinkles on the nose.
For this style, begin by applying the desired cartoon effect provided by CC. Then, take the diffuse textures from different sets of dynamic wrinkles and draw expression lines on top of them. Drawing inspiration from comic and manga techniques can help create impactful facial expressions.
Style 4 : Anime
In manga, “manpu” symbols are used to express characters’ feelings in a clear and comical manner. These symbols, like sweat drops, striped lines on the face, or anger-induced swollen veins, can be incorporated by modeling the characters’ unused teeth and transforming them into symbols. The intriguing part is that these teeth deformations can be added as custom facial expressions in CC.
By utilizing morphs or facial deformations, lines can be added to enhance existing expressions. This technique enables the adjustment of wrinkle intensity and other facial elements like blushing. When combined with the dynamic wrinkle system, this approach is amplified.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this article. For more information, feel free to check out the related video.
• To delve into the inner workings of José’s manpus, visit the “Tijerín Art Studio” marketplace site to access his anime character, featured in this article.
Peter Haynes is a filmmaker based in Auckland, New Zealand. Last year, he and his team were the recipients of an Epic Games film‐making grant, which gave them the budget to create a fully animated short film called “Cheng Beng”, featuring a captivating story with set dressing and characters infused with classic Chinese culture. There are a couple of unique aspects in the making of this film. Firstly, despite his ample experience in live action filmmaking, Peter had limited experience in the realm of 3D animation. Secondly, the film had a tight deadline imposed by the small budget provided by the fund, necessitating quick turnaround times for the shots. The following content is presented in his own words.
Why choose Reallusion tools?
I highly value Reallusion’s software, particularly Character Creator (CC) and iClone. These tools have been indispensable in our production process. The streamlined and intuitive approach of building our actors using Character Creator allowed me to have our entire cast prepared within just a few days, a task that would have been previously impossible given my limited 3D skills.
Quick Start with Character Creator’s Content Ecosystem
With a total of five characters in the story, it was impractical to create each one from scratch. This was particularly challenging as we aimed to incorporate cultural elements and specific designs, making it difficult to find ready-made CG resources that fit the bill. In particular, during the character-building process, we had a specific vision for our little girl to wear a cheongsam. To our surprise, the Reallusion Content Store offered an extensive selection from various artists, allowing us to find one that suited our needs perfectly. With just a few adjustments in Photoshop to enhance the colors, the dress seamlessly applied to the character with minimal editing required.
Unreal Groom System vs iClone’s Card-Based Hair
To give my little girl character hair in CC, I initially attempted to create separate groom hair for her in Unreal Engine. While grooms can offer visually stunning and dynamically simulated hair, they can be resource-intensive and occasionally yield unpredictable lighting results. I may also have gotten carried away with hair physics, as I had just discovered their exciting capabilities.
However, if I were to approach the process again, I would consider leveraging CC hair cards to a greater extent. These hair cards can yield similar results while significantly reducing the processor load. Interestingly, all of the characters with short hair in this film utilized hair cards from Smart Hair Systems, and they performed exceptionally well. I have also recently experimented with the new hair builder pack, and I am delighted with the outcomes it has produced.
Finally, the CC Auto Setup Plugin allowed me to import these characters into Unreal with all their textures and costumes intact, the realistic shader look is ready for close-ups.
Creating Authentic Character Animations
In this short film, extensive dialogue and character interactions play a significant role. The animation requirements to support the storyline were daunting, but the following is his account of how he and his team managed to accomplish it within 90 days.
Animating Dialogs in Multiple Languages
But as brilliant as CC was, the real lifesaver for this dialogue‐heavy short film was the AccuLips feature in iClone. Not only did our film have a lot of dialogue, but it was also spoken in four separate languages, and the AccuLips tool worked brilliantly for all of them.
Because of the way it works, non‐Chinese speakers could simply type in what the words phonetically sounded like, and the results speak for themselves. Once again, the Reallusionsoftware made the impossible possible.
Additional lip sync animation tweaks can be made by the intuitive user interface.
Making realistic facial performances
Extra add‐ons tools and content, such as the Digital Soul collection of motion-captured expressions served as excellent base animations, which could then be enhanced through the easy-to-use and very fun face puppet tool. I have also since started capturing facial performances through the iPhone, which also works extremely well.
There is a bunch of stuff that I would do differently on this film now, due to both Reallusioncoming out with cool new features that weren’t available at the time, or me simply not knowing about a feature and only discovering it afterwards. The coolest of the cool new features is the Dynamic Wrinkle pack, which adds so much more subtle expression to characters than was available before.
Handling Challenging Cases – Walking hand in hand
An example of me only discovering a solution to a problem after the film was finished was this shot of our characters holding hands while walking. I spent ages keyframing pretty much every hand position in Unreal, and I still wasn’t happy with the finished product. Only afterwards did I discover the reach target tool. This allowed me to lock one character’s hand onto another and made that entire sequence a breeze. This, combined with the look at features that I also discovered later, are invaluable tools for streamlining and enriching the animation process, and I will certainly be making more use of them moving forward.
As a person who fully admits to being stronger creatively than technically, I’ve found theReallusion software packages really suit my way of working. They are simple to get your head around, intuitive in the way they work, and most importantly, fun. I look forward to using them again with all their newest features for our next short film.
Michael Pavlovich earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Animation from RSAD in 2005. Initially, he contributed to the development of environment and character art for popular video games such as Madden and NCAA Football. Later, he relocated to Austin to join Daybreak Games, where he worked on the creation of art assets for DC Universe Online.
Presently, Michael holds the position of Director of Character, Weapon, and Vehicle Art at Certain Affinity. His expertise lies in implementing iterative pipelines for Certain Affinity artists helping develop renowned video game franchises, including Halo, Call of Duty, and DOOM. To stay updated on his latest tutorial projects, you can visit Michael’s YouTube or ArtStation page.
PART 1 : Using Character Creator with ZBrush Pose Tools Plugin to Create & Organize Poses
ZBrush has been known for its powerful asset creation capabilities, but posing complex high-poly characters has always been a challenge. However, with the introduction of GoZ and the Pose Tools plugin, rigging, animating, and storing poses can now be accomplished in just minutes. The easy-to-use, single-button interface simplifies the process of applying poses to ZBrush characters, opening up a world of possibilities for making your creations come alive. By integrating Character Creator (CC) into their pipelines, artists can further harness the capabilities of this plugin and unlock new possibilities for introducing fresh poses.
Installation
To begin, it is essential to have all the necessary components installed.
Follow these steps:
Open the Reallusion Hub and ensure you have the latest version of CC installed.
Next, click on the “Product Home” button for ZBrush Pose Tools. This action will redirect you to a Reallusion download/install page.
On the Reallusion Download & Install page, click the Free Download Button for ZBrush Pose Tools.
After downloading, unzip the files.
Locate and copy the “Data” folder and “PoseTools.zsc” files.
Paste them into the “ZStartup\ZPlugs64” folder, or wherever you have ZBrush installed.
By following these steps, you will have successfully installed ZBrush Pose Tools for CC.
Demo Soldier Setup
Let’s work with the demo soldier character as it is accessible to everyone. Our goal is to cover both rigid binding (accessories or objects bound to a single joint) and soft binding (objects bound to multiple joints in a hierarchy).
Follow these steps:
Separate the “kneeGuard” subtool into right and left subtools. This division will allow us to bind these as accessories inside CC later on.
Ensure that each subtool has a unique and meaningful name. This will facilitate easy selection from a list and minimize errors that may arise from identical names or special characters that could cause issues.
By following these steps, we can effectively work with the demo soldier character, organizing subtools and preparing them for binding as accessories in CC.
Resizing
To facilitate easy access, dock the Pose Tools ZPlugin on the left side of your screen. You can either select a preset or manually enter a size in centimeters or feet. Ensure that the main body of your character subtool is selected, and then click the “Resize” button. This will ensure that your character is scaled to real-world units. This is not only beneficial for compatibility with CC but also for any application that requires your asset to be accurately scaled to a specific unit of measure.
GoZ
Click the “GoZ All” button in ZBrush to launch CC (if it is not already open) and initiate the rigging process by sending over the lowest subdivision versions of your asset.
If you need to configure GoZ, click the “R” button next to it. Additionally, you can access more options by going to “Preferences > GoZ”.
AccuRIG – Skeleton Creation
Within CC, click the “Update” button in the GoZ dialog box. This action will import all your subtools as grouped props. To initiate the rigging process, click the AccuRIG button located in the Modify panel. Upon entering AccuRIG mode, you will notice that your model automatically adjusts to position its feet on the ground plane.
To focus on the body, hide all objects except for the body itself. With the “Selected Meshes” option enabled, create guides by clicking the corresponding button. Utilize the placement diagrams to accurately position the guides. Once you have positioned the guides, press the “Generate Skeleton” button.
This step will convert the guides into joints and provide additional guides for the fingers. To position the finger guides, follow the same process as you did for the body guides. You can conveniently navigate to the hand area by clicking the frame buttons, which will swiftly move your camera accordingly.
AccuRig – Bind Skin
Now, make your objects visible again, but this time only select the parts of your character that should deform along with the skeleton. Leave any objects that shouldn’t bend during animation unselected, such as hats, armor, glasses, and similar items. Proceed to click the Bind Skin button.
This action will bind the selected bendable parts to the skeleton, grouping them together. The non-bendable objects will be placed in a separate group above as accessories. To ensure everything is working properly, you can click the “Check Animation” button to test your asset before exiting the AccuRIG mode. Once you are satisfied with the results, click the AccuRIG button again to exit AccuRIG mode.
Relink Your ZBrush File
It’s important to remember that when we entered AccuRIG mode, our character was automatically positioned to stand on the ground plane. Therefore, we need to update our ZBrush model to match this alignment. To do so, select the topmost group object for your character and click the GoZ button located at the top of the interface. In the dialogue box, ensure that “Relink” is automatically chosen for all your objects. Additionally, select “Current Pose” and then click the “GoZ” button. This action will send the vertex positions of your newly bound objects from CC back to ZBrush, updating the character’s location accordingly.
You will also notice that the subdivision history for your subtools in ZBrush remains intact, preserving any high-resolution details you have sculpted. It is recommended to save both your Character Creator and your ZBrush file. You can do this by navigating to “File > Save As” in both applications.
Adding Poses and Animations to Your Character
Back in CC, go to the “Content” tab and include an animation for your character. Explore the timeline to locate the ideal pose, and utilize the “Edit Pose” button in the “Modify > Motion Pose” tab to make precise adjustments. You can also drag a pose onto your character or select an animation from the “Motion” menu in the “Animation Playback” section.
Sending Poses Back to ZBrush
Once you have chosen a pose you like, go to the “Plugins > ZBrush Pose Link” menu. There, you will find options for sending the T/A poses to ZBrush, as well as the option to send the current character pose. Select the option to send your current pose back to ZBrush, which will save the pose data as a layer for each subtool.
Moreover, it will organize the pose into a conveniently selectable button. You can rename a pose by selecting it, and you can easily switch between poses using these buttons.
In subsequent articles, we will explore the remaining features of the Pose Tools plugin. However, what we have covered so far should encompass the majority of what you will need.
PART 2 : Posing a Custom ZBrush Character in CC with custom & library accessories
Now that we are familiar with the fundamental procedure, let’s discuss how you can bring your custom accessories into CC for posing, as well as how to import pre-existing assets from the CC library back into ZBrush. If you’re interested in creating a character of this nature, I have a 12-part series available on ArtStation Learning that you can follow along with. It provides detailed guidance and instructions for the entire process.
Polycount & ZRemesh
One important consideration is the polygon count when sending your model to CC. While you can create highly detailed models with millions of polygons in ZBrush, attempting to pose such a dense mesh would be extremely challenging. Instead, you can utilize ZRemesher and Project functions in ZBrush to generate a lower-density subdivision mesh that can be easily rigged and animated. By projecting your details onto higher-density subdivisions, you can preserve the intricate details without sacrificing performance. The step-by-step process for achieving this is thoroughly explained in the accompanying video.
Transferring Polypaint to Textures
One drawback of transferring a low-resolution mesh is that the quality of your polypaint may appear blurry without the high-resolution vertices to support it. However, this issue can be addressed by transferring the polypaint data (vertex color) from the high- to low-poly geometry. By doing this, your character will maintain its visual appeal during animation in CC. If you don’t mind animating with only the low-poly geometry, you can skip this step as it doesn’t affect functionality but rather just enhances the visuals.
GoZ
The process for transferring the model is similar to the previous setup. Just resize your character using the Pose Tools plugin (be sure to select your body mesh during resizing), and then send it to CC using GoZ. You will observe that the subtools with transferred polypaint as textures will appear as intended. However, objects without textures may lose their color. To address this, you have two options.
First, you can change the geometry display from “Normal” to “Smooth” to visualize the vertex color (polypaint) transferred from ZBrush. Alternatively, you can navigate to the “Modify > Material” tab and select a diffuse color for that specific object to restore its original color.
AccuRIG & Animation
Once again, the process is identical to the one demonstrated with the soldier. Begin by selecting all the objects that will undergo deformation and click on “Bind Skin” in AccuRIG. Make sure to choose “Selected Meshes” to bind only the selected objects.
Objects that should remain rigid, such as glasses, headphones, and the Walkman, should be left unselected. After binding the skin, you can exit AccuRIG and proceed to apply animations or poses to your character without any issues.
Custom Accessories
In ZBrush, append any custom accessories that you wish to pose your character with. Afterward, use the “GoZ All” function to send the entire scene back to CC. The newly appended subtools will automatically be added as accessories. Select them and adjust their pivot points to ensure they align properly with the character’s interaction, such as placing them in the character’s right hand in this case.
Remember to modify the “Attach to” section to the appropriate bone for your character, such as “CC_Base_R_Hand”. Once the accessory positions are adjusted, use the “GoZ” button within CC to relay the updated positions of the accessories back to ZBrush.
Adding CC Accessories
In the “Content” tab of CC, locate the “Accessory” section. From there, you can either drag and drop the desired accessories onto your character or obtain accessories from the Reallusion Content Store. By default, accessories are assigned to joints based on the best guess. For instance, sunglasses and hats are typically attached to the “CC_Base_Head” joint. However, you have the freedom to update the pivot, reposition the objects, and modify their attachments as per your requirements.
Once you have made the necessary adjustments, ensure that all objects in your scene are visible and selected. Then, use the GoZ feature in CC to transfer the updated scene, including the new accessories, back to ZBrush. This way, your ZBrush scene will be seamlessly updated with the newly added accessories.
Posing & Visibility Sets
Similar to the previous article, you can create multiple poses in CC and then send them back to ZBrush for convenient storage and access. To accomplish this, use the option “Send Current Pose to ZBrush Pose Tools” located in the “Plugins > ZBrush Pose Link” menu. This will store your poses and make them easily accessible within ZBrush. Additionally, for each pose, you can assign a “Subtool Visibility Set”, enabling you to show or hide specific subtools associated with that pose.
PART 3 : CC Cloth Simulation, Weight Paint, & ZBrush Cloth Sculpting
In addition to binding objects to a skeleton, we can enhance the CC by incorporating cloth simulation. This means that as our character animates, cloth objects will move and behave realistically, flowing naturally with their movements. If you’re intrigued by the idea of designing such dynamic characters, I invite you to join a series of livestreams where I demonstrate the entire creation process.
UVs for Cloth Objects
The initial steps for setting up your character will remain the same as demonstrated in the previous tutorial (naming your subtools, ensuring lower subdivisions for GoZ transfer, etc.). However, for the objects intended to be simulated in CC, it’s important to have UVs in place for generating a weight map later on. To expedite the UV creation process, we will employ the UV Master plugin in ZBrush.
Adjusting Weights
Once you have rigged and bound your character, you may encounter a few problematic areas. In our case, the cloth around the character’s neck may exhibit unnatural bending when the head moves, and the cloth cloak might appear as if it’s stuck to the limbs. To address both of these issues, follow these steps:
Select the problematic cloth objects and navigate to the “Modify” panel.
Click on the “Skin Weights” button.
For the neck cloth, use the paint operation to ensure that it stays connected to the “CC_Base_Spine02” bone.
As for the cloak, employ the Selection mode and perform a “Quick Replace” operation on all vertices associated with the cloth. Assign them to the “Spine02” bone.
By executing these steps, you should be able to rectify the bending of the neck cloth and ensure that the cloak follows the movements of the “Spine02” bone without appearing stuck to the character’s limbs.
Collision Shapes
To create the illusion of the cloth coming in contact with the character’s body without incurring the performance cost of using the body geometry itself, we can employ collision shapes. By pressing the “Collision Shape” button, we can add shapes to specific areas of the body where the cloak will interact, such as the chest, shoulders, and arms.
Weight Map
To activate physics for the selected character group, follow these steps:
With the top character group selected, navigate to the “Modify” section.
Click on the “Physics” tab within the “Modify” section.
Check the box labeled “Activate Physics” to enable physics simulations for the character.
Once you activate physics, CC will prompt you to assign a weight map to the materials. In this case, we want to associate the weight map with the “Cloth Cloak” material. However, since we don’t have an image for the weight map yet, we can create one using ZBrush. Here’s how:
Return to ZBrush and polypaint the desired areas of the character where the cloth will be bound, in this case, “Spine02”. This will serve as our weight map.
Transfer the polypaint information to a texture, similar to how we did it with the socks earlier.
Export the texture as our weight map.
Finally, in CC, we can plug the exported weight map into the material assigned to the cloth. The black parts of the weight map will be bound to the “Spine02” object, while the white parts will move freely like cloth, colliding with the collision shapes as the character animates.
Rigid Body, Soft Cloth, & Animation
To achieve the desired effect, follow these steps:
Enable the Rigid Body and Soft Cloth simulation options. You can find them at the top of your menu or by checking the respective boxes in the “Edit > Project Settings” menu.
Additionally, consider turning on the “Bake Animation” option while you’re in the settings menu. This allows you to scrub the timeline smoothly after the cloth simulation is completed.
Now, proceed to add an animation from the “Content” tab. Choose the desired animation that you want to apply to the cloth.
Finally, click the “Play” button in the animation player to start the playback.
Tip: To ensure the cloth reacts appropriately throughout each frame of the animation, change the playback setting from “Realtime” to “ByFrame”.
This will provide a frame-by-frame playback, allowing the cloth to respond accurately.
Pose Tools and Editing
As always, follow these steps to utilize the Pose Tools in ZBrush using the “Plugins > ZBrush Pose Link > Send Active Pose” option. This will transmit all the available pose options to ZBrush. After completing this step, click the “Edit Current Pose” button within the ZBrush Pose Tools plugin. This action will activate the REC button for each layer in the pose, enabling you to make sculptural modifications to any subtool.
Once you have finished editing, click the “Save Current Record” button. You can then proceed to edit your next pose or import a new pose from CC into ZBrush Pose Tools.
PART 4 : Pose Tools ZBrush Plugin: Layer & Pose Management with CC
Transpose Master
We’ve discussed using CC to create poses, but what about utilizing ZBrush for posing? Have you ever used ZBrush to pose before, perhaps using layers, but now you want to convert them into Pose Tools poses? The process is straightforward.
Here’s what you need to do:
Open ZBrush and navigate to “ZPlugin > Transpose Master”.
Make the desired pose changes using masking and gizmo/transpose lines.
With the Layer activated, press the “TPose | SubT” button. This action will send your Transpose Master changes back to your subtools, storing each change as a generic layer.
To make these layers recognized by Pose Tools, click the “Convert Layers to Pose” button.
By following these steps, you can seamlessly transition your ZBrush layers into Pose Tools poses, making it super easy to work with your desired poses.
Dynamic Cloth Simulation in ZBrush
Notice how we opted not to sculpt our cloak using Transpose Master. Instead, we can achieve the desired effect by following these steps: First, click on “Edit Current Pose” to position the cloth over the character. Then, utilize ZBrush’s dynamic cloth functionality to simulate the cloak over the body.
This feature allows you to apply cloth simulation to your sculpting brushes. For more details and guidance on ZBrush’s dynamic cloth functionality, including using cloth simulation with sculpting brushes, refer to the What’s New – ZBrush 2021 playlist.
Delete vs Remove
If you have a pose selected in the Pose Tools plugin, there are two options to remove it:
Press the “Remove” button: This will remove the pose from the Pose Tools library while keeping the edited layers in the subtools intact.
Use the “Delete” button: This option deletes the layers from the subtools, effectively removing the pose data from both the subtools and the Pose Tools plugin.
Detail Layers
You also have the ability to create new layers for each individual subtool. These layers can be modified independently, allowing you to make specific changes such as applying a weave surface noise. The great thing is that these layers can be toggled on and off for the other posed meshes as well, providing flexibility and control over the modifications across multiple meshes.
In Conclusion
Posing your ZBrush creations in CC is not only easy but also faster, with results that are easily organized using the Pose Tools pose library. With minimal preparation, your creations can achieve more, faster, and with higher quality compared to traditional manual methods. While we’re only beginning to explore the potential of Character Creator in enhancing character pipelines, this is undoubtedly a promising start!
Reallusion is hosting its annual 2D competition Animation At Work from now until August 13th, 2023. Participants are encouraged to utilize Cartoon Animator 5’s realtime character creation and 2D motion capture technology to create entries in categories including Business & Commercial, Comic & Art, and Educational Animation. The total prize pool is over USD 15,000 for worldwide contestants, with multiple sponsored prizes from XP-Pen, Magix, and Affinity.
6 categories, 12 winning spots, and MORE!
The contest invites participants to animate reallife projects for business promotions, educational training materials, animated comics, YouTube videos, and more.
Business & Commercial: Create an animated video commercial to promote a reallife or fictional concept, product, or service.
Comic & Art: We invite graphic art designers who possess the ability to transform original static drawings, illustrative art, or comic images into captivating animations.
Education: Utilize animated videos for educational purposes, including storytelling, kids’ songs, or instructional videos.
Best Use of CTA: If you are using Cartoon Animator 5 to compete, try to incorporate secondary animations such as Spring Dynamics and Free Form Deformation.
Best Animated Mascot: Promote your brand with your own unique character and demonstrate its animations using Cartoon Animator!
Vertical Shorts: Create a mobile friendly vertical 2D short and upload it to YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. Video length must be 15 seconds above.
The best chance for aspiring artists to enter the contest
Reallusion welcomes worldwide 2D artists to leverage a 2 month free software and free educational resources to participate in this event.
Free trial: Don’t have Cartoon Animator to compete? No worries! You can always trial use it for 30 days first from our FREE Trial Page.
Free webinars: Hosted by Reallusion’s certified trainers Mark Diaz and GarryPye. This webpage is a place where you can back up your Cartoon Animator knowledge before diving into contest entry production. Mark is the founder of 2D Animation 101 and a TED Talk speaker. Whereas Garry is Reallusion’s Community Manager for CTA and a CTA veteran. They will guide you on how to get started with Cartoon Animator and master the key skills for the contest.
Learn more
About the Animation at Work Contest: register today! The Reallusion Animation At Work Contest is an event that invites EVERYONE to use their imagination to animate real-life projects like business promotions, educational training materials, how-to videos, animated comics, YouTube news videos, and more. Would-be participants can freely enter any of the four categories to compete with the 2D animation community.
About Cartoon Animator: Cartoon Animator is a 2D animation software designed for both abilities of entry and productivity. You can turn images into animated characters, control characters with your expressions, generate lip-sync animation from audio, accomplish 3D parallax scenes, produce 2D visual effects, access content resources, and wield a comprehensive Photoshop pipeline to rapidly customize characters and create content.
The “2022 Animation At Work” contest was a runaway success that consisted of 30 winning submissions, with more creativity and skill in a single contest than we have ever witnessed. Winners not only walked away with big prizes but also got the chance to be featured on the web page and become featured developers on Reallusion content stores.
