Alejandro de Pasquale

Since the age of 9, Alejandro de Pasquale embarked on a creative journey, crafting his first rudimentary comics and discovering his fervent passion for storytelling. With each passing year, Alejandro honed his creativity, delving into diverse tools and skills to encapsulate narratives across a spectrum of challenges.

From scripting movies to producing motion graphics for various enterprises, Alejandro explored the avenues of storytelling, eventually finding his true calling in breathing life into characters and immersive 3D worlds. It was through the transformative power of software like iClone and Character Creator (CC) that Alejandro delved into the world of 3D animation, discovering new dimensions to his storytelling prowess.

Embracing the entirety of the creative process, he channels his ardor for storytelling into his current roles at a motion capture company and an animation studio. Continually attuned to the latest advancements, Alejandro remains steadfast in his commitment to the craft, unwavering in the enthusiasm that ignited his creative spark at an early age.

“The significant advantage of iClone and Character Creator is that as one learns, one can also visualize the results. In other words, one can quickly breathe life into a character, and create a scene with animation, serving as an incentive to keep acquiring knowledge.”

Alejandro de Pasquale – Motion Graphic Artist / 3D Animator / Filmmaker / Content Creator

Q: Welcome Alejandro to our Reallusion Feature stories. Please share with us how you started creating animations with After Effects and what made you switch to tools like Character Creator and iClone.

Thank you! Well, it all started many years ago. I used to film and edit videos until I suddenly felt the need to embark on something more creative. That’s when I immersed myself in creating advertising animations in motion graphics, targeting small businesses, or presentations for a film director interview program, for which I handled the editing.

I believe this coincided with the rise of After Effects (AE) around the year 2015. During that period, I discovered my fondness for participating in forums and sharing my knowledge through my YouTube channel, where I started to teach everything about After Effects.

Later on, After Effects embraced the capability of working in 3D within its interface, first with a plugin for Cinema 4D, which, in my opinion, didn’t prove effective, and then with the contribution of one of the great masters of composition and VFX, Andrew Kramer. He created the Element 3D plugin, enabling the creation of 3D animations within After Effects or the addition of 3D elements in VFX compositions with filmed footage, while maintaining the layer structure characteristic of After Effects.

It was then that I realized my true passion lay in creating cinematic 3D compositions, not confining myself to a single area like animation or modeling but involving myself in crafting entirely 3D scenes, independent of filmed footage.

For unknown reasons, neither After Effects nor Andrew Kramer chose to advance the evolution of Element 3D. So, I decided to embark on what I thought would be my last project in AE: a personal scene where I could utilize Element 3D and After Effects to their full potential. This scene evolved into an approximately 10-minute episode called EVA 1.

Although I was pleased with the result, I realized that if I wanted to create 3D scenes or episodes of animation, I needed more than After Effects and Element 3D, where the character could only have a voiceover, for example. Hence, I began searching for tools that would allow me to create a workflow where I could create, direct, and produce everything. I had heard about iClone, so I decided to delve deeper.

Fortunately, for those looking to delve into this world in the Latin American sphere, there’s a wealth of tutorial videos in Spanish, which is an advantage, even though I’m always learning from YouTube in any language. FRANPEREZ3D’s channel was my first “lighthouse.” That’s how I dove into continuing with EVA, through multiple episodes that would help me learn all about Reallusion’s software. It also helped me solve various issues and immerse myself fully in this new world.

Q: Being first a Motion Graphics artist, please share with us how you were able to learn 3D animation with the Reallusion tools. How long did it take, and how easy was it?

Well, although learning is a constant process, especially in today’s dynamic environment where software evolves continuously at a pace not experienced a decade ago, the significant advantage of iClone and Character Creator is that as one learns, one can also visualize the results. In other words, one can quickly breathe life into a character, and create a scene with animation, serving as an incentive to keep acquiring knowledge.

On one hand, both programs are highly intuitive, as their interfaces allow users to quickly find the necessary tools. On the other hand, there is a wealth of learning material available on the Internet. The company consistently releases explanatory videos, enabling users to stay updated and continuously add new knowledge. This is positive as it motivates individuals to stay current. For instance, in my opinion, what led to the decline of After Effects back then was the lack of significant updates from Adobe. Despite new versions, none offered substantial changes, leading to redundancy in YouTube tutorials.

Creating an animated short film typically requires a team of animators, modelers, lighting experts, and cameramen, among others. However, with Reallusion, one can venture out individually and start experimenting as a film director, having control over everything at a minimal cost.

Basically, I believe the main advantage lies in opening the program and starting to “play” with the options. Watching characters perform actions is something that motivates continuous learning and improvement. Additionally, it’s just a matter of searching for tutorials and references from great creators who use this software.

Q: Your first character was made using Daz3D. What was the workflow of updating it with Character Creator (CC) to later send it to Unreal Engine? What advantages does CC give you over Daz3D?

That’s correct. Initially, Eva was created in Daz 3D because it was one of the few models that could be integrated with Element 3D. I consider Daz 3D as software primarily designed for creating 3D characters intended to be rendered in images, not so much for animation. It doesn’t offer many options in that regard, or at least it hasn’t been developed in that direction. However, I believe it serves as a free entry point for those deciding to take their first steps into the world of 3D.

Starting from Eva 2, I began using Character Creator. In this process, I only needed to retain Eva’s face created with Daz. Fortunately, Character Creator facilitates the import of FBX, converting its entire skeleton. This way, I could import Eva’s complete body (with rigging for facial expressions) and, separately, her clothing from Daz 3D. From that point, I enhanced everything using the various options provided by Character Creator: adjusting textures, eyes, and expressions. Then, when taking it to Unreal Engine, I only had to export the FBX (with the option for Unreal), and in that program, through a plugin designed by Reallusion, not only the model but also its textures are imported seamlessly. Without any further action required. Of course, one can fine-tune the textures there. But all the work done in Character Creator is imported perfectly.

Although there’s the option to send the character and animation through the iClone Unreal LIVE LINK plugin, I personally prefer exporting the FBX of the character in its T-pose and subsequently sending the FBX animation files in iClone. This working method aligns better with my workflow and how I have structured the animations, making it more practical for me.

Q: iClone played an important part in your character animation. How did you use iClone’s AccuLIPS feature to convert Spanish audio into English animated lipsyncs? Where did you find the motions to accelerate your creation time?

Well, iClone’s AccuLips feature, I believe, was one of Reallusion’s best moves! It was the feature that persuaded me to stay connected with Reallusion, even when Unreal’s Metahuman came out. Facial animation, in the world of 3D, is the most challenging to achieve without a specialized animator in this field.

In my case, each episode begins with an audio recording. For Eva, this is done through Natalia Rosminati, one of the best voiceover artists in Latin America (having her work on each episode is truly a privilege). And for Rob, with the voice of another tremendous professional, Facundo Reyes. Initially, they were intrigued by the fact that all I needed were their voices, and then I used that to initiate the animation in iClone. It also gives them complete freedom when recording.

Once I have the audio, I divide it into paragraphs based on the animation. Then I import each of these “paragraphs” into iClone through AccuLips. The audio is in Spanish, of course. At first, I did this: imported the audio into AccuLips, instructed it to ignore words it didn’t understand, obviously, and then adjusted the phonemes in the iClone timeline. But later, while watching one of the many explanatory videos that Reallusion releases, I realized that after importing the audio, I could change the text created by AccuLips (with the misunderstood words) to the actual text. And then, only at that point, send it to the timeline. This way, there’s practically no need to correct anything in the phonemes. The synchronization and mouth movement are almost flawless without any extra effort.

Then comes the part where we can start using the options, such as the intonation type and adding expressions. Here, I discovered a tremendously helpful package: Digital Soul. They come with predefined expressions that fit perfectly with any dialogue. If they continue adding expressions in the future, that would be fantastic.

In any case, there are options like iClone Motion Puppet or Motion Key to enhance or adjust each of them further. And finally, the addition of wrinkles to emphasize each expression better. This added an even better touch to the facial animations.

Q: Both Unreal Engine and iClone work seamlessly. What advantages does using these real-time tools bring you? And what can the people who follow your free iClone-Unreal Course expect to learn?

Complementing my workflow with iClone, Character Creator, and Unreal Engine turned out to be ideal for me. Reallusion’s programs seamlessly integrate with Unreal, as everything can be exported there with options prepared for it. Whether working with LIVE LINK or exporting as FBX, everything can be visualized with real-time rendering, which is the major advantage. Nowadays, traditional animation studios, I believe, are still amazed by this, as in the case of other software, they render a frame and decide what to change based on that.

Here, we see everything in real-time, providing another perspective even to rethink a scene, whether it be due to light or the setting. One truly “plays” the role of a director, making decisions on the set. In my case, I feel comfortable working on everything related to characters and animation in iClone, and then going to Unreal to compose everything.

Regarding those who follow my free course on both the channel and the website: my idea is to create a Latin community that holds more significance, even with our language in our productions. I want to reverse the situation for many people who practice this but then have to make a living in another way. In my case, learning these tools opened the door to a new work area related to what I do. That’s why I like to share everything I know so that other people can join this path. This, in turn, will contribute more talent and knowledge that will also benefit me.

For now, this is the aspect where I progress more slowly, but at least I’m making progress. I’ve met some users who have excellent works, but it’s challenging to see productions. I believe that selling more licenses is fundamental for this. It will bring more people to join professionally and more productions in Latin America. Therefore, sharing everything I’m learning through EVA, I believe, will help and inspire more creators. My idea is never to stop the free teaching on my channel for those who cannot access it in a paid form. And in that way, the cost of the license will be the only investment in this.

I would like to conclude with this anonymous quote, which was my first post when I started my free teaching platform: “Ignorance enslaves. Knowledge sets us free. Freedom makes us happy. Happiness (and only that) makes us succeed in life” (anonymous). Thanks for the support.

I would like to conclude with this anonymous quote, which was my first post when I started my free teaching platform: “Ignorance enslaves. Knowledge sets us free. Freedom makes us happy. Happiness (and only that) makes us succeed in life” (anonymous).

Thanks for the support.

Alejandro de Pasquale – Motion Graphic Artist / 3D Animator / Filmmaker / Content Creator

Follow Alejandro de Pasquale:

https://www.alerender.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/alerendersoc

https://www.facebook.com/aleRENDER-216423661706643/

https://www.instagram.com/alerender_ae/

https://www.artstation.com/alerender