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The Evolution of Cartoon Animator: A Conversation with Garry Pye

March 31, 2025July 21, 2025 enocburgos1 Comment

Garry Pye

Garry Pye is an Australian illustrator, animator, and Cartoon Animator instructor with over a decade of experience in the animation industry. Known for his unique blend of creativity and humor, Garry’s work spans from teaching animation techniques to creating innovative content that helps both novice and experienced animators improve their skills.

Garry’s enthusiasm for storytelling and animation shines through in all his projects, whether it’s creating animated shorts, preparing educational tutorials, or sharing his expertise by teaching. With a passion for making animation accessible and fun, Garry has built a community of learners who not only appreciate his knowledge but also his infectious sense of humor and dedication to his craft.

“It’s amazing to think about how far Cartoon Animator software has come—what was once a simple tool has now become a powerhouse in the animation world, making 2D animation faster, fun, and accessible to everyone.”
Garry Pye – 2D/3D Animator, Cartoonist, Content Developer

You’ve been working with Cartoon Animator for over a decade—how has the software evolved since you first started using it?

It’s amazing to think about how far the software has come—what was once a simple tool has now become a powerhouse in the animation world, making 2D animation faster, fun, and accessible to everyone.

When I first started using Cartoon Animator over a decade ago, it was a relatively new tool. Initially, it was focused on 2D puppet animation, and the interface was fairly simple, which I actually found refreshing as it made the animation process faster. But over the years, the software has undergone some incredible transformations, adding more and more tools and features, while still providing the ability for animators to work fast.

The introduction of motion capture and facial animation tools, for instance, completely revolutionized the way animators can work with characters. Plus, with each update, the tools have become more powerful, allowing advanced animators to create more complex animation, while also making the interface easier, meaning new animators can be completing projects straight away.

As a teacher, I’ve also seen how the addition of more robust tutorials, a growing community, and the improved compatibility with other software has helped both amateurs and professionals push their creative boundaries.

What advice would you give someone just starting out with Cartoon Animator as an animator or developer?

For anyone just starting out with Cartoon Animator, my biggest piece of advice is to take it step by step. A lot of beginners expect to create the next Disney blockbuster in their first week, but like any skill, animation takes time to master.

For animators, the key is to learn the basics first. Focus on understanding the fundamentals—how keyframes work, how to navigate the timeline, and how the X, Y, and Z axes affect movement. Once you have a solid grasp of these, you can start exploring all the different tools Cartoon Animator offers.

A great approach is to pick one tool at a time and master it before moving on. Instead of trying to learn everything at once, perfect one aspect, whether it’s motion paths, character rigging, or lip-syncing. This way, you build confidence and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Also, start small. Don’t worry about complex scenes or long sequences right away. A simple animation—like making a character walk across the screen, stop, and wave—will teach you the core principles. Once you have the basics down, you can start layering in more advanced techniques.

Most importantly, just start. You’ll never improve if you don’t take that first step. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Every great animator started somewhere. The sooner you begin experimenting, the faster you’ll learn.

For developers, if you have artistic skills and can draw, the 2D Marketplace is an absolute goldmine. It’s a place where your artwork can generate passive income. You create content once, upload it, and let it make money for you while you sleep. It’s free to upload, you control your pricing and marketing, and best of all, you get to make a living doing what you love.

The key to success as a content creator is to identify opportunities. Look at what’s trending in the marketplace, find the gaps in available content, and create assets that fill those needs. Cater to what animators are looking for, and you’ll build a strong, profitable presence. There’s no better way for an artist to turn their skills into real income.

Do you think AI will play a significant role in 2D animation? And have you found a use for it in your own workflow?

AI is already making an impact on 2D animation, but rather than replacing animators, I see it as a tool that enhances what we do. Animation will always need creativity, storytelling, and artistic vision which humans can provide.

Where AI shines is in speeding up the more tedious parts of animation. Tasks like automating in-between frames, or helping with lip-sync can save animators a huge amount of time and means artists can focus more on storytelling and character performance rather than spending hours on repetitive tasks.

That being said, I don’t believe AI will fully replace the human touch in animation. Humans inject personality into a character, and understand comedic timing in the way only a person can. Animation is an art form, and art will always need artists.

AI isn’t something to fear—it’s another tool in your toolbox, just like motion capture or physics simulations. If it helps make animation faster and more accessible, then that’s a win for everyone.

Currently I use AI as a support tool in my workflow rather than something that takes over the creative process. One of the main ways I use AI is with animation backgrounds where it helps me quickly create base images that I can refine and customise, saving me time while still keeping my artistic style intact.

I’ve also experimented with AI for idea generation. Whether it’s brainstorming character designs, testing different color palettes, or even coming up with new story concepts, AI can be a great way to spark creativity when I hit a block.

If you could animate any project with no time constraints, what would you create?

If I had no time constraints, I’d love to take one of my character series and develop a full animated comedy series. I’ve created quite a few characters over the years, but if I had to choose, Alien Squad or Toons Folk would be at the top of my list. Both have so much personality, endless stories to tell, and the potential for some very funny moments.

The best part is that, thanks to Cartoon Animator, this dream is actually possible. Unlike the old days, where producing an animated series required a massive team and a Hollywood budget, today an individual can create an entire show from start to finish, all on their own. The tools, the software, and the creative freedom are all there. The only thing I need more of is time!

It’s exciting to know that independent animators can now bring their ideas to life in ways that were once impossible. I’d like to think that one day, when I find that time, I could develop my ideas and do this.

Follow Garry Pye

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/garrypyeanimations/

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

2D Marketplace:
https://marketplace.reallusion.com/cartoon-animator/author/garrypye?sort=newest&page=1&countofpage=60

Related Topics

Richard Mans demonstrates how iClone 8.5's prop animation tools can make vivid 3D miniature animation with Unreal and Kitbash3D.

Featured Story

Animating Vibrant Miniature Worlds: 3D Environment and Crowd Interactions with iClone, Unreal, and KitBash3D

March 28, 2025July 17, 2025 ReallusionLeave a comment

Richard Mans

Richard Mans, a New Zealand-based artist and filmmaker, is renowned for his fantastical short films. His 2011 animated short Abiogenesis received widespread acclaim, winning multiple awards and screening at festivals worldwide. Mans continues to push the boundaries of animation and user experience, focusing on prototype display technologies in the automotive industry.

Excited by the possibilities of high-quality real-time rendering, he is now dedicated to creating captivating short-form videos. “Fuzzyrealms” serves as his online portfolio, showcasing his latest works. Passionate about crafting brief glimpses into fantastical worlds, Mans finds inspiration in daily creativity. Follow him on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, or subscribe to his mailing list for updates.

Follow Richard Mans

From Kitbash3D to iClone

I started the project by selecting the “Flower Shop” model from Cargo (an app by Kitbash3D that comes with their entire library of 3D Assets) and importing it into Unreal Engine.

I then transferred the “Flower Shop” to iClone using the iClone Unreal Live Link plugin. It makes transferring assets between the Unreal Engine and iClone super fast and easy and ensures perfect alignment of all my assets between the programs.

Bringing it all to life with MD Props

With the building now in iClone I place the MD props around my scene. Then create a “Navmesh” for where I want my characters to go. Then generate the crowd with iClones Crowd Generation tool.

In Motion Director, I select all the characters then change the “Agent Radius” slider. The Agent Radius affects how much the characters will try to avoid each other and is a great way to tweak the crowd simulation. To scatter the crowds from ActorCore, I added my actors and Motion Director files, then select pick object and pick the plane area, then deploy actors to populate the crowds.

When I run the simulation the characters automatically interact with the MD Props. This automatic interaction works with an adjustable radius around each MD Prop. When a character walks into the radius of a prop it has a chance of interacting with that prop.

I can also control the characters manually. In Motion Director I switch a character to “Player Control”, click “Start” then move the character around using an Xbox controller. I then click on the MD Props which brings up a radial menu where I can choose the interaction I want my character to have with the prop.

Return Trip to Unreal Engine

Now that I’m happy with how the crowd is animated in iClone, I attach the props that I want to transfer to Unreal Engine to the Dummy Props. Making sure the prop is attached to the “AxisDummy” of the MD Prop. This is so the Prop will move in the same way as the Dummy Prop.

Using iClones Unreal Live Link I transfer the crowd and animated props to Unreal Engine. Selecting the “Include Motion” and “Bake all animations to Sequencer” options and selecting the characters and animated props that I want to transfer to Unreal Engine.

With the crowd and animated props now in Unreal Engine, I import a “Two Bedroom Apartment” model from “Cargo” and piece together my scene. Lastly, I animate my main character in iClone using the Motion Live plugin. Then transfer the main character to Unreal Engine.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for joining me through this process. I found using iClones MD Props was a lot of fun and it made animating complex crowd animations much easier.

With tools like iClone, Unreal Engine, and Cargo, the possibilities are endless. So, whether you’re an aspiring filmmaker or a seasoned pro, keep pushing the boundaries of creativity and never stop dreaming big! Please check out my @fuzzyrealms social media channels to see more of my work. Thanks!

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VFX Graduate uses iClone & Character Creator in Final Project

March 28, 2025October 2, 2025 enocburgosLeave a comment

Muhammad Ibrahim – CG Generalist / Filmmaker

Muhammad Ibrahim

Muhammad Ibrahim, a CG generalist and filmmaker, recently unveiled his captivating short film, Echoes. A graduate of Seneca VFX, Ibrahim was granted a remarkable opportunity by Reallusion to bring his vision to life using their advanced software tools, Character Creator and iClone. Echoes takes viewers on a haunting journey through the perspective of a character trapped in a surreal loop within a subway station. As the protagonist strives to connect with others around him, he confronts the unsettling realization that he is a ghost—a revelation that serves as the emotional crux of the narrative.

This project showcases Ibrahim’s ability to merge storytelling with technical mastery. By leveraging Character Creator for designing stylized digital characters and iClone for crafting seamless animations, he demonstrates how Reallusion’s tools can empower creators to produce cinematic-quality content. The software’s user-friendly interface and robust features made it possible for Ibrahim to focus on refining the intricate emotions and atmospheric tension central to Echoes.

Muhammad’s ArtStation

With Echoes, Muhammad Ibrahim not only showcases his artistic talent but also exemplifies how emerging filmmakers can harness cutting-edge technology to create impactful narratives. This short film is a testament to his dedication to storytelling and the innovative potential of Reallusion’s tools in the world of independent filmmaking.

“One of my proudest achievements is a short film called Echoes. To bring this concept to life, I relied on Reallusion’s tools like Character Creator and iClone. CC allowed me to craft detailed, lifelike characters efficiently, while iClone and Actorcore helped me with fluid animations that brought emotional depth to the story. Unreal Engine Live-linked with iClone tied everything together, providing a cinematic quality that elevated the visuals.”
Muhammad Ibrahim – CG Generalist / Filmmaker

Your short film Echoes is deeply emotional and atmospheric. What inspired the story, and how did you approach translating that vision into a cinematic experience?

My natural affinity for psychological and eerie themes and the hybird artstyle—mix of realistic and stylized—has always driven my storytelling. I’m fascinated by exploring solitude, the boundaries of reality, and the emotional journey of self-realization. A few years ago, my friend and I began an exercise where we would come up with random words and transform them into storylines. Echoes emerged from this exercise, where I thought about the concept of being stuck in a place, unable to move on, and exploring the tension that comes with realizing you are no longer part of the world you once knew. The subway setting was ideal—it’s a place that feels both crowded and isolating, amplifying the psychological aspect of the story.

Translating this concept into a cinematic experience meant creating a mood that matched the eerie tone of the narrative. I focused heavily on lighting and composition to highlight the atmosphere of the subway, evoking a sense of quiet tension. The pacing and the use of long takes were also key in building the unsettling feeling. Reallusion’s tools allowed me to create the environment and characters in a way that felt both realistic and surreal, helping to bring the story’s eerie and psychological elements to life.

As a recent graduate of Seneca VFX, how did your training prepare you for the challenges of creating a project like Echoes?

My time at Seneca VFX was crucial in shaping both my technical skills and creative mindset, preparing me for the challenges of a project like Echoes. Throughout my courses, I learned how to balance the artistic side of filmmaking with the technical aspects, which helped me transform ideas into something cinematic. I learned to approach pre-production, planning, and iteration with discipline, and I had the chance to experiment with a wide range of tools and workflows, which provided the flexibility I needed to make informed creative decisions.

A significant part of my success came from the support of my professors. They helped me build the confidence to push my limits, offering valuable insights on problem-solving and troubleshooting as challenges arose. Their guidance was essential in navigating the obstacles I faced, from scene assembly to camera compositions, colors and lighting. They taught me the importance of adapting and staying persistent when things didn’t go as planned, which was crucial for completing a project like Echoes.

Character Creator played a key role in crafting the lifelike characters in Echoes. Can you share how you utilized its features to bring your characters to life?

“Character Creator was essential in helping me bring my characters to life in Echoes. One of the features I relied on most was the ability to create highly customizable characters quickly. With CC’s intuitive interface, I could experiment with different facial expressions, body types, and clothing styles to match the tone of the film. I used the morph sliders to adjust the details of the characters’ faces and body language, which helped convey their inner emotions more effectively.”
Muhammad Ibrahim – CG Generalist / Filmmaker

Skingen and dynamic wrinkles system in CC were also crucial, allowing me to add realism to the designs. Whether it was the subtle details of skin or clothing, these features helped create characters that felt both grounded and expressive, adding depth to the emotional weight of the story.

The optimization that you get out of the box with reallusion’s suite of tools played a vital part for an artist working on lowbudget equipment and hardware.

Character Creator (CC) has been a game-changer in how I approach character design and animation. It’s one of those tools that I use for almost every project because it lets me quickly create lifelike characters that can be tailored to my specific needs. I typically start by choosing a base character and then customize it by adjusting facial features, body shape, and proportions with the morph sliders. This flexibility means I can design a character that fits the story’s mood and tone without being restricted to pre-made models.

One of the things I really appreciate about CC is how easy it is to tweak the details. I can fine-tune the skin textures, adjust hair styles, and even design clothing that’s perfectly suited for each character.

For a project like Echoes, this was especially important since I needed a character that felt both grounded and surreal at the same time. I could make the character look realistic enough to evoke empathy but also have subtle design choices that made them feel slightly out of place in the eerie setting of the film.

What really ties everything together for me is how well CC integrates with other tools I use, like iClone and Unreal Engine. Once I’m happy with the design, I can easily export the character into iClone for animation, and then bring it into Unreal Engine for rendering. This streamlined workflow allows me to focus on the creative aspects without worrying about compatibility issues between programs.

You also integrated ActorCore Motion capture, with iClone and Unreal Engine during production. What were the benefits of using this pipeline, and how did it enhance the storytelling process in Echoes?

Integrating ActorCore Motion capture, iClone, and Unreal Engine was a game-changer for Echoes. The motion capture gave the characters a more realistic and natural range of movement, which was critical for making the emotional moments feel authentic. With iClone, I could fine-tune the motions, adjusting them to fit the mood of each scene. The real-time feedback in Unreal Engine allowed me to see the final result immediately, making it easier to adjust the lighting, camera angles, and overall composition to match the tone I wanted.

This pipeline streamlined the production process, saving time and allowing for more iterations, which in turn helped enhance the storytelling. The realism in the character performances added emotional weight to the story, especially since the narrative relies so much on subtle facial expressions and body language.

Congratulations on having ECHOES officially selected for the Nahal International Short Film Festival! As an aspiring filmmaker, what advice would you give other artists who are considering Reallusion assets for their productions?

Thank you! My advice would be to embrace the versatility of Reallusion’s tools. They are incredibly user-friendly, but also provide a high level of customization, which is great for both beginners and seasoned artists. The ability to work with characters, animations, and environments seamlessly can help you focus on the creative aspects of your story, rather than getting bogged down with technical limitations.

I’d also recommend exploring the full pipeline—Character Creator for character design, iClone for animation, and Unreal Engine for rendering. This combination creates a powerful workflow that can help bring your vision to life quickly and efficiently, without sacrificing quality. Don’t be afraid to experiment and push the boundaries of what these tools can do. Reallusion offers the flexibility to create something truly unique.

Follow Muhammad Ibrahim

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/muhammadibrahim9412/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/muhammad-ibrahim-1a8150127/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MuhammadIbrahim9412

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Certified 3D lecturer Oscar Fernandez shares his honest review about 3DConnexion SpaceMouse. In the article, he explains how to boost Your 3D Workflow in Character Creator and ZBrush.

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Expert Review: How the 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse Can Boost Your Workflow in Character Creator and ZBrush

March 26, 2025July 21, 2025 ReallusionLeave a comment

Oscar Fernandez

Hello Artists! I’m Óscar Fernández, and I have in my hands a tool I’ve been dying to try. The folks at 3Dconnexion sent me the SpaceMouse Enterprise to test it out and share my experience in the field of digital sculpting.

I’m going to give you my genuine and honest opinion. Is it really useful for 3D sculpting? Is it worth it for programs like ZBrush, Character Creator, or Substance 3D Painter? Let’s find out!

Oscar Fernansez’ ArtStation

Unboxing

We open the box, and, as expected, everything is perfectly protected. We take out the SpaceMouse Enterprise, and just by looking at it, it already exudes quality. It’s super sturdy, well-built, and has a very professional design. A small guide with the steps to follow is included. The first thing that catches my eye is its design. This is a super premium product: robust materials, impeccable finishes, and an imposing size. It has a good combination of buttons, a high-resolution screen, and the iconic 3D control in the center. The design is completely ergonomic and crafted for professionals—as if it could perfectly sit on a NASA designer’s desk. It looks fantastic, so let’s keep testing it.

Installation

The setup is simple. Connect the device via USB, download the drivers from the 3Dconnexion website, and follow a short tutorial to learn the joystick controls. I initially ran into a minor compatibility issue, but older driver versions are available, so I downloaded the right one, and everything worked perfectly.

Eager to test it, I launched CC4 and loaded a 3D model. At first, controlling the camera felt unnatural—my model kept slipping off-screen as I instinctively relied on 2D navigation habits. Then, it clicked: the SpaceMouse mimics holding the model in your hands. Once I adjusted, movement felt completely natural. After about 30 minutes of practice, I had full control, and navigation became smooth and intuitive. Now, let’s see how it performs in real use.

Real use

Once you get used to navigating with the 3D control, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start sculpting for real.

From the very beginning, I noticed that I was going to struggle with the default button layout; especially the default keys for Ctrl, Alt, and Shift didn’t quite convince me, and I couldn’t work fluidly. My hands automatically went for the commands in the positions they were used to, but here they were in different spots. So, the beginning was a bit chaotic.

Total customization

No matter which software you use, you can shape it to your liking with a little configuration. There are two possible customization solutions I’ve used to adapt my workflow to this new tool.

First, in ZBrush, I made the changes manually. I’ve set Esc as Shift, Tab as Ctrl, and Enter as Alt. This way, my hand placement remains the same, and my fingers rest on the keys, allowing me to keep my natural movements without worrying about repositioning.

Now everything flows naturally, but with more control! Customizing the settings made a huge difference, and I kept tweaking buttons to refine the experience. This is just the beginning—I’ll keep adjusting as I go.

Once shortcuts are customized, they can be saved for easy access. Alternatively, you can use pre-made presets, like those from Reallusion for iClone. Just download and import them to start working immediately, with the option to tweak further. Reallusion has several presets ready that you simply download from the website and import via the SpaceMouse configuration window. With this, you can start working immediately with an optimized setup, although you can still tweak it to your liking.

This could be a good setup for working really fast in the case of Character Creator.

Evolution of gadgets in 3D sculpting

The evolution of the tools we use helps make the work experience increasingly natural, efficient, and immersive.

Sculpting with Mouse and Keyboard: It works (of course, it does), but it’s uncomfortable and the brush strokes are clumsy and imprecise. Without pressure sensitivity, we spend more time adjusting parameters than sculpting.

The First Graphics Tablet: This is our first big leap. The pen’s pressure gives us control over the stroke, making the process more natural and fluid.

Drawing Monitors: With a pen display, we draw directly on the image. This eliminates the disconnect between hand and screen, improving both precision and comfort.

SpaceMouse: The Ultimate Navigation Tool. And here we are with the SpaceMouse. While all the previous gadgets improve the stroke and control, navigation remains a challenge. Constantly rotating, moving, and framing the model with keyboard shortcuts and clicks can break our rhythm a bit. It’s something you internalize so much that you barely notice the SpaceMouse; the sensation completely changes—it’s as if you were truly holding the figure in your own hands. You can rotate, zoom, and move the view naturally and effortlessly, which speeds up and enhances the workflow impressively.

The SpaceMouse doesn’t replace the graphics tablet, but it complements it spectacularly. The feeling of having total control over navigation, combined with the fluidity of a good drawing monitor, makes sculpting much more natural and immersive. It’s one of those tools you didn’t know you needed until you tried it.

Working in Character Creator

When I need to use it in Character Creator, I only need a little prior setup, then I can shape it to my liking and make my own. Using the SpaceMouse Enterprise can completely eliminate the use of the keyboard and minimize the use of the mouse.

By being able to customize its buttons with shortcuts, many repetitive movements are eliminated that, over time, can cause strain on your hands and arms. The result? Less fatigue, better ergonomics, and studies have shown that its use can boost productivity by up to 28%!

“What I would like to highlight of SpaceMouse it’s its total level of customization. You can reassign buttons, adjust the navigation, and configure every detail so that it perfectly adapts to your workflow.“
Oscar Fernandez – Certified Reallusion Trainer

Is it worth it?

The price of this product might be a determining factor, but let’s do a brief objective analysis regarding the payback period for our SpaceMouse. In this graph, we can see a representation of the hours needed to pay off the product based on the minimum wage in each country. The hourly rate of a freelancer can vary significantly, so you can quickly calculate your specific case.

In my opinion, you gain greater comfort and ergonomics, smoother navigation, increased immersion and naturalness, and better precision in framing—though, these benefits are impossible to quantify.

Unified navigation

One of the most interesting aspects of the SpaceMouse is that it unifies the navigation method across all the programs that support it. Normally, each software has its own way of navigating in 3D space, which means it always takes a few minutes to adjust when switching software.

With the SpaceMouse, all navigation methods are unified, making movement in any software consistent no matter which one you’re using. A huge advantage for everyone who uses multiple programs in their workflow.

Conclusion

After a month of working with the SpaceMouse Enterprise, I have to say that my perception has changed quite a bit. At first, I saw it as a good navigation system—a luxury rather than a necessity. Now, I consider it a key tool in my daily routine.

The difference is especially noticeable in those small camera adjustments we make almost unconsciously that improve the quality of the sculpt and the naturalness of the poses, as you can “lean in” with total precision to correct details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Moreover, the learning curve is surprisingly short. In just a few days, it becomes a natural extension of your workflow, and when you return to a traditional system, you feel like something is missing.

If you work with CAD modeling, digital sculpting, texturing, or animation, the SpaceMouse not only makes your work more efficient but also more comfortable and fluid. If you have the opportunity to try it, do so! Because once you integrate it into your workflow, there’s no turning back. So… Is it worth it? If you work daily with 3D software, definitely YES!

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Reallusion Revolutionizes Digital Human Simulations & Machine Learning Across Industries

March 26, 2025July 21, 2025 ReallusionLeave a comment

Reallusion, a leader in digital human character creation and animation, continues to transform real-time character applications across multiple industries, including Media & Entertainment, the Metaverse, Digital Twin, Architectural Visualization, Manufacturing, and Simulation. By emphasizing scalability and realism, Reallusion’s innovative technology enhances simulations, machine learning, and automation in groundbreaking ways.

Advancing Industrial Simulation and Machine Learning

Reallusion has long been at the forefront of digital content and application development for industrial simulations and machine learning, focusing on the creation of highly realistic digital humans and autonomous behaviors. These advancements are widely adopted by top-tier partners such as NVIDIA, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volvo, Microsoft, Google, LG, Samsung, Axis Communications, Bentley Systems, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, General Motors, Stellantis, and more.

*Reallusion’s 3D character animation and automation have been widely adopted in industrial simulation projects.*

Simulation Applications for Industry Demands

Reallusion’s powerful solutions cater to 5 key aspects:

DIGITAL TWIN: AI-driven digital humans enhance simulations, enabling real-time testing and optimized workflows that reduce risk, cost, and time.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE: Lifelike driver and passenger simulations provide critical training for autonomous systems to navigate real-world challenges.
SECURITY & SURVEILLANCE: Virtual characters improve facial recognition, intrusion detection, and crowd analysis for heightened security operations.
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS: Smart devices benefit from precise recognition, interpretation, and response to human commands and behaviors.
PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC: Dynamic pedestrian simulations consider mobility restrictions, group dynamics, and real-world environmental factors.

*Reallusion’s facial tracking, expression system, and motion data are used to simulate driver status, occupant activity, and overall cabin conditions.*

Comprehensive Solutions for AI-Driven Simulation

Reallusion offers a suite of robust applications tailored for simulation and machine learning, including:

Crowd Simulation: Generate real-time 3D crowd animations and customize characters with ease.
Interactive Environment: Enable virtual actors to perceive and interact naturally with their surroundings.
Interactive Props: Utilize interaction templates for realistic character-object engagement.
BuildingGEN: Instantly create modular structures such as factories, warehouses, and assembly lines for industrial training and simulations.

*From crowd simulation, interactive environment and props, and building gen, Reallusion has complete solutions for simulation and machine learning.*

Advanced 3D Character and Motion Content

Reallusion provides a comprehensive range of 3D character content designed for simulation and machine learning applications. Users can create highly detailed 3D photorealistic doubles from scratch, or transform photos and scans into fully animatable characters. This offers extensive customization, allowing users to modify morphs, skin, hair, outfits, and more within a robust digital human ecosystem. Additionally, the company’s 3D crowd library features a diverse collection of 3D-scanned humans representing various ethnicities and age groups. These assets are optimized for different animation styles and high-performance crowd simulations, making them ideal for large-scale, realistic scenarios.

*From digital doubles to a large crowd, users can create a variety of 3D characters with Reallusion.*

In addition to character content, Reallusion offers premium 3D motion content tailored for simulation and machine learning. High-quality motion-capture animations accurately replicate interactions in factory manufacturing and construction site environments, ensuring realistic and dynamic training applications. And a large library with business and services animation enables the simulation of transactional activities in locations such as airports, transit stations, shopping centers, events, and restaurants. These motion assets enhance the authenticity of digital environments, making them valuable for interactive AI training and simulation.

*Reallusion provides over 4,000 motion ready for use in any scenario.*

Comprehensive 3D Workflow

Reallusion offers a robust 3D pipeline that seamlessly integrates with major 3D tools. It features automatic character shader and material setup, supports FBX and USD export, and provides LiveLink controls for leading simulation environments such as NVIDIA Omniverse, Unreal Engine, and Blender.

*Linked workflow brings simulation projects to major 3D production platforms.*

Driving the Future of Machine Learning & Simulation

Whether you require data, tools, auto-gen, pipelines, or APIs, Reallusion’s solutions efficiently produce highly customizable characters and integrate them seamlessly into realistic animations. With a streamlined workflow, Reallusion can help users save time and cut costs, driving significant advancements in AI training and simulation.

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Spiderman in Action: From 3D Scans to AI-Automated Animation

March 20, 2025July 17, 2025 ReallusionLeave a comment

AccuPOSE Realizes Game-Changing Techniques with AI-Driven Motion Models

Make It Move Media

Hey everyone! I’m the creator behind Make It Move Media, where I specialize in 3D scanning and animating action figures. On my channel, I bring iconic action figures to life through 3D animation by creating epic action sequences and cinematic moments.

Around 2023, Reallusion found me over Instagram and asked me about my most wanted animation. Without a second thought, I answered Spider-Man because I had already made a whole series of short films with Spider-Man as the lead hero. Spider-Man’s motion is incredibly challenging, even for the most experienced animators, which is why it had always been a goal of mine to perfect it. To my surprise, my wish came true!

Reallusion’s Wall Crawler motion pack was released, and it exceeded all my expectations. It contains nearly every Spider-Man action I could imagine, such as crawling, swinging, hanging, and even his special web fighting style.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Reallusion also released AccuPOSE, an AI-trained posing model that makes posing much easier and more natural. Fortunately, I got access to the “Wall Crawler” model, which comes with the AccuPOSE Infinity Extension and works perfectly with the “Wall Crawler” motion pack.

Whether you’re new to 3D scanning or an experienced animator, this guide covers techniques for scanning, animating in iClone 8, and using Blender Auto Setup for a seamless workflow from iClone to Blender 3D.

What You’ll Learn:

Using AccuRIG: How to scan and quickly create animated rigs for your action figures.
Importing Figures into iClone 8 & Using AccuPOSE: Bringing your models into iClone and applying animations.
Post-Processing & iClone 8 Blender Auto Set Up: Refining your figures and animations for use in Blender.

Step 1: 3D Scanning Your Action Figures

To start, 3D scan your action figures using tools like Polycam, which turns photos into high-quality scans.

Using Polycam:

Polycam captures your figure using photogrammetry, turning multiple photos into a 3D model.

Tips: Capture all angles, including undersides. More photos lead to a better scan.
Trick: Use a turntable for better precision and a stable setup.

Cleanup in Blender:

After scanning, import the model into Blender to clean up any imperfections.

Tips: Use Blender’s sculpting tools to smooth rough areas. Apply the Subdivision Surface modifier for detail without adding polygons.
Trick: Use the Decimate modifier to lower polygon count without losing quality.

Importing into AccuRIG:

Once cleaned, import your FBX file into AccuRIG for rigging. AccuRIG auto-aligns joints, making your model ready for animation.

Tips: Ensure the model is symmetrical for best results.
Trick: Set key joints (elbows, knees, shoulders) correctly to make the rigging smoother.

Step 2: Rigging the Character with AccuRIG

After importing into AccuRIG, you can start the rigging process, which sets up bones for animation.

Set Points and Adjust:

Manually place points for elbows, knees, and neck. AccuRIG adds the bones based on these points.

Tips: Focus on areas with dynamic movement like the shoulders, knees, and hips.
Trick: If your figure has clothing or armor, adjust bones to avoid clipping during animation.

Finalizing the Rig:

Once you place the points, AccuRIG adds the skeleton and previews the movement.

Tips: Always preview poses in AccuRIG to check for natural movement.
Trick: Pay extra attention to spine and neck joints for fluid, acrobatic poses.

Step 3: Animating with iClone

With the rig set, we move to iClone 8 to animate. iClone offers a range of motions, from pre-set animations to custom movements.

Uploading to iClone:

Upload the rigged figure to ActorCore and select animations, like Spider-Man’s wall-crawling action.

Tips: Adjust the animation’s scale to fit your figure.
Trick: For actions like web-slinging, tweak the pose in AccuPOSE for natural motion.

Using iClone’s Motion Capture Integration:

iClone 8 lets you apply motion capture animations – Wall Crawler from ActorCore content store, and use AccuPOSE Infinity – Wall Crawler for AI-assisted Posing.

Tips: Adjust timing to ensure smooth transitions.
Trick: Use ease-in and ease-out for seamless motion transitions.

Step 4: Refining Animation and Adding Realism

Next, we fine-tune the movements to add fluidity and realism.

Fine-tuning Movement:

Adjust keyframes in iClone to ensure smooth motion, especially during high-speed actions like swinging or shooting webs.

Tips: Use ease-in and ease-out for smoother frame transitions.
Trick: Add secondary motion to the head and torso to make the character’s actions feel more lifelike.

Rotation and Realism:

Use AccuPOSE and manual adjustments to ensure weight distribution is accurate. For Spider-Man, his rotation and arm movement while swinging or shooting webs should look natural.

Tips: Adjust keyframes for limbs to avoid stiff movements.
Trick: Apply secondary motion to smaller parts like fingers, wrists, and ankles to add realism.

Step 5: Final Rendering and Exporting

After animation, we finalize everything by rendering the animation. Instead of manually exporting to Blender, iClone’s Blender Auto Set Up feature makes it seamless.

Exporting with iClone 8 Blender Auto Set Up:

Instead of exporting manually, the Blender Auto Set Up feature sends the character and animation directly from iClone 8 to Blender.

Final Adjustments in Blender:

In Blender, make final adjustments like lighting or camera positioning.

Tips: Ensure lighting is set up for realistic shadows and details.
Trick: Use motion blur in Blender for fast-paced actions like swinging or punching.

Finally, render the animation, producing a polished 3D action figure animation, ready to share.

Conclusion

This tutorial showed how you can easily 3D scan your action figures and animate them using AccuRIG, iClone, and Blender. These tools simplify the process of bringing action figures to life and making them part of an epic animated story!

A special shout-out to Reallusion for fulfilling my wish! When they released the Spider-Man “Wall Crawler” motion pack, it was exactly what I had been hoping for. The inclusion of the AccuPOSE feature, particularly the “Wall Crawler” AccuPOSE model, completely changed the way I approach Spider-Man animation. The ability to pose Spider-Man in a natural, fluid way has been a game-changer—something that I had been struggling to achieve for years.

I’m excited to keep pushing these tools to their limits, and I hope this tutorial helps you do the same with your own figures and animations. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your techniques, the combination of AccuRIG, iClone, and AccuPOSE provides a powerful workflow for animators of all levels.

Learn More

Visit ActorCore 3D Motion Store

Download free AccuPOSE C ORE

Subscribe to AccuPOSE INFINITY Expansion

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Learning

Creating Multi-Headed Character(s)

March 18, 2025July 21, 2025 WarLordLeave a comment

Multi-headed characters are often used to portray aliens or more dramatically, inner turmoil and self-loathing. Most of these stories, however, revolve around two-headed characters or three-headed characters to explore the duality of inner conflict or how having multiple opinions can stifle progress and cause extreme frustration.

There have been many times over the years that people have used iClone to put together multiple characters for this purpose. It could get a bit complicated and downright messy in the earlier versions but a prior update to Character Creator gave us a quick way to hide any body part(s).

With the introduction of Character Creator’s Hide Mesh tool this went from being a tedious process of opacity maps to being able to use a single piece of cloth like shorts, to hide all of the character except the neck and head. This meant getting the extra “talking heads” ready was a snap that I will demonstrate in a short tutorial further down this article.

In fact, it is incredibly easy to assembly a character like this now making the hardest parts dialog and motion.

Linking versus Attaching

This one is easy as we have no choice with characters. While things can be attached to them, as characters they cannot attach to anything themselves which leaves us with linking. We don’t lose a lot as the characters still move as one, but we can’t save our combined character as characters. We have to save them as a project file. This is not a problem as we can merge parts of project files anyway.

Main Character

The main character is the control point so the other “heads” will be linked to this character specifically to the Spine Bone 2 so the heads will move properly with the shoulders of the main character.

Shoulder Width and Size

If you are going to keep all the heads at 100 percent in size you will need a main character with large, wide shoulders. You can use the Bodybuilder slider and shoulder sliders in Character Creator 4 to edit the shoulder size.

The demo characters I created while practicing had a regular herculean build that provided big broad shoulders. Putting two normal sized heads, one on each side of the main character’s head was easy enough.

LEFT: Base Character 80% Head Size. MIDDLE: Enlarged shoulders 80% Head Size RIGHT: Herculean Character 100% Head Size

In the image above the left sided character consists of three Base male characters with the “head” characters on each side scaled to 80 percent for an easier fit but notice what happens with the shoulders. The middle character has shoulders broadened with the Proportion tool in CC4. The character on the right has a large build all around and gives plenty of room for heads at 100 percent.

I wouldn’t worry a lot about the broaden shoulders not looking quite right as three heads don’t look quite “right” either. Don’t box yourself in by applying conventional anatomy to this type of character. Just keep proportions recognizable or within reason.

Make sure you do any body size scaling BEFORE you animate them as this will remove the animation and return the character to a default pose. There may be scenarios where we would need different sized heads on the same body so take that into consideration when necessary.

The heads don’t have to be just on the shoulders either. We can scale whatever size we need and smaller heads can be placed in many places. We could literally have a character talking out of his… err… backside for memes or comedy.

We might even be able to mimic a giraffe type neck with a little ingenuity and creativity. I won’t’ go so far as to say the possibilities are endless but they are numerous depending on your imagination.

Preparing the Characters

We need three characters. In my video I use Meshy AI community generated heads for Batman and Joker. I then went to Character Creator 4’s Headshot 2 Mesh plugin tool to shape the heads and transfer the textures. This takes a huge burden off of us by doing all the work after we “point-and-click” outline enough features to get a good duplicate.

Next, we use CC4 to select the shorts then hide all of the body except the head and neck. After that we make the shorts invisible with opacity and I will show you how to do that too.

Superman was created using the Headshot 2 image to face technology on a Character Creator body and the suit came from creator Fate Han in the Marketplace.

Scale, Place and Link

Now we need to scale down the Heads (in reality the entire body which in turn affects the head). Then we can move the characters over, tilt them if needed and place them in the proper location.

Since these are characters, we cannot attach them as “attach” is not available for the character itself, so we use Link. Keep in mind that linking does NOT store linked items when the character is saved. To accomplish this, we must save our tri-characters as project files. We can then use Merge to merge those characters into another project. This is a very simple process.

Easy Three Character Dialog

A multi-character dialog may sound tough but it’s not. If you can use an enlarged timeline it will be much easier. For me it’s important to have the timeline visible, enlarged and use multi-select to put all three characters in the timeline at once. This keeps me from loading one character’s dialog over another character.

It also helps in editing the timing within the timeline by showing you exactly where all three character’s dialogs reside for easy adjustment. I realize not everyone has screen space for a large timeline but the larger the better.

For Superman I used the soundtrack because he is just thinking not speaking his dialog. Musing to himself. For this I dragged and dropped the audio file onto his character. For Batman and Joker, I used AccuLIPS to import the audio and create the visemes in the appropriate location down the timeline. All dialog is from Eleven Labs.

Animating the Trio

Since this is a beginner level tutorial, I’m going to stick to basic Motion Puppet motions and one motion clip from an old pack named Wings. It is a very short up down idle motion to simulate hovering. It should not be a hard motion to emulate with AccuPOSE or manually moving down the timeline while moving the character slightly up and down or side to side.

With the Head characters I used the Motion Puppet masking tool to make sure the heads did not move out of place by allowing only the head to be animated. If you are using a regular motion, there is the Remove Motion option on the clips right click context menu. You can even use Break on that same menu to cut out the section needing motion removal from the rest of the clip by breaking it before and after the edited section. You can then use the Remove Motion selection without effecting the entire clip. I’ll go into this a bit more towards the end. As I wrote earlier, I dragged and dropped an old motion clip that simulated hovering in the air with wings to animate Superman. From there I looped the clip and slowed it down.

Final Render

Below is the final render after adding an image background and some ice column props to add some depth. This only covers the basics and could certainly be more cinematic with more effort, as it didn’t take long to produce. It’s a great learning exercise too.

Two-Headed Via Proportional Neck Bone Placement

There is a simple way to create two headed characters with the main head pushed over to one side so the two heads are balanced in case you don’t want one head in the center and one head on the side. For this we go into Character Creator 4 to use the Proportion tool to move the bottom of the neck over to whichever side you prefer.

Apply the same procedure as above to prep and attach another character for the second head then position and link.

These characters are one hundred percent in size and could easily illustrate a story about good and evil, determination and laziness or comedy.

NOTE: When you push the bone over like this it distorts the neck mesh which is why I pushed it downward to hide that part.

NOTE 2: For those of you that want to know… yes it can be done with limbs too, but it can start to get a bit complicated. Possibly naming each character after the limb(s) it represents will help sort things out like an extra pair of arms.

Getting Them into Unreal Engine

Getting these combined characters into Unreal Engine is easy but you must unlink them in iClone first, or you get unexpected positioning in Unreal Engine. Once you have transferred all three characters to Unreal Engine you can link them back together in iClone and the combined characters will work as expected with Live Link into Unreal Engine.

Using Motions

Using Drag and drop motions for BOTH characters (including the same motion) will require you to UNLINK the characters before adding the motions or the Head character will jump out of place. Then go into the timeline and REMOVE MOTION from the Torso to keep the body from moving out of place. While it is some extra steps it keeps the characters synced.

This multi-character method is more efficient when using a drag and drop motion for the main character and using the Motion Puppet for the second “head” with the masking features where only the head is animated. Now that I think of it, animation layers might work too but I haven’t tried it.

Left character without removing Torso motion. Right Character with Torso motion removed.

Summary

While this method is not new, advances in iClone and CC4 have made it much easier to accomplish especially when using the motion and motion puppet combo. Load your motion onto your main character and use the Motion Puppet to animate the second “head”.

The pipeline of Character Creator 4, Headshot 2 Mesh, Image to mesh and iClone can put together some compelling characters with a lot of potential for great dialog between the heads and like a lot of iClone projects it can be done at a beginner’s level as long as you understand the timeline.

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

Winner Select: Creating Game Art for a Cyberpunk Heroine Using AccuRIG

March 17, 2025June 2, 2025 ReallusionLeave a comment

Overview

Iván Gallardo Landskron, a Chilean 3D artist, won the Best AccuRIG Character award in the 2024 Reallusion 3D Character Contest with “Nyka”, a cyberpunk-inspired warrior with a post-apocalyptic flare. Developed during a mentorship at Libel Academy, Nyka was crafted using ZBrush, Character Creator 4, and AccuRIG, allowing for fast rigging, dynamic posing, and intricate sculpting.

Iván Gallardo Landskron

Hi, I’m Iván Gallardo Landskron from Chile. I’ve been working as a 3D designer since 2011, contributing to projects in VFX, animation, advertising, film, and TV. Over the past four years, I’ve specialized as a 3D artist for video games, a field that truly drives my passion. I look forward to continuing in this industry for many years to come.

Check Iván’s Artstation

In the video game industry, I’ve contributed to projects such as Nerf Legends, G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout, and Little League World Series 2022 Baseball, all developed at Iguanabee, a Chilean game studio. Currently, I’m working on Tormented Souls 2, a survival horror game, at Dual Effect, another Chilean studio.

I worked as a 3D artist on the following video game projects:

G.I. Joe Operation Blackout / Nerf legends / Little league world series 2022 baseball / Tormented souls 2 (work in progress)

The concept behind “Nyka”

I created “Nyka” thanks to a scholarship from Libel Academy, which allowed me to participate in 3D Camp, an intensive ZBrush Transition course led by Oscar Fernández. The program lasted several months in 2023 and provided valuable mentorship in character creation.

As students, we received a concept brief with the premise: a cyberpunk girl with katanas. While I stayed true to the core idea, I introduced my own variations. From the start, I envisioned a post-apocalyptic warrior from the desert, drawing inspiration from sepia tones and earthy browns instead of the usual neon purples of cyberpunk aesthetics. My focus was on her gaze and facial expression, ensuring they conveyed her personality with depth and intensity.

My Workflow

After establishing the concept art, I began by sculpting a blockout version to establish the character’s shapes, anatomy, and proportions accurately. Once the blockout was complete, I moved on to the high-poly version, refining details and sculpting clothing and accessories—all in an A-pose to simplify the rigging process later.

Next, I retopologized each element separately, ensuring proper UV mapping before painting the textures. With the mesh and textures ready, I exported the low-poly version to Character Creator 4 and used AccuRIG to generate a complete rig. After some adjustments to the skin weights, everything worked smoothly.

For posing, I tested multiple variations before selecting the best ones. I then exported them to ZBrush for refinement, like adding folds, extra details, and accessories. To complete the process, I rendered the character from dynamic camera angles, applying smoke, particles, and color correction for a polished final presentation.

Advantages of AccuRIG

The main advantage was how quickly I could generate a functional rig for my character. With just a few clicks, I could send the model to ZBrush for further sculpting, adding details, and refining poses. I also appreciated that each exported pose was automatically saved in a library using ZBrush Pose Tools, allowing me to instantly switch between multiple poses.

Making the Perfect Pose

Based on my experience in character design, several key factors are essential when posing a character. First, minimizing geometry improves performance, especially when painting skin weights in CC4.

Second, considering action lines and curves helps convey direction and movement, making the pose feel natural and dynamic rather than static and lifeless.

Third, eye direction and gaze are crucial, as they create the illusion of a world beyond the character, adding depth and storytelling to the composition.

Finally, it’s important to determine how the character will be presented—whether as a 360-degree model or a frontal view—since the pose should remain visually compelling from every angle.

Final thoughts and what’s next

Learning a new workflow for character creation in video games was a rewarding experience. I now have a much stronger grasp of the process, whether for stylized or semi-realistic characters.

My next goal is to refine my skills in creating realistic characters and continue studying—taking as many courses as possible.

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Christo the Civilized Barbarian is an award-winning animated series with iClone and Rokoko tools. The motion capture and 3d workflow introduced helps filmmakers deliver quality works within budget.

Featured Story

Feature Animation at 1% Cost: One Pixel Brush Founder Leverages CC & iC for Real-Time Filmmaking

March 13, 2025July 21, 2025 ReallusionLeave a comment

‘Christo the Civilized Barbarian’ is an animated series about a sharp-tongued barbarian that has earned multiple global film festival awards. Created by Shaddy Safadi and Loic Bramoulle, the team navigated the complexities of motion capture and animation using iClone and Rokoko tools. They showcased their 3D workflow at the Barcelona Film Festival in February 2025.

**Shaddy Safadi** – Director of One Pixel Brush

Shaddy Safadi / One Pixel Brush

Shaddy Safadi is a Director, concept artist, and creative director with over 15 years of experience shaping the visual worlds of film and video games. As the founder of One Pixel Brush, he has led a team of elite artists in crafting concept art for some of the industry’s most iconic franchises, including The Last of Us, Uncharted, Call of Duty and 100’s of others. His ability to translate narrative themes into striking visual designs has made him a sought-after creative force in entertainment.

In addition to his work in concept art, Safadi is the director of Christo the Civilized Barbarian, a 3D-animated comedy series that reimagines the ancient world with sharp satire and high-concept storytelling. Bringing his extensive background in world-building and visual storytelling to animation, he continues to push creative boundaries, blending humor and artistry in fresh and unexpected ways.

One Pixel Brush’s ArtStation

Loïc Bramoullé

Loïc Bramoullé is an art & film director from France. Since 2010, after completing his graduation film at Melies Animation School, he’s been working in game and animation studios in Paris, like Ubisoft, Fortiche, UNIT & Supamonks. Since 2015 he’s been working mostly remotely as a freelancer, and in the last 3 years, he has specialized in indie motion capture cinematics using Blender.

Since he first tested the iPhone facial mocap with CC3 characters, he realized how easy it is for an animator to enhance raw mocap with Reallusion toolsets, and thus produce animation at unprecedented pace. His latest cinematic was for the upcoming Mars Attracts indie game, which was one of the most viewed trailers at Gamescom 2024 on IGN’s channel.

Loïc Bramoullé’s ArtStation

**Loïc Bramoullé** – art & film director

How Shaddy and Loic Integrated iClone and Rokoko for Cristo’s Animation

The Initial Dilemma: Choosing the Right Tools

During the early stages of Christo, we faced the difficult decision of selecting the right software pipeline. While many industry professionals advised using Maya due to its robust mocap capabilities and MotionBuilder integration, we chose Blender as the core animation tool for its versatility and growing popularity. And, frankly it’s the one 3D application we are familiar with due to extensive industry experience. However, relying solely on Blender posed challenges, particularly getting quick versions of the performance that can be instantly assessed and changed. Real filmmaking is about iteration and that’s where iClone became invaluable.

Overcoming Traditional Animation Hurdles

Traditional mocap workflows often involve multiple steps, including data cleanup, retargeting, and fine-tuning. By integrating iClone and Rokoko, we bypassed many of these hurdles. The Motion Live add-on for iClone made it very easy to quickly capture voice and face right onto the character and vet it instantly. We could record lines over and over again just sitting at a desk with no fancy gear besides an iPhone.

Then, because Shaddy did all the voices, he would do one character, then the second, then the third, and edit all the spaces between the talking in iClone so the conversation flowed. Then it was relatively easy to set up cameras in iClone to actually see the scene play out. Of course there was no body animation or backgrounds at this point but the voice, and facial data was there and it was good enough to send to colleagues for feedback. Only after that would we utilize the Rokoko’s suit doing our body performance to match the voice performance of each character. In this case, we recorded natively into the Rokoko application and just easily dragged it onto the character in Iclone and assigned the correct retargeting profile upon import.

Another key advantage was cost-effectiveness. Unlike traditional mocap systems, which require expensive equipment and large studio spaces, the iClone-Rokoko setup offered a budget-friendly alternative without sacrificing too much quality. With animation you can get 85% of the way there for 1/10th the budget, so that was our goal. Make it good enough to sell the intention of the scene but not to noodle it into Pixar quality animation — as we didn’t have 100 million dollars.

Enter iClone and Rokoko: A Game-Changing Combination

Recognizing the need for a more agile solution, we turned to Reallusion’s iClone and Rokoko’s mocap suit. This combination proved transformative for Christo, as it enabled rapid recording and editing of character movements but more importantly rapid vetting of performances and scenes. Additionally, iClone’s compatibility with Blender meant that Loic could relatively easily transfer mocap data for further refinement and rendering.

For the body suit part, it’s not that difficult.

Setting up the facial and body mocap

After a series of trial and error, we managed to set up the facial mocap with my iPhone and Live FACE. Here’s a catch: one must connect the iPhone with the Ethernet cable shown below. You can easily purchase it on Amazon, and it maintains superb stability for facial data capture without the latency — I highly recommend it!

Seamless workflow: AccuLips for Lip Sync Animation

Beyond technical efficiency, iClone enhanced the team’s creative freedom. Once the facial animation performance is recorded, we can bring that motion data in iClone, and combine it with the use of AccuLips to quickly set the visemes for the talking characters. Witty conversation is the cornerstone of Christo and so accurate facial capture is top priority.

Experimenting with different character movements and expressions in real-time allowed us to explore various storytelling possibilities — thanks to iClone’s built-in facial puppet and the Edit Facial panel. This flexibility was crucial for Christo, a project that demanded a high level of emotional engagement from its characters.

Leveraging iClone’s Asset Library

Moreover, iClone’s library of pre-built assets and animations provided a valuable starting point for many scenes. By leveraging these resources, we could focus more on fine-tuning and less on building animations from scratch. Even Christo and Gary’s base designs began with a purchased stylized character pack from the Reallusion store. This approach not only saved time but also ensured compatibility with the robust iClone, and eventually Blender Rigify, rigging systems.

A Revolution for Indie Animation

The integration of iClone and Rokoko was more than just a technical solution; it was a creative revolution! The streamlined workflow, cost savings, and enhanced creative freedom enabled the Christo Project to produce high-quality animation within tight deadlines and budget constraints. Loic’s experience in iClone highlights the potential of modern animation tools in democratizing film production, making professional-grade animation accessible to indie creators.

The Reallusion Blender addon even allows us to leverage each application’s power seamlessly. For example, having the ability to customize characters in both CC4 & Blender, and continue to work on the animation after it’s been exported from iC8. Another example is doing final animation polish on the Rigify version of the characters, while they are rendered in Blender.

Conclusion: Empower Your Indie Animation Project

Our creative path with Christo demonstrates how indie filmmakers can leverage modern tools like iClone and Rokoko to produce professional-grade animation efficiently. By following these steps, you too can revolutionize your animation workflow and bring your creative vision to life, even on a tight budget. With the first episode of Christo done and the next one near completion, we will continue to advocate this workflow in various events and film festivals worldwide. Innovative solutions like iClone, Live Face, and Rokoko, empower small teams like us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in independent animation.

Other News: Official Selection at BARCIFF

Christo the Civilized Barbarian had its first-ever festival screening at BARCIFF – Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival, a showcase for innovative and independent films from around the world. The festival, known for its diverse selection of bold storytelling, provided the perfect stage for Christo to make its debut in front of an international audience.

Following the screening, I had the chance to participate in a Q&A session where we discussed the revolutionary animation pipeline we developed using iClone and a Rokoko motion capture suit. This approach allowed us to streamline production while maintaining a high-quality, cinematic feel — an essential breakthrough for independent 3D animation.

As a director, one of the most nerve-wracking moments was waiting for the audience’s reaction to the first joke. But when the laughter came, it was a huge relief. Seeing people connect with the humor and the world of Christo made all the challenges of production worth it. The festival was not only an exciting launchpad for the series but also a validation of our unconventional, tech-driven approach to animation.

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