Bringing ALHIQ’s Dragon Shield to Life with Animation Software

November 4, 2024July 17, 2025 enocburgos1 Comment

Animating Ancient Fantasy: ALHIQ ‘The Dragon Shield’ with Character Creator, iClone, and ActorCore

Dom Fred – Director / Producer / Editor / 3D Animator

Dom Fred – 3D Maya Animator

Dom Fred has established a remarkable career in the television advertising industry. He has made significant strides in digital and 3D production tools using tools like Autodesk Maya.

Over the past two decades, he has expanded his expertise to include music videos. He also creates documentaries, catering to a global clientele. In 2007, Dom founded his own company, DOM ANIMATION STUDIO. He specializes in product and post-production. He seamlessly integrates 3D characters into real environments and special effects (SFX). He also creates martial arts and acrobatics action sequences for commercials.

The ALHIQ “The Dragon Shield” project is an ambitious animation endeavor set in a world of magic and fantasy. It blends ancient stories with modern cinematic techniques.

This project is led by the visionary Director, Producer, and Action Director Dom Fred. It aims to achieve a level of cinematographic quality that rivals high-end 3D animation productions. The team behind ALHIQ leveraged cutting-edge tools provided by Reallusion, including Character Creator, iClone 8, ActorCore, and Unreal Engine, to bring this fantasy to life with stunning detail and realism.

The Vision Behind ALHIQ “The Dragon Shield”

The ALHIQ project is deeply rooted in storytelling, taking inspiration from ancient tales of magic and mythical creatures. This world-building was carefully crafted to immerse viewers in an epic fantasy realm. Dom Fred’s goal was to create an animated film that not only entertains but also evokes emotional depth through powerful character performances and realistic environments. According to Fred, “Our vision was clear from the start—ALHIQ needed to be an epic project that pushes the boundaries of what independent 3D animation can achieve with the right tools and talent.”

Character Creation: The Power of Reallusion’s Character Creator

A critical aspect of ALHIQ’s production lies in the creation of characters that breathe life into the story. Using Character Creator, the team was able to design detailed and expressive 3D models that capture the essence of each character. The tool allowed them to customize facial expressions, body proportions, and clothing with impressive accuracy.

The characters were crafted using Dawyne Scan Reality, a high-fidelity model that served as the foundation for the entire cast. Dom Fred emphasized the importance of this tool, stating, “Thanks to Character Creator, our characters came to life with unparalleled detail, especially in facial expressions. It exceeded our expectations and allowed us to convey the depth of each character’s emotions.”

Character Creator not only streamlined the design process but also gave the team the ability to focus on storytelling, as they could easily tweak and modify the characters as the story evolved.

Animation Control with iClone 8

Once the characters were created, the focus shifted to animation. iClone 8 played a pivotal role in controlling and refining every movement and expression. This real-time 3D animation software allowed Dom Fred and his team to animate the characters while staying true to the dramatic narrative. Fred explained, “iClone 8 gave us the precision to retouch animations and faithfully respect the story. It allowed us to control every detail, from subtle movements to intense action scenes.”

One of the standout features of iClone 8 is its ability to create detailed facial expressions and body language through motion capture, allowing animators to bring out the emotional depth in characters. This fine-tuning was essential in ensuring that the fantasy world felt immersive and the characters resonated with audiences.

Enhancing Realism with ActorCore Motion Capture

The use of ActorCore provided the ALHIQ project with access to a vast library of high-quality motion capture animations. This tool became invaluable for adding realism to the characters’ movements, particularly when depicting dramatic or intense emotional moments. ActorCore’s extensive collection of animations allowed the team to focus on performance and save both time and money during production.

One such pack was Reallusion’s Wilderness Survival pack from its Studio Mocap series. This professionally capture motion capture pack features 43 dynamic motions meticulously crafted for crafting survival scenarios in the wild. The pack equips artists with motions for traversing rugged terrains like steep hills, rivers, and dense bushes. It also enables them to hunt crucial resources such as animals, fruit, and water.

ActorCore’s animations were integrated seamlessly into iClone and then transferred to Unreal Engine, allowing the team to preview scenes in real time and make quick adjustments as needed.

“The range of motion capture performances ActorCore provided was key to adding realism to our scenes. We could choose from pre-built animations like those found in the Wilderness Survival pack, which saved us hours of manual animation work while still giving us a cinematic level of quality.”
Dom Fred – Director / Producer / Editor / 3D Animator

https://actorcore.reallusion.com/3d-motion?orderBy=Relevance&keyword=WILDERNESS

Real-Time Rendering with Unreal Engine

Real-time rendering is a crucial part of ALHIQ’s production process, allowing the team to make rapid iterations on their animations and preview scenes in Unreal Engine before the final render. The iClone 8 to Unreal Engine Live Link played a significant role in ensuring that scenes could be reviewed in real-time, streamlining the overall workflow.

This real-time feedback loop enabled the production team to remain agile and responsive to changes, ensuring that the project stayed on schedule while maintaining high-quality output. Fred described the importance of this system, noting, “The Live Link between iClone 8 and Unreal Engine was instrumental in speeding up our workflow. It allowed us to monitor the progress of scenes in real-time, which is essential for a project of this scale.”

The ALHIQ Pipeline: A Proven Production Workflow

One of the key takeaways from the ALHIQ project is the solid pipeline established by Dom Fred and his team. By leveraging Reallusion’s suite of tools, including Character Creator, iClone 8, and ActorCore, they were able to create a comprehensive production workflow that met the project’s technical demands while remaining flexible enough for creative exploration.

Fred commented, “This epic animation project validated the production pipeline we’ve built. We now have a robust workflow that not only meets our technical needs but also allows us to tell the story we want to tell.”

The combination of real-time rendering, high-quality motion capture, and powerful character creation tools enabled the team to create a film that feels dynamic, immersive, and cinematically rich.

Saving Time and Money with Reallusion Tools

Studios and independent artists can take inspiration from ALHIQ’s use of Reallusion’s tools. They can maximize efficiency and quality in their animation projects. The integration of ActorCore’s motion capture animations allows teams to reduce the time spent on manual animation. Teams can still deliver high-quality results. Examples include those found in the Wilderness Survival pack.

Dom Fred emphasized how this approach benefits production teams, “By using high-quality motion capture from ActorCore, we were able to save a lot of time and resources. The quality of the animations gave us a cinematic feel without the need for expensive, time-consuming manual work.”

Conclusion

The ALHIQ “The Dragon Shield” project stands as a testament to what can be achieved when cutting-edge technology and creative vision come together. Through the use of Reallusion’s Character Creator, iClone 8, and ActorCore, Dom Fred and his team were able to bring an ancient fantasy world to life with incredible detail and realism. The project’s success highlights the importance of a solid production pipeline and the value of real-time rendering, motion capture, and character creation tools in modern animation.

For studios and artists seeking to produce high-quality content while saving time and resources, the ALHIQ project serves as a powerful example of how Reallusion’s tools can streamline the animation process and elevate storytelling.

Follow Dom Fred:

Website:
https://www.domfredfilm.com/accueil

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dom-fred-films-81904194/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaEVZPzkWUsg9Wti9Cao4Vw

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063571358642

Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/spaceagentsmysteriousax/videos

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MD Props – Upping Your Animation Game

October 31, 2024November 25, 2024 WarLordLeave a comment

Sometimes some of the hardest things to animate are the everyday motions of life that we go through like taking a drink, sitting down or even opening a door. As mundane as these tasks are they are just as important as the main and supporting character animations as they will stand out if they are not animated well.

It has always been my opinion that these everyday motions are part of what makes a great animated story. A strong storyline can suffer terribly from bad or weak animation as it can be distracting which takes the viewer’s focus off the story and puts it on the questionable animation.

Transversely great animation can, to some extent, uplift a poor story by providing good visuals to keep the audience involved enough to maybe even enjoy the video in the long run.

Bad animation is just that… bad animation. There is no way to sugarcoat this as it can stay with a project, producer, director or animator for a long time, maybe even for life.

We don’t want to be known as THAT kind of animator. And I have to wonder how many of us have been tagged at least once in our life as sloppy animators due to paying too much attention to main characters and not enough to the background characters that make up a crowd, or a scene.

Now what does all of this have to do with the recent release of the Motion Director Props (MD Props) from Reallusion for iClone? Simple… Reallusion is doing the animation for us so we can move on with production and not have to sweat all the little details like using a vending machine or a simple thing such as using a trash can.

MD Props

(Scroll through the above images to learn more about Prop Interaction)

The animations are embedded in the MD system for fast and easy production. You don’t have to keyframe them or animate them… just click on an available choice and the motion will be loaded into the character then triggered.

MD Props are a feature in Reallusion’s iClone that allows users to create interactions between virtual actors and MD-enabled props. MD Props were introduced in version 8.5 and are extensions of the Motion Director system.

It isn’t just for background characters either as these same motions bring a more realistic look to camera-centric characters as well. We don’t want our background characters to be animated better than our main characters and MD Props takes care of this with an almost game-like interface that pops up over MD driven props for us to trigger a certain motion like sitting down. These motions are handled by Motion Director and can be real time savers as well provide consistently good animation.

Adding a simple motion of taking a drink can enhance a scene with more activity. Activity is a word animators need to keep in mind. Some of you know of my dislike of near empty scenes, particularly in metro areas where empty streets and sidewalks are anything but normal. Motion Director solved this problem initially by allowing us to add motion to and control multiple characters at once instead of having to individually load or keyframe those movements.

With Motion Director we can have a lively street scene, a block party or just a busy downtown metro area. Now with MD Props we can add everyday motions to those crowd members beyond just moving around.

MD Templates for Customizing Interactive Props

ACTIONABLE | Tool 1

As the most prevalent template tool, an ACTIONABLE prop can be approached by any actor to trigger predefined interactions. This interface can offer a variety of performances and even prompt a reaction from the prop itself.

STATE SWITCH | Tool 2

STATE SWITCH transforms an actor’s animation state from one to another. Each state includes its own idle loop and triggerable animations, such as standing, sitting on a chair, leaning against the wall, or indoor cycling.

BI-DIRECTIONAL | Tool 3

The BI-DIRECTION focuses on scenarios requiring two-point mobility. A common application is for characters to move between two designated locations, such as entering or exiting automatic sliding doors, or traversing a crosswalk.

PORTABLE | Tool 4

The PORTABLE template supports the movement of items from one placement point to another. This includes picking up an object, carrying it around while using it, and placing it back down in the same or different location. 3D actors can be commanded to stow items in hand or attached to the body and fetch them back as needed using a handy radial menu. For example, a hungry character can approach a plate of leftovers, heat it in the microwave, eat, and then place the empty dish in the sink.

DOLLY | Tool 5

The DOLLY template allows 3D actors to maneuver a dolly, cart, or similar wheeled object. Once activated, a designated character will approach the dolly prop, grasp its handles, and navigate it along a customized path. Throughout the process, the actor maintains the appropriate gait and posture to counter the heft and size of the cargo. Dolly operations can be easily adjusted or exited using a convenient radial menu.

A Quick Overview

While I will be providing a more detailed Beginners Guide article in the future, I can give you a quick overview of the process. As it is with most Reallusion tools you can just jump right in. You do need to be familiar with Motion Director as it drives the animations and interactions.

The process involves placing a dummy like the “Sit on Chair” MD Prop dummy in the same location and orientation of the actual chair or sofa prop you want the character to sit on. This dummy will give you a visual target as to its orientation and to click with its hover menu and will not show in the final render.

The MD Prop dummies that are included in the update are Sit on Chair, Use Vending Machine, Throw into Trash, Pass Automated Door, Observe, Watering Plants Target. While these are listed as specific use you will soon see that you can use them for other purposes and don’t forget the customization aspects listed earlier.

The short video below goes through the process including demonstrating how the radial menus work and how you can choose several motions in a row for a single character. You can also jump between characters to trigger motions in a specific timing if needed. It’s a very flexible and easy to use system with the typical short learning curve we’ve come to expect from Reallusion tools.

Smart Accessory

Before I close this out please keep in mind that this only covers the MD Props, there is also a new Smart Accessory feature that greatly simplifies the use of accessories like MD Props does for props. For more information see this article.

The iClone Smart Accessory system simplifies the entire process of editing motions and loading accessories. It is now possible to spawn a crowd of characters with unique accessories for each individual, automatically associate mocap motions with prop animations like skateboarding, or trigger MD performances for held objects.

Summary

Just because it may seem like it’s a complicated tool doesn’t mean it is as Reallusion has a reputation for creating user-friendly animation tools and this fits that mold. As usual Reallusion has provided lots of tutorials and I’ll be adding my own take for the Beginners Guide to get new iClone users up to speed quickly.

MD Props is another big leap towards that animation “easy button” we’d all love to have. It does the work while we have the fun. In fact, it almost feels like cheating because it accomplishes so much in such a short time with a small learning curve.

iClone 8.5 Update Prop Interaction Webpage (More Details)

Reallusion Courses Motion Director and MD Props

MD Props General Directory of Courses

Getting Started with MD Prop

Radial Menu & Action List for Motion Director

Intro To MD Prop Behavior S ystem

Manual

Using MD Props

Replacing Meshes

Replacing Motions

IMPORTANT – Tool Types & Structures – Actionable, State Switch, and Bi-Directional

Tool Types and MD Prop Structures – Portable

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

Create Game Characters with CC Auto Setup for 3ds Max and V-Ray

October 30, 2024August 6, 2025 bridgettepanLeave a comment

Rafael Benedicto

Hi everyone, I’m Rafael Benedicto, a freelance 3D character artist. I’ve worked on indie game projects and small film productions, while also honing my skills through personal projects for my ArtStation portfolio. My passion for 3D art started in childhood and I began my career as a generalist, creating everything from props and vehicles to buildings and hard-surface models. Eventually, I found my niche in character creation, focusing on hyper-realistic portraits that often get mistaken for photographs. This led me to discover Character Creator and its potential in enhancing my workflow.

Rafael’s Artstation

In 2020, I won first place in Reallusion’s Digital Human contest with my piece, “Scout Annie”, a pivotal moment that elevated my standing as a 3D character artist.

Currently, I’m working with a startup game studio, Knightly Works, designing Dark Souls-inspired characters for their upcoming indie game, Skars: Rise of the Last Keeper.

In this article, I’ll demonstrate how I used Reallusion’s Auto-Setup plugin for 3ds Max to quickly import and set up a CC4 character for rendering with V-Ray. I’ll be showcasing the Last Keeper, the main character from the Skars project for the entire process.

Before diving into Auto-Setup, I’ll start with a quick overview of how I brought this character to life — transforming a concept illustration into a fully-realized real-time character in CC4, and ultimately preparing it for stunning V-Ray renders in 3ds Max.

Character Creation

I began by creating the base model in Character Creator 4, designing his face and body to match the concept art.

Next, I used GoZ Plus in Character Creator 4 to easily transfer the character to ZBrush, where the armor and clothing was subsequently modeled.

After modeling each armor group, I used Topogun along with ZBrush’s ZRemesher feature to create low-poly versions of the parts. Then, I utilized RizomUV for unwrapping before importing them back to Topogun to bake the normal and ambient occlusion maps. These maps became integral to the texturing process in Substance 3D.

Once the texturing was complete, the armor was imported into Character Creator and fitted onto the base character as an accessory or clothing piece. Below is a simplified flow chart, using the helmet as an example, illustrating the process from ZBrush to the final piece in Character Creator 4.

The garment pieces like the pants, cape, and loincloth were made in Marvelous Designer, and were also textured in Substances Painter and imported into Character Creator to dress the character.

The hair I used was the “Long Curls” hair from a hair pack, but I altered it a bit so that the hair would fit into the helmet.

Finally, I transferred the skin weights from the body to the armor and clothing parts, ensuring they were skinned to the bones and could move in sync with the body.

After everything was prepared, I exported the entire character as an FBX file, and made sure that “3ds Max” was selected for “Target Tool Preset”.

Auto Setup for 3ds Max

With the Auto-Setup plugin already installed in 3ds Max, the first thing I did was open the “CC Auto Setup” window and placed it alongside the “Command Panel” to the right. I then loaded the FBX file that was exported from Character Creator, selected “Vray GPU” as my renderer, and clicked on the import button.

After 2-3 minutes, the character was imported along with its skeleton rigging and skin weights from Character Creator 4. All the materials from Character Creator 4 were also converted into Vray materials. With the original rigging and materials transferred and intact, I was ready to set up for final rendering.

Effortless Lighting and Look Development

The first task is testing the Look Dev presets on the Auto-Setup panel’s first tab. This tab features 10 preset buttons that automatically generate comprehensive sets of lights, along with a camera and background for the scene. To enhance usability, a dummy helper object is included, enabling easy rotation of all the lights in the scene simultaneously.

I experimented with various light presets but ultimately chose the first one, as I prefer a more subtle approach for this particular character.

As shown in these initial test renders, the materials for the armor parts look excellent. The colors, reflectivity, roughness, metallicity, and normal bumps all appear just right.

I conducted another render, and the skin finally appears bumpy. While I resolved the issue with the normal maps, I had to disable the Auto-Setup wrinkle system that activates when I change his facial expressions, which is unfortunate. After that, I put his helmet back on and continued testing.

Simplified Material Adjustments

Then, I moved on to the next tab in the “CC Auto Setup” window. This interface allows me to conveniently adjust the properties of the materials without needing to access the Material Editor. For instance, there are handy sliders for modifying subsurface scattering (SSS) intensity, normal intensity, roughness, and more. When I click on the character’s hair, the sliders in the material tab change to display settings relevant to hair. Conversely, clicking on the head mesh switches the settings in the tab to skin properties, and the same applies to the eyes, teeth, and tongue.

Unfortunately, not everything can be adjusted using the Auto Setup material sliders. For instance, there are no options for glowing pupils. As a simple workaround, I had to open the Material Editor and add a texture map to the self-illumination node for both eye materials to achieve the glowing effect.

Now, the hair materials needed adjustment to eliminate those overly bright streaks. Fortunately, it was an easy fix with a simple setting of the roughness value to around 1.00 in the materials tab. The same adjustment was made to the facial hair.

Flexible Rigging with CAT System

Next, I wanted to focus on his pose; and to do this, I first needed to examine the character’s rigging and skinning. Because the character was pre-rigged in Character Creator, all I had to do was unhide all the objects to view the bones.

However, I prefer to use 3ds Max’s CAT rigging system for my workflow. In the Auto Setup window, I navigate to the “Body Rig” tab to create a CAT rig that overlays the existing bones.

The CAT bones do not replace the regular bones; instead, the regular bones are linked to the CAT bones created on top of them. This means that when I manipulate the CAT bones, the regular bones follow, and consequently, the skinned parts follow as well. I just need to remember that if I want to adjust the skinning, the model is still skinned to the regular bones, not the CAT bones.

Here’s how I posed the character based on the game director’s input.

Facial Expressions Made Easy

Now that we have settled on a pose, the game director requested a facial expression. With the Auto Setup face rig controls, this process is straightforward. The import process for Auto Setup also includes all the facial morphs available in Character Creator. By navigating to the “Face Rig” tab, I can easily use the control panel to manipulate the individual regions of the character’s face and create the desired expression.

After conducting more test renders, I realized the hair quality was holding the entire piece back. Its awkward appearance was due to poor skinning, with excessive bending and various unappealing distortions. Afterall, there’s a limit to how realistic polygon-based hair can look in rendering.

When the skin looks this realistic, but the polygon-based hair cards don’t, it detracts from the overall realism of the rendered character. As much as I wanted to stick with the polygon-based hair cards to avoid extra work, I decided to replace them with Ornatrix hair for better results.

Finally, the cap and loincloth were remade with Marvelous Designer.

With the materials, pose, and expression finalized, I set up a dome light using HDRI lighting from PolyHaven.com. I also created the environment in 3ds Max and ZBrush, followed by additional test renders.

Once the game director approved the setup, I proceeded to render the final turntable and close-up shots.

Here are the final shots.

Final Thoughts

The Auto-Setup plugin was a huge time-saver for this project. While it doesn’t make everything perfect automatically or act as a complete solution for importing from CC4, it significantly streamlined the process. I still had to adjust parts of the CAT rig, like adding twist functions to the arm and leg bones, and I spent time tweaking materials in the editor to improve their look. In short, there was still plenty of work to be done.

What Auto-Setup excels at is handling the initial setup — materials, rigging, and other technical details — in just a few clicks. It saved me days of work, allowing me to jump quickly into the creative phase, like posing the character, adjusting expressions, and fine-tuning skin and hair materials.

In terms of reliability, Auto-Setup was stable throughout the project. I didn’t encounter any crashes caused by the plugin, which made the process even smoother. If you haven’t tried Auto-Setup yet and you are in the situation of spending days setting up everything manually in 3ds Max before getting to the creative part — like me in the past — I highly recommend it. It’s a free plugin available for download on Reallusion’s website or through the Reallusion Hub.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this article helpful. A big thanks to Reallusion for sponsoring my showcase, and special thanks to my client at Knightly Works for allowing me to use their character for demonstration.

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Using AI-Generated Images as 3D Scenes in iClone

October 30, 2024October 30, 2024 WarLordLeave a comment

While 3D is the lifeblood of many digital artists and animators, we also embrace the beauty of 2D with backgrounds, cutouts and camera placement to provide a world much more complex than we would be able to do using only 3D assets. As we all know, the problem with 3D assets, even those that are optimized, is that they can bring our computers to a crawl causing skipped frames and timing issues that can be missed until they show up in the final render needing more work to correct.

This is problematic for all 3D software applications as the amount of computational overhead for 3D objects is a common problem and has a direct impact on how smoothly our computer can handle the load and not start having hiccups.

Storytelling

Experienced animators know how to work with 2D assets, and a lot of that experience involves layout and camera placement. I’ve said many times that the camera is the animator’s friend in that it can be used to show or not show certain parts of an animation that may not be up to par or even necessary for the story to advance.

In science fiction, particularly space travel, the interiors of cockpits and spaceships of various sorts can be very simple in some cases, but most likely they are filled with eye candy to make the viewer go “Wow” for a few seconds when viewing a scene for the first time. This is a delicate balancing act between wowing the viewer while not distracting them from the story.

This is the point at which I naggingly remind everyone that advancing the story is the most important task in a production. From a one-person operation to a huge team, advancing and enhancing the story with visuals can make or break the production in the eyes of the viewer. Too much eye candy and the focus on the story can be lost but the right amount, at the right time, in the right scene will not only enhance the scene but also draw in the viewer to see all the cool stuff you have put together.

Easy First Scenario – Hallway or Corridor

For our first scenario we’ll look at a very simple use of an image with a character to create a compelling scene. This can involve dialog or another character but, in this instance, we are just going to walk down a 2D hallway with a 3D character.

This one is easy as you just dump a 2D image into the workspace as a background. iClone then provides the perspective or you can force the perspective with scaling to make the character appear to be walking down a hallway. This provides an opportunity for adding eye candy and giving the viewer a glimpse of your sci-fi world.

AI Prompt Focus

Midjourney Prompt: “frontal view of long bulkhead filled with Controls”

When generating the background corridor image, you will want to focus on a prompt that will show the corridor facing forward or at a slight angle. The more forward facing the better.

In this instance I used Midjourney with a very simple prompt of “frontal view of long bulkhead filled with Controls” as referenced above. You may have to experiment with the prompt, but you’ll notice I didn’t use corridor or hallway even though they would be just as appropriate so play around with prompt.

When you’ve used tools like Midjourney enough you should start to get a feel of how it reacts to certain prompts to achieve desired results. As you will see, I rarely use extensive prompts as I usually start with a simple prompt in most cases. There is nothing wrong with a verbose prompt except for those occasional times they start fouling up parts of the image.

Load your character and rotate it to where it faces the opposite direction then pull it back to where it fills most of the screen.

You can turn on the grid initially to get your bearings and line the character up in the walkway of the image if needed. It’s OK if you can’t see the character’s head or legs at this point. iClone will handle the perspective shift.

Just follow the tutorial below to see how simple integrating 2D and 3D can be for a stroll down an ornate hallway, factory catwalk or corridor.

Blending a solid color overlay with low opacity is a simply way to take the edge off of the difference in the lighting and appearance of the background versus the 3D assets and 3D lighting. Add an Image Overlay of a solid color that matches or enhances the scene in this case I used blue to blend and cool the scene. Cover the entire scene with Image Overlay until the overlay is all you can see then go into the texture tab and lower the opacity to “blend” the 3D assets with 2D assets. This is generally 40 percent down to as low as 10 percent, but experimentation is encouraged.

Second Scenario – Space Transit

Midjourney Prompt: “command bridge of a futuristic starship with huge forward screens and brightly lit control panels”

TIP: Sometimes you may need to add “–no seats, benches” (and variations) to get a clean cockpit so you can use your own 3D seats.

Let’s take a look at a simple space transit scene that could serve as an establishing shot or the start of a scene. In this scenario, we will be looking at the inside of a starship cockpit with crew members at consoles while the ship speeds through space. We could make the cockpit simple enough to populate with 3D consoles and props but let’s say the script calls for an impactful image that shows off technology as we might expect on such a ship.

In this case there is no dialog so we can really dig in on the eye candy, using an ai-generated image instead of 3D consoles or a 3D cockpit. The only 3D assets in the scene are the characters, their seats and the particle FX.

The scene looks good, takes little time to set up and can be one of those scenes that sticks in the mind of the viewer due to your choice of image.

Third Scenario – Sci-Fi Base

Midjourney Prompt: “futuristic cyberpunk spaceport landing pad”

We are going to get a bit more ambitious with this scenario with it being a more complex scene using “layers” of AI imagery cut out from the original image. I use the term “layers” loosely here as iClone doesn’t have that type of layer, but we just load our cut-out images into the 3D workspace and re-create the original image with space between the cutout images.

The first two scenarios relied on a fixed background, but this one will rely on image planes and image overlays.

Quick Recap

For this you will need an image editor like Photoshop used in this example and an ai-image generator if one is not built into the editor. A main image is generated then we go into our image editor to mask or cut out the parts of the image we want to separate into layers. If you choose to cut out an object like a large rock or boulder because you want a character to hide behind that object you then need to fill that hole you cut out using a marquee and generative AI as shown in the following tutorial.

If we cut out the foreground of an image to have separation between foreground and background, we will need to fill that hole in the background too. Eventually we will have a background with foreground layers stacked in front of each other for spatial and visual separation. This will help to blend the 2D images with 3D assets.

Overview

Generate Image
Cutout Prominent Features
Use AI–generation to fill up those cut out holes in the background
Arrange the cut outs so they reproduce the original image with separation between them.
Add what 3D assets and VFX are necessary and animate!

If you are new to this, don’t panic. This is all demonstrated in the tutorial below. It’s another example of a technique that sounds hard but is in fact very simple to execute once you see what is going on.

Summary

AI-generated images are providing another avenue of visualization that many small studios and home animators have not had access to.

Camera work with 2D imagery can be very tricky for beginners. You soon find out that there is little you can do other than zoom in and then you have to be judicious with it. Camera and imagery can coexist once you understand the concept of using an image plane instead of the background with the camera attached to the image plane, so it moves with it.

That, however, is for another article at another time as we have already covered a lot of ground if you are just starting on your animation journey. Basically, for AI-generated cutouts you need to learn to use the marquee, lasso and related tools in your photo editor and as you saw with the above tutorial sometimes a photo editor can do a good job of separating elements from an image without a lot of interaction from the user.

MD McCallum – WarLord

WarLord’s Workshop

Featured Story

Master Character Creator to Blender: Ultimate Auto Setup Guide

October 28, 2024April 28, 2025 enocburgosLeave a comment

Onur Erdurak

My name is Onur Erdurak, and I’m a director, writer, and 3D artist from Turkey with a passion for storytelling. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Cinema from Izmir University of Economics, where my love for filmmaking truly took shape. During my studies, I had the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus Student Exchange Program. I spent a year in Slovenia to further my cinematic education.

While still a student, I embarked on my first filmmaking endeavor—a no-budget short film titled STRANDED. With just one location and one actor—my talented uncle, Kemal Erdurak. He is a professional actor. I tested my skills in VFX, writing, and all aspects of production. Thanks to the dedication of a great team, STRANDED premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner in 2018. This marked my official debut as a filmmaker.

Currently, I am a Fulbright grantee pursuing an MFA at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. I struggled for years to master Blender. I finally found my breakthrough during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was inspired by Ian Hubert’s “World Building in Blender” video. This led me to launch my passion project, Blendreams. I share my renders and animations on Instagram. I also offer tutorials on YouTube. Today, Blendreams has grown into a community of over 100,000 followers.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to use the free Blender Auto Setup plugin. This will help you create a seamless workflow between Character Creator (CC4), and Blender. We will cover everything from exporting characters and integrating motion capture data to refining animations and optimizing your project. Whether you’re just starting out. Or you are looking to enhance your existing skills. This guide will provide practical tips to ensure a smooth and efficient process.

“The CC/IC Auto Setup for Blender brings everything from Character Creator and iClone. It sets up everything correctly to ensure the best quality, providing a lot of customization options afterward.”
Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

How to Export Your Character from Character Creator to Blender: A Comprehensive Guide

Creating characters in Character Creator 4 (CC4) for film projects in Blender is an exciting and detailed process. Once your character is ready, exporting it to Blender can open up a world of possibilities for further animation and refinement. This guide will walk you through each step. This includes motion capture integration to final adjustments in Blender. It ensures your character transitions smoothly between these platforms.

Recording and Retargeting Motion Capture

Recording and Retargeting Rokoko Motion Capture to Character Creator or iClone

For my project, I used the Rokoko Smart Suit Pro II to record motion capture data. The process is straightforward and can be applied to any motion capture or animation file:

Drag and Drop: Simply drag and drop the FBX file onto your character in Character Creator.
Retarget the Animation: Click on the character, select the same file again to retarget the animation properly.
Reference Pose: Rokoko sets the first frame to a T-pose, which is crucial for accurate retargeting. If your animation lacks a reference frame or you’ve cropped the beginning, skip this step.

This process is also applicable in iClone. You can further clean up the animation. You can also export directly from Character Creator.

“I’ve been using Character Creator 4 (CC4) for over a year. As someone who focuses on telling human-centered stories through animation, its seamless integration with Blender has been invaluable. It’s intuitive workflow allows me to bring my characters to life effortlessly, helping me tell the stories I envision with clarity and precision.”
Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

Drag and drop the FBX file onto your character in Character Creator

Exporting the Character from Character Creator or iClone

There are two primary ways to export your character from Character Creator or iClone:

Method 1: Traditional Export

File Export: Go to File > Export > FBX > Clothed Character.
Select Blender: From the drop-down menu, choose Blender.
Texture Settings: Set Max Texture to 4K for the highest quality. Convert the image format to JPEG for smaller file sizes.
Animation Settings: If your character has animation, ensure you click “Current Animation.” Define the animation length and set the frame rate appropriately. In Character Creator, choose “All” for the animation length, which will automatically match the project length.

Note: In iClone, set in and out points manually if your project length is extensive, as exporting with “All” checked can be time-consuming.

Final Export: Click Export, and create a new folder for the characters to keep everything organized.

“iClone truly simplifies the character animation process! The ability to export fully rigged characters and convert them into a Rigify rig with IK controls in Blender with one click is incredibly useful. This feature makes the workflow much smoother and more efficient.”
Onur Erdurak – Director / Write / 3D Generalist

Go to File > Export > FBX > Clothed Character.

Method 2: Using the Blender Pipeline Plug-in

For a slightly faster workflow, the B lender pipeline plug-in is an excellent alternative. This plug-in allows for seamless export of characters between Blender, Character Creator, and iClone.

Installation Guide:

Follow this installation guide for downloading and installing both the free Blender Pipeline plugin, and the Blender Auto Setup tool.

https://www.reallusion.com/auto-setup/blender/download.html

Importing the Character into Blender

To import your character into Blender, you’ll need the free CC Tools add-on (Blender Pipeline Plugin).

Download and Install CC Tools Add-on: Then in Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Install. Install the add-on and enable the Rigify add-on as well.
Using CC Tools: The CC Tools add-on appears in the “N” panel, which you can toggle with the “N” key. If you have wrinkles enabled in iClone and facial animation, ensure the wrinkles option is checked.

Rigify Integration

Import Character: Click on Rigify, then import your character by navigating to your file.
Set Up Rigify Rig: This will bring in your character with the Rigify rig. It will set up a complex node system. It gives you flexibility over the materials. You can make adjustments to the wrinkles and other settings in the “N” panel under “Character Build Settings.

Animation Adjustment in Blender

Blender offers robust tools for fine-tuning your character’s animation.

Clean Up Keyframes: Open the Graph Editor. Select all bones in Pose Mode. Delete unnecessary keyframes, particularly those for scale.
Non-linear Animation: Use the Non-linear Animation panel to create an additive animation layer. Change the Blending option from “Replace” to “Combine” for easier animation adjustments.
Enable Auto IK: In Pose Mode, enable Auto IK for simple clean-ups. Regular IK can be enabled from the CC Tools add-on under the “Item” tab in the “N” panel.

Open the Graph Editor. Select all bones in Pose Mode. Delete unnecessary keyframes

Use the Non-linear Animation panel to create an additive animation layer.

Running Python Scripts

When reopening your project file, Blender may prompt you to run a Python script. This script powers the options in the “Item” tab, so ensure you trust the script’s source before executing it.

Transferring Characters Between Project Files

To transfer a character between project files:

Copy Character: Select the character’s rig, right-click, choose “Select Hierarchy,” then copy (Ctrl+C).
Paste into New Project: Paste the character (Ctrl+V) into the other project file.
Adjust Light Path Settings: Set the transparent light bounces manually under light path settings for proper rendering.

Select the character’s rig, right-click, choose “Select Hierarchy,” then copy

Paste the character (Ctrl+V) into the other project file

Transferring Facial Animation

If you need to transfer facial animation between characters:

Keyframe All Shape Keys: Use the following script in Blender’s scripting panel to keyframe all shape keys:

import bpy
def add_all_keyframe(obj, attr="value", frame=1):
 if obj.type != 'MESH': return
 blocks = obj.data.shape_keys.key_blocks
 if not blocks: return
 for k in blocks:
 k.keyframe_insert(attr, frame=frame)
add_all_keyframe(bpy.context.object)
bpy.context.scene.frame_set(bpy.context.scene.frame_current) #update ui

Run the Script: Click on the character without keyframes and run the script. Copy the keyframes from one character and paste them into the other.

Attaching Accessories in Blender

Attaching accessories is straightforward:

Reset Bone Positions: In Pose Mode, reset the rotation and position of all bones using Alt+R and Alt+G.
Attach Object: In Object Mode, position the accessory. Then Shift-click on the bone in Pose Mode. Parent the object to the bone (Ctrl+P > Bone).

In Pose Mode, reset the rotation and position of all bones using Alt+R and Alt+G

Fixing Clothing Issues

If your character’s skin is peeking through their clothing:

Masking: Instead of deleting hidden faces during export, use Blender’s masking options to hide the protruding areas.
Add-on for Masking: Check out my free add-on for one-click masking in Blender. See Masking tutorial.

Conclusions

By following these steps, you can ensure that your characters created in Character Creator are imported into Blender with precision. They will be ready for further animation and refinement. Whether you use the traditional export method or the Blender pipeline plug-in, the process is streamlined and efficient.

Final Scene: You can check out the final scene created using this process. The characters were voiced by Jonny Cruz. Melis Caner (@melniverse) also lent her voice. The scene was constructed using KitBash3D Cargo and the Trashkit add-on.

For those interested, special discount codes are available:

Trashkit: Use code “blendreams10” for 10% off here.
KitBash3D: Use coupon code “Blendreams20” for 20% off here.

Happy animating!

Follow Onur Erdurak

Website:
http://blendreams.com/

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

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

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/blendreams

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

Related Posts

Events

Reallusion 2024 Animation At Work Contest Starts! Entries close on January 07 PST

October 24, 2024January 9, 2025 bridgettepanLeave a comment

Reallusion is excited to announce the 2024 Animation at Work Contest launch. This annual contest invites 2D artists of all levels to showcase their skills and creativity using Cartoon Animator 5. With four unique categories, cash prizes, and industry exposure, the contest promises to be a celebration of talent, innovation, and artistic expression.

Contest Details

The 2024 Animation at Work Contest is designed to inspire both beginners and professionals to bring their animation ideas to life. The contest starts on October 18th, and the submission closes on January 7th, 2025. The Winner Announcement date will be set in late January.

Submission Categories & Special Awards

Business & Commercial: Create animations that promote products, services, or businesses creatively.
Comic & Arts: Show off your artistic flair by turning comic panels and artwork into dynamic 2D animations.
Education Animation: Create animations teaching science, history, Math or everyday training. This category serves to enhance teaching experiences with Cartoon Animation videos.
Best Use of CTA5: Show off your mastery of Cartoon Animator’s dynamic features like secondary motion, spring dynamics, motion pilot, and more.
Best Live Performance: Integrate live animations, voice lip-sync, and facial motion tracking to create amazing live-stream productions.
Best Use of XPPen: Whether you’re working with vector or PSD files, display your best 2D creations using the XPPen drawing tablet.
Vertical Shorts: Capture attention on mobile with a 60-second vertical animation that’s designed to go viral. Tell a unique story, using unforgettable characters!

Support for New Animators

Reallusion is committed to making 2D animation accessible to all. With Cartoon Animator, artists can leverage features like Motion Pilot and Puppet Stage to create animations in seconds. Additionally, the Reallusion Forum and Cartoon Animator Facebook Group offer a supportive space where participants can ask questions, share progress, and get advice from seasoned community animators.

How to enter

To participate, entrants must submit their animated projects through the official Reallusion Animation at Work Contest webpage. Submissions can be made on video-sharing platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo, with a link provided during the entry process. Full submission guidelines and contest details are available on the Reallusion website.

>> Learn More about 2023 Animation At Work winners, or click the banner below to enter the contest!

Featured Story

Animating Expressive Jack Black: CC ZBrush Face Tools & iClone

October 21, 2024October 2, 2025 enocburgosLeave a comment

Animating Expressive Jack Black: CC ZBrush Face Tools & iClone

Unleashing the Power of Real-Time Character Animation

Antony Evans from Digital Puppets UK

My name is Antony Evans. I am the Co-founder of Digital Puppets. It is a UK-based animation studio specializing in character design, animation, and virtual avatars. In this exclusive series, we’ll take you behind the scenes of our latest project—bringing the likeness of Jack Black to life.

Across three parts, we’ll explore how we utilized the innovative ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator 4 (CC4). We used them to enhance facial expressions. We also tweaked wrinkle maps and finally animated the face using the iClone AccuFACE plugin for facial motion capture.

“The ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator is a powerful addition to the Character Creator and iClone ecosystem. It enables faster and more efficient character development and animation.”
Antony Evans | Co-Founder of Digital Puppets UK

Crafting the Jack Black Avatar

In the first part of our series, we delve into the process of using the new CC ZBrush Face Tools features. We explore how to use these tools. These features help prepare a character model for animation with the AccuFACE plugin for iClone. We’ve previously covered model building in other videos. This time, our focus is on how the CC ZBrush Face Tools accelerates the refinement of facial morph expressions.

To create our Jack Black avatar, we started with our standard technique. We used the Character Creator Headshot plugin. We began with a photo of Jack Black to sculpt a likeness in a realistic style.

From there, we gradually transitioned into a stylized, cartoon version. A common challenge in character creation is extensive sculpting. After extensive sculpting, the facial morphs often fail to move correctly. This occurs especially when the model deviates from standard human proportions.

This is where the CC ZBrush Face Tools prove invaluable, streamlining the adjustment process and ensuring that our expressions stay true to the design

Animating a stylized Jack Black with CC ZBrush Face Tools and iClone

Understanding ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator

The ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator features allow animators to work directly with the base mesh. The base mesh includes pre-set facial expressions and lip-sync capabilities. However, when you alter the base mesh, especially for more stylized characters, expressions can become distorted.

Previously, fixing this required the Face Profile Editor and extensive back-and-forth between Character Creator and ZBrush. The CC ZBrush Face Tools simplifies this by sending all blendshapes to ZBrush at once, allowing you to adjust essential expressions like jaw movement, brow position, and more, in one go

Before and after of how the facial expressions appeared before making adjustments with the ZBrush Face Tools for CC.

Utilizing reference images of Jack Black to guide the creation of his facial expressions

In our video, you’ll see how we used the CC ZBrush Face Tools to refine expressions. These expressions were for our Jack Black avatar.

Although we needed to make some additional tweaks using the facial profile tool due to the character’s unique proportions, the Face Tools significantly reduced our workload, enabling us to create a more polished final product

We utilized online reference images of Jack Black to guide the creation of his various facial expressions. Our goal was an accurate match.

It’s possible to create these expression shapes without references. However, having them on hand is invaluable. This is especially true when striving to capture someone’s likeness authentically.

In the reference image below, you can see the various facial expressions we refined in ZBrush. The image above is a ZBrush screenshot. The one below is a Character Creator render. It is complete with hair and accessories.

Tweaking the many expressions of Jack Black with Character Creator

Refining Wrinkle Maps

In the second part of our series, we focus on customizing wrinkle maps. The preset wrinkles in Character Creator are quite effective. The CC ZBrush Face Tools offers a more intuitive way to fine-tune these details. You can do this directly on the model in ZBrush. This approach enhances the normal maps. It also allows for direct painting onto the model, giving you greater control over the final look.

Wrinkle maps add a vital layer of realism to characters. With CC ZBrush Face Tools, the process becomes more experimental and creative. We kept the wrinkles subtle for our stylized Jack Black avatar. The video demonstrates how even small adjustments can make a significant difference. Additionally, wrinkle maps in Character Creator are compatible with other software like Unreal Engine. This compatibility makes them versatile tools in any production pipeline.

Customizing wrinkle maps with Character Creator

Facial Animation with iClone AccuFACE

The third and final part of our video series covers facial animation using iClone AccuFACE. This iClone tool excels in remote work scenarios. It allows you to create facial capture from prerecorded videos. These videos can be edited before finalizing the animation. This feature is particularly useful given that much of our work at Digital Puppets is done remotely.

AccuFACE supports both prerecorded and real-time facial capture, giving us flexibility depending on the project. One standout feature is its integration with iClone AccuLips, which records the viseme track simultaneously with the facial capture. This synchronization eliminates the need to align lip-sync and facial movements separately. It streamlines the animation process and enhances the natural flow of expressions.

In our demonstration, we show how combining AccuFACE with AccuLips produces more dynamic and lifelike animations. After recording, Character Creator’s robust toolset allows further refinement. You can achieve this by keyframing, re-recording specific elements, or using puppet tools for real-time adjustments.

iClone AccuFACE allows you to create facial captures from prerecorded videos

Final Thoughts

The ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator is a powerful addition to the Character Creator and iClone ecosystem. It enables faster and more efficient character development and animation.

Reallusion continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in real-time production, making our work not only easier but also more detailed and expressive.

As the industry moves toward real-time workflows, tools like these will become indispensable for studios worldwide. I’m excited to see what future updates will bring and encourage anyone in character development to explore Character Creator and iClone.

The ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator is a powerful addition to the Character Creator and iClone ecosystem

Follow Digital Puppets UK

Website:
https://digitalpuppets.co.uk

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

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Featured Story

Blender Concept Artist Ventures the Crossroads of VR Modeling and Character Creator

October 18, 2024November 22, 2024 bridgettepan1 Comment

VR Modeling Concept Artist – Ace Carman

Ace Carman is a seasoned environment concept artist with over six years of professional VR modeling experience in the industry. After graduating from art school in California in 2018, he has worked on major projects like Call of Duty, all while carving out a unique artistic path. His entry into the art world came after transitioning from a military career in the Marines.

Initially on track to become a history teacher, Ace was inspired by an influential illustration professor to pursue art, ultimately leading him to California and igniting his passion for digital painting and concept art. Currently, Ace is teaching an online course titled 3DD Exploration to Execution at Brainstorm, where he covers topics such as kit building, lighting, terrain creation, hard surface modeling, and VR modeling workflow incorporating Character Creator, Blender, ZBrush, Substaince Painter VR Modeler.

Ace first caught our attention on ArtStation due to his remarkable concept art piece, Acid Refineries. This work showcases his innovative use of Substance 3D Modeler and highlights his ability to seamlessly import assets into Blender. The coolest aspect of Ace’s process is his use of VR not only for environment modeling but also for creating characters, which he rigs in Character Creator (CC) to effortlessly pose them in Blender.

Ace’s Artstation

Embracing VR Modeling

From the start, Ace believed the shift from loose concepting to 3D creation presented major challenges, until he discovered the power of VR modeling. This approach allowed him to quickly block out entire scenes and refine models in a more intuitive way. It not only simplified working with organic shapes but also made it easy to integrate assets from sources like Megascans, enabling him to swiftly build landscapes and avoid the tedious task of editing mesh components.

Ace Carman rigs his characters with Character Creator using VR

Ace’s approach involves blocking landscapes on a simple cube in VR, exporting a Z-depth to terrain generation software, and achieving rapid results. He has also transitioned to using Adobe Substance VR Modeler, which has resolved many technical hurdles associated with virtual modeling.

Discovering Character Creator

Character Creator unexpectedly became a key part of his workflow. Frustrated by the tedious posing process in ZBrush, especially for armored characters, he sought an alternative. After exploring several options, he settled on Character Creator, being impressed by its accessory features. This tool enabled him to efficiently handle the hard surface physics, a crucial element in his character designs.

He called Character Creator a game-changer, saying, “It meant I didn’t have to navigate a complex character art pipeline in ZBrush. I could focus on the cool things I wanted, and Character Creator made it happen seamlessly“. This simplicity has made Character Creator an integral part of Ace’s workflow, easing many of the typical challenges in 3D modeling. Other plugin integrations include Headshot and SkinGen, helping to boost the realism and quality of his characters.

Integrating Character Creation with VR

Initially hesitant about modeling characters in VR, Ace took the plunge and created a character from scratch. He was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and effectiveness of Character Creator during the rigging process; Noting that, despite being primarily an environment artist, the software made the process straightforward: “It worked easier than any other method I’ve tried”.

Ace appreciates CC accessory options, which allow him to incorporate armor, shoulder pads, and belts without mesh distortion. This feature has enhanced the quality of his character designs, providing him with a reliable platform for creating unique characters.

Ace Carman’s evolution as a 3D artist is marked by pivotal transitions, from traditional techniques to embracing cutting-edge tools like VR and Character Creator. His adaptability has boosted both efficiency and creative potential, showcasing how modern technology is reshaping the future of concept art.

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Featured Story

Animating AI-Generated Models: A Step-by-Step Guide

October 17, 2024July 17, 2025 bridgettepanLeave a comment

Rodin, AccuRIG, and ActorCore inspire the next wave of creativity for 3D artists

José Antonio Tijerín

José Tijerín, a digital illustrator and 3D sculptor, is the creator of the video game “Dear Althea” on Steam and the content pack “We’re Besties” available in the Reallusion Content Store. In this article, he demonstrates how AI streamlines 3D model creation, featuring Rodin and its integration with ActorCore’s 3D motions and AccuRIG, a free auto-rigging tool.

The AI Revolution in 3D Creation

The 3D industry is undergoing a real revolution with the advent of AIs that generate 3D models. Of all the AIs I have tested, Rodin promises to transform the way 3D characters and models are created. In this landscape of technological advances, it is crucial to understand how these types of AIs can not only complement but also be enhanced by established tools.

ActorCore and AccuRIG offer a complete and optimized solution for professional 3D content creation. Together with this AI, these tools offer never-before-seen opportunities for artists without 3D skills to work on projects based on three-dimensional environments.

See my workflow on how these three worked together and created amazing results.

Rodin: A New Frontier of 3D AI Generation

Rodin represents a quantum leap in 3D model generation, using advanced algorithms to create characters with an unprecedented level of detail and realism. This AI is not only capable of generating complex geometries, but also understands and applies textures and materials in a coherent way based on our sketches. Being able to go directly from the conceptual design of a character to the 3D model drastically reduces the time it takes to go from idea to final result.

Rodin, a tool for generating 3D models from images or text, offers artists the opportunity to see their 2D sketches in the form of a three-dimensional model by generating geometry and materials. One of its main distinguishing features is the opportunity to ‘redo’ the model and textures a large number of times in order to find the perfect finish. It also allows 3D control via Bounding Box, Voxel or Point Cloud to manipulate scale and shape. Finally there is a mesh editor for quick tweaks and advanced options such as adding negative cues and pose control that offer far more control than any other AI today.

Rodin stands out for its ability to generate several results based on the same reference, free of charge, from which we can choose the result that best suits what we were looking for. This gives us the control that most of today’s AIs can’t give us and makes the 3D creation process much more creative.

However, its true strength is revealed when it is integrated with tools that have already proven themselves in the industry. This is where ActorCore and AccuRIG come into play, offering functionality that perfectly complements Rodin’s capabilities.

AccuRIG: Perfect Complement to AI-Generated Models

AccuRIG is the best free tool to complement Rodin. Although Rodin can generate complex models, the rigging process remains a crucial stage for these models to be animated effectively. This is where AccuRIG proves its worth, automating rigging with amazing precision, yet also allowing artists to manually adjust the result so that the character skeleton is exactly what we are looking for and the characters can be animated in a coherent way.

AccuRIG’s compatibility for rigging a wide variety of models, from humanoid figures to fantastical creatures, makes it the ideal complement to Rodin-generated character designs. This synergy between Rodin and AccuRIG not only streamlines the rigging process, but also ensures that models are ready to be animated with ActorCore 3D motions that can then be used in iClone. This way we can go from 2D character design to a fully functional 3D model in a Unreal Engine or Unity project in a matter of minutes.

ActorCore: Elevating the Potential of AI with 3D Animation

ActorCore is a platform that has established itself as a great resource for any 3D professional. With its extensive library of high-quality animations, ActorCore not only allows users to take advantage of Rodin-generated creations, but also brings them to life with precise and natural movements for any 3D character.

ActorCore’s mocap animations, created using advanced motion capture technologies, ensure that any Rodin-generated character moves with impressive fluidity and realism. In addition, ActorCore allows us to visualize these animations directly on our characters in the 3D viewer for free, ensuring that they are perfectly suited to the specific needs of any type of professional project. This also allows an artist to show their idea to the rest of the team in a much more effective way, instead of just presenting a couple of sketches, now an artist can show a character full of life in a matter of minutes completely free of charge and without any knowledge of 3D modeling or animation.

iClone: the Fastest Real-time 3D Animation Tool

To work with the rigged and animated character, there is no better program than iClone. With its tools we can edit the animation and work with the character to adjust it as much as we want to our needs. Thanks to this, for example, we can make our characters fit into the scenarios of our project or make them interact with each other. When we finish we will see that one of the great advantages of using iClone is its integration with other programs, so we will be able to send our character to Unity or Unreal perfectly configured in less than a minute. So, iClone will save us from having to work with multiple programs and with the tool sets it offers, it will allow us to focus only on what’s important.

Synergistic Integration: Rodin, AccuRIG and ActorCore

Rodin’s integration with ActorCore and AccuRIG can drive a new era in 3D content production. While Rodin brings with it the promise of more creatively generated 3D models, ActorCore and AccuRIG ensure that these models are not only visually stunning, but also fully functional and accurately animated. The real power of this combination lies in the ability of these tools to work together, creating a workflow that maximizes efficiency while leaving more room for creativity and experimentation.

Check out these great tools that bring real innovation to 3D content creators:

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Animating Ancient Fantasy: ALHIQ ‘The Dragon Shield’ with Character Creator, iClone, and ActorCore

The Vision Behind ALHIQ “The Dragon Shield”

Character Creation: The Power of Reallusion’s Character Creator

Animation Control with iClone 8

Enhancing Realism with ActorCore Motion Capture

Real-Time Rendering with Unreal Engine

The ALHIQ Pipeline: A Proven Production Workflow

Saving Time and Money with Reallusion Tools

Conclusion

Follow Dom Fred:

MD Props

MD Templates for Customizing Interactive Props

A Quick Overview

Smart Accessory

Summary

MD McCallum – WarLord

Rafael Benedicto

Character Creation

Effortless Lighting and Look Development

Simplified Material Adjustments

Flexible Rigging with CAT System

Facial Expressions Made Easy

Final Thoughts

Storytelling

Easy First Scenario – Hallway or Corridor

AI Prompt Focus

Second Scenario – Space Transit

Third Scenario – Sci-Fi Base

Quick Recap

Overview

Summary

MD McCallum – WarLord

Onur Erdurak

How to Export Your Character from Character Creator to Blender: A Comprehensive Guide

Recording and Retargeting Motion Capture

Exporting the Character from Character Creator or iClone

Method 1: Traditional Export

Method 2: Using the Blender Pipeline Plug-in

Installation Guide:

Importing the Character into Blender

Rigify Integration

Animation Adjustment in Blender

Running Python Scripts

Transferring Characters Between Project Files

Transferring Facial Animation

Attaching Accessories in Blender

Fixing Clothing Issues

Conclusions

Contest Details

Submission Categories & Special Awards

Sponsored Prizes

Support for New Animators

How to enter

Unleashing the Power of Real-Time Character Animation

Antony Evans from Digital Puppets UK

Crafting the Jack Black Avatar

Understanding ZBrush Face Tools for Character Creator

Refining Wrinkle Maps

Facial Animation with iClone AccuFACE

Final Thoughts

Follow Digital Puppets UK

VR Modeling Concept Artist – Ace Carman

Embracing VR Modeling

Discovering Character Creator

Integrating Character Creation with VR

Rodin, AccuRIG, and ActorCore inspire the next wave of creativity for 3D artists

José Antonio Tijerín

The AI Revolution in 3D Creation

Rodin: A New Frontier of 3D AI Generation

AccuRIG: Perfect Complement to AI-Generated Models

ActorCore: Elevating the Potential of AI with 3D Animation

iClone: the Fastest Real-time 3D Animation Tool

Synergistic Integration: Rodin, AccuRIG and ActorCore

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