5 tricks to get extra out of your 3D characters

[Sponsored] Uncover how the brand new options in Character Creator 4.1, the most recent model of Reallusion’s character technology software program, assist artists to reuse a single 3D character throughout a number of purposes.

 
Creating high-quality 3D characters from scratch takes time. Happily, Character Creator 4.1 is there that will help you get extra out of your current characters.

The newest model of Reallusion’s character design and rigging software program contains new options designed to assist artists repurpose 3D characters throughout a spread of contexts, from film and broadcast animation to videogames and cell AR purposes, and even huge crowd simulations for architectural visualisation.

 

 
On this article, we’ll have a look at 5 of the methods through which Character Creator 4.1 removes the necessity to create a brand new 3D character for a undertaking.

We’ll discover how the Optimize and Decimate software generates Degree of Element (LOD) variants of a personality to be used within the background of a scene, how Subdivision Export up-reses real-time characters to be used in offline animations, and the way utilizing Advanced AccuRIG can convert static 3D scans into animation-ready characters – and even flip one character right into a crowd by creating variations of clothes and armour.

 

 

1. Use Optimize and Decimate to show hero characters into crowd actors

Character Creator’s CC3+ Standard specification is designed for great-looking sport characters.

With their 101-bone rigs, assist for over 140 facial blendshapes, and the Digital Human Shader for real looking pores and skin, eyes and hair, CC3+ characters look good even in excessive close-up.

However for background actors in crowd scenes, that stage of element could be overkill.

Character Creator’s new Optimize and Decimate tool, discovered within the Attribute tab of the Modify panel, makes it simple to optimise characters in line with the space at which they are going to be seen by the viewer, adjusting the density of the character mesh and the complexity of the character rig and shader set-up.

By utilizing Optimize and Decimate, you’ll be able to cut back the file dimension of CC3+ character from over 200MB to beneath 2MB, making it potential to show a hero character into a light-weight model appropriate to be used in crowd scenes.

 

 
There are three useful presets, designed for viewing characters anyplace from 10 to 40m from the digicam.

The primary, ActorBUILD, is nice for crowd characters that will probably be seen within the center distance, the place their facial expressions will nonetheless be noticeable.

Changing a CC3+ character to ActorBUILD cuts its poly depend to beneath a 3rd, and converts its supplies to Game Base specs, however retains its facial blendshapes and all of its bones.

The opposite Degree of Element (LOD) settings, LOD1 and LOD2, are designed for background characters, and use light-weight triangle-based meshes and lower-resolution textures.

They don’t assist facial expressions, however characters’ arms can nonetheless be positioned precisely: LOD1 rigs embrace finger bones, and hand positions could be baked out for LOD2 characters.

You may also create your individual Degree of Element by utilizing the Custom choice within the Optimize and Decimate software.

It makes it potential to tailor the decision of the mesh and supplies for a person undertaking, and even to take away bones from the rig individually: for instance, to lock a personality’s fingers in place round a weapon.

 

 

2. Use Subdivision Export to up-res characters for cinematics

Characters that look good in actual time don’t all the time fare as effectively in relation to offline rendering.

Even hero characters have a restricted polygon finances to make sure that they show easily in-game, which may turn into noticeable when they’re rendered at greater resolutions, or in excessive close-up.

Character Creator 4.1’s new Subdivision Export system solves the issue, rising the density of the character mesh to clean onerous angles in its silhouette and take away faceting in its floor shading.

Subdivision makes it potential to reuse in-game characters in cinematics, or to repurpose low-resolution characters to be used in previs, visualisations and even broadcast animation.

The Easy Mesh part of the Modify panel has separate subdivision sliders for previews and ultimate renders, letting you’re employed interactively with the unique character, then enhance its poly depend at render time.

 

 
Subdivision isn’t only for native Character Creator characters: you’ll be able to upres any imported low-resolution character, offering it has all-quad topology.

And in contrast to with some software program, the subdivided character doesn’t need to be rendered inside Character Creator itself: it may be exported in OBJ, FBX or USD format, preserving pores and skin weights and facial morphs.

The system makes it potential to import characters from on-line asset shops like Sketchfab or Reallusion’s personal ActorCore and upres them for rendering within the software program of your alternative, from DCC instruments like 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D and Maya to NVIDIA Omniverse and sport engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.

 

 

3. Use Superior AccuRIG to show 3D scans into animation-ready characters

Character Creator additionally rapidly converts characters that weren’t initially designed to be seen in movement to be used in animations, cinematics or visualizations.

Whereas rigging a personality by hand can take days, the brand new Advanced AccuRIG system in Character Creator 4.1 turns a static mannequin – like a 3D scan or a ZBrush sculpt – right into a rigged character in minutes.

 

 
Clicking the AccuRIG button within the Modify panel, then the Create Guides button within the Skeleton and Bind Pores and skin part of the interface, generates markers over the character’s key physique elements.

You’ll be able to reposition them to match the precise proportions of your character by dragging within the viewport, then click on the Generate Skeleton and Bind Pores and skin buttons to have Character Creator routinely generate a rig.

In contrast to some auto-rigging programs, AccuRIG isn’t solely designed for human characters: it really works with fashions with non-standard proportions like outsized heads or beast legs.

You’ll be able to generate rigs with fewer than 5 fingers, and might even masks out particular person bones within the skeleton, making it potential to rig characters with lacking physique elements.

The rigged character could be exported in FBX and USD format to be used in a variety of different software program, together with 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, iClone, Maya, MotionBuilder, Omniverse, Unity and Unreal Engine.

 

 

4. Create variations of clothes and armour to show one character right into a crowd

A fast approach to populate crowd scenes is to reuse one character a number of instances with completely different variations of garments, equipment and props. Character Creator 4.1’s Advanced AccuRIG system makes this easy.

On importing a character with multiple meshes, you’ll be able to select which meshes you need to generate pores and skin weights for, by deciding on them within the Scene Supervisor, then activating AccuRIG’s Chosen Mesh radio button.

 

 
Character Creator will generate pores and skin weights for the chosen meshes, which means that they deform because the character strikes, behaving like clothes.

Meshes with out weights are transformed to inflexible equipment, so that they transfer with the character however don’t deform, behaving like armour or props.

You’ll be able to reposition inflexible equipment – for instance, to make sure a weapon sits snugly within the character’s hand – by utilizing the Pivot button within the Modify panel, as proven on the finish of the beginning of this tip.

 

5. Selectively re-rig characters to repurpose them from different software program

Superior AccuRIG isn’t only for rigging characters from scratch: you may as well use it to re-rig characters.

Changing a rigged character created in one other 3D software to Character Creator’s native rig construction means that you could then edit the rig with Character Creator’s highly effective instruments.

For instance, you could possibly use Optimize and Decimate to transform a hero character rigged in Blender or Maya to a simplified, light-weight model appropriate to be used in crowd animations.

Characters with CC4 skeletons are additionally optimised to be used in iClone, Reallusion’s real-time animation software program, and the inventory movement clips obtainable in its Motion Library.

 

 
It’s even potential to create a brand new skeleton for a personality, however to protect its current facial rig.

The video above reveals how to do that for a inventory character from Daz 3D: Character Creator detects the present Daz skeleton and remaps its bones routinely, whereas readymade profiles for Daz 3D’s Genesis 1, 2, 3 and eight figures make it simpler to make use of the present facial rig with Character Creator’s Facial Profile Editor.

 

Discover out extra about Character Creator

Character Creator 4 (CC4) is a whole character creation answer for artists working in inventive fields together with animation, sport improvement and visualisation.

With it, artists can generate and customise stylised or real looking characters to be used as animated avatars, or in different 3D software program, together with iClone, Maya, Blender, Unreal Engine, Unity, Daz Studio and 3ds Max.

Character Creator connects industry-leading pipelines, offering a single system for 3D character technology, character rigging, asset administration, lookdev, rendering and interactive design.

 
Read more about Character Creator on Reallusion’s website

Download Character Creator 4.1 for free (30-day trial)

Upgrade to the latest version of Character Creator for free (for current Character Creator 4 customers)

Read more about the new features in Character Creator 4.1 on Reallusion’s forum

Tags: 3D character generator, 3ds max, 5 suggestions for Character Creator 4, 5 suggestions for Character Creator 4.1, AccuRig, Superior AccuRig, Advertorial, animated avatar, animation, AR, architectural visualization, Augmented Actuality, auto rigging, Auto-Rigger, Blender, Character Animation, character creator, Character Creator 4, Character Creator 4.1, character generator, character rigging, Cinema 4D, cinematic, create variants of 3D character, crowd simulation, professional suggestions, FBX, function animation, sport design, sport improvement, iClone, stage of element, LOD, Maya, MotionBuilder, Optimize and Decimate, Realllusion, repurpose 3D character, reuse 3D character, rigged character, rigging, sponsored, Subdivision Export, suggestions, Coaching, UE5, Unity, Unreal Engine, upres character, USD, digital actuality, visible results, VR