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 era 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 present characters.

The most recent model of Reallusion’s character design and rigging software program contains new options designed to assist artists repurpose 3D characters throughout a variety 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 are going to have a look at 5 of the methods during which Character Creator 4.1 removes the necessity to create a brand new 3D character for a challenge.

We’ll discover how the Optimize and Decimate instrument generates Stage 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 recreation characters.

With their 101-bone rigs, help for over 140 facial blendshapes, and the Digital Human Shader for practical 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 might 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 based on 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.

Through the use of Optimize and Decimate, you possibly can scale back the file measurement of CC3+ character from over 200MB to underneath 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 rely to underneath a 3rd, and converts its supplies to Game Base specs, however retains its facial blendshapes and all of its bones.

The opposite Stage 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 help facial expressions, however characters’ arms can nonetheless be positioned precisely: LOD1 rigs embody finger bones, and hand positions might be baked out for LOD2 characters.

You too can create your individual Stage of Element by utilizing the Custom possibility within the Optimize and Decimate instrument.

It makes it potential to tailor the decision of the mesh and supplies for a person challenge, 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 properly in the case of offline rendering.

Even hero characters have a restricted polygon finances to make sure that they show easily in-game, which may turn out to be noticeable when they’re rendered at increased 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 easy laborious 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 closing renders, letting you’re employed interactively with the unique character, then enhance its poly rely at render time.

 
Subdivision isn’t only for native Character Creator characters: you possibly can 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 recreation engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.

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

Character Creator additionally shortly 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 mechanically generate a rig.

Not like some auto-rigging methods, 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 may even masks out particular person bones within the skeleton, making it potential to rig characters with lacking physique elements.

The rigged character might 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 solution to populate crowd scenes is to reuse one character a number of instances with totally different variations of garments, equipment and props. Character Creator 4.1’s Advanced AccuRIG system makes this straightforward.

On importing a character with multiple meshes, you possibly can select which meshes you wish to generate pores and skin weights for, by choosing 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, in order 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: it’s also possible to use it to re-rig characters.

Changing a rigged character created in one other 3D utility 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 might 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 present facial rig.

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

Discover out extra about Character Creator

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

With it, artists can generate and customise stylised or practical 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 era, 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 present Character Creator 4 customers)

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

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