All language subtitles for CustomMetahuman_1.1.mp4

Hi and welcome
to the first chapter of this course

where we will create our base character
model

import it into Unreal Engine
and talk about

what to consider when you are planning
to customize the character.

And then we will have a look
at how the model is actually constructed

and the implications for customization.

First of all, a huge shout out

to Epic Games
for releasing this amazing tool.

Imagine there was a time
when you had to spend weeks

or even months
to create a character like this,

not even to mention the years of learning
and experience you had to invest

to even be able to create a fully rigged,
realistic character.

When this tool was released last year,
it introduced a technology

that enabled 3D artists like me
and probably also you

- if you're watching this course -

to build upon and create
incredible things, be it movies or games.

Okay,

so let's first quickly go through this tool
and create our character,

and then we will have a closer look at
what is actually going on under the hood,

inspect the model composition
and see how it is rigged

and what we can actually do with it.

Because when we think
about customizing the character,

what we want to avoid is breaking
any of the amazing functionalities

that these characters provide.

For example,
we want the control rigs and facial blendshapes

to remain intact.

So for now, this is February 2022,

the metahuman creator
is still in early access,

which means you have to request access
to be able to use it.

In case you don't have access yet,

what you need to do is:
Go to the Unreal Engine website,

UnrealEngine.com, click on products,
and then the MetaHuman Creator.

From there you can request access.

It can take

from a couple of days to a couple of weeks
until your request is processed.

And after that
you will receive a nice email with a link

from where you can launch the MetaHuman Creator

Cool.

So we are now moments away
from starting to work on our character,

but a few words on what you can expect
in this course first.

My intention with this course
format is to empower you

to use your imagination and creativity.

So this will not be a "do exactly as I say"
type of educational content,

although this also has its merits.

But instead
I want you to understand the workflow

and the reasons why some operations
need to be done this way.

This is, of course,

by no means the only way to do it,

especially because the workflow is totally dependent
on the choice of DCC (digital content creation) software.

That's why I think it is important
to understand the logic

rather than following a step
by step instruction.

Once you've learned that, you can start
experimenting on your own

and find the best workflow
that suits your needs.

Right,

so let's get to it.

Here we are in the metahuman creator.

At this moment,
the database consists of 59 facial scans

of real people that you can choose from.

Browse through them, select
the one that you like best.

I will choose this character called Omar

and click Next.
In order to begin modifying the character.

Stop the preview
animation first and then go to Blend.

In general, you
have three options for modification here:

Blend, Move and Sculpt.

So first of all, you get here
the option to select three morph targets.

These morph targets are used to blend
specific facial features

between the four characters.

- this is your base model
and the three morph targets you selected -

Click on any of the markers on the face
and drag it towards one or the other Morph Target.

This is entirely your choice
where you want to go with your model.

I will fast forward this step.

So now you have seen what the Blend tool is for.
With the Move tool,

you can then exaggerate broad features
like the ears, eyebrows, the nose, etc.

You can go crazy here.

I am actually quite happy
with how my character looks

and go straight to the Sculpt tool.

This one allows you to make

slight changes to a much larger number
of face markers than what is available

in the two other tools.

Same thing. Just click on any marker

and drag them around
until you are happy with the result.

So these three tools
Blend, Move and Sculpt,

they modify the geometry of the head mesh itself.

After that,
once you are happy with the look,

you can browse through the other options
in the sidebar and modify

the textures of the skin, eyes and teeth
and add hair or beard components, if you like.

Once you get to the body

proportions and clothing,
there are a few things to consider,

if you are thinking about customizing
this character later.

Number one:

Choose your body proportions wisely.

You have the choice between nine different
body types: 3 different height types

and for each of these,
you can choose between 3 proportions:

normal weight, overweight and underweight.

Although it is possible to change the body
type later,

your custom clothes will be tailored
to this specific body type.

Also, check the proportions of the head
in relation to the body.

For some body types,
the head turns out a little bit too big.

and Number two:
Disable all clothing on the character.

Once you export your character
with clothes, the body parts

that are hidden by
the clothes will be automatically deleted.

You don't want that.
Since the clothes that you want to

model yourself might be quite different.

So deselect the top and the bottom cloth items

and choose the Flip-Flops for the shoes,

since there is no option to deselect shoes.

And I think we're done!

The last thing we need to do
here is change the name of the character.

The name that you assign here
will be the one that appears in Quixel Bridge

and also be the name
of the character, model and assets,

once we import it into Unreal Engine.

My character gets the

very creative name "Hero".

So in case you would like to know,

I have chosen the tall, normal weight
body type. For no specific reason by the way.

You can choose whatever you want,

this will not affect
any part of the customization process.

The buzzcut for the hair,

although I plan to replace it
with my own custom hair asset.

And those are the other hair components
for my Hero.

When you are done,

don't worry,

If you don't see any Save button.

All modifications are automatically saved.

If you click on my metahumans,
you will see that

your character appears here
and it is also synched with Quixel Bridge,

by the way, for export to Unreal Engine.

If you need multiple versions
of the same character,

say a short, average and a tall version,

you can duplicate the character and then
modify whatever you would like to change.

All right.

We are done here for now and can

now go ahead and export
our Hero to Unreal Engine.