MetaHuman Animator is a brand-new feature set available as part of the MetaHuman Plugin for the Unreal Engine. First shown at the GDC 2023, it enables digital creators and animators to capture an actor's performance and apply it as a high-fidelity facial animation on any digital character.
The process takes only a few minutes, and the capture can be done using an iPhone (iPhone 12 to 14) or a stereo camera couple. Once the data is captured, it can be effortlessly applied to any MetaHuman* character, without the need for manual intervention.
*MetaHuman is an Unreal Engine framework to create, animate, and use highly realistic digital human characters.
According to Epic Games, each subtle expression, look, and emotion is accurately captured and faithfully mirrored onto a digital human, making it easy to achieve incredible results.
This is possible by making use of a 4D solver that combines video and depth data together with a MetaHuman representation of the performer. The animation is produced locally using GPU hardware.
Additionally, the animation data is not only semantically accurate, utilizing the correct rig controls, but also maintains temporal consistency. This means you can easily make artistic adjustments if you want to tweak the animation.
For those who are new to performance capture, Epic Games introduces MetaHuman Animator as a convenient solution for incorporating real-world performances into MetaHumans with ease.
However, if you're already experienced in performance capture, this new feature set will significantly enhance your existing capture workflow, minimizing time and effort while granting you greater creative control.
With this release and to showcase what’s possible with MetaHuman Animator when using high-end equipment, a short film named Blue Dot was created by Epic Games' 3Lateral team in collaboration with local Serbian artists.
The results demonstrate the fidelity achievable by artists and filmmakers when using MetaHuman Animator alongside a stereo head-mounted camera system and traditional filmmaking techniques. Notably, the team accomplished this impressive level of animation quality with minimal additional adjustments beyond the initial output of the MetaHuman Animator.
MetaHuman Animator builds upon the current feature set offered by the MetaHuman Plugin, specifically the Mesh to MetaHuman feature. This feature allows you to transform a custom mesh, created through scanning, sculpting, or traditional modeling techniques, into a rigged MetaHuman character.
Once the conversion is complete, you have the flexibility to fine-tune and enhance your character using the cloud-based app MetaHuman Creator (Currently in early-access).
To start using MetaHuman Animator download the MetaHuman Plugin on the Unreal Engine marketplace.
MetaHuman Animator requires Unreal Engine 5.2.
