Tutorial - Attach Metahuman head to different body / clothes (iClone etc) in Unreal Engine.

[@risnandarmultimedia5296]

pilot dance lol.. this is genius... more opportunity to make fast production.. thanks so much

[@loregodd]

The problem I am running into with this is that the head is only following the neck bone animation without the head animation. If I attach the head BP to the head bone, then the neck is not connected to the neck bone and you will see it pop out with some poses. Any solution to this :/ ?

[@unitednorthpole]

Very very funny introductive video! Congrats for this tutorial.

[@clobertube]

with a bit of tweaking with morphs this can be a perfect workflow

[@Monoville]

Definitely.

[@LokeshwaranSams]

@Monoville this part of combining a different body animation with iPhone METAHUMAN facial capture data is what's missing here and luckily you covered it. Thanks for this tutorial dude. Keep rocking as always...

[@xmaarten]

Your voice reminds me of the Salad Fingers cartoon and this a tremendous help, thank you! 😁

[@beeceelad]

Great tutorial! Instead of scaling, another option is to put an opacity mask on the neck base which also helps hide the extra unwanted geo.

[@Monoville]

Yep, started doing that a few weeks ago, going to post an updated tutorial soon.

[@mamichael1239]

@@Monoville Awesome! Btw anybody have the iclone metahuman live link plugin files could share with me? thanks a lot.

[@drJasii]

@@Monoville Reminder

[@3DGraphicsFun]

Wow this is EXTREMELY informative and helpful. Big Thanks! :) 👍😊

[@Monoville]

Thanks, glad you found it helpful!

[@3DGraphicsFun]

@@Monoville Yep, This is super great stuff!! 👌

[@entropicvibe]

What a wonderful tutorial, thanks so much mate

[@Sky-hl8iw]

solid neat guidance, easy fast pro tutorial, TQ 4 this

[@yiyanluo2878]

How to keep the LOD always at 0?Please help me.Duplicate the LOD sync from metahumen BP doesn't work.Thanks for your coming answer!

[@6mpire181]

Exact tutorial I was looking for, thank you!

[@Monoville]

You're welcome!

[@Kriscoart]

lol 2:27 :) Great Video!

[@TheCvele1974]

Love it. Thanks man for this video,

[@TronikXR]

So you made the facial animation within Unreal with Live Link and did the body animation in iClone? Great tut by the way. Real next level stuff. Subscribed.

[@Monoville]

Thank you! Yes, done exactly that way. I think there'll be a few different methods coming up as people get to grips with combining Metahuman and iClone but I find this method pretty simple, effective and quick to do so sticking with it for now!

[@TronikXR]

@@Monoville I'd say this is honestly the best method right now to be honest. The other methods are real touch and go as far as tweaking blueprints to get iClone to control both the face and body.

[@Monoville]

@@TronikXR yeah that's what I figured, definitely happy to keep doing it this way! No issues so far.

[@3dd205]

thank you for the comment, why exactly in the iClone? I'm going to spend money, and I choose how to make motion capture of the face and body better - iClone or rokoko, for example. Everything is worth good money and I don't want to miss. Have you personally tried iClone or rokoko? what can you personally recommend? Thank you

[@renderedframes7952]

Thank you! This is extremely helpful!

[@darianagreen9082]

Wow, that is easy and so well explained! Please keep making tutorials! Could you please advise and also maybe make a tutorial how to use groom system if Unreal Engine and customize both hair and brows and beards? As MH has very limited collection of that, but they look amazing. Can we achieve with custom groom same quality? And how to produce the hair and attach it?

[@Monoville]

I definitely intend to keep making tutorials, so watch this space! I might do a groom tutorial somewhere down the line, although at the moment I've just been using the pre-made stuff available through Metahuman. It's a great, realistic system and I have seen examples of custom grooms used prior to Metahuman which were just as good. Definitely not my area of expertise though!

[@lucid.dreams.visuals]

you can add opacity channel to the part you want to hide.

[@Logovo_Harrisa]

Thank you!

[@rodrigorojas5658]

good job friend, you should do a tutorial on how to make animations, it would be amazing, thanks!

[@Monoville]

Thanks! I will try to do an animation tutorial soon.

[@rodrigorojas5658]

@@Monoville ❤️❤️

[@Sky-hl8iw]

@@Monoville pls do & we will not look else where bcoz we know this channel provides efficient learning curves

[@TomorrowWorldStudio]

Thanks very helpful info👍👌

[@Monoville]

You're welcome!

[@eritumakafakafo3008]

i wonde if i can add the metahuman head with its rig to the custom skeleton with alrerady existing animations

[@RichardRiegel]

I wonder how to combine body animation sequence with face rig in sequence editor, because for me only one can work... Depends on, what ist connected to the MasterPose Component node as a master bone.. :(

[@Vegaart777]

I don’t get it , everything is fine until I load face animation, and hair beard and fuzz move from the face and also the head also moves away from the body. I have done this before and it has worked fines

[@TheHamt]

amazing, thanks so much!

[@Monoville]

You're very welcome!

[@marzouqsaid4238]

Nice, thanks for sharing

[@Monoville]

You're welcome

[@Amelia_PC]

Great! It's a solid solution for cinematics. Thanks! It wouldn't work for in-game characters, would it? The modular pieces must have to be rigged to a similar skeleton, so it wouldn't work in-game pawn... Or is there another way? If we could use only the MetaHuman heads for modular pawns, it'd be awesome.

[@Monoville]

It could still work to a point, you would just have to retarget the iClone character mesh to the in-game character mannequin. I've done that before. The Metahuman head would be kind of static though, only moving in relation to what the mannequin does. But I guess most game characters are like that anyway!

[@OoJxCorrey]

But if you have i.e. Fight Animations the neck would Clip cause of static and an opacity mask is Good unless you Need a neck. How can i Prevent the Head Even the shoulder from Clipping througth the armor?

[@Amelia_PC]

​@@Monoville " But I guess most game characters are like that anyway!" Most pawns are not modular, so the head always is rigged with the rest of the body. But you gave me an idea. I'll try to rig all bones together, then export body and head separately, attaching the head like it's done in a modular body. (I don't use iClone. Never could make it work with my NVidia Graphic card. I was plagued with that weird bug. I'm using Epic's mannequin skeleton, rigged on auto Rig Pro)

[@AleRender]

thanks for the tutorial. A query: how do you get the facial animation that you import there?

[@Monoville]

It's from iPhone live link kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2O7Y515pJt3pM0

[@roozdes]

hello sir, where can i get those Face-Expressions for metahuman that u used here?

[@Monoville]

Hi, those are just ones I made using the iPhone live face app

[@evilcorp]

Thank you so much for this, really clear. Because I had not yet recorded a sequence via LiveLink, I went back and did that, and returned to the moment where we create a new level sequence. Whilst I can see the animation I created via live link (and the sequence plays back correctly) it does not apply when I follow the steps you describe. Any idea on what is occuring there?

[@Monoville]

Hmm, not sure. Did you delete all the control rigs in the level sequence? Those are the only thing I can think that would stop the animation applying.

[@evilcorp]

Yes deleted the rig. I'm going to redo so that I have a recorded sequence using cc3 character definitely recorded before adding metahuman and see if that works

[@Monoville]

@@evilcorp Ok, it shouldn't really matter as the iClone and Metahuman components are controlled separately by their respective animations, but give it a try with that method. Good luck!

[@evilcorp]

That's why I'm confused. How does the iclone animation get applied to the metahuman face? Aaah wait - I need to animate the metahuman separately somehow? I think because your tutorial has some inbuilt assumptions about what has happened before attaching and animating that I am likely missing a crucial step.

[@Monoville]

@@evilcorp Aah right, yeah they're separate. The iClone animation is just for the iClone body, the Metahuman head needs to be animated separately with an animation created using the iPhone Live Link Face app (as shown in my most recent video) although there are videos showing how to animate the Metahuman head via iClone. I'll add a bit to the description on this video to mention that it requires Live Link Face anims

[@LokeshwaranSams]

@monoville How did you save the live link facial animation that you did using iPhone dude? Will it get automatically saved in the Unreal engine or in the iPhone?

[@Monoville]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2O7Y515pJt3pM0

[@loubakalouba]

Thank you kind Sir !

[@Monoville]

You're welcome!

[@fashinapparels7953]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTZl3acrp2mntk

[@MagicSwordFilms]

With this method is the rotation of the head completely locked to the root orientation/shoulders? I want to use this for a scene with full body motion capture and some pretty dynamic movement, and I know there will be a lot of head movement that'll be hard to add on in another layer of animation. Do you know a good way to link the rotation of the head in my mocap rig to the metahuman neck/head rotation?

[@Monoville]

The head will still move/animate based on the metahuman data/animation even when it's attached. From what I've observed, it's controlled by the neck bone animation of the body (or whatever bone you attach the head to), but the metahuman anim will override this. But, for good results you might want to play around and test what looks best/matches up.

[@elartistadelosfamosos]

Is it possible to attach different clothing from Unreal Engine Marketplace to a CC4 character? Thanks a lot

[@Monoville]

You could import them as obj files into CC4, there's a few KZbin tutorials showing how to do it

[@nishantadventure]

Will it work on Games, Plz reply

[@Monoville]

It should, yeah

[@FilipOK227]

Hi) When I follow this tutorial, LODSync do not migrate with the head (so hair disapperas on far distance), and also Live Link function dont work after I mix body and head.... Any ideas how to solve? The tutorial is great, but somewhy I get different results, despite the fact I follow every step...( Please help))

[@Monoville]

I might do a new tutorial since some things have changed, but as far as LODSync goes, make sure bounds scale is set to 10 for all of the metahuman pieces (hair, eyebrows, etc) in the blueprint

[@FilipOK227]

@@Monoville Ok, I'll try that. Thanks) And what do I do with tye Live Link problem?(

[@zenosyeetgalvus]

I guess you also have to rig the body specifically to work in unreal huh ( using game rips here, not iclone) ough

[@TheChrisNong]

cant add LOD to a new metahuman head, simply dragging it from the original doesn't work

[@Monoville]

You need to copy and paste it

[@UNKNOWN-kg7nx]

thank you much for the Tutorial, I have a problem when I click on the simulate( I have cloth simulation which is connected to the spine 2) the position of the meta head changes! the head is also connected to the same bone( spine 2) it works on with the animation but when I click the simulate button then the position of the head changes, can you pls help me?

[@Monoville]

I'm not sure what would cause that, unfortunately. Hope you can get it fixed

[@lechinoischauve]

Nice tutorial !!! if i understand correctly you exported the body from iclone with cc setup, i would like to do the same thing but with livelink. infortunately I didn't found a way to animate the head with liveface from iclone. Maybe your method is a good alternative for those who know unreal but iclone is more convenient for me. Do you know a way to do this wih livelink maybe ? thanks

[@Monoville]

I have animated some heads in iClone, just using the Motion Live/Realtime Faceware plug-in. Tutorial here (from about 10:00) kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJWxooV6iaeUfsU&ab_channel=Reallusion I haven't tried it with iPhone /Live Face yet but this tutorial might be helpful kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3ncZWqnbZijqJI&ab_channel=Reallusion

[@lechinoischauve]

@@Monoville Thank you

[@7_of_1]

There is tutorial here how to do this, used it today, works fine. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqC4dnVoYtGBbc0

[@lechinoischauve]

@@7_of_1 Hello I am stuck at the beginning of the tutorial when you said to right click on the face components to disable them but when i right click i don't have a menu to disable the component. What am I doing wrong ? Thanks

[@lechinoischauve]

my bad i didn't get to lod

[@duaaraedismael8259]

good ... dear i want this model and hair and dress

[@7_of_1]

So all head rotation you are doing in live link face yes? as neck does not rotate in body motion. Doesn't that create a problem syncing up head movement with body in more complex motions?

[@Monoville]

Actually the body rotates/moves the neck (and thus the head) as well as live link face rotating the head, so you're kind of getting both at the same time.

[@7_of_1]

@@Monoville The head moves in line with torso attached to the neck, its not taking any rotation from the head bone in iclone mocap. If you use arkit for head rotation seperatly then it's almost impossible to sync accurate head and body movement to turn your head that matches the body mocap. Also, if you're using a mocap head rig with the phone that follows your head it's impossible as there is no head rotation in the livelink as the phone is facing you directly however you move your head, so it the worst of both worlds.

[@Monoville]

@@7_of_1 That's not how live link face works, it rotates the head independent of the body. It doesn't have to match the body because our bodies don't move when our heads move. But the head does move/rotate if the body/neck moves/rotates so it works perfectly.

[@7_of_1]

@@Monoville Yes i know, maybe i'm not being clear in what i mean. So. if i have an iclone mocap clip of say someone doing an action move that requires a lot of body and head rotation. With a single skeleton it's easy, the iclone mocap rotates the head as position/rotation. If you add a metahuman face BP to the neck bone on the CC3 skeleton then there is no head rotation apart from following the torso, so you would then have to layer on the head rotation using liveface head rotation on the face BP on a static phone mimicking what the actual head movement/rotation should be. Also, if you have a head rig and doing your own mocap, there is no head movement as its 180 degrees in front of your face as you move your head, so livelink head rotation does not work.

[@Monoville]

@@7_of_1 I'm going to have to do a test to find out exactly what happens, but from what I observed with my previous examples, the body/iClone anim controls the metahuman head based on the head rotation of the iClone anim of the neck (but not the iClone head animation/rotation - unless you attach to the iClone head bone but that causes too many issues). But the metahuman/live link anim overrides this. I don't use a head rig, as you say it would negate any head rotation which would make it useless for my requirements.

[@urmcchromez9426]

Hey, does this work with DAZ characters ?

[@Monoville]

Haven't tried! I imagine it would require quite a bit of rejigging though

[@urmcchromez9426]

@@Monoville oh ok thanks ! Will look into it

[@Arturaczkowski]

Yeah all cool and etc but when I try to attach it to my character there is no option for neck attachment, it automatically attach to nothing, just a BP. Anybody knows how to fix it?

[@tcrproductions7508]

I do this in the Editor and not the Sequencer. In the World Outliner I just drag the MetaHuman head to the body to parent it, and then it asks what bone I'd like to attach it to. I find it much easier to get it all working in Editor before building my Sequence.

[@tiffanywellis3099]

Hi. I use cc3 and live link. I'm a 3d film director and wanting to use metahuman. You seem to be knowledgeable enough. I would be interested in paying you for some help setting my characters up and getting the metahuman into ue4. I know there's tutorials for it, but I want a straigh forward method :) Also, can I customize these metahuman heads to exactly what I want andnuse my custom hair on them? I already have realistic actors, I just want them to look even more real so I want to try metahuman. Maintaining their facial looks and morphs is important. So hopefully I can recreate them in meta.. do you have time to discuss?

[@Monoville]

Hi Tiffany. You can customize the metahuman heads, and also use custom hair on them. There's a bit too much to go into to discuss it but I have quite a lot of tutorials on my channel which might help you. Also if you ever want to set up a contract for work you can do it through www.upwork.com/freelancers/~0182b196dcd12b5373?s=1044578476142100540

[@phantomgaming5199]

Can i use this character only for animation or also as a third person character and NPCs as im creating a game and want to use metahumans but with different body and clothing. Hope you understand what im trying to say. waiting for reply thankss

[@Monoville]

Yes you can use them for anything, there is no license attached to them

[@phantomgaming5199]

@@Monoville Thank you so much. Im very excited

[@cloudpicturescgi]

Hello sir 👋, can we apply metahuman hair to cc3 characters in unrealengine ?

[@Monoville]

Yes! You can just attach the metahuman groom to the cc3 head directly or in a character blueprint

[@cloudpicturescgi]

@@Monoville thank you sir

[@darianagreen9082]

I tried to record a scene with sequencer and the attached head wouldnt rotate. I used Arkit livelink, and in the simulate mode the neck rotates perfect but when you record animation, only face animates, and neck animation doesn't... Cant figure out or find a solution how to record an animation with neck rotation *I do check the Llink face head option n the Face animation blueprint... Please could you help?

[@Monoville]

Hmm, not sure. The only thing I can think of is that "stream head rotation" isn't selected on the iPhone app, but if that was the case you wouldn't get the rotation during simulation. Also make sure that both metahuman rigs (face and body) are deleted. Have you tried following this tutorial I uploaded? kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2O7Y515pJt3pM0&ab_channel=Monoville

[@darianagreen9082]

@@Monoville yes, thank you so much for the link to your other tutorial! this is exactly what happened to me when I tried to use MH BP, didn’t know I had to make a new BP, animating first the head to make the neck rotate. I also use sequencer recorder , instead of take recorder. What is the difference, is it better to use take recorder? But, if you could also, please explain how to make neck rotate if instead if using ARKit where I can check head rotation, I import a fbx file with face animation from Iclone? I prefer this method because I can sync lips and clean the animation up. I tried ti apply it only to face and then make a BP , combining MH head and Iclone body and the neck rotation doesn’t work. I suppose as in Iclone the neck animation belongs to the body animation by default, and when I delete or hide Iclone character neck, the neck animation is also gone. Maybe you know how to make recording of face animation in Iclone to include the neck rotation with the face instead or any other workaround? That would be of a huge help!

[@Monoville]

@@darianagreen9082 Take recorder is going to be taking over from sequence recorder, which will be removed from future UE4 builds, but I've noticed it crashes sometimes with Metahuman so I've been using sequence recorder until they get it more stable. I'm not sure about importing face animations from iClone, I only import body animations and then do the face animations in UE4. Hiding the iClone character neck LOD shouldn't make any difference to the animation though.

[@darianagreen9082]

@@Monoville since your tutorials are so good and easy to understand, maybe you could make a tutorial, how to make smooth seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes and back. I tried but either the character makes it’s clone during the animation in sequencer or the gameplay camera never transitions well enough at the end of the cutscene. I drop BP on the timeline, trigger the animation with trigger box and disable players input during animation. But I don’t know how to transfer from players camera to the cinematic cámara and back, and also how to position the player character at the end of the animation in the exact same place where animation ended. I tried to check Keep State and it doesn’t work for the transition between sequence and gameplay.

[@Monoville]

@@darianagreen9082 I'm not sure about gameplay, as I only do cutscenes/short films. Transitions between cameras is done via "Camera Cuts" in the level sequence (by adding different cameras to it). For the animation, checking "force root lock" in the animation settings will keep the character at the same place as the animation ended, if that's what you're looking for. "Keep State" is just for the character to "freeze" at whatever the last frame of the animation is. I use it when overlapping anims in level sequence to avoid jumpiness. I will probably do a tutorial on all this at some point!

[@mustafacabuk2475]

Hey. I am looking for professional game developers for my startup company. We work with the Unreal Engine 5 and I would be happy about your enquiries. This is a long term project with many investors. Feel free to contact me.