Mythcons
Greetings, my name is Peter Alexander. I am a character designer and 3D generalist who works with Character Creator 4 (CC4) and related pipelines. The recent updates of the Blender Auto Setup has made me more excited about CC4 character design than ever. Thanks to the brilliant developers, character design in Blender using CC4 assets is very streamlined and is a viable solution for those who do not have access to Zbrush or other licensed software.
Send Avatar from CC to Blender with the data link
In fact, I have mostly switched over to Blender as my CC4 customization software. The power of Blender Auto Setup will depend on which options you choose when sending data over from Character Creator. I would recommend that you use the ‘Send Avatar’ function, as it will give you access to the Proportion Editor and the ability to sculpt in high resolution and transfer those details to your lower resolution mesh.
The proportion editing in the Blender Auto Setup mitigates the need to mush around the mesh, as you can move and scale the bones to get the desired proportions. My preferred method is to use the Proportion Editor, then sculpt once the bones are in place.
The options listed under ‘Child Bones Inherit Scale’ refers to how the child bones (bones under the hierarchy of the current bone) are scaled in relation to the bone you are manipulating. ‘Full’ will make the child bones scale with the parent bone, and ‘None’ will leave the child bones unimpacted by scale. If you choose to send over the character as a Morph, you will have to use the sculpting tools alone to manipulate the character’s proportions, as you can see below.
If you have set up your workflow to use the ‘Send Avatar’ function, selecting ‘Go CC’ in the Blender Auto Setup add-on will send the data back to CC4 and provide you with the option to create a new project with the updates from Blender.
If you have set up your workflow to use the ‘Send Morph’ function, your data will be sent to CC4 as a new morph for your character.
Regardless of which method you use, you can take this opportunity to do some clean-up on the characters. I start by applying Mirror Symmetry, since this is a symmetrical character.
I also adjust any facial features, such as teeth, using the CC4 Proportion Editor. Selecting the ‘Face’ category will give you access to the bones of the Eyes, Teeth, and Tongue.
At this point I send an updated version of the character over to Blender for additional editing, including texturing and creating some hair and assets. While I usually texture my characters in a dedicated application like 3D-Coat, you can manipulate the textures within Blender using its native tools.
UDIMs are supported (meaning you can paint across UV tiles), although I should note that you need to have the same channel selected for all materials – otherwise painting over the UV tiles will bleed into improper channels. If you are painting Diffuse (Color), you need to make sure each material is selected to the Diffuse channel. If you have made a change to the textures and want this loaded when the character is sent back to CC4, choose ‘Save All Images’.
Creating Assets
Everyone models differently with their own techniques, so I will not go into this subject too deeply. I will say that I like to keep my assets as low resolution as possible until I need to increase the detail. This allows for optimal control. I will often use a SubDivision modifier, especially if I am creating a hard surface.
I start with this shield piece of armor for his belly. I often use the Loop Tools (enabled in Blender add-ons) to create the loops I need and straighten out edges. Keeping the resolution low allows you to prevent unnecessary deformations when you are moving geometry. With higher resolution, more corrections will need to be made.
As you are creating assets, try to make a mental note of how they are going to interact with the character. I tend to keep assets on the simpler side because it does not make much sense to create elaborate details if they cannot be properly skinned as clothing and accessories. That is not to discourage elaborate asset creation, but it is something to keep in mind.
Creating Hair
As with clothing and other assets, be aware of the limitations of hair assets for CC4. While a wide variety of hairstyles can be achieved, longer hair can require more advanced solutions. I intended to create these braids and have them swing along with the character as he moved, but since spring bones do not collide with the mesh, these presented a challenge in many animations. However, iClone allows you to enable and disable spring bones and allow for frame-by-frame manipulation of such assets.
Texturing
For this demo I only gave the assets some basic color and shading after I UVed the meshes. There are great add-ons for Blender like UCUPaint which can provide you with a more advanced toolset without leaving Blender for texturing, and I highly recommend that you check them out.
Weight Skinning
Skinning items and hair can be a complex task, often requiring the expertise of specialized technical artists. In this context, ‘skinning’ refers to the process of assigning weights to an object in relation to the movements of its underlying rigging system or bone structure. The goal is to ensure that the object deforms naturally and convincingly during animation. Challenges arise when dealing with complex setups, such as a character with a large belly, a rigid shield covering it, and the associated straps and bolts. These elements require careful weight assignment to achieve realistic movement and deformation.
Getting everything to move properly is its own subject matter and involves applying several different animation clips, scrubbing through the animation player timeline, and making minute adjustments when there is any deformation issue or mesh poke-through. It is also good practice to save an initial copy of the item(s) in OBJ format, so that if you need to, you can reset the mesh to its default state if the skinning causes issues.
Facial Expression Editing
You can edit facial expressions in Blender, but the Pipeline add-on currently has limited support for it. As a result, I used the standard export method to edit the expressions in Blender. To achieve this, export as an FBX and choose ‘Mesh and Expression Sequence’. This will allow you to import the necessary data for editing the expressions in Blender.
Once in Blender, you can scrub through the timeline and see that all the expressions are there in sequence. When you go to your ‘Shape Key’ menu, you will see expressions activate. You can pin the shapekey you are working on and edit them without going through the timeline, but certain expressions use bones, such as the Jaw Open expression, so it is good practice to use the timeline.
Once you are finished editing, you need to export the FBX. Then, in Character Creator, initiate the facial profile editor and import the FBX with Expression Sequence. This will populate the expressions with the appropriate data.
Additional Features
I did not include some of the Blender Auto Setup features in this specific workflow, but I would like to include them so you can get an idea of how powerful and streamlined this add-on is.
Scene Lighting Presets
The Blender Pipeline allows you to easily cycle through many lighting presets. Aside from the rendering benefits, you can see how your character looks under various lighting, giving you the opportunity to adjust your character as needed.
Sculpting
The sculpting function has two main options: Body and Detail, specifically set up for the CC4 standard character. The ‘Body’ option is designed for shaping your character, while the ‘Detail’ is for adding delicate details, like skin pores, veins, sculpted hair, etc. This function will generate high-quality normal maps to your ‘Baked’ folder, which you can then add to your character in CC4 (I would suggest adding them using SkinGen).
Data-Link Options
The Data-Link options allow you to send a variety of data back and forth between CC4 and Blender. This is especially useful for checking poses and basic animations.
You can take it a step further and ‘Rigify’ the CC4 avatar, giving animators access to an advanced animation rig. Blender animators especially will be comfortable with this rigging and animation system. You can even squish and stretch the characters, which are not currently available inside iClone.
The Blender Auto Setup Pipeline has many other functions, but one of the most important is the ‘Skin Parameters’ menu. All the skin materials are linked, and you can make significant changes to the look of your character very quickly, in a non-destructive manner. The number of quality functions in this add-on cannot be overstated, and it is a free bonus for those who are dedicated to the Reallusion 3D ecosystem.
To Conclude
Reflecting on the process of creating my stylized Viking for CC4 using the Blender Auto Setup, I’m really impressed with how smooth and intuitive it felt. Switching to Blender as my go-to for CC4 customization has honestly been such a rewarding move. The Blender Auto Setup add-on, paired with CC4’s tools, just clicks for me. It’s like they were made to work together.
There were moments that required some extra thought, like figuring out the skinning for the shield and straps or getting the braids to move naturally without clipping through the mesh. But even those challenges felt manageable because the workflow is so well thought out. I especially loved being able to tweak proportions in the Proportion Editor and then jump straight into sculpting details, which just feels natural.
As for lighting presets and sculpting options; they’re total time-savers. For someone like me who’s always looking for ways to streamline without sacrificing quality, this setup has been a revelation. It’s exciting to think about diving into my next project, and I feel like the possibilities are endless with these tools in hand.
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