In this tutorial, I’ll guide you through the essential steps to get started with MetaHumans in UE5.6. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be ready to bring your MetaHumans to life in Unreal Engine and take your projects to the next level.
Step 1: Enable the MetaHuman Creator Plugin
- In the Epic Games Launcher, open the Intallation Options for version 5.6 and make sure you have MetaHuman Creator Core Data enabled.
- Create a Third Person Project.
- Navigate to Edit → Plugins.
- Search for MetaHuman Creator and enable it.
- Restart Unreal for the changes to take effect.
Step 2: Create a MetaHuman
- Right-click in the Content Browser and go to the MetaHuman menu. From here, choose MetaHuman Character and rename the Character to something like MC_Character.
- Open the Character you just created. If you see alerts for any missing plugins, make sure to enable those plugins before proceeding.
- In the center of the window is the Viewport where you can view your Character.
- The RMB or Scroll Wheel can be used to zoom. The LMB is used to rotate around the Character. Using the MMB allows you to pan around the Character.
Step 3: Customize Your Character
- On the left, you will see your customization options.
- Open the Presets at the top of the list and choose a Preset for your base MetaHuman.
- Next on the list is the Body. Here you can Blend different body types together.
- You can also use Conform to import your own external file for the MetaHuman Character.
- The Model option allows you to change the proportions of the Character.
- Now you can move on to changing the Head. Here you can Blend different head types together.
- You can use Conform to import your own external file and use it for the MetaHuman Character.
- The Transform option allows you to make broad adjustments to the facial features.
- Sculpt permits you to make fine adjustments to the facial features.
- The Teeth and Eyelashes option allows you to make granular changes to your Character’s teeth and eyelashes.
- You can use the Materials controls to customize the skin, eyes, makeup, teeth, and eyelashes of you Character.
- To further change the style of your Character, you also have the option of changing the hair, eyebrows, and clothing of your Character. There are many options that you can import from Fab and use on the MetaHuman Character.
Step 4: Rig and Export Your Character
- The Assembly option is how you can export the Character. This is where the process of building the Character to use in your project is.
- You have four different options but the two most people will use is the UEFN Export for the UEFN engine and the UE Optimized for the UE game engine. You can choose the Quality, Save Location, and Name of the Character.
- You will need to Rig the Character by selecting the ‘Create Full Rig’ button. You will then be taken to a separate site where you will need to log in using your UE account.
- Once the Character is rigged, click on the ‘Download Texture Source’ and choose the Resolution you want to use.
- When the Textures are downloaded, you are now able to export the Character.
- There is a slight glitch, so switch to one of the other panel options and then back to Assembly. Now you will see the Assemble button which allows you to download the MetaHuman.
Step 5: Character Blueprint
- In the MetaHumans folder, open the Character Blueprint and open the Viewport.
- If you notice the eyes missing when you zoom in, select the LODSync.
- Change the Number of LODs to 2 and the Forced LOD to 1.
- Compile and Save the Blueprint.
- Leave this Blueprint open if you want to swap the Mannequin for your Character.
Step 6: Mannequin to MetaHuman
- You do have the ability to exchange the default Mannequin for your new Character.
- In the Third Person folder, open the Third Person Character Blueprint.
- In the Components panel of the MetaHuman Character Blueprint, SHIFT-Select everything from Body to MetaHuman and copy (CTRL + C) the Components.
- Open the Third Person Blueprint and select the Mesh (Character Mesh). Paste (CTRL + V) the copied Components onto this Mesh.
- Select the Body and drag it onto the Mesh to Parent it to the Mesh.
- In the Details panel, reset the Location and Rotation to zero. In the Viewport tab, you will now see your Character.
- However, the Mannequin is still present.
- To hide the Mannequin, select the Mesh (Character Mesh) Component and in the Details panel, search for Visible.
- Disable the Visible option.
- Search for Visibility and set the Visibility Based Anim to ‘Always Tick and Refresh Pose’.
- Compile and Save
Step 7: Retargeting the MetaHuman
- To animate your Character, open the Construction Script.
- Drag in the Mesh Component.
- Drag off from the Mesh Pin and search for ‘Set Leader Pose Component’.
- Connect the Construction Script to the top Pin and connect the Mesh to the ‘New Leader Bone Component. (You will need to hold down the ALT key and disconnect the Target.) This will replace the Mannequin with your Character.
- Drag in the Body, Face, and Skeletal Mesh Components and connect them to the ‘Target’ of the Set Leader Pose Component. This tells Unreal that you want to use the Character and not the Mannequin as your Target.
- Compile and Save the Blueprint.
- When you go back to the Level, you will now see your Character being properly animated.
Step 8: Exporting as an FBX
- To export the Character to be used in external software, open the MetaHumans folder.
- In your Character folder, open the Body folder.
- Right-click on the Skeletal Mesh and under the Asset Actions menu, choose Export.
- Open the Materials folder and export the Material using the same actions.
- You will need to do this for each component of your Character.
Conclusion
You’ve now learned how to create, customize, and animate your MetaHumans in Unreal Engine 5.6. With the powerful MetaHuman Creator plugin, you can bring incredibly lifelike characters into your projects with ease, whether you’re creating games, films, or interactive experiences.