Monday, October 2nd, 2017 Posted by Jim Thacker

Reallusion ships iClone Faceware Facial Mocap suite


Reallusion and Faceware Technologies have launched the iClone Faceware Facial Mocap suite, a markerless facial capture solution for Reallusion’s 3D animation software, based on Faceware’s tracking technology.

It consists of two products: Faceware Realtime for iClone and the iClone Facial Mocap plugin for Faceware.

A streamlined two-step process for markerless facial capture
The suite uses a similar two-step workflow to Faceware’s existing markerless facial capture software, Analyzer and Retargeter.

First, Faceware Realtime for iClone extracts facial animation data from footage recorded or streamed live from a webcam or video camera: Reallusion recommends a high-definition PC camera like Logitech’s Brio.

Compared to Analyzer, calibration looks to be a much more automated – if less customisable – process: the actor simply positions their head in the centre of the frame and holds a neutral expression for three seconds.

Customisable facial animation mapping with optional audio-based lip-sych
The new iClone Facial Mocap plugin then translates the footage into the facial animation of a 3D character, using the motion of 42 points on the actor’s face to drive 60 readymade morphs within iClone.

The mapping between the two can be previewed in real-time, and the results adjusted via individual strength sliders for the brows, eyelids, eyeballs, mouth, jaw, cheek, and head rotation.

There are also options to mask out parts of the face – for example, only to generate facial expressions, but no overall head movements – and to generate lip-synch animation from an audio recording of the actor.

Unlike the more expensive, cross-application Retargeter, the plugin only streams data to iClone.

However, if you have Reallusion’s 3DXchange Pipeline add-on, the resulting animation can be exported from iClone in FBX format for use in other DCC applications.

Pricing and availability
Faceware Realtime for iClone and the iClone Facial Mocap plugin for Faceware are available for Windows 7+.

Each application theoretically has an MSRP of $599, although in practice, you buy them as the complete iClone Faceware Facial Mocap suite, which currently costs $999.

The two products are also available as part of a range of bundle deals with iClone 7, 3DXchange Pipeline, and Reallusion’s other software.

Read more about the iClone Faceware Facial Mocap suite on Reallusion’s website

Read more about Faceware Realtime for iClone on Faceware Technologies’ website