Tuesday, November 19th, 2019 Posted by Jim Thacker

Reallusion ships iClone 7.7 and Character Creator 3.2


Reallusion has released iClone 7.7 and Character Creator 3.2, the latest free updates to its real-time character animation software and 3D character creation tool.

Both updates add Realusion’s Digital Human Shader: a new set of shaders for skin, eyes, parts of the mouth, and hair, with support for subsurface scattering and microsurface shading.

iClone 7.7 also adds new orthogonal and stereo camera types and improves animation workflow, while Character Creator 3.2 updates the software’s built-in facial expression data.

Character Creator users also get Headshot 1.0, a new paid-for plugin intended to generate 3D head models from a single source photograph of a human face.

New Digital Human Shader generates more realistic skin, eyes, mouths and hair
The main feature in both releases is the new Digital Human Shader, first announced Siggraph 2019.

Designed to generate more realistic-looking real-time characters, it provides shaders for human skin, eyes, teeth, tongues, gums and hair, with support for subsurface scattering and microsurface detail.

Shading is controlled by a set of sliders enabling users to adjust key properties separately for different parts of the face, driven by a system of masks.

Converting legacy characters to the new shading system is described as a one-click process.

The shaders are supported by a new set of light shapes mimicking studio lighting set-ups, intended to improve the look of rendered characters and generate the eye highlights seen in portrait photography.

Future updates will add a new dynamic wrinkle system, due with Character Creator 3.3 in “Q1 2020”, and a beard system, due with Character Creator 3.4, due later in the year.

iClone 7.7: New camera options and animation improvements
Other new features in iClone 7.7 include support for orthographic camera views, and the option to apply settings for stereoscopic effects to individual cameras, rather than on a per-scene basis.

There are also a number of fixes and workflow improvements to the animation toolset, including a new search field when linking props or look-at targets to a character.

Character Creator 3.2: Better base shapes for facial expressions
Character Creator 3.2 also adds support for orthographic camera views, plus the option to mirror a character’s head mesh to make the geometry symmetrical, and a number of workflow improvements.

The release also updates the expression data the software uses to generate facial shapes.

Pricing and availability
iClone 7.7 is available for 64-bit Windows 7+. The update is free to iClone 7.x users; new licences cost $199.

Character Creator 3.2 is available for 64-bit Windows 7+. The base edition is free to registered users of iClone 7; the full Pipeline edition costs $199. You can see a feature comparision of the two editions here.

To exchange data between iClone and other DCC applications, or to export characters from the free edition of Character Creator in OBJ or FBX format, users also need a separate add-on, 3DXChange.

3DXChange costs $199 for the Pro edition and $499 for the Pipeline edition.


Read a full list of new features in iClone 7.7 on Reallusion’s forum

Read a full list of new features in Character Creator 3.2 on Reallusion’s forum