Free tool: Reallusion’s Blender Auto Setup plugin
Reallusion has announced Blender Auto Setup (BAS), a free plugin that streamlines the process of exporting characters and animation data from its software for use in Blender.
The plugin, a rebranded version of third-party developer Victor Soupday’s open-source CC/iC Blender Tools, works with characters exported from character-generation tool Character Creator and animation tool iClone, and stock characters from its ActorCore online library.
A new name for Victor Soupday’s CC/iC Blender Tools plugin
Blender Auto Setup has been around for several years: just not under its current name.
The plugin, originally known as CC3 Blender Tools and then CC/iC Blender Tools, was first released by artist and tools developer Victor Soupday in 2021.
It installs in Blender, and streamlines the process of importing characters exported from Reallusion tools into the open-source 3D software.
A separate Victor Soupday plugin, CC/iClone Blender Pipeline Plugin – now renamed Blender Pipeline Plugin – installs in Character Creator or iClone, and streamlines the export process.
Transfer character geometry, shaders and animation between Blender and Reallusion apps
The plugins streamline the process of transferring data between Reallusion software and Blender, including geometry, shaders, character rigs and animation.
Blender Auto Setup configures Blender’s sculpt mode and Multiresolution modifier when importing characters, while a one-click Bake & Apply function sends changes back to Reallusion software.
The plugin also converts Reallusion’s Digital Human Shader to Blender material graphs for rendering in the Cycles or Eevee renderers, and generates a Rigify control rig for characters.
A Data Link feature synchronizes animation data – character poses, morphs and motions – between Blender and Reallusion software, removing the need to export FBX files manually.
Now available to download from the Reallusion website
Reallusion is now co-developing the tools, as it already does with Victor Soupday’s Unity plugin.
Both plugins are now available to download from the Reallusion website, rather than GitHub.
Few other changes in the official release
Other than the change of name and download location, the rebrand doesn’t seem to add any new features.
Reallusion’s blog post describes the Data Link as new, although it has been available in CC/iC Blender Tools since version 2.0, released late last year.
System requirements
Character Creator Auto Setup for Blender is compatible with Blender 4.2+ and Character Creator 4.5+ or iClone 8.5+, on Windows only.
The plugin itself is a free download: to do so, you will need to register for an account on Reallusion’s website, and fill out a brief online survey.
Character Creator has a MSRP of $299; iClone usually costs $599.
Read more about Blender Auto Setup on Reallusion’s website
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