Poly Hammer unveils MetaHuman DNA add-on for Blender
New developer Poly Hammer has unveiled an interesting new tool that promises to let users edit Unreal Engine MetaHuman characters inside Blender.
The add-on, available free in early access, enables users to import MetaHuman .dna files into Blender, edit characters’ facial rigs, and push the changes back to an Unreal Engine project.
Customize MetaHuman characters directly in Blender, rather than in MetaHuman Creator
The add-on is still in development and doesn’t seem to have an exact product name yet – it’s listed online as both ‘Blender add-on for MetaHumans’ and ‘Blender MetaHuman DNA add-on’.
There isn’t yet any documentation on the Poly Hammer website, but it promises to give Blender users a native workflow for editing 3D characters created using Epic Games’ MetaHuman framework for Unreal Engine, rather than using Epic’s cloud-based MetaHuman Creator app.
According to the launch video, users will be able to import a MetaHuman .dna file directly into Blender, and edit the character’s facial rig, including “bones, shape keys and wrinkle maps”.
Changes can then be pushed back to an Unreal Engine project in “one click”.
According to the video, users will also be able to create their own .dna files directly in Blender: the workflow supports characters with both MetaHuman topology and custom topology.
Only for facial editing, and for use with Unreal Engine projects
The add-on is focused on editing MetaHuman characters’ faces, not their bodies.
It implements Rig Logic, the MetaHuman framework’s facial rig evaluation solver system, within Blender, promising a “seamless one-to-one integration” with the face board controls.
In the comments on this LinkedIn post, Poly Hammer says that facial edits can be transferred to an Unreal Engine Blueprint for a character with a body, and that “depending on interest”, it could create a one-click workflow for the body as well.
It’s also purely for editing MetaHumans for use in Unreal Engine, not Blender itself.
The usage terms for MetaHumans – summarised in Epic’s online FAQs – state that characters generated with MetaHuman Creator are only licensed for use in Unreal Engine projects.
Users “must render MetaHumans with Unreal Engine [and] cannot render them outside of Unreal Engine”.
Free in early access if you’re willing to do some manual set-up
The MetaHuman DNA add-on is currently available free in early access to users who share Poly Hammer’s posts on social media, although it requires a bit of technical know-how to set up.
On LinkedIn, Poly Hammer notes that users have to compile the Rig Logic and DNA modules into the add-on manually, although it provides Docker images to streamline the process.
On release, it will “provide access to a GitHub workflow that builds the add-on and its dependencies”.
Price, release date and system requirements
Poly Hammer’s MetaHuman DNA add-on for Blender is available free in early access until December 2024.
To get early access, you have to share PolyHammer’s post on either X or LinkedIn, and to have a GitHub account. You can sign up for early access here.
Poly Hammer hasn’t announced a release date or final pricing yet.
Register for early access to Poly Hammer’s MetaHuman DNA add-on for Blender on its website
Read more about the MetaHuman DNA add-on for Blender on LinkedIn
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