Check out open-source Blender character generator MPFB 2
The team behind MakeHuman has officially released MPFB 2, the new Blender plugin based on the veteran open-source 3D character generator.
MPFB 2.08, the first stable release, makes it possible to create 3D characters with custom ages, builds, gender and ethnicity, complete with skin textures and clothing, directly inside Blender.
Unlike the old standalone edition, the plugin is being actively maintained, and makes it possible to export characters in more formats, including Alembic and USD.
(Full disclosure: it was actually released at the end of January, but we didn’t manage to post a story at the time.)
Create custom 3D characters for games, animation and motion graphics projects
First officially released in 2014, MetaHuman is an open-source character generator capable of creating 3D characters of custom age, build, gender and ethnicity, using simple slider controls.
Characters can be rigged automatically for animation, with a choice of several different character rigs, and support for Rigify, Blender’s rig-creation system.
The software comes with an asset library of clothes, body parts and materials, and comes with separate tools for creating clothes and morph targets.
Content created using the software is licensed under a CC0 licence, meaning that it can be used commercially, including in closed-source games.
Standalone edition now being superseded by the new Blender plugin
We last wrote about the software when the last major version, MakeHuman 1.2, was released in 2020 – there was a MakeHuman 1.3 update last year, but it’s primarily bugfixes.
Since then, work on the standalone edition has effectively ceased, due to its ageing codebase.
Instead, the developers are now focusing on the new Blender plugin, MPFB (MakeHuman Plugin For Blender).
Now a fully fledged character generator in its own right
The first version, released with MakeHuman 1.2, was an importer for transferring characters created with the standalone version of the software to Blender.
In contrast, MPFB 2, which has a separate codebase to MakeHuman, and is being maintained actively, is a character generator in its own right.
It can create characters in the same way as the standalone edition, but can export them in any format that Blender can.
That means that instead of being restricted to OBJ, FBX or Collada (DAE) format, users can also export characters as Alembic, glTF or USD assets.
You can find more details on the differences between MakeHuman, MPFB and MPFB2 in the online documentation.
MPFB 2.08: now both a stable release and an officially vetted Blender extension
As well as being the first stable release of the character-generation plugin, MPFB 2.08 makes the software available as an officially vetted extension, via the new Extensions platform.
It has most of the key functionality of the standalone edition, although “some parts are still rough around the edges”, and some tools have had limited testing.
You can find more details in the online release notes.
System requirements
MPFB2 is compatible with Blender 4.2+.
The software is open-source: the source code is available under a GPLv3 license, while the bundled assets are available under a CC0 license. You can find more details here.
If you find the software useful, you can support its development on Patreon.
Read a full list of new features in MPFB 2.08
Get MPFB 2 from the Blender Extensions Platform
Editor’s note: Yep, we’re aware that MPFB means something quite different in online slang. The MakeHuman team are aware of it too.
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