Reallusion releases iClone 8.6
Reallusion has released iClone 8.6, the latest version of the character animation software.
The update makes iClone compatible with the HD characters introduced in Character Creator 5, the latest version of Reallusion’s character creation software, and their facial animation profiles.
There are also new options for adjusting the strength of expressions for individual facial parts, and new presets for exporting data in FBX format to Unreal Engine 5 and Marmoset Toolbag.
Supports the new HD characters from Character Creator 5
One of the main purposes of the update is to make iClone compatible with Character Creator 5, a major new version of Reallusion’s 3D character creation software.
As a result, some of the key changes require you to have Character Creator 5 installed.
The most fundamental is support for Character Creator’s new, more detailed HD characters and their new facial animation profiles.
The latter are intended to improve performance when driving facial animation with mocap data.
One of the two new profiles, the HD profile, is also fully compatible with the expression system for Unreal Engine MetaHuman characters.
As a result, facial animation data from MetaHuman Animator (MHA) – which transfers the facial performance of an actor from video captured on a smartphone or head-mounted camera to a MetaHuman character – can now be exported to iClone in CSV format.
The results can be refined with a new free HD facial control plugin available in Reallusion Hub.
New options for adjusting facial expressions, and new FBX export presets
The update also provides a new Facial Parts Strength option in the context menu for the Timeline, making it possible to adjust the strength of expressions for individual facial parts.
There are also new presets when exporting data in FBX format, including one for the Unreal Engine 5 skeleton, as well as the existing UE4 preset, and one for Marmoset Toolbag.
Updates to the Blender pipeline plugin and Motion Live
Outside the core application, the free Blender pipeline plugin has been updated, and now supports the export of lights and cameras to Blender.
Motion Live, which provides paid-for integrations to face, body, and hand motion-capture systems, now supports the non-linear curves from the new CC5 facial animation profiles.
Price and system requirements
iClone 8.6 are compatible with Windows 10+. New perpetual licences have a MSRP of $599.
Read a full list of changes in iClone 8.6 on the Reallusion forum
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