The latest Metahuman release notes say, “with this release, you can set the template mesh and, provided it strictly adheres to the MetaHuman topology, you will get exactly that mesh rigged—not an approximation.”
I haven’t been able to get this to work, though, and also can’t find any docs detailing this process. Is the expectation to export a Metahuman face mesh to FBX, modify it in a DCC, then run it through the Mesh to Metahuman workflow? Is the body mesh expected as well (if it will rig an edited body mesh as well, that would be awesome). Is any prep work required to make the mesh adhere to the expected topology? For example, my exported FBX meshes from Unreal always include eyelashes when the Metahuman doesn’t have any. Do I need to remove the eyelashes, or the teeth and tongue, etc.?
@JamesPullan - thank you so much! Sounds like my issue is trying to export the mesh from UE where the topology differs from the original base mesh. I’m not familiar with Bridge standalone application or the DNA Calibrationh library, but I’ll look into that further.
@JamesPullan - when doing Asset > Add Components From Conformed Mesh in the Metahuman Identity, I get the following error: “Failed to add already conformed mesh. The mesh must be compatible with MetaHuman topology for this operation. Reason: Mismatch Num Vertices”
I obtained the mesh from the Quixel Bridge stand-alone app and found asset_source\MetaHumans\Ada\SourceAssets\f_med_nrw_body_rig.ma in the downloaded files. This file contained multiple meshes, and I made a FBX with just the “f_med_nrw_combined_lod0_mesh” (face and body combined into 1 mesh) by itself with no skeleton and no other meshes and imported that into UE, but that evidently isn’t what was expected. I did also ensure that the MH I downloaded to get the source assets was one of my own that is compatible with UE5.2.
That file also contains various LODs of the body with no head, one LOD of the combined body and head, and various LODs of some flip-flops. There isn’t a mesh of just the head by itself, so I assumed the combined mesh is expected (which would be ideal to send both a custom head and body to Creator and get back a fully custom MH).
The docs aren’t clear which specific mesh is expected, so more clarity on that would really help.
I tried looking at the source code in the Metahuman plug-in to figure out this error, but alas, there are only binaries in that package from the Marketplace, and the no source code in Epic’s GitHub either. I’m at a loss to figure out how this is supposed to work. It seems this information only exists inside of select few peoples’ brains, yet there are so many people who want an easier way to make custom MetaHumans.
Make sure you use the conformed mesh created via the “mh.Identity.ExportMeshes 1” command that is stored in the saved folder of the prject, rather than manually exporting the template mesh.
For anyone not sure what to do, here are more detailed steps:
Obtaining a conformed base mesh for future use:
In UE5, “mh.Identity.ExportMeshes 1”
Get what you would consider a base mesh and import it into UE
Create a MetaHuman Identity following the normal process
After you complete the process, you’ll find Saved\Your MH Identity Name\MetahumanIdentityPose_0\face_conformed.obj
Note that this is the face, and not the face + body, which is disappointing, but not a deal-breaker.
Creating a custom MetaHuman head from the conformed base mesh:
Import face_conformed.obj into your DCC, R3DS Wrap, etc.
Modify that mesh to your liking (e.g., sculpt it or wrap another mesh)
Import your modified version into UE5
Create a new MH identity
Go to Asset > Configure Components from Conformed and choose your modified mesh
Choose a body for your MH identity
Go to Mesh to MetaHuman > Auto-Rig Identity (Skeletal Mesh Only)
When the process completes, a rigged skeletal mesh will appear in your Content folder. It appears that any changes below the lower neck get smoothed out in order to match the body, but all changes above that point are retained as-is, which is disappointing if you’ve modified lower part of the mesh to match up with a custom body.
EDIT: Solved, for the ones who need, after mh.Identity.ExportMeshes 1 on the console line, just click again metahuman identity solve, and you’ll find all your files in the saved folder.
Hi there, I am trying to do this, but there’s nothing in my saved folder, what I have to do?
Tryed with 5.3 and 5.2 too, same results.
