Hey everyone, in this tutorial we’re going to talk about the new AccuRIG software for use with ActorCore characters, that allows you to automatically create a skeleton rig for any character. We will upload a character to the ActorCore page and apply a motion. ActorCore offers a high quality 3D asset library of mocap motions that can be used in a variety of scenarios, and AccuRIG allows us to apply these motions to any character after generating a precise skeletal structure. One main advantage that AccuRIG has over a normal auto-rigging tool is that it keeps the shape of a joint and avoids deformation when your model lifts its foot, and also when your model makes a fist or rotates its wrist. Once you use AccuRIG to create a skeleton, your character can be exported in FBX, USD, and iAvatar format, as well as easily uploaded to the ActorCore website. Let’s first take a look at how we can download and install AccuRIG. From the main ActorCore website, you can find the free download link on the AccuRIG page. Once you’ve downloaded, just run the installer as an Admin and confirm the license agreement. Once you’ve installed, you’ll need to login with your Reallusion credentials the first time. Next, let’s load in our first character. On the left you’ll see a number of steps, the first of which is to import in your character. You can manually load in the character via the Choose File button, or else click and drag it in. Characters with or without skeletal rigs are both supported, but please ensure that it is in either a T or A pose. AccuRIG supports characters with multiple meshes and additional accessories. The next step is to check your model. Here you’ll want to ensure that the center line is right in the middle of your character from all angles. You can use the rotation buttons on the right to alternate different views. After that, simply click on the Rig Body button at the bottom right. Once that processes, the position of your character’s joints will automatically be detected and marked. The opacity and size of these joints can be adjusted with the settings on the right. You can refer to the reference image to ensure that they are in the correct position, and once you pick a joint, you’ll see the respective dummy point highlight. If you have Symmetry selected, you will be able to move the left and right joints simultaneously. Use the reference image on the right to determine the exact position where each joint should be, as some may need some tweaking. You can move, rotate, and pan your view to get a more comprehensive view of your rigging process. Left click will rotate the view, while right clicking will pan. You can also use the middle mouse button to zoom. By default, your joint points will be placed in the middle depth of your character model if you have Midpoint Placement selected, and Symmetry will ensure that joints on both sides move simultaneously. Let’s move on to hand rigging now, where we’re going to define the position of the hand joints. First, select the Rig Right Hand button at the bottom. Once you do, you’ll see that there are also hand joints that are automatically marked. You can define the Number of Fingers up to a maximum of 5 from the drop down menu at the top. Since the thumb may be at a slightly different orientation from the other fingers, you’ll want to make sure that the dedicated thumb direction gizmo is positioned correctly, perpendicular to the thumbnail. Once you’re satisfied with the right hand, you can move on to select the left hand rigging, and from there, simply use the mirror function if your character rig is symmetrical. After that, you can click on Finalize Character. It may take a bit of time to process depending on your character’s poly count. We’ve finally reached the final step, which is checking the animation and Pose Offset. Your character will now have a skeleton generated which will be utilized to drive its animation. In this step, you’ll see a number of embedded motions that can be used to preview the result of your new character rig. We recommend testing out some of these to ensure that your rigging process has proceeded as planned. There is also a drop down menu where you can select specific body parts to adjust. Here we’re looking at the left hand specifically, we can see the character's left hand and the dagger overlapping. Select the left hand part and use the sliders to refine the position. Once you are satisfied with the result, we can move on to uploading our model to ActorCore and downloading motions in FBX format. You have the option to export your character locally in FBX, USD, or iAvatar formats, or else upload it to the ActorCore website to test it with a huge library of animations. In this case, we’re going to demonstrate how to upload to ActorCore. Once you’ve uploaded your character, you’ll want to click on the link which will take you to your personal custom actor library in ActorCore. Here you can choose from a number of lighting presets when previewing your character from the bottom right of the preview window. You can also go to the Motion section and see a number of different test motions you can apply as well. If you’ve purchased that motion, you can click on the Download button in order to download the character along with the motion in FBX format. You’ll see a Download Settings panel pop up, which will show the available characters on your account. Click on Next once you’ve selected your character, and then ensure that you have the optimal Texture Size and your Target Application selected. Upon download, you’ll have a zip file that will contain 2 folders. Your character model and textures will be placed in the Actor folder, and any accompanying motion will be in the Motion folder. That’s all there is to it! With AccuRIG, you can quickly and easily generate an accurate skeletal rig for any custom character model, so that they can be used flawlessly with any motion from ActorCore and your animation library as well as the arsenal of iClone’s intuitive animation tools. Thanks for watching guys, and I’ll see you in the next video!
