This section explains to you how to prepare your source bodies for export to your DCC of choice.
If you do not intend on designing a custom outfit and simply want to test this process with the use of the MetaHuman Techwear Outfit from Fab, skip this page and go to Building an Outfit Asset.
To make an outfit parametric, you need to create a database of various sized MetaHumans as your source bodies. Depending on your needs, we recommend you create at least 2 source bodies (masculine, feminine) to take advantage of the size mapping. The more source bodies you have, the higher the quality will be of the resized garments.
Though not a requirement, we recommend that you create your MetaHuman Character source bodies inside your working folder. This way, all assets you create will be saved in the same place. When you export your package for Fab, the MetaHuman Character will be omitted from the export.
For each MetaHuman Character source body you create, you will need to repeat these same steps:
For the purpose of this tutorial, we use the naming convention bodyShape followed by the letters A-F for each of our source bodies.
In the Content Browser, navigate to the folder where you’d like to create your MetaHuman. Right-click in the Content Browser, and select MetaHuman > MetaHuman Character.
Give your MetaHuman a name and hit Enter to save it.
In this example, we named it
bodyShapeG.Once saved, double-click on it to open up MetaHuman Creator within Unreal Engine. There are several options to customize your character, but we will focus only on the ways to adjust the body shape.
Head & Body > Body Params: These sliders have been documented in Body Params Tools, so they will not be covered in depth in this document.
If you want to convert existing clothing you’ve already created to parametric clothing, you need to enable the Fixed (Compatibility) option.
Go to Edit > Project Settings.
Scroll down the list on the left to the Plugins category and click on MetaHuman Character.
Enable Show Compatibility Mode Bodies.
This will give you access to the 18 fixed body types from the previous version of MetaHuman Creator (web app). You don’t need to use all 18 bodies as source bodies. We recommend no more than 6, all bodies of a single height (ideally the middle height), or 4, leaving out the “unw” bodies.
Head & Body > Blend: This enables blending between up to three selected presets to change the shape of your character’s body features.
Alternatively, you can take the body shape from a preset or existing MetaHuman Character, while still keeping any previous selections you've made:
Drag the desired Metahuman Character into the presets list. If it is already in your present list, skip this step.
Right-click on the Preset and select Apply Body from the menu.
For more information on using Body Blend Controls, see the Blend Tool page.
Import: You can also conform your body to an existing DNA file or a static or skeletal mesh template. This is covered in the Import Tools section of the MetaHuman documentation.
Make sure the armpits and thigh gap have a bit of clearance. When they are clipping into each other, it is likely to cause some issues with resizing. You can try to fix these issues by playing around with some of the measurements in that area such as bicep, thigh, and chest.
Once you’ve prepared the body you want to use, go to the Export Tool and select Geometry Export.
Check the box next to Full Body Skeletal Mesh, then click Export Geometry.
If you are interested in packaging for Fab, navigate to your working folder or a subfolder within it. For this example, we saved it in the path below, but the Meshes folder is not required.
/All/Content/Outfits/techwearOutfit/techwearOutfit/MeshesIf you intend on using more than one body, create a naming convention that helps identify the primary body you’re working on, ensuring that you include the
_CombinedSkelMeshsuffix at the end.For the purpose of this example, we named the body
bodyShapeG_CombinedSkelMeshbecause the project already contains existing bodies A-F. Use whatever naming convention best suits your needs.At this stage, the head texture may look strange, but this is normal. The head textures are not necessary for this asset as it is being used solely as a utility mesh. It will not be part of the end result.
If you’re making an outfit asset with more than one source body, for the first body only:
Right-click on the skel mesh and go to Skeleton > Find Skeleton. This will bring you to the skeleton that your skel mesh is using. Copy (don’t move) that skeleton into the directory where your body is.
Right-click on your body again, and go to Skeleton > Assign Skeleton to select the skeleton you just copied into your folder.
Search for the skeleton from the list, click to select it, and click Apply.
If you make multiple bodies for this one asset, you do not need to copy the skeleton over again, but you do need to assign the skeleton of each new body to this same skeleton.
The skeleton is a dependency of the skel mesh. For this process to work, you must ensure that none of your skel meshes are linked to a skeleton outside your working folder.
Once you have all your bodies ready, you can export them into the DCC of your choice to create clothing. Right-click on your combined skel mesh and navigate to Asset Actions > Export.
In the File Explorer window, select your export path and file name, and click Save.
When the FBX Export Options window appears, customize your options if needed, and then click Export to save it as an FBX.
