MetaHuman Creator is the character editor built into Unreal Engine — accessing it requires two setup steps before you can create your first character. Install MetaHuman Creator Core Data during Unreal Engine installation and enable the MetaHuman Creator plugin in your project.
After both are in place, the next step is creating a character.
Install Additional Content
MetaHuman Creator requires additional content that is not enabled by default when you install Unreal Engine. This content includes presets, grooms, texture models, and the non-Unreal Engine files needed to export MetaHumans to other applications (such as Maya).
If you don't install this additional content, you will get a warning message when enabling or using the MetaHuman Creator plugin.
Epic Games Launcher
Follow these steps when installing Unreal Engine:
On the selected release tile, click the Launch > Options button to select which Engine components you want to install.
Enable MetaHuman Creator Core Data.
Click Apply, then continue the installation as normal.
If you did not include this content when you installed Unreal Engine, you can still follow the steps above to download it. However, you must close any open projects.
Building From Source
If you are building Unreal Engine using source code from GitHub, the MetaHuman Creator Core Data is downloaded alongside other binary content and install prerequisites when you run the Setup.bat script on Windows, Setup.sh on Linux, or Setup.command on MacOS.
Enable MetaHuman Creator Plugin
To enable the MetaHuman Creator plugin in your Unreal Engine project:
From the menu bar, navigate to Edit > Plugins. This opens the Plugins window.
In this window, search for “MetaHuman.” Several MetaHuman-related plugins should appear in the search results.
Enable the MetaHuman Creator plugin.
A warning message will appear stating "You must restart Unreal Editor for your changes to take effect." Click Restart Now when ready.
For more information on plugins, refer to the Working with Plugins page in the Unreal Engine documentation.
Allowlist Domains
MetaHuman Creator in Unreal Engine uses cloud services for auto rigging and texture synthesis. If you are working in an environment with restricted internet access, you must ensure the following domains are part of your allowlist:
https://mh-texture-synthesis-service.eeeb.live.use1a.on.epicgames.com
https://mh-uemhc-autorig-service.eeeb.live.use1a.on.epicgames.com
http://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/
Next Up
Learn the fundamentals of creating a MetaHuman character asset and using the editor tools.
