Character Assembler for Houdini | MetaHuman Documentation

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MetaHuman Character Rig

This node imports the rig elements such as geometry, joints, capture weights, and blend shapes together with the rig for a MetaHuman character.

This HDA is only available when MetaHuman for Houdini is installed for Houdini 21.0 or later.

Parameter	Description
MetaHuman Folder	Path to a folder containing all the files for the MetaHuman character, including DNA files, shader textures, etc. These files are created when using the DCC Export assembly pipeline in MetaHuman Creator in Unreal Engine.
Import Head	Indicates if the MetaHuman head rig will be imported.
Import Body	Indicates if the MetaHuman body rig will be imported.
Import Textures	Indicates if the MetaHuman shader and textures will be imported.
Evaluate Animated Maps	Indicates if the animated maps will be evaluated. Enabling this option might impact rig performance.
Max LOD	Select the maximum LOD that will be loaded from the DNA file. See the level of detail section below for more information.
Min LOD	Select the minimum LOD that will be loaded from the DNA file. See the level of detail section below for more information.
Face GUI Follows Head	Indicates if the Faceboard is following the head joint animation.
Eyes Aim Follows Head	Indicates if the eyes aim analog control is following the head joint animation.
Units Multiplier	Metahumans are always imported into a scene in meters. If the scene uses different units, the units multiplier can be used to obtain the correct scale.

Level of Detail

The MetaHuman DNA file contains information about multiple levels of detail (LODs) for the character. Standard MetaHuman characters have 8 LODs (0 to 7) for the head and 4 LODs (0 to 3) for the body (two head LODs for each body LOD).

When importing a MetaHuman character, maximum and minimum LODs can be selected. For example, if the maximum LOD is 2 and minimum LOD is 4, the Character Rig node will import MetaHuman LODs 2, 3 and 4.

If the minimum LOD is less than the maximum LOD, the minimum LOD is used as if it is equal to the maximum LOD. For example, if the maximum LOD is 3 and the minimum LOD is 0, the node will import MetaHuman LOD 3 only.

When selecting LOD use only the maximum LOD slider to import exactly one LOD.

MetaHuman Face Animation Import

This node can be used to import MetaHuman-compatible animation in FBX format onto the Faceboard of a character in Houdini. It is compatible with animation exported from Unreal Engine using the MetaHuman Control Preset Mapping.

Property	Description
Character	Character name from an APEX scene to import the animation onto.
Animation FBX File	File path to a MetaHuman-compatible head animation file (`.fbx`).

MetaHuman Face Animation Export

This node can be used to export MetaHuman-compatible animation in FBX format from the Faceboard of a character in Houdini. It can be imported into Unreal Engine using the MetaHuman Control Preset Mapping and applied to a MetaHuman character using Sequencer.

Property	Description
Character	Character name from an APEX scene to export the animation onto.
Animation FBX File	File path to a MetaHuman-compatible head animation file (`.fbx`).

MetaHuman Body Animation Import

This node can be used to import MetaHuman-compatible animation in FBX format onto the body of a character in Houdini. It is compatible with animation exported from Unreal Engine.

Property	Description
Character	Character name from an APEX scene to import the animation onto.
Animation FBX File	File path to a MetaHuman-compatible head animation file (`.fbx`).

MetaHuman Body Animation Export

This node can be used to export MetaHuman-compatible animation in FBX format from the body of a character in Houdini. It can be imported into Unreal Engine and applied to a MetaHuman character.

Property	Description
Character	Character name from an APEX scene to export the animation onto.
Animation FBX File	File path to a MetaHuman-compatible head animation file (`.fbx`).

MetaHuman Character Import

This node imports the rig elements such as geometry, joints, capture weights, and blend shapes for a MetaHuman character. Imported rig elements are in the bind pose. The Imported MetaHuman will not have Rig Logic applied to it, meaning there won't be a rig for MetaHuman animation.

This HDA is only available when MetaHuman for Houdini is installed for Houdini 21.0 or later.

Property	Description
Head DNA File	File path to a MetaHuman head DNA file (.dna).
Body DNA File	File path to a MetaHuman body DNA file (.dna).
Max LOD	Select the maximum LOD that will be loaded from the DNA file. See the level of detail section above for more information.
Min LOD	Select the minimum LOD that will be loaded from the DNA file. See the level of detail section above for more information.
Add Meshes	Indicates if MetaHuman meshes (geometry) will be imported.
Add Joints	Indicates if MetaHuman joints metadata will be imported.
Add Skinning	Indicates if MetaHuman capture weights (skinning) will be imported. Skinning will not be imported if meshes and joints are not imported.
Add Blend Shapes	Indicates if MetaHuman blend shapes will be imported. Blend shapes will not be imported if meshes are not imported.
Add Rig Logic	Indicates if MetaHuman Rig Logic metadata will be imported. This metadata is used by the MetaHuman Character Rig node.
Units Multiplier	Metahumans are always imported into a scene in meters. If the scene uses different units, the units multiplier can be used to get the correct scale.

MetaHuman DNA Import

This node imports the bind pose rig elements such as geometry, capture weights, and blend shapes for a MetaHuman character.

This HDA is only available when MetaHuman for Houdini is installed for Houdini 21.0 or later.

Property	Description
Head DNA File	File path to a MetaHuman head DNA file (.dna).
Body DNA File	File path to a MetaHuman body DNA file (.dna).
Max LOD	Select the maximum LOD that will be loaded from the DNA file. See the level of detail section above for more information.
Min LOD	Select the minimum LOD that will be loaded from the DNA file. See the level of detail section above for more information.
Add Meshes	Indicates if MetaHuman meshes (geometry) will be imported.
Add Joints	Indicates if MetaHuman joints metadata will be imported. This metadata is used by MetaHuman Character Import node.
Add Skinning	Indicates if MetaHuman capture weights (skinning) will be imported. Skinning will not be imported if meshes and joints are not imported.
Add Blend Shapes	Indicates if MetaHuman blend shapes will be imported. Blend shapes will not be imported if meshes are not imported.
Add Rig Logic	Indicates if MetaHuman Rig Logic metadata will be imported. This metadata is used by the MetaHuman Character Rig node.
Units Multiplier	Metahumans are always imported into a scene in meters. If the scene uses different units, the units multiplier can be used to get the correct scale.