Hey everyone,

I was overwhelmed with excitement when I came across the iClone software video demo on this site, as I was just starting to learn Daz Studio and felt there had to be a motion capture program to make animating 3D models a lot easier and more realistic. Then after learning about what iClone could do, I realized Reallusion has three tiers of the iClone as well as a variety of other design software.

Sorry if I'm confusing any of this, but if my main goal is to animate 3D lifelike characters who have lip-synced conversations with each other, realistic facial expressions, and physically act out scenes. All using motion captures I record of myself with my camera and import into my PC, then I'm hoping the iClone Standard will be the all-in-one software I'm looking to get, would that be about right? So that I can put Daz aside and just use iClone? Also, would the Standard version suit the needs I described, or is there something I'm missing? I'm so new to this, I'm not sure if I'm missing something or not.

I do like the idea of getting the Character Creator as well to create models from scratch, except unless it's easier to learn then Blender or Autodesk Maya. I'll probably just need to use what ever models come with iClone to start with. Because the money I invested in my PC, has me trying to save money were I can.

As for my PC, in case it helps to know my setup, I have a 10-core i9 CPU, 32GB of RAM and Geforce GTX 1080TI with Windows 10 Pro and a 4k monitor, so I'm covered on the hardware side of it. (Took several months last year to save.)

I'd be grateful for any recommendations anyone has.

Hi...

Welcome to the forum.

While iClone 7 can do all that you require, you won't be able to do it with just iClone 7 on its own. You will need to purchase additional plug-ins and of course have the hardware required for mocap.

So to use motion capture with iClone 7 you will need as a starting point iClone 7 plus the Motion Live plug-in.

Then you will need to purchase the appropriate Gear profiles for the hardware you plan to use. So for example, if you plan to use the iPhone X/XS/XR for facial mocap, then you will need to buy the iPhone Live Face Gear. And to use the Perception Neuron suit for full body motion capture, you would need to purchase the Perception Neuron Gear and so on.

To better understand how this all works, please check out the Motion Live page HERE and the supported Gear list HERE.

And regarding Character Creator 3, you will get the iClone version FREE with your purchase of iClone 7. However, you can also purchase Character Creator 3 Pipeline which has an advanced feature set. You can find out the differences between the free version and the paid version HERE.

I hope this gives you some guidance.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Thank you for the great information and the welcome! I looked at that the links you provided and...wooow! If I'm not mistaken, even the cheapest body and facial expression motion capture cost a minimum of a thousand dollars, plus several hundred additional dollars for the software plugins for iClone. Does that sound about right? If so, I may have to complete re-think this. But I'm also confused, because I had come across a Youtube video tutorial of a few hours ago showing how to record body movements and separately facial expression then uploading that into iClone.
Did I perhaps completely confuse what I had watched?
I found a video similar to what I was trying to describe here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAFrMYqLpx4   it talks about motion clips. And unless I'm just (again) completely missing something (this is new to me, so that's definitely possible), it looks as though he's talking about video clips that can be recorded and then uploaded directly into iClone.

Please let me know if this is remotely accurate. Because I'd really like to get into animated motion capture, but anything over a few hundred dollars, just isn't possible for me, unfortunately. I also don't mind if the motion capture and subsequent animation are less then perfect. (Or even say modest at best) So long as I can at least get into motion capture.

Oh and I also don't have an iPhone, I use an Android phone. ....though I suppose as a last resort for the facial expressions I could buy an old used iPhone. Maybe that would work?

Mocap without the curve editor plugin - wasted money.

My YouTube channel.

agreed, this is a must. 

Motion clips can be created using mocap. But you still need the equipment and needed plugins.
I only use face mocap at the moment. But it cost me $1100 for the software (pipeline to export for games) and $1000 for an iPhone Xr. So around $2100. 

Old used iPhone X in that case.

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iClone 7, 3DXchange 7 Pipeline, CC3 Pipeline, CT8 Pipeline, Iray, Live Face, iPhone Xr, Win 10, i9 9900K ~5GHz, Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB, 16GB Ram, M.2 SSD

The answer to your question is NO it is not an "all-in-one mocap 3D animator.  The motion clips that they are using are part of iClone's "standard library"  and  the video is showing how to "link/string" them together for a "full" motion sequence.  There are motion clips available (free or for pay)  on the web, which can be imported with 3Dxchange (another Reallusion product) and used. 

As far as motion capture, as the other respondents indicated, it is not cheap.  As far as inexpensive equipment and plugins, Reallusion has an updated plug-in for the KINECT (if you can find one)  for full body motion capture which is just $79.00 for the plugin only. I've not used the updated version and can not make any comment on how well it works. To get a feel for the cost, you can find more information here and here.  

Hope this helps!

 


sjonesdc

STILL LEARNING!!!

Ok,wow! Lol, this is a lot more complicated and expensive then I thought. Sincethe iPhone plug-in is over a $1000 that’s definitely out. I want to mentionthat I’m grateful for the help all of you are providing, because it’sdefinitely helping me here. On that note I still want to figure how to getstarted within Motion Capture and the iClone software while at the same time notbreaking my bank account I hope you don’t mind some more questions. Sorry forthe long post.

 

So eventhough my long term goal is as an indy game developer using motion capture, Ineed to start out extremely small and as inexpensive as possible. Especiallysince I’m doing this solo, which essentially means I’ll be starting out bymaking small videos to post to Youtube (once I learn the software), just to getused to using the software.

 

Thescenario I’m currently thinking of to get started is to make scenes in whichone or up to three 3D “actors” are in scenes that are between 1-3 minutes inlength. At last to start out. Having them move around and either pretending tospeak to the viewer or interacting with each other.

 

Nowdogged said that the curve editor plugin ”is essential for mocap”, but for theprice, even though it does look beneficial. I’m assuming based on the demovideo, that for someone starting out, I could get by without that plug-in evenif not using that does mean the animations look a little rough.

 

Now theKINECT and KINECT plug-in as sjonesdc mentioned, if I can find a KINECT, I’massuming/hoping that would at least allow me to do some rough mocap. I know itwouldn’t be as great, but at least as a starting point. Also since he mentionedthat 3Dxchange would be needed in order to download and import pre-made motionclips. Since I’ll be limited on how much mocap I can do myself.

 

Thatsounds as though I’ll need the iClone 7 with the 3Dxchange 7 Pro. Fortunatelythe January sale makes that a little less difficult to deal with price wise,$299, plus the KINECT and it’s plug-in.

 

Isthere any thing I’m missing to get started? I don’t suppose there’s any cheaperplug-in then the iPhone one for doing facial expression mocap, such as maybeusing the KINECT and the KINECT plug-in? If not I’ll just have to hold off onthe facial expressions for the time being.

 

What Ithink I’m currently looking at is getting the iClone 7 with 3Dxchange 7 Pro at$299 (sale price) software and the KINECT plugin at $99. Does that sound likeI’m about on the right track to get started. Though I’ll probably wait until Ican find a KINECT before I buy that plug-in, since the plug-in isn’t really onsale.

 

Onethat’s item, I noticed Motion Live just before posting this. It’s page describesthat it can work with webcams for body, hand, and face mocap for $100 (Januarysale price). Would that be a good alternative to the KINECT and the KINECTplug-in? I'd just need to get a webcam.

It's the mocap that is adding to the cost. For making the videos you describe, you probably don't need any mocap. There is a lot of animation content available to get going. iClone has automatic lipsync for recorded or TTS voices, and a very robust facial puppeting system.

3DXchange Pro is quite handy if you wish to import motions from BVH or FBX.

You can do a lot of motion editing just fine without the curve editor. Although it especially useful for mocap, as mentioned. It lets you clean-up your mocap nicely.

I think you're on the right track starting simple.

I want to express my opinion. Kinect 2 and the plugin for it is the worst investment of my money. I consider the better curve editor and pipe line version of RL soft.

My YouTube channel.