As I try to learn these programs a question came to mind. My work flow I originally wanted to use CC3 and Iclone (I have 3dexchage but haven't figure out yet where that will fit in my work flow yet). to create my characters and animations and bring them into Unreal for final products of short films. I realize I can use Live Link as well in this process. But a question came to mine wouldn't it be simpler to just bring my characters into unreal and do the animations there or is there a better benefit to doing them in Iclone then bring them into the set of unreal for final productions. Just want to know if there is pro's and cons of each. Both platforms have their own animation sets I can use, and there is always Maximo which works with both as well. 

With God's help, I was able to convert over 2300 Mixamo animations for iClone in less than 2 hours, in 2019. Just google (2300 Mixamo iclone ), and go to
the video to download them through Mega.nz.  Since you have 3DXchange, you have Morph Animator. You can have your character flex their muscles. Here is
a Reallusion Tutorial on that.. They keep taking my direct link away. That's why I ask you to google those terms.
Good luck.

Okay spent the last few hours doing research on my OP. The conclusion I came to after watching Reallusion YouTube videos on the topic of Iclone, CC3, and Unreal, Auto Setup and Live link, I concluded that best practice is to link your Iclone and Unreal and do your animations and what not in your set in Unreal to pretty much streamline the process and save much time. 

Honestly,  this one is a hard one to answer because every path has it's pros and cons and it ultimately becomes an Artist thing and your favorite tools that accomplish your specific goals.   All paths have unique and interesting details to add character to your work style,  but a detail that may matter to me,  may not matter as much to you and just not worth the extra time.

That said,  my suggestion is that you simply need to have a little fun with all available options and choose the ones that compliment your particular style and goals.
I personally like dabblilng with everything at least once,  if it's fun and makes something I like ...I keep using it....if it makes me spend months on youtube doing tutorials for details that really don't matter to me,  I drop it like a bad habit    it's really an artist thing,  this is where you put your signature in your stuff.

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iClone is very useful for creating cinematic animations in UE easily.


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I don't know about Unreal, but there is a large repertoire of iClone animation clips that you can use, which you can then customize.

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76% of original size (was 661x19) - Click to enlarge

I use both as I have lots of animations for iClone.
I also think the easiest way is to animate in iClone, but some things might work better in Unreal.
I tried animating in Unreal but found it not so convenient as in iClone.
Though do some quick optimizations in Unreal on Unreal anim assets is quite easy...
I use Unreal Live Link to block my animations in iClone and then export as FBX.
When needed I also export characters from Unreal to iClone via 3DXChange.
Animate them in iClone, export to Unreal and reassign textures...
So definitely use both programs and find your own workflow.
Here is an example of using iClone animations on Unreal characters
+ using Unreal characters with built in animations...





Toystorylab on Vimeo : 76% of original size (was 661x19) - Click to enlarge    Crassitudes (my "Alter Ego") on Youtube: 76% of original size (was 661x19) - Click to enlarge

How did you run the Unreal Live link plugin with UE5?

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Sorry for confusion...
As I did not need blocking because characters mostly don't move within room I did not use Live Link for this.


Toystorylab on Vimeo : 76% of original size (was 661x19) - Click to enlarge    Crassitudes (my "Alter Ego") on Youtube: 76% of original size (was 661x19) - Click to enlarge

Sorry, I misunderstood your explanation :)

I know it's in Early Access, but with UE5, games have almost started to be produced, but Reallusion still hasn't given an update.


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