Epic Games' MetaHuman Tool Will Let You Create Realistic Faces Inside a Browser

by Frank Stich

Epic Games unveiled the MetaHuman Creator, a browser-based innovative software tool powered by Epic's Unreal Engine that will let anyone create 3D models of highly realistic humans with natural faces and body movements.

The new cloud-streamed app will make the process of creating real-time digital humans simpler and less time-consuming, allowing you to spend less than an hour rather than weeks or months on a single character.

“Even the most experienced artists require significant amounts of time, effort, and equipment, just for one character. After decades of research and development, and thanks to bringing companies like 3Lateral, Cubic Motion, and Quixel into the Epic family, that barrier is being erased through Unreal Engine, and we're thrilled to introduce MetaHuman Creator,” reads Epic's blog post.

Within the MetaHuman Creator, artists and developers will be able to easily adjust skin complexion, manipulate facial features, and select from present hairstyles, body types, and clothing.

Sony Invests $250 Million in Fortnite Creator Epic Games
Sony has made a $250 million investment in Epic Games, and now Sony gets a 1.4 percent interest and gives Epic a $17.86 billion valuation.
The Internet ProtocolFrank Stich

In a YouTube video, Epic showed off examples of two fully rigged and high-quality sample characters created using the MetaHuman Creator. The company seems to name these digital, non-real individuals “metahumans.” Anyone can explore, modify, and use the sample characters in the Unreal Engine 4.26.1 or later.

According to Epic Games, MetaHuman Creator can be used together with modern motion capture techniques to create lifelike animations for video games, movies, television, and more. With this tool, anyone can create metahumans with unique facial features, hairstyles, and clothing in a matter of minutes. They can then be adapted to the needs of a production. They can also be manipulated in real-time on the platform itself via a web browser.

It is unknown when exactly the MetaHuman Creator will be available for game developers and creators of real-time 3D content. The official website suggests signing up for the company’s updates to find out.