Character Creator 5
Character Creator: 3D Character Design Software
Character Creator is a 3D artist platform for generating, importing & customizing realistic/stylized characters for iClone, UE, Unity & other 3D tools.
cgdive.com
Review by CGDive
If you’ve ever created characters entirely in Blender, you know how quickly the work adds up:
- Sculpting and modeling
- Retopology
- Weight painting
- Building rigs
- Facial shape keys
- Clothing and texture work
Doing all of that for one character can be satisfying. But doing it for multiple characters (especially as a solo creator or small team), can be a serious bottleneck.
That’s what led me to explore Character Creator 5 (CC5) by Reallusion. CC5 can save a lot of time and effort!
What Is Character Creator 5?
CC5 is a standalone tool dedicated to creating fully-rigged, animation-ready humanoid characters.
You should not think of CC5 as a competitor of your favorite 3d DCC(Blender, Maya, etc). Instead, it is a specialized companion to your main 3d program.
It provides:
✔️ A fully customizable human base mesh
✔️ Clothing that automatically conforms to body shape
✔️ Pre-built body and facial rigs
✔️ Export pipelines to Blender, Maya, Unreal, Unity, ZBrush, and more
So instead of spending days setting up a character from scratch, you can start with something that already works and then customize it deeply.
Creating Characters in CC5
There are a few ways to begin:
1. Use a Starter Character
If you just need something that looks great quickly, CC5 includes pre-made characters you can drag-and-drop and tweak.
2. Start From a Neutral Base
You can choose between realistic, stylized, male, female, etc., and then begin shaping the character with morph sliders.
You can adjust anything: from body proportions all the way down to individual tooth shapes.
3. Use ActorMixer
This is one of my favorite CC5 features:
You can mix multiple existing characters to instantly generate appealing variations.
Once you find a combination you like, finalize it and refine details like:
- Facial features
- Skin micro-details
- Hair
- Clothing
High-Resolution Shape Detail
CC5 also supports HD morphs. These are not just normal maps, but actual geometry-level detail, which can add muscles, wrinkles, and even aging effects.
Easy Blender Integration
CC5 includes a Blender Pipeline Plugin, and the workflow is surprisingly simple:
- In CC5, go to Plugins → Export to Blender
- Open Blender and use the CC Pipeline Add-on
- Import the character
You get your model exactly as you designed them in CC5, with materials configured and rigging preserved.
And from there:
- You can generate a Rigify rig with one click
- use the Advanced Facial Rig, which is very close to the MetaHuman facial rig in Unreal
In fact, CC5 characters are now compatible with MetaHuman pipelines.
Limitations to Keep in Mind
- CC5 is focused on humanoids. Creatures, quadrupeds, or stylized non-human designs require other workflows.
- The full ecosystem is paid and consists of multiple modules/content packs. The cost can add up.
- It shines most when time is limited and characters must be production-ready.
If you love hand-sculpting and slow, artistic character creation, Blender alone is still fantastic.
But if you need multiple fully set-up characters quickly CC5 can be a huge advantage.
Final Thoughts
Character Creator 5 isn’t here to replace Blender and other 3d apps.
It’s a tool that:
- Speeds up character creation
- Automates rigging & facial animation compatibility
- Allows you to focus on storytelling, animation, and actual production