2024.08.02 2024.08.22

How to add an original character (model) in Wonder Studio!

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Wonder Studio is an AI tool that makes it possible to replace CG characters with live-action people in the video production industry. Wonder Studio, such an innovative tool, makes it possible to create original characters and incorporate them into live-action videos. However, creating Wonder Studio-compatible character models can be surprisingly difficult.

This article explains how to create character models that can be used in Wonder Studio and how to actually add them. And if you run into any difficulties during the creation process, we at Team HENSHIN are here to help you.
If you want to get the most out of Wonder Studio, please take a look at this article.

Original characters are available at Wonder Studio!
Requirements for models that can be used with Wonder Studio
Skills needed to apply original characters to Wonder Studio
How to add your original character to Wonder Studio
How to create character models for use in Wonder Studio
Notes on adding to Wonder Studio
For those who have trouble creating Wonder Studio-compatible character models
Use it to create live-action videos of your original characters!

Original characters are available at Wonder Studio!

Wonder Studio allows anyone to easily create live-action composite CG videos by replacing CG characters with people.
In Wonder Studio, several character models are provided from the beginning, but original character models can be added and used.
This enables video production by shortening the conventional production process.

This article explains in detail how to add models, but for more information on what Wonder Studio is and how to use it, please refer to the following article.

Requirements for models that can be used with Wonder Studio

Wonder Studio allows you to add and use your original character models, but they must meet the following conditions.
Please note that the conditions introduced here are the conditions as of July 2023. The formats and flexibility that can be supported may increase in the future.

Defining Specific Requirements for Models

Wonder Studio’s official guidelines include the following restrictions regarding character models

Character file

The maximum size is 500 MB and the number of files required is one. Supported file formats are .blend or .fbx.

Image texture file

The total size of all texture files is 2 GB, the maximum number of texture files is 200, and the minimum number is 1. Supported file formats are .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .tiff, .tif, and .exr.

Material setting file

Only required for characters created in Maya (not required when using Blender). This file is automatically generated by the Maya character export script. The required file format is .json.

Recommended software version

Blender: 3.3.1 or higher
Maya: 2022 or higher
MtoA: 3.0 or higher

The following requirements must also be met

Maximum number of polygons: 1,500,000
Maximum number of hair: 100,000

These limitations are necessary for the character to work correctly on the Wonder Studio platform. Be sure to keep the requirements in mind and create and add models that work correctly.

It is a humanoid (bipedal) model

Wonder Studio primarily supports humanoid (bipedal) models. This is because it is assumed that the model has a bone structure to reproduce human motion.
Quadrupedal animals and characters that differ greatly in shape from humans are generally not supported.

Also, even for dolls, motions such as extending arms cannot be reproduced in Wonder Studio. However, it is possible to output a Blender file and add motion manually. Therefore, you can use Wonder Studio to create basic motions and Blender to create detailed motions.

Tracking is not possible for parts of the body that humans do not have, such as tails and ears

Wonder Studio basically supports models based on the human body shape. Therefore, parts of the body that do not exist on humans, such as tails, tentacles, and wings, are not supported. However, it is possible to incorporate bones and weights into the model, just not for movement.
Therefore, it is possible to output a Blender file and manually add motion to the model.

Even if there is a difference in body shape between the actor and the model, it is OK to some extent.

Wonder Studio reproduces motion by capturing the actual actor’s motion and applying it to the model. Therefore, if the actor and the model have very different body shapes, you can choose how to apply the motion to the 3D model.

Use the size of the 3D model as it is

By setting Scale Character to OFF, motion can be applied using the size of the model as it is.

Scale the character to match the actor’s size

By setting Scale Character to ON, the size of the model can be automatically adjusted to match the size of the actor.

The important thing to remember is that when modeling, try to keep the size of the model as it is set. This will ensure that the model is appropriately sized when used within Wonder Studio.

For more details on export settings, please refer to the following article.

Skills needed to apply original characters to Wonder Studio

In order to create original characters in Wonder Studio and use them on the platform, certain skills are required. Below is a list of the main skills required

Knowledge of character modeling in one way or another

Whether you use models downloaded from Sketchfab or other sources, or if you create your own models, it will be smoother if you have some knowledge of character modeling. Below are some recommended tutorials.

Rigging Knowledge

It is the most important skill when putting a model into Wonder Studio. Rigging is an important step in 3D modeling and refers to the process of putting in the skeleton (bones) to give the character movement and setting the skin waiting.

Wonder Studio requires models to have a bone structure that follows a specific naming convention.
This requires a basic knowledge of rigging and techniques for setting and naming bones and skinning (associating bones and meshes).

English reading and comprehension skills

Wonder Studio’s official guidelines and many 3D modeling and rigging tools are available in English. Many tutorials and forums are also written in English.
Therefore, English reading and understanding skills are required to understand this information and to solve problems.

It is possible to use translation software to deal with the problem, but it often takes time to translate or to understand the information from unnatural translations.

How to add your original character to Wonder Studio

From here, we will explain how to actually add your original character to Wonder Studio!

Adding a character is as simple as a few clicks, but the difficult part is creating a Wonder Studio-compatible character model. This is explained in the next section.

Step 1: Create a new project

まず、Wonder Studioのウェブサイトにアクセスし、左上の「Create New Project」をクリックします。
その後、「Continue」をクリックして新しいプロジェクトを作成します。
次に、元となる動画を指定します。画面上の「click here to browse files」を選択し、中央のエリアに動画ファイルをドラッグ＆ドロップします。

Step2：CGキャラに置き換えるアクターを選ぶ

Once you have created your project and placed your video, select “Scan frame for actors” and choose the person you wish to replace with a CG character. You can select multiple actors, two for the LITE plan and four for the PRO plan.

Step 3: Add a character with “Create Character

Finally, select the “My Characters” tab and click “+”.
After entering the avatar’s name, click “Create.
Then, specify the original 3DCG character in “Mode & Textures. The character specified here should be created with 3D modeling software such as Blender or Maya and exported as a Blender file or FBX format.

By following the above steps, you can add your original character to Wonder Studio.

How to create character models for use in Wonder Studio

Creating a character model consists of three steps: modeling, rigging, and renaming for Wonder Studio to recognize. Each step is explained in detail below.

The explanation will be based on the assumption that the software used to create the character model is Blender.

Team HENSHIN also provides simple tutorial videos on YouTube, so please watch them as you go through the process.

Tutorial videos are in preparation.

Step 1: Character Modeling

Character modeling is the process of creating a 3D character. Specifically, the character’s shape, body shape, and facial features are designed in detail to physically create the form. This is the foundational step that determines the character’s appearance and movement, and this modeling process is critical to expressing the character’s personality and characteristics.

When proceeding with character modeling, the first step is to create a “base mesh,” which creates the basic shape of the character. The base mesh is a 3D model that defines the general shape of the character, from which detailed shapes are created.

Once the base mesh is complete, detailed textures and colors are added on top of it to give the character color. This process is time-consuming and labor intensive, but it is important to work carefully because the model created here will be the basis for subsequent rigging and animation.

Character modeling also requires careful attention to topology (mesh structure) in order to make the character’s movements and facial expressions look natural. Models with proper topology are easier to rig and animate, and can express more realistic movements.

Utilization of “Sketchfab

Sketchfab is a community where creators from around the world can upload their 3D models and share them with other users. Here, 3D models using a variety of styles and techniques are published, and by referring to these models, you can improve your own modeling skills.

In addition, some models are available for free download on Sketchfab, and you can create your own characters based on these models. However, it is important to check the license conditions and use them appropriately when using other people’s work.
For more information, please refer to the Creative Commons of skechfab.

If necessary, it may be useful to prepare models using Sketchfab.

Step 2: Rigging the created character model

Rigging is the process of adding movement to a 3D character model. Specifically, a character’s skeleton (bones) is created and skin (skin) is attached to it. Through this process, the character has a “skeleton” to control its movement, and can be animated.

The rigging process consists of the following main steps

Bone Creation

First, add bones to the character model. Bones represent the character’s skeleton and control the movement of each part of the character. Bones are appropriately placed and sized according to the character’s body shape and movement.

skinning

Once the bones are in place, the next step is skinning. Skinning is the process of associating the bones with the mesh (the skin of the character). This allows the mesh to move as the bones move.

weight painting

Once skinning is complete, weight painting is performed. Weight painting is the process of defining how much control each bone has over what part of the mesh. This ensures that the character’s movements look natural.

Blender offers a powerful toolset for rigging, allowing you to efficiently perform a series of rigging tasks, from bone creation to skinning and weight painting.

Rigging is the fundamental process that allows a character to move naturally. By carefully performing this step, characters can express realistic movement and enhance their visual appeal.

Use “mixamo” to do it easily.

“mixamo” is Adobe’s 3D character animation service with automatic rigging capabilities. Users simply upload their 3D models, and mixamo automatically generates bones and rigging.

In addition, mixamo has many preset animations that can be easily applied to your own models.

Manually insert bones according to naming conventions

When rigging manually, it is important to follow certain naming conventions. This is because Wonder Studio recognizes the names of the bones and moves the character based on them. Specifically, each bone must be given an appropriate name according to Wonder Studio’s official guidelines.
Here is what Wonder Studio’s official guidelines state

Bourne’s naming

Animation data is applied to up to 52 bones in the rig. In order for bones to receive animation data, they must follow a specific naming convention. Incorrectly named bones will not receive animation data.

Material Naming

The material must contain the MAT tag in its name. For example, “exampleMaterial_MAT”.

Image Texture Naming

The name of the image texture is used to indicate which material it belongs to. The image texture should use the following template: [matName][_description][_udim]TEX[type]. [ext]. For example, “blueJeans_oldDirty_1001_TEX_DIFF.png”, “skin_TEX_SSS.jpg”, “carPain_1004_TEX_METAL.png”.

By following these naming conventions, Wonder Studio will correctly recognize bones and materials and move characters accordingly.
This is a meticulous process, but when done correctly, the character’s movements will be natural.

You can also add facial expressions to the characters.

The rigging process can also create blendshapes (shape keys) using FACS (facial action coding system) to control the character’s facial expressions. This allows for the creation of rich facial expressions for the character.
By preparing blendshapes, it is possible to move the character’s facial expressions in Wonder Studio. This allows you to create realistic facial expressions in scenes where the character expresses emotions.

How to create FACS is explained in another article. For more information, please see the following

Step 3: Rename the name to be recognized by Wonder Studio in Blender

Finally, it is necessary to rename the name so that Wonder Studio will recognize it in Blender. The specific method will be explained in each section.

Renaming of Collections and Bone

After the 3D character modeling and rigging process, the next task is renaming.
Wonder Studio has a well-defined naming convention for collections and bones, and bones cannot receive animation data unless they follow this convention. Therefore, it is necessary to rename each name to conform to Wonder Studio’s naming conventions.

The name of the Collection should be CHARACTER.
The name of the Armature should be Armature_BODY.
Rename the Bone according to the above naming convention.

マテリアルの名称変更

There is a limit of one material per object.

See the example below, where the Spider man model has the objects Body, Eye, EyeFrame, and Webshooter, and one material is applied to each model.

Also, each material is named by “object_name_MAT”.

Furthermore, there is a naming convention for the texture image applied to each material.

In this example of Spider man, there are two types of textures, Diffuse map and Normal map, so a total of 8 textures are prepared (4 materials x 2 textures).

Connect these to the shader network of each material and the material setup is complete.

Although renaming may seem like a tedious task, it allows the character model to adapt and work correctly for a particular platform. This step is therefore an essential part of the complete character modeling and rigging process.

Notes on adding to Wonder Studio

As mentioned earlier, there are a few things to keep in mind when adding models in Wonder Studio, including how to add and create character models. Be sure to understand them, as they may lead to irreversible results.

There is a limit to the number of additions that can be made depending on the plan.

Wonder Studio limits the number of original character models that can be added depending on the plan.
Specifically, the limits are as follows

LITE Plan: 6 bodies per month
PRO Plan: 15 bodies per month
ENTERPRISE Plan：Custom

Because of these limitations, we recommend that you plan and work out which models to prioritize.

If you upload a model with the wrong settings, the credits will be consumed.

In Wonder Studio, credits will be consumed even if a character model is incorrectly set up and uploaded. Therefore, be sure to check your model thoroughly before uploading to avoid mistakes.
Note that new credits will be given in the following month. In this regard, it can be said that failure is not a problem, but care should be taken to ensure that the consumption of credits does not interfere with the progress of the project.

Note the rendering time limit.

Wonder Studio limits the number of seconds of video that can be exported depending on the plan.
The specific limitations are as follows

LITE Plan：150 seconds
PRO Plan：510 seconds
ENTERPRISE Plan：Custom

Note that this limit is “seconds of completed video” and not the time required for rendering (output of video). For example, if you upload a 10-second video to Wonder Studio for processing, 10 seconds will be consumed. If you then export the video 10 times, it will not consume 100 seconds.
And it has been announced that this limitation will be relaxed in the future due to the enhancement of servers.

For those who have trouble creating Wonder Studio-compatible character models

From character modeling and rigging to video production in Wonder Studio, the process can be complex and difficult for first-time users. We, Team HENSHIN, are here to help.

Team HENSHIN is an experienced team of 3DCG video production professionals who are dedicated to making the most of the Wonder Studio platform. Although not an official Wonder Studio team, Team HENSHIN is able to offer its knowledge and support to those who need it in order to help boost Japan’s video production industry.

Specifically, we can create models that can be used in Wonder Studio, teach production methods, and create videos using Wonder Studio.
We are able to provide high quality services because we are a team that has produced many live-action composite videos before Wonder Studio was released. Please see the following page for our past achievements.

▶ Production Achievements | Team HENSHIN for 3DCG and video production

Use it to create live-action videos of your original characters!

We have discussed how to create original character models for use in Wonder Studio and how to add character models to Wonder Studio.
From character modeling to rigging and adding to Wonder Studio, the process is a complex one, but by understanding each step and utilizing the right tools and techniques, you can make your own original character work in Wonder Studio! How to use Wonder Studio to create your original character

Use Wonder Studio to create inspiring live-action videos with your original characters and make a powerful impression on your audience. Combine your creativity and technical skills to revolutionize the future of video production.

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