Create a custom body

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To create a custom body for Fuse CC, you begin by sculpting over the base character mesh (.obj) provided in the Content Creator Pack. Once your sculpt is ready, you extract the texture maps along with a low-resolution mesh of the custom body from your sculpting software. These files are then imported into Fuse CC.

Before you begin, see Create custom content for Fuse to know about the prerequisites and the general recommendations for creating custom body.

The steps below explain the creation of a custom body using a male toon character as an example.

The first step is to pick a base character available in the Content Creator Package as MaleFitA.obj and FemaleFitA.obj.

Once you have picked your base character, the next step is to simply sculpt directly on the base mesh.

2. Focus on the sculpt

Use the base character mesh in your digital sculpting software to begin sculpting your model. The detail that is put into the sculpt is important, so it is recommended achieve the highest quality that you can in your sculpt.

While sculpting, you can push the base mesh as far as it goes, but here are some points to consider.

• For very large characters the texture has less fidelity because the same texture space is being stretched across a larger surface.
• Adding protrusions can be problematic because it can break the UV borders. Custom body has a strict UV requirement.

3. Extract the maps

Once you have finished sculpting the body, you have to extract certain key maps from your digital sculpting software. These maps are used for generating textures for the custom body when you import them in Fuse CC.

The following settings are recommended for the extracted maps:   

Map dimension: 2048 x 2048 pixels

Color depth: 8-bit RGB

Image format: PNG

Naming convention for extracted maps

The generic file naming structure for the maps is CharacterName_NameofMap. For example, MaleToonA_StdNM.

Use the following suffixes for naming the maps:

• Normal Map CharacterName_StdNM
• Aged Normal Map CharacterName_AgedNM
• Ambient Occlusion CharacterName_AO
• Detail Map CharacterName_DetailExtra1

4. Export 3D geometry file

Export the low-resolution geometry of your custom body as an .OBJ (3D geometry definition file). It is named as MaleToonA.obj in this example.

5. Gather final files for importing in Fuse CC

Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.

Your full custom body geometry: MaleToonA.obj
Standard Normal Map: MaleToonA_StdNM.png
Aged Normal Map: MaleToonA_AgedNM.png
Ambient Occlusion Map: MaleToonA_AO.png
Detail Overlay Map: MaleToonA_DetailExtra1.png

6. Import your custom body into Fuse CC

To import custom body files, choose the File > Import > Import Characters option from the main menu in Fuse CC. See Import a custom character for details.