It has been many, many years in the making, but finally the open source tool for making 3D Characters, MakeHuman sees a release as version 1.0.
MakeHuman is the free and open source software initiative to create realistic 3d humans for reference, sculpting, animations, illustrations and games. It is free to use and open source, meaning the code and technology used to develop the MakeHuman software can be freely shared.
Makehuman was developed to provide a niche, state of the art stand alone software package that could create virtual humans for artists. The idea is that MakeHuman would be the start point to create realistic 3D characters that can be easily exported for any external 3d software (Blender, XSI, Max,…) or to quick render with MakeHuman’s own internal render engine.
Attention to Polygon Topology
MakeHuman 1.0 has incorporated 12 years of research in body topology and now uses a unique base mesh for all morphing. This has been something that base evolved from release to release, incorporating user feedback and the results of studies and experimentation.
In fact MakeHuman has been steadily decreasing the number of triangles in the mesh since 2001. It has gone from all triangles in 2001, to 5% triangles in 2011. The latest release has zero triangles. The standard body in MakeHuman is comprised of 14766 faces, and they are all quads.
This makes it great for Mudbox and ZBrush sculpting work, as well as rigging and animation. MakeHuman now boasts lest than 5 pole edges in the entire mesh which adds up to about less than 1% of the overall mesh.
MakeHuman v1.0
MakeHuman 1.0 incorporates a new interface, as well as some new features such as the beauty modifier. The workflow in MakeHuman 1.o is all based on component libraries. Most everything can be selected and used from a library, right down to skeleton setups, and even topology. You can select from specialized topology for low res characters, or different topology for more muscular characters.
MakeHuman includes 110 morphings for effective parametric modeling. You can easily adjust parameters of the character from its gender, age, weight, height and most all aspects of the character’s proportions.
Availability
MakeHuman is free and open source. To learn more about MakeHuman 1.0 or to download a copy, check the page here: MakeHuman Open Source Tool for Making 3D Characters.
