Universal Human Body Rig

IMPORTANT:  Please check the License Agreement before purchasing. Owners of both the Body Rig and the Face Rig will qualify for a free upgrade to the ready assembled Body & Face Rig (see details* below).  Gender switching functionality is available separately; only the male OR the female base mesh is required for this, there is no need to purchase both.  Face rig is not included in this version - see the Body & Face Rig for a complete rig.  Competence using Blender is recommended to fully benefit from this product.

NEW: Reshaped head, remodelled eyeballs, rig improvements, UV improvements and more.

This rigged human base mesh is the framework upon which my formerly entitled "Perpetual Multipurpose Personal Person Project" is based. The P.M.P.P.P. was made to alleviate the burden of rigging, weight painting, retopologising, UV unwrapping and generally having to reinvent the wheel for every new humanoid character. By distilling the shared features of the human race into a single form, it provides a neutral, reusable human-shaped canvas for sculpting, texturing, posing and animating.

Due to popular demand, I've decided to make the base mesh and rig available for general consumption, and have thereby redubbed it the more easily pronounceable "Universal Human" project. So now you can have your very own personal person too! Use it to mind the kids, ward off ghosts, or even to taste-test your auntie Ethel's scone mix! Also works as a handy insect repellent or inflatable life preserver.**

Other useful uses include:

• A basis for sculpting and texturing new characters
• Posing for art reference and paint-overs
• Animating
• Instructional presentations
• Pulling it apart to see what makes it tick

Here is a work in progress demonstration of the rig from April 2019.  Improvements have been made in the interim (including disabling Bendy Bones to improve torso deformation), so the final product differs slightly in appearance.

Two demos of the proportions being edited (the first one has the separately available Male Base Mesh added):

MAIN FEATURES

• Designed to accommodate realistic character creation and animation
• Gender neutral base mesh, averaged from 18 male, female, African, Asian and European likenesses of models and celebrities.  Both genders can be enabled by applying one of the Male or Female base meshes which are sold separately. Note: only the male OR the female is required - there is no need to purchase both.
• Full IK body rig, including fingers (ideal for pressing against surfaces). Note that the feet are rigged to accommodate shoes, so while toes are present, they are not individually rigged.
• On-the-fly customisable skeletal proportions; easily and non-destructively edit the rig for innumerous human body types, humanoid creatures and stylised characters (see video demos above).
• 2 UV map variants: full body, and face-focused
• Lightweight mesh for responsive performance. Poly count (before subdivision): body: 5,492 faces (quads); eyeballs: 644 faces (quads) each

• Topology optimised for animation and posing; edge loops follow wrinkles and muscular direction where possible, without compromising deformation quality. Modelled with separate clothing in mind (i.e. geometry is less dense in typically covered areas)
• Corrective shape keys to preserve volume in most joints
• IK/FK switching
• Soft IK to dampen "popping" when IK chains are near full extension
• Finger curling controls for quick hand posing. See demo.
• All quads
• Compatible with Blender 2.79 and higher
• No script installations or add-ons necessary; just load and go!
  

See the Reference Chart for rig operational instructions.

KNOWN LIMITATIONS

• IK/FK switching latency in Blender 2.79 (no latency apparent in 2.8 and higher)
• No IK/FK snapping is implemented, so IK controls will need to be manually realigned when switching from one to the other
• A side effect of one of the posing features is that the Torso and Thorax controls drift from the spine if the pelvis is moved in X or Y. A workaround is to select both pelvis and torso and move them in unison.
• While the body will deform well in most situations, this may not always be the case for more unusual or extreme poses. Manual re-shaping is recommended in those instances.

LICENSE AGREEMENT

By purchasing or using this product, you agree to be bound by the conditions in the License Agreement.

For Frequently Asked Questions, documentation and more, visit the Universal Human website.

*For a complete human rig, see the Body & Face Rig.  Owners of both the Body Rig and the Face Rig will receive a 100% off discount code which can be applied to the Body & Face Rig, provided both products have been purchased using the same Gumroad account. The codes have to be generated and sent out manually, so you'll need to send a code request to the address here (please allow up to a day or so for it to arrive). Those game enough to attempt a D.I.Y assembly while waiting can find the instructions here.

**not suitable for use as a flotation device.