How to create and import MetaHuman in Unreal Engine

MetaHuman Creator is a powerful tool for creating high-quality, realistic NPCs for Unreal Engine projects. This guide provides a step-by-step overview of how to create and integrate MetaHumans into your project.

Key Points Before Creating a MetaHuman

MetaHuman Creator does not support creating fantasy characters, infants, or individuals with extreme body proportions or unconventional facial features. However, the tool allows significant facial asymmetry, providing flexibility for unique designs.

MetaHumans are based on pre-designed templates. While creating characters entirely from scratch is not possible, the parameter editor provides extensive options for customization.

Each version of MetaHumans is specifically designed to be compatible with certain versions of Unreal Engine. Differences exist between versions, as updates may introduce new features, improvements, or changes to the MetaHuman assets. For example, earlier versions of MetaHumans included a bug that affected certain hairstyles. At lower detail levels (LOD), these hairstyles sometimes failed to render correctly, causing characters to appear bald. This issue was marked with a ⚠️ icon in the MetaHuman Creator to alert users. However, in the version designed for Unreal Engine 5.5, these bugs have been resolved.

Steps to Create a MetaHuman

Step 1: Visit metahuman.unrealengine.com and log in with your Epic Games account.

Step 2: Select the Unreal Engine version for your project and click Launch MetaHuman Creator.

Step 3: Click Create, select a template, and click Create Selected to open the editor. Customize your character using the intuitive parameter editor. Changes are saved automatically.

Steps to Import a MetaHuman into Unreal Engine

Step 1: Open your Unreal Engine project, go to Edit → Plugins, search for "Quixel Bridge", enable it, and restart Unreal Engine.

Step 2: After restarting, find Quixel Bridge in the menu. Click it and sign in with your Epic Games account, even if already signed into the Epic Games Launcher.

Step 3: In Quixel Bridge, go to My MetaHumans, select your character, choose the texture quality, and click Download. Once downloaded, click Add to import the character.

Step 4: After import, the character's files will appear in the Content Browser under MetaHumans/(MetaHuman Name). If any required plugins are missing, click Enable Missing, restart Unreal Engine, and your MetaHuman will be ready to use.

By following these steps, you can easily create and integrate MetaHumans into your Unreal Engine projects, enhancing your environments with realistic and high-quality NPCs.