What is UniHuman?
UniHuman is not a program. It is a file that opens in the open source 3D modeling software suite Blender 3D. It is a base mesh with a set of morph targets that can be blended to different degrees to make a unique character. The reason a file for a program is used rather then it being a program itself is not only that I don't have the programming prowess to code such software but it was also for speed of development and also for deep integration into Blender, the target application and audience.
Isn't UniHuman Basically a low poly rip off of MakeHuman?
Yes, It is. When I first found out about MakeHuman I asked whether or not they were going to consider a low poly export function. This was over a year ago and I was told it was a possibility. While they have now commited to creating a low poly export function it is not their highest priority and has not been realised as of yet. When I was told it was a far away prospect I said I would create a similar tool that was geared towards game designers as either an interum or an alternative. I began this project with the MakeHuman team's best wishes.
Why do you use one base mesh? At this polygonal level it would give better topology to use a few.
This is true, You would get better topology from multiple base meshes. The female morph shows this the most. That said, Creating multiple bases would require more modeling time and require recreation of each morph target for each base. This was far too big a project for me to undertake given current commitments. Because of this I used the one base set up to ensure I was able to put together a servisable version and that no base wound up ignored. In the future I may convert to multiple bases but that is not currently the goal.
Does the distribution ban affect members within a team?
A team, in my opinion, is viewed as a single unit user. The non distribution is to prevent people creating a few models with UniHuman and then distributing them to a large majority of people for their projects. These people may have prefered to make their own unique models so by crediting the site rather then distributing a few outputs everyone's project has unique models rather then all being the same. In other words you may freely distribute within a team.
My project is a system to create ___________. I want to keep the filesize down. Could I distribute UniHuman models alongside the project or among the project's community?
Projects like this with packs for the game would be concidered, in my opinion, to be all one end piece or goal. Again, not wanting to distribute model packs of exports is to prevent a load of projects springing up which have identical models which is contrary to the very purpose of UniHuman. Comunity projects like this, even when spread accross multiple downloads, are still one project. The packs are geared towards being used in your product. Because of this Distribution among a community project is allowed.
How much does UniHuman Cost?
UniHuman is completely free of charge.
Why did you make UniHuman?
It is something I've always wanted for myself and I figured others would probably want a similar tool. I looked at commercial applications which charged very large amounts of money for indie designers to use their models in their games and felt that it was a rip off. They would sell you the software and then offer you model packs to extend what should be a full featured suite. I very nearly bought software like this on multiple occasions but in the end I realised it wasn't that difficult an idea to implement myself.
Can I contribute and extend UniHuman?
Yes! Most certainly. I would love to see this little tool grow and expand to far beyond its current state. You can contribute in a variety of ways.
I downloaded UniHuman but my computer doesn't have the required software to run the file?
UniHuman is not a program but a file for use with the program Blender 3D. Blender is an open source 3D application that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It is a great, fully featured software suite with multiple applications. One of which is games which is what UniHuman is targeted towards. Because I didn't have to develop a special program to make UniHuman its development cycle was very short and it is completely integrated into blender with a familiar interface for its users. Blender can export to many popular file formats so you can still use UniHuman for whatever software you choose.
You can download blender at www.blender.org
Why cant I distribute UniHuman?
While I can understand that it seems like a silly rule it is one that most projects like this have in place and for a good reason. While part of it is that I am proud of the work I put into making UniHuman and would like to have my name associated with projects that use it the other part is the more important reason. UniHuman will be updated regularly. It will have additional morph targets and textures added in over time. If UniHuman is available from a multitude of sources then it is likely that many links will be outdated. In order to keep development of this tool up to date and unified I want to have one place where everyone downloads the file from.
Will UniHuman ever be charged for?
Probably not. I don't plan on generating any sort of income from this project. While it would be nice to receive a bit of compensation for the work put in via donations or through ads on the site, such money is more likely to pay for a few drinks with friends then a months rent. I have no intention of charging for UniHuman or any similar projects in the foreseeable future.
Who are you anyway?
My name is Rory O'Sullivan, I'm an Irish science student with a passion for gaming. I felt that people charging in excess of €10,000 for software like this was ludicrous so I put this together. Thanks for asking, I hope you have a nice day =D
UniHuman is not a program. It is a file that opens in the open source 3D modeling software suite Blender 3D. It is a base mesh with a set of morph targets that can be blended to different degrees to make a unique character. The reason a file for a program is used rather then it being a program itself is not only that I don't have the programming prowess to code such software but it was also for speed of development and also for deep integration into Blender, the target application and audience.
Isn't UniHuman Basically a low poly rip off of MakeHuman?
Yes, It is. When I first found out about MakeHuman I asked whether or not they were going to consider a low poly export function. This was over a year ago and I was told it was a possibility. While they have now commited to creating a low poly export function it is not their highest priority and has not been realised as of yet. When I was told it was a far away prospect I said I would create a similar tool that was geared towards game designers as either an interum or an alternative. I began this project with the MakeHuman team's best wishes.
Why do you use one base mesh? At this polygonal level it would give better topology to use a few.
This is true, You would get better topology from multiple base meshes. The female morph shows this the most. That said, Creating multiple bases would require more modeling time and require recreation of each morph target for each base. This was far too big a project for me to undertake given current commitments. Because of this I used the one base set up to ensure I was able to put together a servisable version and that no base wound up ignored. In the future I may convert to multiple bases but that is not currently the goal.
Does the distribution ban affect members within a team?
A team, in my opinion, is viewed as a single unit user. The non distribution is to prevent people creating a few models with UniHuman and then distributing them to a large majority of people for their projects. These people may have prefered to make their own unique models so by crediting the site rather then distributing a few outputs everyone's project has unique models rather then all being the same. In other words you may freely distribute within a team.
My project is a system to create ___________. I want to keep the filesize down. Could I distribute UniHuman models alongside the project or among the project's community?
Projects like this with packs for the game would be concidered, in my opinion, to be all one end piece or goal. Again, not wanting to distribute model packs of exports is to prevent a load of projects springing up which have identical models which is contrary to the very purpose of UniHuman. Comunity projects like this, even when spread accross multiple downloads, are still one project. The packs are geared towards being used in your product. Because of this Distribution among a community project is allowed.
How much does UniHuman Cost?
UniHuman is completely free of charge.
Why did you make UniHuman?
It is something I've always wanted for myself and I figured others would probably want a similar tool. I looked at commercial applications which charged very large amounts of money for indie designers to use their models in their games and felt that it was a rip off. They would sell you the software and then offer you model packs to extend what should be a full featured suite. I very nearly bought software like this on multiple occasions but in the end I realised it wasn't that difficult an idea to implement myself.
Can I contribute and extend UniHuman?
Yes! Most certainly. I would love to see this little tool grow and expand to far beyond its current state. You can contribute in a variety of ways.
- You can make skin textures, materials and so on that will be either included in the base file or made available separately from this site in the download section. (This would be to preserve a small download size)
- You can make new morph targets to extend the variety of shapes that can be made with UniHuman. I will soon put together a brief tutorial on how to create morphs but the main rule is that it must have identical topology to the base mesh and be made from the base mesh (any morphs aplied to your starting mesh will be saved in your morph target. To maximise versitility you want none aplied so it works for any character)
- You can make renders, games and animations using UniHuman and they will be featured in a gallery on the site to show others what is achievable with UniHuman.
I downloaded UniHuman but my computer doesn't have the required software to run the file?
UniHuman is not a program but a file for use with the program Blender 3D. Blender is an open source 3D application that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It is a great, fully featured software suite with multiple applications. One of which is games which is what UniHuman is targeted towards. Because I didn't have to develop a special program to make UniHuman its development cycle was very short and it is completely integrated into blender with a familiar interface for its users. Blender can export to many popular file formats so you can still use UniHuman for whatever software you choose.
You can download blender at www.blender.org
Why cant I distribute UniHuman?
While I can understand that it seems like a silly rule it is one that most projects like this have in place and for a good reason. While part of it is that I am proud of the work I put into making UniHuman and would like to have my name associated with projects that use it the other part is the more important reason. UniHuman will be updated regularly. It will have additional morph targets and textures added in over time. If UniHuman is available from a multitude of sources then it is likely that many links will be outdated. In order to keep development of this tool up to date and unified I want to have one place where everyone downloads the file from.
Will UniHuman ever be charged for?
Probably not. I don't plan on generating any sort of income from this project. While it would be nice to receive a bit of compensation for the work put in via donations or through ads on the site, such money is more likely to pay for a few drinks with friends then a months rent. I have no intention of charging for UniHuman or any similar projects in the foreseeable future.
Who are you anyway?
My name is Rory O'Sullivan, I'm an Irish science student with a passion for gaming. I felt that people charging in excess of €10,000 for software like this was ludicrous so I put this together. Thanks for asking, I hope you have a nice day =D
