
New AccuLips technology provides more accurate automatic lip-sync animation IClone also now supports hairstyles and facial hair created using the new Smart Hair system introduced in Character Creator 3.4, the latest version of Reallusion’s character generator, which also shipped yesterday. The update focuses on facial animation, introducing new lip-sync system AccuLips, and Expression Plus, a new set of scan-based facial blendshapes and improving facial motion capture via new iPhones. Reallusion has released iClone 7.9, the latest free update to its real-time character animation software. Buy issue 240 here (opens in new tab) or subscribe to 3D World here (opens in new tab). This article was originally published in issue 240 of 3D World (opens in new tab), the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists.

Get all the software to use Live Face for iPhone on the iPhone X for $249 here (opens in new tab).Get Live Face app for free here (opens in new tab).While it's not perfect (Apple, please fix the separate eyebrow tracking!), it can produce decent results quickly and with minimal post cleanup. IPhone X/Live Face is a stable, efficient and easy-to-use facial mocap approach, and is a practical addition to the animator's toolbox. In fact, the combined cost of the phone and software is about the same as for iClone's existing Faceware system.

Even with the cost of the iPhone itself, this is good value for a robust facial mocap solution. There's no denying that the iPhone X (opens in new tab) is expensive, and assuming you already have iClone 7 and the Motion LIVE integrated mocap plugin, it will cost about £230 for the software to use the phone for facial mocap in iClone.
