v0.9.0 Beta · Blender 5.2+ · UE 5.6–5.8 · Windows x64

The MetaHuman addon for Blender built for artists.

The Blender addon for completely customizing MetaHuman characters. Skalin DNA Studio rebuilds the complete MetaHuman inside Blender from its DNA files — every mesh, every LOD, both skeletons — and lets you change nearly everything: sculpt, blend shapes, expressions, RBF correctives, skeleton. Then it writes a valid DNA file straight back to Unreal Engine. No Maya. No account.

Available on Superhive Fab skalin.org
Why Skalin DNA Studio

Edit MetaHuman DNA directly in Blender

The DNA file is the ground truth. Skalin DNA Studio never invents its own character format — every import reads Epic\u2019s own RigLogic data, and every export is a format-faithful transformation of the file you started from. That is why exports rebind materials, morphs and rig behavior in Unreal without manual repair.

Installation is the zip and a restart — prebuilt RigLogic bindings ship inside the extension. No account linking, no compiling, no external servers.

.dna
Native read & write
737
Editable head blend shapes
73
RBF solvers · 200+ poses
0
Trips through Maya
Image
statement_ui.png
1200 × 1500 · Skalin DNA Studio N-panel beside a MetaHuman head, wireframe on
Feature set

Customize MetaHumans in Blender — no Maya required

A full customization studio for MetaHumans, inside the tool you already sculpt in. Nearly everything the DNA defines is yours to change — and the paid version holds nothing back.

Video loop
feat_dna_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · opening head.dna + body.dna, full character appears at every LOD
DNA-01 / IMPORT & EXPORT

Native MetaHuman DNA import & export

Open a MetaHuman’s DNA files — or drag them into the viewport — and the complete character is rebuilt in Blender: every mesh, every LOD, both skeletons, materials with Unreal’s exact slot names. Export writes a valid DNA file plus per-LOD FBX that drop straight into the engine.

  • The DNA file is the ground truth — exports are format-faithful
  • Materials, morphs and rig behavior rebind in Unreal without manual repair
  • Seam-welded custom normals on every synchronize
Video loop
feat_faceboard_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · dragging face board controls, the face responding in real time
RIG-02 / CONTROL RIG

Live RigLogic face board

Build the 2D facial control board and enable the Control Rig: live RigLogic evaluation inside Blender, exactly as in-engine. Drag a control, watch the face respond — it’s both your verification tool and your posing tool.

  • Evaluates through Epic’s own RigLogic runtime
  • Reference poses for wrinkle-map authoring built in
Video loop
feat_sculpt_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · sculpting a blend shape in Blender → same channel driving in UE (split screen)
SCULPT-03 / BLEND SHAPES

Sculpt any of 737 head blend shapes

Activate a blend shape target and sculpt the posed shape at full strength — Skalin DNA Studio maintains the delta and handles Unreal’s morph-target naming for you. Head, teeth, cartilage and eyes are all editable, and any mistake is one Restore-from-DNA away.

  • 737 head targets, plus teeth (41), cartilage (76) and eyes
  • Add empty blend shapes ready for sculpting
  • Restore from source DNA or any earlier export
Video loop
feat_expr_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · opening an expression, reposing its driven bones, Apply — the board drives the new shape
EXPR-04 / EXPRESSIONS

Repose what expressions do — at the joint level

Open any facial expression, and only the bones it drives remain. Move them, press Apply — the rig math is solved exactly and written into the DNA. What a smile does is now yours to define.

  • Every expression in the standard MetaHuman set is editable
  • Exact L↔R symmetrize onto the twin control
Video loop
feat_rbf_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · RBF editor: region/side filters, pose activates the limb, authoring a corrective
RBF-05 / CORRECTIVES

RBF corrective editor — 73 solvers, 200+ poses

Edit the pose-driven corrective bones that fire as limbs and neck rotate: the bulges, twists and volume-preservers. Selecting a pose drives the limb to that exact sample; edit, apply, symmetrize — with safe revert per pose or wholesale.

  • Free-text search plus region and side filters
  • Isolate Pose mode for distraction-free editing
  • Revert to stock MetaHuman values behind confirmations
Video loop
feat_mirror_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · asymmetric pose → Mirror → exact symmetry, plus edit-mesh symmetrize
SYM-06 / SYMMETRY

Exact mirroring & symmetry

Per-joint-pair mirroring that is DNA-correct for both the face and the behavior-mirrored body skeleton — Blender’s built-in X-mirror is not safe on these rigs; this is. Mesh symmetrize keeps neutrals perfect while shape keys follow.

  • Mirror expressions, RBF solvers, or the whole skeleton
  • Left→Right, Right→Left or Average for meshes
Video loop
feat_skeleton_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · hierarchy collections, bone isolation, editing joints, Conform to Mesh
SKEL-07 / SKELETON

Skeleton editing that stays navigable

Move joints in Edit Mode with DNA-correct mirroring, then Conform to Mesh refits the armature onto your sculpt. Bone collections — Base, Twist, RBF, facial hierarchy levels — keep hundreds of joints findable.

Video loop
feat_materials_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · cycling Skin / Wireframe / Wire+Guides / Animated wrinkle preview
MAT-08 / MATERIALS & WRINKLES

Materials, topology guides & wrinkle maps

Preview skin, official wireframe topology and the animated wrinkle-map system — on materials named exactly like Unreal’s slots, so exports rebind cleanly. Author your own wrinkle textures against built-in reference poses and ship them with Export Textures.

  • Textures auto-discovered next to your DNA files
  • Animated preview blends CM maps through the character’s own masks
Video loop
feat_lods_loop.mp4
1280 × 720 · sculpting the skin edit mesh, Synchronize, scrubbing LOD 0–7 as every level follows
LOD-09 / EDIT MESHES & SYNC

Sculpt once — eight LODs follow

All work happens on protected edit meshes, with head and body welded into one seamless skin so the neck can’t split. One Synchronize conforms every LOD, snaps the neck seams, transfers blend shapes and welds normals — the originals stay safe until you say so.

  • 8 face LODs + 4 body LODs conform automatically
  • Secondary meshes (lashes, shells, cartilage, saliva) follow their donor
  • One-way flow keeps the source character untouched
Before / after

From stock MetaHuman to your character

Drag the handle. Same DNA file, same topology, same rig — different character.

Image
compare_after.jpg
1920 × 960 · customized MetaHuman, same camera & lighting as the stock shot
Image
compare_before.jpg
1920 × 960 · stock MetaHuman, identical camera & lighting
Stock MetaHuman Skalin DNA Studio edit
Workflow

The Blender to Unreal Engine MetaHuman workflow

Three stages between a stock MetaHuman and your character in-engine. No detours through Maya, no cloud round-trips.

Image
flow_import.jpg
800 × 450
Stage 1 — Import

Load the DNA

Point Skalin DNA Studio at a MetaHuman DNA file. Head, body, skeleton and channels come in ready to edit.

Image
flow_author.jpg
800 × 450
Stage 2 — Author

Sculpt & pose

Edit blend shapes, correctives and the skeleton with Blender's full toolset. Mirror, symmetrize, isolate, preview.

Image
flow_sync.jpg
800 × 450
Stage 3 — Sync

Write & drive

Synchronize back to DNA — normals included — and load in Unreal Engine 5.6+. Channels drive exactly as authored.

In motion

See the full workflow, start to finish

Watch the trailer, then follow the tutorial series to go from install to a customized MetaHuman driving in Unreal Engine.

YouTube embed
Product trailer
60–90 s · the pitch in motion · title the video "MetaHuman Addon for Blender — Skalin DNA Studio" for search
YouTube embed
Install & setup tutorial
YouTube embed
Full workflow tutorial
Pricing

Own it. No subscription, no account, no server.

Perpetual license for the current major version, all v1.x updates included. Full feature set in every tier — the price buys seats, not features.

Individual

Solo artists, freelancers and hobbyists

$25 USD

1 seat · perpetual · commercial use

  • Full feature set — nothing held back
  • All v1.x updates included
  • Documentation & community support
Buy Individual

Enterprise

Studios and larger production teams

$299 USD

unlimited seats · perpetual · commercial use

  • Everything in Indie Team
  • Site-wide license, unlimited seats
  • Direct support channel
Buy Enterprise
Sold via Superhive Fab skalin.org direct — pick whichever store you already use.
Documentation

Documented like a pipeline, not a plugin

From install to in-engine verification

The manual covers the full path: installing the Blender extension, setting the bindings folder, loading your first MetaHuman DNA file, the sculpt and RBF workflows, and the exact Unreal Engine import settings that keep your normals intact.

  • Installation & setup tutorial
  • Full workflow tutorial — DNA in, DNA out
  • UE import checklist (Normal Import Method: Import Normals)
  • RBF corrective pose authoring guide
Open documentation Free to read — before or after you buy.
FAQ

Questions people actually search for

Can I edit a MetaHuman in Blender?

Yes. Skalin DNA Studio reads and writes MetaHuman DNA files natively inside Blender, so you can sculpt blend shapes, edit the skeleton and author RBF corrective poses without Maya or any other DCC — then load the edited DNA in Unreal Engine 5.6+.

How do I import MetaHuman DNA into Blender?

Install Skalin DNA Studio as a Blender extension (Install from Disk), restart Blender, and open your head and body DNA files — you can even drag them into the viewport. Every mesh at every LOD, both armatures and slot-correct materials are built automatically. The documentation walks through it step by step.

Do I need Maya to customize MetaHumans?

No. The entire MetaHuman customization workflow — DNA editing, blend shapes, correctives, skeleton — happens inside Blender with Skalin DNA Studio.

Which Blender and Unreal Engine versions are supported?

Skalin DNA Studio supports Blender 5.2+ and Unreal Engine 5.6–5.8 on Windows x64. The full pipeline — sculpts, blend shapes, expressions, RBF correctives, DNA and per-LOD FBX export — is verified end-to-end in UE 5.7. The supported character source is the in-engine MetaHuman DCC export (UE 5.6+).

Is Skalin DNA Studio a subscription?

No. Every tier is a one-time purchase with a perpetual license for the current major version, including all updates within it.

Does Skalin DNA Studio require an account or a build step?

No. Skalin DNA Studio installs like any other Blender extension, obtained through an approved marketplace. Direct checkout will be added later. Prebuilt RigLogic bindings ship inside the zip — no account linking, no compiling, no external servers.

Is Skalin DNA Studio open source?

Yes — Skalin DNA Studio is distributed under the GNU GPL-3.0-or-later, the standard license of the Blender addon ecosystem. Purchasing grants you the software and its full source; what you pay for is the maintained product, updates and support.

Can I use what I make in commercial projects?

Yes — every tier includes commercial use of what you create. Your use of MetaHuman assets themselves remains governed by Epic Games' MetaHuman license terms.

The Skalin family

Skalin DNA Studio is the first tool, not the only one

Skalin builds production tools out of production problems. Everything we ship has survived real projects before it reaches a store page.

Available now

Skalin DNA Studio

MetaHuman customizer for Blender. DNA editing, blend shapes, RBF correctives, skeleton tools.

In development

More Skalin tools

Further Blender and Unreal Engine production tools are in the works. Write to us and tell us what your pipeline is missing.

Contact

Talk to a developer, not a ticket queue

Skalin is an independent studio based in Malta. Mail goes to the person who wrote the code.

All enquiries

For support, licensing, feature requests or anything else, email Victor directly. For technical issues, include your Blender and Unreal Engine versions.

victor@skalin.org