Shape and motion together
Check your sculpt with the Face Board, then refine the bones and Shape Keys behind an expression.
Image coming soon
Skalin DNA Studio · MetaHuman tools for BlenderYour MetaHuman.
Your MetaHuman.
Down to the details.
Sculpt the shape. Refine the expression. Correct the pose. Take your MetaHuman further in Blender, with control over the details that make the character yours.
Blender 5.2 · Windows x64Full Personal €29.90Full Commercial €89.90
Give the character your finishing touchCreate in Unreal.
Create in Unreal.
Perfect it in Blender.
Start with the character you build in MetaHuman Creator. Then shape the details that need your own eye: the silhouette, the tension in a smile, or the way a shoulder moves.
I created DNA Studio for artists who want to make those decisions directly in Blender. Bring your MetaHuman’s head, body and DNA-driven rig into a familiar workspace, and refine the sculpt alongside the expressions and corrective poses that bring it to life.
The goal is artistic control throughout the process. Test a design change in motion, prepare the meshes and reference poses for your material workflow, and return to your saved project when the character needs another pass.
Victor Skalin Creator of DNA Studio · Skalin3D
Image coming soon
Head and body in one workflow
Adjust proportions, fit the rig and inspect corrective poses without switching away from Blender.
Make room for another pass
Save applied edits, revisit the character and synchronize a revised result across its original LODs.
The Full toolkit
One character. Six stages of control.
The same workflow order you will find in Blender. Use the numbered tabs to focus on a stage, or choose All to see every panel.
01 · Setup
Bring your MetaHuman into Blender.
Start with head and body DNA, then set up a character you can inspect, pose and refine.
- Import head/body DNA with all available LODs and original Shape Keys.
- Prepare the scene and switch between LODs, edit meshes and rigs.
- Set up materials and inspect skin, wireframe and animated-map previews.
Image coming soon
02 · Edit Mesh
Sculpt the character you have in mind.
Refine the neutral shape with Blender’s sculpting tools, from a small change around the eyes to a broader adjustment of the head and body.
- Create edit meshes and sculpt the neutral shape while preserving topology.
- Fit the rig and secondary parts, with symmetry for consistent adjustments.
- Bring back an external sculpt or transfer a shape through compatible UV layouts.
Image coming soon
03 · Facial Expressions
Make the expression fit the face.
A smile that suited the original face may need a different lip shape or cheek movement after a sculpt. Pose it, find the bones that matter and adjust the expression itself.
- Pose the Face Board and edit the bones behind an active expression.
- Find the controls you need with region filters, surface picking and visual feedback.
- Mirror expressions or guide a bone correction with a Sculpt-to-Pose target.
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04 · Shape Keys
Refine the deformation directly.
Work on the mesh when an expression needs a more precise surface correction.
- Sculpt individual expression shapes directly on the mesh.
- Mirror and transfer corrections while keeping the neutral shape separate.
- Clear or restore matching keys from DNA when a correction needs another approach.
Image coming soon
05 · RBF
Keep the character convincing in motion.
RBF corrective poses adjust deformation as joints move. Refine those poses to suit the proportions and anatomy you have created.
- Browse head/body solvers and preview the poses already in your character.
- Edit corrective poses to suit new proportions and anatomy.
- Mirror corrections, revert changes or restore compatible poses from DNA.
Image coming soon
06 · Sync and Export
Bring your changes back to the character.
Carry your edits through the original meshes and rigs, then export the files needed for the Unreal handoff.
- Synchronize the original meshes, LODs, Shape Keys and rigs.
- Check topology, transforms and required data with Validate Setup.
- Export updated head/body DNA, skeletal FBX LODs and configured texture files.
Image coming soon
Learn the workflow
Follow a character from import to export.
A complete tutorial is on the way, followed by a playlist that takes a closer look at each section of DNA Studio.
Temporary video placeholder. The DNA Studio start-to-finish tutorial is being recorded.
Open the placeholder video on YouTube ↗
Go deeper, one section at a time
Setup and materials · Edit Mesh and sculpting · Facial Expressions · Shape Keys · RBF correctives · Sync and Export
Detailed tutorial playlist · Coming soon
Choose your workflow
Explore in Free. Complete it with Full.
Try importing, sculpting and basic facial edits on your own character. Full adds the advanced tools and every DNA Studio export option.
Free has no DNA Studio DNA, FBX or texture export. RBF poses can be previewed, but editing them and using Sculpt-to-Pose require Full.
| Feature | Free | FullBoth purchase tiers |
|---|---|---|
| DNA import, LODs and material previews | Included | Included |
| Neutral sculpting and edit-mesh symmetry | Included | Included |
| Rig fitting, secondary meshes and basic synchronization | Included | Included |
| Face Board and basic expression editing | Included | Included |
| Basic Shape Key sculpting and editing | Included | Included |
| RBF solver browsing and pose preview | Included | Included |
| Sculpt-to-Pose | Not included | Included |
| RBF corrective-pose editing | Not included | Included |
| Advanced facial symmetry and DNA restoration | Not included | Included |
| External sculpt and UV-based shape transfer | Not included | Included |
| Shape Key transfer and advanced recovery | Not included | Included |
| Updated DNA, skeletal FBX and texture export | Not included | Included |
These are DNA Studio’s edition features. Blender’s own editing, project saving and native export commands remain available. The new Free edition is being prepared with the limits shown here.
Full Personal · €29.90
Choose this tier for your own personal projects and creative exploration.
Full Commercial · €89.90
Choose this tier to support DNA Studio as part of your professional or client work.
Both include exactly the same tools. These are self-selected purchase tiers with identical software rights under GPL-3.0-or-later; Personal does not prohibit professional use.
Find your edition
The right tools for your next character.
Prices in EUR. Both Full options include the complete toolkit.
Explore the workflow
€0
Try the core editing tools on your own MetaHuman.
- Import and neutral sculpting
- Face Board and basic facial edits
- Material and RBF pose previews
- No DNA Studio export
For personal projects
€29.90
The complete DNA Studio toolkit.
- All editing and sculpting features
- Sculpt-to-Pose and RBF pose editing
- Advanced symmetry, transfer and recovery
- DNA, FBX and texture export
For professional work
€89.90
The same complete toolkit for professional users.
- All editing and sculpting features
- Sculpt-to-Pose and RBF pose editing
- Advanced symmetry, transfer and recovery
- DNA, FBX and texture export
Personal and Commercial contain the same complete toolkit. See the purchase-tier explanation above. Your character assets remain subject to their own licenses.
Before you start
Built around your existing MetaHuman.
What you need
- Blender 5.2 on Windows x64.
- Your character’s head and/or body DNA files.
- All original LODs for a complete DNA round trip.
- Your source texture files for textured material previews.
MetaHuman characters and textures are supplied by your own project. They are not included with the add-on.
Plan the Unreal handoff
Testing covers DNA generation 2.5, an assembled-character workflow in Unreal 5.7.4 and file import in 5.8.2, using the legacy FBX importer.
Other Blender versions, operating systems, Unreal 5.6 and Interchange are not qualified by the current package. Check the compatibility notes for the tested scope.
Questions
Before you choose DNA Studio
Why use this when MetaHuman Creator already exists?
Use MetaHuman Creator to establish your character, then use DNA Studio when you want direct control over the sculpt, facial expression bones, Shape Keys and RBF corrective poses. It is built for the extra adjustments that make a character fit your artistic direction.
Can I change the topology?
The editable character must keep its vertex count, order and topology. Sculpt vertex positions without remeshing or applying topology-changing modifiers. A separate high-resolution sculpt can be used for your texture-baking workflow.
Can I revise a character later?
Yes. Save your Blender project and retain its source DNA files. Reopen it to continue working, then synchronize and export again. Test the revised character’s animation and LODs in Unreal before replacing production assets.
Does an FBX export contain updated DNA?
No. FBX carries the exported meshes, skeleton and supported morph targets. Updated DNA is a separate Full-edition export. Use the matching DNA and FBX files for the complete handoff.
Where can I get help?
Start with the documentation, or email victor@skalin.org with your add-on, Blender and Unreal versions and the steps that caused the problem.
Keep shaping your character