H21 Metahuman for Houdini workflow Documentation

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Hi Mirko,
The tags for the metahuman has been updated on Epics side and we are checking on the Autorig Builder
if you are using the metahuman skeleton and setting the tags for you automatically. It looks like our tags our now out of date.

To fix this add
* - #mh_driver_jnts 
to the FK Exclude parm.

Edited by william_harley - Feb. 5, 2026 12:00:32

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RudiNieuwenhuis
Now this works:
Image Not Found


The only thing left to figure out is how to get the face-rig to drive all these parms.

We did it with primvars.
Also since we do lot of metahuman animations in Maya, we have these parameters written on geo of characater, and it is passed in animation export. Works perfectly.
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Hi everyone, I have a question regarding the MetaHuman workflow in Houdini.

I exported a MetaHuman character to DCC and imported it into Houdini using the Metahuman Character Rig node. After that, I used the APEX Autorig Builder and dragged a "leg" component from the catalog to set it up.

The problem is that after updating the builder, the calf_twist_01_r_twist joint is not in its correct position (it seems to be offset or flying away).

Has anyone encountered this issue? How can I fix the placement of these twist joints when using the Autorig Builder? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/103051/ [www.sidefx.com]

Check this post had same issue. Friend fixed it so I don't recall details but check here.
Honestly I gave up on trying to get it properly working. Just went into Unreal...

Turning on face controls and everything slows to crawl.. getting mocap to work with apex... another beast..
But good luck!
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seunghyuk2023
Hi everyone, I have a question regarding the MetaHuman workflow in Houdini.
Have a look at the post at the top, you might be missing the fk_exclude string for metahuman.
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Hi,
I’m trying to get Live Link facial capture from UE5.7 into Houdini 21 using the MetaHuman Face Animation Import node. The animation looks great in UE5 but comes in very weak in Houdini — eyes and blink work, but mouth/smile barely moves. It seems to only be able to do basic talking motions.
My export process in UE5:
• Recorded facial performance via Live Link ingest (done in MetaHuman Performance)
• In MetaHuman Performance, I right-clicked the ControlBoard track and clicked Export Control Rig FBX
• Selected “MetaHuman Controls Mapping” in Control Mapping Presets
The export dialog only shows 13 Control Channel Mappings, which seems way too low. But maybe it's supposed to be like that.
In Houdini: MetaHuman Character Rig SOP loads the DNA correctly, and rig logic works (manually dragging faceboard controls gives full expressions), but the imported FBX animation is very attenuated.
Is 13 Control Channel Mappings correct for the MetaHuman Controls Mapping preset? Is the preset failing to populate properly, or is this a known issue with a specific UE/Houdini version combination?
Thanks
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192lao
Hi,
I’m trying to get Live Link facial capture from UE5.7 into Houdini 21 using the MetaHuman Face Animation Import node. The animation looks great in UE5 but comes in very weak in Houdini — eyes and blink work, but mouth/smile barely moves. It seems to only be able to do basic talking motions.
My export process in UE5:
• Recorded facial performance via Live Link ingest (done in MetaHuman Performance)
• In MetaHuman Performance, I right-clicked the ControlBoard track and clicked Export Control Rig FBX
• Selected “MetaHuman Controls Mapping” in Control Mapping Presets
The export dialog only shows 13 Control Channel Mappings, which seems way too low. But maybe it's supposed to be like that.
In Houdini: MetaHuman Character Rig SOP loads the DNA correctly, and rig logic works (manually dragging faceboard controls gives full expressions), but the imported FBX animation is very attenuated.
Is 13 Control Channel Mappings correct for the MetaHuman Controls Mapping preset? Is the preset failing to populate properly, or is this a known issue with a specific UE/Houdini version combination?
Thanks

Did you bake the sequence first and export the animation sequence? In any case I can't get it to work sadly, I've tried to do it with bone deform as well. Does your metahuman face animation import work at all? I tried this guys work around https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRLO82HAIXc [www.youtube.com] but also cant get it to work, some issues with some bones moving to the root? I think it has to do with live link recording being different from manual animation. There's also the head disconnect issue from the shoulders up which might be an issue if you only want animation data from the shoulders up because it includes the root?
Pieter - Collectiveunconscious3d
https://www.instagram.com/collectiveunconscious3d/ [www.instagram.com]
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