ZenBlink

UnrealEngine Setup (v2.2.3 – v2.2.4)

Important :

ZenBlink is a standalone product and is animation blueprint based. In order for it to function correctly, it changes your Metahumans default Face animation PostProcess blueprint at runtime. This can create conflicts with other components attached to your Metahuman such as ZenDyn, that also set their own facial animation PostProcess Blueprint. It is advised to use ZenBlink independently from these other products, as integration requires skills and experience that are beyond the scope of these setup instructions.

Setup Instructions

  • Prepare the Project:
    • Add a MetaHuman to your scene.
    • Add a Cine Camera to the scene.
  • Enable the Plugin:
    • Go to Edit > Plugins.
    • Search for ZenBlink and enable it.
    • Restart Unreal Engine to activate the plugin.
  • Access ZenBlink Content:
    • Enable Engine Content and Plugin Content in the Content Browser settings.
    • Search for ‘ZenBlink’ in the Content Browser to view all plugin-related content.
  • Option 1: Add ZenBlink World Actor:
    • Drag the included Example BP_ZenBlink blueprint into the scene. ( The blueprint is located in the plugin Content folder, you may need to enable “show plugin content’ in the content browser)
    • Zero out its transform.
    • Alternatively, use Quick Add to add the blueprint by typing and searching for ‘ZenBlink.’
  • Option 2: Add ZenBlink Actor Component:
    • Select your Metahuman Actor in the Outliner
    • In the Details Panel click the “Add” button
    • Search for “ZenBlink” to attach the included Actor Component.

ZenBlink Defaults

ZenBlink default properties

Metahuman

Metahuman: Assign the Metahuman actor that will be animated in the scene.

CameraFocus

Auto Focus: Turn camera autofocus on or off.

Camera Focus Target: Actor that the camera should focus on. Must be a blank actor.

Auto Focus Adjustment: Adjust the focus point manually with a 3D vector.

Target Following

Target To Follow: The actor that the system should follow during animation.

Live Link

Use Face Head: Enable LiveLink face tracking integration.

Face Subject: Subject (eg: iPhone)

This section is removed for UnrealEngine 5.5 and above in ZenBlink version 2.2.4+.

Please Use Live Link settings and properties included with your Metahuman Actor.

Blinks

Auto Blink: Enable or disable procedural blinking behaviour.

Emotion

Emotion: Set the facial emotion pose of the character.

Emotion Blend Speed: Speed of transitioning between emotions (in seconds).

Movement Mode

Movement Type: Determines how the eyes and head move (e.g., random, targeted, etc.).

Head

Use Head Movement: Enables procedural head motion during animation.

Head Movement Strength: Controls the intensity of head movement (0–1).

Head Movement Blend: Blends between existing and ZenBlink movement (0–1).

Head Movement Random Speed: Speed at which the head moves when using random motion (1–10).

Head Movement Interpolation Speed: Smoothing speed for head movement (0–50).

Use Baked Head Movement: Use baked animation curves for head motion.

Face

Face Animation: Toggle facial animation system on or off.

Face Emotion Strength: Controls the emotional intensity in facial expressions (0–1).

Face Animation Blend: Blend between default slot and ZenBlink animation system (0–1).

Eyes

Micro Saccadic Enable: Enable small, realistic eye jitter for realism.

Micro Saccadic Speed: Speed of left-right and up-down micro saccadic motion (0–10).

Micro Saccadic Strength: Strength of micro saccadic movement (0–50).

Eye Movement Interpolation Speed: Speed of eye rotation smoothing (0–50).

Eye Aim Adjustment: Manual offset adjustment to tweak where the eyes focus.

Global

Custom Emotion Map: Data asset for defining custom emotion-to-blink mappings.

ZenBlink Strength: Master strength value controlling all ZenBlink procedural effects (0–1).

Use ZenBlink PostProcess: *Enable/Disable ZenBlink’s custom post-processing (UE 5.5+ only).

*Warning: Advance Usage Only – ZenBlink requires this post process in v2.2.4+

Debug: Enable advanced debug logging for the animation instance.

ZenBlink Internals (Advanced)

Is Updating: Internal flag used during runtime updates.

Body Mesh Name: Name used to identify the body mesh (default: “Body”).

Face Mesh Name: Name used to identify the face mesh (default: “Face”).

Is Setup Completed: Internal setup flag indicating whether initialization is done.

Metahuman Animation Blueprint: Pointer to the Metahuman animation blueprint class.

ZenBlink Animation BP: ZenBlink-specific animation blueprint used for procedural behavior.

Internal Face Anim Class: Internal reference to the face animation class.

Focus Target 1: First bone name used for eye targeting (e.g., FACIAL_L_Pupil).

Focus Target 2: Second bone name used for eye targeting (e.g., FACIAL_R_Pupil).

Current Actor: Runtime reference to the actor currently being controlled.

Face Mesh: Reference to the face mesh component (skeletal mesh).

Body Mesh: Reference to the body mesh component (skeletal mesh).

Blink Params: Advanced blink parameters for animation tuning.

Settings BP: ZenBlink system settings defined in Blueprint.

LookAt Settings BP: Look-at control settings for eye targeting.

ZenBlink Post Process BP: Animation blueprint class for post-process animation.

Zen Interface Class: Interface used by ZenBlink to communicate with external systems.

Using ZenBlink Features:

  • Simulate ZenBlink:
    • Hit simulate to observe automatic blinking, eye movement, pupil constriction, and head movement.
    • Example: Set the emotion to ‘Childish’ for faster movements.
    • Be aware that due to limitations of UnrealEngine, the actor component version of ZenBlink can not have default properties changed from the details panel during P.I.E.
  • Auto Focus with Camera:
    • Open your Cine Camera settings.
    • In Focus Settings, Enable Tracking and assign the ‘FocusForCamera’ actor or the actor you created.
    • Adjust “Auto Focus Adjustment” for precise results.
  • Use ZenBlink with Sequencer:
    • Create a Level Sequence (e.g., ‘ZenBlinkSequence’) and set frames (e.g., 500).
    • Add your camera and ZenBlink World Actor (or ZenBlink Actor Component ) to the sequence.
    • Keyframe properties such as Emotion, Eye Movement Type, and Weight.
    • Add movement to the camera and simulate to make the MetaHuman track the camera with its eyes and head.
  • Combine with Existing Animations:
    • ZenBlink integrates with face and body animations.
    • Note: Enabling Use Head Movement may override head animations in your sequence.
  • Record ZenBlink Animations:
    • Use the record button in Sequencer or Take Recorder to capture ZenBlink animations.
    • Locate the recorded animation in the Content Browser and adjust its properties as needed.