Digital Human: AI-Powered Character Creation

I architected a web-based "Lite" version of Unity’s professional character tools, designed specifically for non-technical creators. By leveraging six editable foundational models, users can generate unique high-fidelity characters in minutes. Combined with Muse Animate, this ecosystem bridges the gap between complex technical rigging and instant creative output, reducing production timelines from days to minutes.

1. Create characters in seconds

2. Refine with the edit and sculpt tools

3. Morph: Blend up to 3 models to create consistency between siblings or families

Technical Ensemble and R&D

As the lead, I collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of ML researchers, rendering programmers, and artists to synthesize several workstreams into a single UX:

• ML Integration: Auto-cloth fitting and hair grooming research.

• Rendering: Advanced hair rendering and topology blending.

• Portability: Seamless retargeting for cross-platform compatibility.

Information Architechture

User Journey 

Vision

Empowering every creator, regardless of technical skill, to design high-fidelity, production-ready digital humans in minutes. By leveraging Unity’s cutting-edge ML research, we transformed complex character creation into an intuitive, cloud-based configurator.

Strategic Challenge

Character creation is traditionally a high-barrier task requiring expert knowledge in topology, rigging, and cloth simulation.

Problem: Creators (hobbyists and pros alike) often lack the time, budget, or 3D technical skills to build high-quality avatars from scratch.

Goal: Build an "end-to-end" solution that democratizes high-end character design through a cloud-based web app.

Design Philosophy: UI as a Ghost

  To maximize creative focus, I led a "content-first" UI strategy that minimizes cognitive load:
 

1. Clear Affordances
   
   The UX was built with clear affordances and a logical flow, making the transition from "non-expert" to "creator" seamless and rapid.
    
2. Semi-Transparent, Non-Intrusive Interface:
   
   I designed a light, semi-transparent UI layer that floats over the workspace. This maintains a sense of depth and keeps the creator’s focus entirely on the Digital Human, not the menus.
    
3. Contextual UI Logic:
   
   To prevent dashboard clutter, the interface is purely contextual. Controls only surface when an asset is selected, ensuring that the right tools are available only when needed.
    
4. Draggable & Adaptive UI

   To prevent UI clutter, I implemented a draggable interface system. This ensures that controls never overlap the model, allowing users to customize and view their creation from any angle without obstruction.

5. Maximizing Creative Real Estate:
   
   By architecting a minimized, adaptive interface, we reclaimed 30% of the screen real estate typically lost to cluttered panels in traditional DCC (Digital Content Creation) tools. This design choice shifts the focus from "managing menus" to "creating content," and fosters deeper creative immersion.
   
   

    

    

Core Design Principles

Unlocking Creativity
Empower non-experts; no 3D skills required to start.

Best-in-Class Quality
Providing pro-level assets for games, movies, and advertising.

Rapid Iteration
From blank canvas to unique 3D character in minutes.
 

Future-Proofing
Assets are extensible and fully compatible with Unity’s ecosystem.
 

Impact

The Digital Human Lite configurator successfully bridged the gap between high-level ML research and user-centric product design. It serves as a foundational component of the Unity Muse ecosystem, accelerating character design workflows for creators across gaming, architecture, and social media.

Watch The Heretic - Character made with the Digital Human Pro package.