Tutorial — Obtaining Initial Head DNA

Augmented Traveler local tutorial. Back to Maya — Tutorials · next: Tutorial — Expression Editor Fundamentals

How to get the starting head DNA file for a historical figure. You load this file into MetaHuman for Maya's Expression Editor. Every later likeness edit starts from it.

Draft. Written from Epic's MetaHuman 5.8 documentation. Validate on the first figure (Maria Mitchell) and correct menu names here.

1. Why the starting DNA matters

• What DNA is. A MetaHuman head DNA file holds the head's meshes for every LOD, the joints, the skin weights and all the expression data that RigLogic uses.
• The Expression Editor calibrates DNA; it does not create it. You start from a DNA file and refine it.
• Start as close to the target as possible. Epic's guidance is that a poor starting likeness always gives poorer results. Push the likeness as far as you can before Maya.
• Our figures cannot be scanned. For them the starting DNA always comes from a sculpt through Mesh to MetaHuman, not from a scan.

2. Requirements

• Engine and plugin: Unreal Engine 5.8 with the MetaHuman plugin; MetaHuman for Maya installed (MetaHuman for Maya — Considerations lists the supported Maya versions).
• A fully rigged character. It must be assembled in Unreal 5.6 or later through the DCC Export pipeline.
• These will not work: joints-only rigs, body DNA files, and characters made in the web version of Creator.
• A clean likeness sculpt that passes the export checklist in ZBrush — Sculpting for MetaHuman. See Tutorial — Starting a Head and Base Body in ZBrush to build one.

3. The route for a historical figure

ZBrush likeness sculpt
  → Mesh to MetaHuman (auto-rig in MetaHuman Services)
  → MetaHuman Creator (refine; Global Delta)
  → Assemble with DCC Export
  → head .dna  →  Maya Expression Editor

Step 1 — Mesh to MetaHuman

1. Import the sculpt into Unreal. Use OBJ if it has more than about 200,000 vertices, and turn on Combine Meshes.
2. Create the character and solve the neutral from the custom mesh (Mesh to MetaHuman — Considerations).
3. Auto-rig it. The MetaHuman Services back end fits the features to your volume. It then builds a rigged head as close to that volume as it can.
4. The leftover difference between the rig and your sculpt is kept as delta data.

Step 2 — MetaHuman Creator

1. Open the character in Creator and go to Head → Conform controls.
2. Global Delta blends between the pure rig fit and your original sculpt. Raise it to bring back features the fit smoothed away. Check that expressions still hold.
3. Finish the skin, eyes and teeth. Leave hair and clothing for later; they don't affect the head DNA.
4. If the likeness is still wrong, go back to ZBrush, re-sculpt and resubmit. Don't try to fix a large likeness miss in Maya. The Expression Editor is for refinement.

Step 3 — Assemble and export

1. Assemble the character with the DCC Export pipeline. The output folder contains the head DNA, the body and textures, ready for Character Assembler in Maya.
2. To export DNA by itself: in the Content Browser, right-click the MetaHuman DNA asset → Export DNA → choose a folder.
3. Coordinate system (5.8). A DNA file from Creator with no user edits exports in Left, Up, Front, whatever the display says. To export in another system, change the asset's settings, click Apply, then export.

Step 4 — Load it in Maya

1. In Maya, run Character Assembler on the DCC Export folder.
2. Open Expression Editor → Home pane → click the folder icon next to the path field → select the head .dna → Open.
3. The DNA now sits in memory for this session. Continue with Tutorial — Expression Editor Fundamentals.

4. File hygiene

Name files AT_<Figure>_<Age>_head_v###.dna, for example AT_Mitchell_29_head_v001.dna.

• Keep v001 (the untouched export) forever. It is the fallback if calibration goes wrong.
• The Expression Editor can also export a DNA file for Unreal. That file is not compatible with the Expression Editor or Creator, so keep the editable DNA next to it. Suffix the Unreal version _ue.
• Record each file in the likeness log: the source images used, the Global Delta value, and who signed off (character artist and historian).

5. Check before moving on

• The likeness was reviewed with the historian at this stage, not only after Maya
• Eyes open with visible sclera; lips sealed; no hair volume in the fit
• Expressions tested in Creator (smile, brow raise, jaw open) and nothing breaks
• DNA exported and loaded in the Expression Editor without errors
• v001 archived in source control

Sources

• Epic, Obtaining an Initial MetaHuman Head DNA: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/metahuman/obtaining-an-initial-metahuman-head-dna
• Epic, Expression Editor (requirements): https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/metahuman/expression-editor
• Epic, Working with DNA on a Customized MetaHuman in Unreal Engine (5.8): https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/metahuman/working-with-dna-on-a-customized-metahuman-in-unreal-engine?lang=en-US
• Full list: Sources — 2026-09-19

Related: MetaHuman for Maya — Considerations · Mesh to MetaHuman — Considerations · MetaHuman Creator — Considerations