Ziva Face Trainer

PREP

Start with your favorite 3D tool
‍

Create a face mesh, follow our instructions to prepare your mesh for training, and export it as a FBX file.

UPLOAD

Kick off the Ziva Face Trainer pipeline through our app

Upload your prepared mesh (FBX files only) to the Ziva Face Trainer app on any desktop browser and, in 15 minutes, you'll have a preview of what your trained Ziva Face will look like.

PREVIEW

Preview your render
‍

Use frame-by-frame controls to preview your trained Ziva Face before committing to a training session.

TRAIN

One click and Face Trainer does the rest
‍

Face Trainer uses industry-leading machine learning to rapidly rig your face mesh to produce VFX-quality facial deformations.

PLAY

Download and play with your Ziva Face
‍

Download your Ziva Face as a lightweight (30MB at runtime) ZRT file and integrate it into your pipeline with our Unity, Maya, and Unreal ZivaRT Player plugins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ziva Face Trainer

How much does Ziva Face Trainer cost?

Each training session to create a Ziva Face costs $1,800 USD; however, previews are always free. Make changes to your face mesh and re-upload for another preview as many times as you’d like before committing to a training session. Since a Ziva Face is stored in a ZRT file, a lightweight file format with a low memory footprint (files are between 5-50MB), you’ll need to download the ZivaRT Player plugin to deploy and play with your Ziva Face. The ZivaRT Player plugin for Unity is free.

What's required to use Ziva Face Trainer?

You'll need to register for a free Ziva account to use the Ziva Face Trainer web app which runs on any desktop browser. The app also stores your previews and Ziva Faces.

Use any 3D Software, such as Maya, Houdini, Blender, or 3ds Max, to create a face mesh of polygons that can be converted into an FBX file. Follow the instructions to prepare the face mesh, and then upload the FBX file to Face Trainer.

Training your face mesh outputs a Ziva Face stored in a ZRT file containing all the information required to deform your character’s mesh. To run the ZRT file and play with your Ziva Face, you'll need to download the ZivaRT Player plugin for Unity, Maya, or Unreal Engine. Note: The ZivaRT Player plugins currently do not support MacOS.

Which 3D file formats does Ziva Face Trainer support?

Face Trainer requires prepared face meshes to be uploaded as FBX files.

Can I use my own topology on the Ziva Face Trainer?

We are working on enabling users to use Ziva Face Trainer while maintaining their own topology, however this is not available at the moment.

What happens if I don’t like the preview of my Ziva Face?

You don't have to commit to a training session. Previews are always free so you can make changes to your face mesh and re-upload for another preview. Every preview takes about 15 minutes to process and you'll receive an email notification once it's ready to view.

How can I deploy and play with my trained Ziva Face?

Training your face mesh outputs a Ziva Face stored in a ZRT file containing all the information required to deform your character’s mesh. To run the ZRT file, download the free ZivaRT Player plugin for Unity (supporting versions 2021.3 and newer). This allows you to deploy and see your deformations in a game-engine environment. There are also ZivaRT Player plugins for Maya (supporting 2019, 2020, and 2022 versions) and Unreal Engine (supporting 4.26 and 4.27 versions).

Note: The ZivaRT Player plugins currently do not support MacOS.

Does Ziva Face Trainer support performance capture software?

We are working on improving our performance capture support. Currently, users are able to capture and record facial animation using the Live Link Face app, import the performances as CSV files into Maya, and export as FBX files for Unity and Unreal. Please follow the instructions provided in this document, How to Use your ZFT Face.

Note: You can only use the Live Link Face app on an iOS mobile device (iPhone or iPad) that supports ARKit. Your device must have a TrueDepth camera, which is available on these models:

iPhone X or newer
iPad Pro (3rd generation) or newer

ZIVART PLAYER PLUGINS

How much do the ZivaRT Player plugins cost?

The Unity ZivaRT Player plugin is free and each training session also comes with a 30-day complimentary Maya license for the Maya ZivaRT Player plugin.

We also have 1-year complimentary licenses for the Maya ZivaRT Player and the Unreal ZivaRT Player. Add them anytime from the Ziva Dynamics Store to test them out in Maya and Unreal.

Additional usage of either the Maya or Unreal ZivaRT Players requires a subscription of $200 USD / year each. Visit the Ziva Dynamics Store for details.

Which versions of Unity, Maya, and Unreal Engine are supported by the ZivaRT plugins?

Unity ZivaRT Player plugin is supported by Unity 2021.3 and newer.
Maya ZivaRT Player plugin is supported by Maya 2019, 2020, and 2022.
Unreal Engine ZivaRT Player plugin is supported by Unreal Engine 4.26 and 4.27.

Note: ZivaRT Player plugins currently do not support MacOS.

Where can I get the ZivaRT Player plugins?

Once your training session is complete, access your Ziva Face in the app’s Library tab where you’ll also find links to each of the ZivaRT Player plugins. Alternatively, you can find each plugin in the Ziva Dynamics Store.

Ziva Face Trainer

Automated

Real-Time

Quality

PREP

UPLOAD

PREVIEW

Train

PLAY

PREP

UPLOAD

PREVIEW

TRAIN

PLAY

FROM MESH TO
RIGGED TO REAL-TIME

POWERFUL DATA, MEANINGFUL RESULTS

ROBUST FACIAL CONTROLS

The Ziva FACE TRAINER Technology Suite:

Everything you need to get your Ziva Face into your pipelines.