Discover how the Unreal inheritance system makes MetaHumans playable, taught by an Unreal Authorized Instructor (Gold).
Course Note: Updated April 2026 to Unreal Engine 5.7 with new Metahumans, new Third Person Template, and the Retargeting Ops Stack
What you’ll learn
- Make a MetaHuman fully playable in Unreal Engine 5.7+.
- Understand Unreal Engine’s character architecture.
- Customize animation retargeting in real-time.
- Debug, refine, and optimize character setups.
Course Content
- Introduction –> 1 lecture • 4min.
- MODULE 1: Where and Who — Understanding Character Spawn in Unreal Engine –> 5 lectures • 38min.
- MODULE 2: Inheritance and Composition in Unreal Engine –> 4 lectures • 16min.
- MODULE 3: Parent Class & Player Controller –> 5 lectures • 22min.
- MODULE 4: Animation Blueprints and State Machines –> 4 lectures • 12min.
- MODULE 5: Understanding and Setting Up Retargeting –> 8 lectures • 1hr 27min.
- MODULE 6: Retargeting Quality and Advanced Techniques –> 1 lecture • 10min.
- MODULE 7: Character Movement Component & Conclusion –> 1 lecture • 4min.
Requirements
Course Note: Updated April 2026 to Unreal Engine 5.7 with new Metahumans, new Third Person Template, and the Retargeting Ops Stack
Most tutorials on making a Metahuman playable using the Third Person template teach you how to do it by following a list of steps. This course teaches you what those steps actually do, and why that matters.
As a Gold-tier Unreal Authorized Instructor, an Unreal Animation Fellow, and a generalist focused on all things Unreal Engine, including Virtual Production, Game Design, and Cinematics, I understand just how fast Unreal Engine is developing and changing. Understanding how the engine ticks (pun intended!) is key to your ability to thrive using Unreal Engine and problem solve when things don’t work as expected.
In this focused, 3+ hour course, you’ll gain an architectural understanding of how Unreal Engine spawns and controls characters, including Metahumans, and deep dive into the third person template. Instead of overwhelming you with features, we go deep into core principles like:
- Inheritance and Composition
- Game Mode and Default Pawn Class
- Blueprint Class Hierarchies
- Live Animation Retargeting
- Character Movement Components
You’ll learn to bring in a Metahuman and make them playable using the Third Person template — not by blindly replacing meshes, but by understanding the underlying systems used by the Third Person template. You are encouraged to break things and find your way back again, asking WHY — that is the way.
Whether you’re working in indie games, virtual production, or animation, these are the kind of Unreal Engine fundamentals that will unlock both your curiosity and your capability.
By the end, you’ll be confident not just in using Metahumans — but in using the Third Person template for your own projects.