Create two modular, game-ready characters from scratch for Unreal Engine 5 MMO

I am looking for an experienced 3D character artist and technical animator to create two original, game-ready human characters from scratch for an Unreal Engine 5 multiplayer MMO.

The attached images are visual references for the intended style, proportions, clothing system and equipment. They are concept references rather than finished production models.

The project requires:

One male base character.

One female base character.

Both characters must be created from scratch.

Neutral base bodies suitable for interchangeable clothing.

A modular clothing and equipment system.

A shared UE5-compatible skeleton.

Complete rigging, skinning, LODs and locomotion animations.

Character design

The male and female characters should be realistic, practical science-fiction expedition personnel, matching the overall visual direction in the attached reference images.

The base characters must work without permanent clothing being merged into the body.

Please create separate modular components such as:

Base body

Head

Hair

Torso clothing

Jackets or coats

Arms or sleeves

Gloves

Trousers

Boots

Belts and pouches

Backpack

Helmet

Shoulder equipment

Optional role-specific accessories

Clothing and equipment must be swappable at runtime in Unreal Engine.

The modular pieces must align correctly without visible gaps. Hidden body geometry should be removable or maskable to prevent clipping under clothing.

Role variants

The system should support different visual roles based on the same male and female foundations:

Scientist

Technician

Explorer

Security

The initial delivery does not necessarily require every complete role outfit. However, the underlying modular system must be designed so these variants can be added later without rebuilding the characters.

Please specify exactly which clothing and equipment modules are included in your bid.

Technical requirements

Designed for Unreal Engine 5.

Suitable for a multiplayer MMO.

Both characters must use exactly the same skeleton hierarchy and bone names.

Preferably compatible with the UE5 Manny/Quinn skeleton and animations.

Correct Unreal scale and orientation.

Clean topology suitable for deformation and animation.

Approximately 50,000–100,000 triangles for the complete LOD0 character, unless another budget is agreed upon.

Efficient material-slot count.

PBR workflow.

Clean UV layouts.

Correct skin weights and natural deformation.

Twist bones and IK bones where appropriate.

Separate modular Skeletal Mesh parts must work with Unreal’s Leader Pose or Copy Pose workflow.

Physics Asset compatibility.

LOD0, LOD1, LOD2 and LOD3 for the body and major equipment.

No permanent mesh intersections or serious clothing clipping.

Models must work correctly from both close third-person and normal gameplay camera distances.

Textures and materials

Please provide complete PBR textures:

Base Color

Normal

Roughness

Metallic where required

Ambient Occlusion

Masks where useful for material customization

The clothing system should support color variation through material parameters where practical.

Please state the planned texture resolutions and number of material slots.

Required in-place animations

The initial animation set must include:

Idle

Walk forward

Walk backward

Strafe left

Strafe right

Run forward

Run backward

Run/strafe left

Run/strafe right

Jump start

Falling loop

Landing

Turn left in place

Turn right in place

Locomotion animations must be delivered in place. Root-motion versions may be included additionally but must not replace the in-place versions.

The animations must work on both characters using the shared skeleton and a shared Unreal Animation Blueprint.

Unreal Engine delivery

The preferred final delivery is a working Unreal Engine 5 test project containing:

Male modular character

Female modular character

Shared skeleton

Physics Assets

All modular clothing and equipment

Materials and textures

Animation sequences

Blend Spaces

Animation Blueprint

A demonstration map

Working runtime switching of clothing/equipment pieces

Third-person movement demonstration

Also provide:

FBX files

Editable source files, preferably Blender .blend

High-resolution source meshes if used

Substance Painter files or equivalent texture source files

Clear import and setup documentation

Quality checks before approval

Before final approval, I require a video recorded inside Unreal Engine 5 showing:

Male and female characters using the same skeleton and Animation Blueprint

Idle, walking, running, strafing, jumping, falling and landing

Front, side and rear views

Shoulder, elbow, hand, hip and knee deformation

Clothing deformation during movement

Runtime switching of modular clothing or equipment

LOD transitions

Character statistics, including triangle counts, material slots and texture resolutions

Rights and originality

The delivered work must be original or use properly licensed components disclosed in advance.

I require full commercial rights to use, modify and distribute the delivered characters, rigs, animations, clothing, equipment and textures as part of the game.

No copyrighted third-party characters, unlicensed marketplace assets or AI-generated production meshes may be included without written disclosure and licensing approval.

When applying, please include:

Relevant examples of realistic UE5 character work

Examples of modular character systems

Examples of rigging and animation work

Software and workflow you plan to use

Exact deliverables included in your price

Fixed-price quote

Estimated delivery time

Proposed milestones

Number of revision rounds included