Hi everyone,
Today I want to share a showcase featuring hip-hop artist and 3D animator Ali Tomineek, who built a fully populated music video scene in just seven days. The whole run goes from CC5 hero character work through iClone 8 facial and body mocap, into a Content Store scene, ActorCore crowds, and back into Blender via Blender Auto Setup. I think it’s a great look at how a solo artist can compress weeks of production into a workable week-long schedule.
Who’s behind this?
Ali Tomineek is an artist and 3D creator born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, who describes himself first and foremost as a Hip Hop artist rather than just a rapper, with everything he does rooted in Hip Hop culture. He has been creating music and videos for over 15 years, and his journey into 3D animation began around six or seven years ago. Like many self-taught artists, he learned Blender through YouTube tutorials, online articles, and community forums. In 2021 he started posting viral celebrity animations featuring his signature animated character, Lil’ Ali, which reached over 100 million views and opened doors to collaborations with brands like BET, ESPN, Hulu, and NBC.
What’s the workflow about?
- Sculpt the hero character likeness using CC5 Proportion Editor and morph sliders
- Round-trip the character into Blender via Blender Auto Setup
- Capture facial performance and lip sync with AccuFACE in iClone 8
- Drive full-body animation through Video Mocap from plain phone footage
- Build the urban street scene with assets from the Reallusion Content Store
- Populate the world with crowds via ActorCore crowd simulation, then light and render
Take a look at the full case study here, well worth the read: https://magazine.reallusion.com/2026/06/05/character-creator-to-iclone-animation-workflow-how-ali-tomineek-built-a-hip-hop-music-video-scene-in-a-7-day-challenge/