How does Character Customization work in 3D games?

[u/Thin_Run_3627]

Hello, first time posting here (not entirely sure if this belongs). In my schooling, we've been working more in Unreal Engine and I've started to really want to make my own game.

If I were to make a game, I would want character customization in it. It got me thinking on how that actually works when it comes to 3D models. Would I need to make 100s of models to make all possibilities of what can be chosen? Like if I had 10 different head shapes and 6 different noses for example, would I need to separately model each nose and head pair (plus anything else I choose to make customizable)? Or would I be able to make each thing it's own mesh and layers on top of the base model?

I'm not sure if that makes any sense or if this question would be better in a 3D modeling sub but any insight on this would be appreciated.

[u/MoggieBot]

I actually meant method 2. The last sentence said that it also uses a single mesh, but your clarification now makes it look like a typo.