Has anyone tried this and is it very helpful for newbies?

Wonderland

http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio

I know nothing about rigging and although I'm probably not going to make a whole original character from scratch, would this be helpful in general or if let's say, I want to improve an old model like millgirls or, Cookie or an old hair product? Would this be useful to someone not generally good with geeky things to make improvements on items I already own? Or help me in other areas of Daz Studio in general? 

If anyone owns this, are there pros and cons? Thanks.

AnotherUserName

I dont own this particular tutorial but I do have a tutorial (the name escapes me) in which I made a simple gingerbread man. Speaking purely from that one time rigging experience, it seemed to me that it wasnt the rigging that was very difficult, it was the weight mapping that was the challenge. Although im sure that the more complex the rig, the more challenging it gets (obviously, duh).

JOdel

Oh, yeah. Blondie9999's rigging tut. Quite good, but it was written contemporary with DS 4.0 and Genesis 1. Still usable, but not exactly up to date.

Wonderland

This looks newer... Thomas Windar  

JOdel

It is newer. Just came out a couple of months ago. 

Artini

I have bought both of them. Thomas Windar's guide:

http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio

is just the description of the rigging tools included with Daz Studio.

You still need to know how to rig a figure/prop in general and the guide just help you to find the tools in DS.

I have asked him previously to make some kind of how to guide, describing all the steps, but do not know

if he finished it. It suppose to be a free video guide on YouTube.

The other guide http://www.daz3d.com/rigging-original-figures-in-ds4-pro

is more like step by step guide to rigging a Gingerbread figure.

It teaches about grouping a figure mesh, creating the rig, weight mapping, bulge maps

and adding the ghost bones. I do not know about how much things changed in Daz Studio

since the guide was created pretty long time ago, but hope that rigging in general described in it

are still valid for the newest Daz Studio.

Artini

There are some other - video guides about rigging, but I have not watched them, yet.

http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-rigging-with-templates

http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-content-creation-mastery-part-6-rigging-and-morphing-clothing-items

http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-content-creation-mastery-parts-4-and-5-rigging-morphing-props

http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-rigging-made-easy

and one more from Blondie9999:

http://www.daz3d.com/advanced-rigging-in-daz-studio-4-pro

Fossil

This is kinda ridiculous.  That's over 200 bucks for non-professional tutorials which may or may not be complete or comprehensive.  Why would there be so many of them if each one purports to be the definative guide?  My paleoanthropology textbooks aren't that pricey.

AnotherUserName

Fossil said:

This is kinda ridiculous.  That's over 200 bucks for non-professional tutorials which may or may not be complete or comprehensive.  Why would there be so many of them if each one purports to be the definative guide?  My paleoanthropology textbooks aren't that pricey.

Yah, I stear clear of most paid tutorials these days. Ive been stung by to many of them in the past that claimed to be complete guides.

pds

Wonderland said:

http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio

I know nothing about rigging and although I'm probably not going to make a whole original character from scratch, would this be helpful in general or if let's say, I want to improve an old model like millgirls or, Cookie or an old hair product? Would this be useful to someone not generally good with geeky things to make improvements on items I already own? Or help me in other areas of Daz Studio in general? 

If anyone owns this, are there pros and cons? Thanks.

I have both the Comprehensive Guide to Rigging (CGR) and the Rigging Original Figures (ROF) and have found both quite helpful. The shorter ROF is handy as an introduction to the basics of rigging a figure, but the more detailed CGR was enormously helpful in helping me understand how everything works and what each option does. That knowledge enabled me to figure out how to rig a bunch of things that weren't your typical humanoid character. I was hesitant to purchase it initially because it doesn't include specific rigging examples from start to finish, but it does include a very thorough step-by-step process for rigging in general and even how to create what some people call "easy pose" dials. I have a much clearer understanding of rigging after having read through the CGR several times and creating my own practice models using an assortment of primitives in Daz. It's actually a lot of fun, though I have to admit I much prefer rigging rigid figures. I'm still fighting with weight map painting to create smooth believable bends. If you plan to really go deep into rigging, you're going to want the CGR because I haven't found anything else that covers all of the options in such detail like this does. The explanations are clear and concise and often include descriptions of how certain parameters would be used in the context of specific situations. 

Wonderland

pds said:

Wonderland said:

http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio

I know nothing about rigging and although I'm probably not going to make a whole original character from scratch, would this be helpful in general or if let's say, I want to improve an old model like millgirls or, Cookie or an old hair product? Would this be useful to someone not generally good with geeky things to make improvements on items I already own? Or help me in other areas of Daz Studio in general? 

If anyone owns this, are there pros and cons? Thanks.

I have both the Comprehensive Guide to Rigging (CGR) and the Rigging Original Figures (ROF) and have found both quite helpful. The shorter ROF is handy as an introduction to the basics of rigging a figure, but the more detailed CGR was enormously helpful in helping me understand how everything works and what each option does. That knowledge enabled me to figure out how to rig a bunch of things that weren't your typical humanoid character. I was hesitant to purchase it initially because it doesn't include specific rigging examples from start to finish, but it does include a very thorough step-by-step process for rigging in general and even how to create what some people call "easy pose" dials. I have a much clearer understanding of rigging after having read through the CGR several times and creating my own practice models using an assortment of primitives in Daz. It's actually a lot of fun, though I have to admit I much prefer rigging rigid figures. I'm still fighting with weight map painting to create smooth believable bends. If you plan to really go deep into rigging, you're going to want the CGR because I haven't found anything else that covers all of the options in such detail like this does. The explanations are clear and concise and often include descriptions of how certain parameters would be used in the context of specific situations. 

Well, I did end up buying it when it was on sale especially since it's a PDF which I prefer much over video tutorials. I'm mostly interested in learning how to use all the tools that come in Daz Studio, so I know what they actually do and maybe help me fix things, especially older things that I may want to tweak. I don't see myself creating something from scratch and rigging it, but maybe improving bends on some old characters or toons for my own purposes. Mostly I just want to know what all the tools in DS actually do and how to use them, so I'm hoping this will be helpful since there is no official manual. I just hope it's not too over my head. I see everyone talking in the forums about geografting, transfer utility, geometry editor, etc... and I'm hoping I'll finally know what the hell everyone is talking about LOL!

pds

Wonderland said:

pds said:

Wonderland said:

http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio

I know nothing about rigging and although I'm probably not going to make a whole original character from scratch, would this be helpful in general or if let's say, I want to improve an old model like millgirls or, Cookie or an old hair product? Would this be useful to someone not generally good with geeky things to make improvements on items I already own? Or help me in other areas of Daz Studio in general? 

If anyone owns this, are there pros and cons? Thanks.

I have both the Comprehensive Guide to Rigging (CGR) and the Rigging Original Figures (ROF) and have found both quite helpful. The shorter ROF is handy as an introduction to the basics of rigging a figure, but the more detailed CGR was enormously helpful in helping me understand how everything works and what each option does. That knowledge enabled me to figure out how to rig a bunch of things that weren't your typical humanoid character. I was hesitant to purchase it initially because it doesn't include specific rigging examples from start to finish, but it does include a very thorough step-by-step process for rigging in general and even how to create what some people call "easy pose" dials. I have a much clearer understanding of rigging after having read through the CGR several times and creating my own practice models using an assortment of primitives in Daz. It's actually a lot of fun, though I have to admit I much prefer rigging rigid figures. I'm still fighting with weight map painting to create smooth believable bends. If you plan to really go deep into rigging, you're going to want the CGR because I haven't found anything else that covers all of the options in such detail like this does. The explanations are clear and concise and often include descriptions of how certain parameters would be used in the context of specific situations. 

Well, I did end up buying it when it was on sale especially since it's a PDF which I prefer much over video tutorials. I'm mostly interested in learning how to use all the tools that come in Daz Studio, so I know what they actually do and maybe help me fix things, especially older things that I may want to tweak. I don't see myself creating something from scratch and rigging it, but maybe improving bends on some old characters or toons for my own purposes. Mostly I just want to know what all the tools in DS actually do and how to use them, so I'm hoping this will be helpful since there is no official manual. I just hope it's not too over my head. I see everyone talking in the forums about geografting, transfer utility, geometry editor, etc... and I'm hoping I'll finally know what the hell everyone is talking about LOL!

As a result of working my way through the PDF, I've become fairly adept at using the Geometry Editor to create/edit Face Groups and Surface Groups, which in turn allows me to better facilitate rigging and tweaking surfaces for reshading. It's actually not difficult once you get used to the tools. For me, the biggest hurdle is still painting those darn weight maps. It's easy enough to fill in Face Groups you associate with bones, but the feathering of the map to get smooth bends (vs. rigid ones) definitely takes practice. Thomas Windar, the author of the PDF is exploring creation of a segmented reference manual for Daz Studio, and after reading his rigging guide, I'm excited by the prospect of having similarly thorough *written* guides for other aspects of Studio. It's frustrating to see the potential of the software but have insufficient/incomplete reference material to learn to use it fully. Most people on the forums are super helpful if you have specific questions, but forum-searching is no substitute for a complete reference!

Wonderland

pds said:

Wonderland said:

pds said:

Wonderland said:

http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio

I know nothing about rigging and although I'm probably not going to make a whole original character from scratch, would this be helpful in general or if let's say, I want to improve an old model like millgirls or, Cookie or an old hair product? Would this be useful to someone not generally good with geeky things to make improvements on items I already own? Or help me in other areas of Daz Studio in general? 

If anyone owns this, are there pros and cons? Thanks.

I have both the Comprehensive Guide to Rigging (CGR) and the Rigging Original Figures (ROF) and have found both quite helpful. The shorter ROF is handy as an introduction to the basics of rigging a figure, but the more detailed CGR was enormously helpful in helping me understand how everything works and what each option does. That knowledge enabled me to figure out how to rig a bunch of things that weren't your typical humanoid character. I was hesitant to purchase it initially because it doesn't include specific rigging examples from start to finish, but it does include a very thorough step-by-step process for rigging in general and even how to create what some people call "easy pose" dials. I have a much clearer understanding of rigging after having read through the CGR several times and creating my own practice models using an assortment of primitives in Daz. It's actually a lot of fun, though I have to admit I much prefer rigging rigid figures. I'm still fighting with weight map painting to create smooth believable bends. If you plan to really go deep into rigging, you're going to want the CGR because I haven't found anything else that covers all of the options in such detail like this does. The explanations are clear and concise and often include descriptions of how certain parameters would be used in the context of specific situations. 

Well, I did end up buying it when it was on sale especially since it's a PDF which I prefer much over video tutorials. I'm mostly interested in learning how to use all the tools that come in Daz Studio, so I know what they actually do and maybe help me fix things, especially older things that I may want to tweak. I don't see myself creating something from scratch and rigging it, but maybe improving bends on some old characters or toons for my own purposes. Mostly I just want to know what all the tools in DS actually do and how to use them, so I'm hoping this will be helpful since there is no official manual. I just hope it's not too over my head. I see everyone talking in the forums about geografting, transfer utility, geometry editor, etc... and I'm hoping I'll finally know what the hell everyone is talking about LOL!

As a result of working my way through the PDF, I've become fairly adept at using the Geometry Editor to create/edit Face Groups and Surface Groups, which in turn allows me to better facilitate rigging and tweaking surfaces for reshading. It's actually not difficult once you get used to the tools. For me, the biggest hurdle is still painting those darn weight maps. It's easy enough to fill in Face Groups you associate with bones, but the feathering of the map to get smooth bends (vs. rigid ones) definitely takes practice. Thomas Windar, the author of the PDF is exploring creation of a segmented reference manual for Daz Studio, and after reading his rigging guide, I'm excited by the prospect of having similarly thorough *written* guides for other aspects of Studio. It's frustrating to see the potential of the software but have insufficient/incomplete reference material to learn to use it fully. Most people on the forums are super helpful if you have specific questions, but forum-searching is no substitute for a complete reference!

Yes! I keep saying that several PAs should get together, each writing a chapter or two on their specialties, in depth with screenshots, then compile a complete comprehensive thick manual of like 600 pages with EVERY aspect of DS, even the hidden secret stuff, and sell it on Amazon for around $50 and I bet EVERY single DS user would buy it. Daz, for some reason, does not seem interested in letting its users know how to actually use the program...