Need some help with Reallusion
TY3DArt
Posts: 154
I purchased IClone 6.1 pro because I had seen some of the videos and thought this would be a tool I could use for animation. They advertise it in a way that looks pretty amazing. However, after purchasing IClone, I soon realized I needed Iclone exchange pro or pipeline, plus the Daz extension. To get high end quality I would also need to purchase Indigo their rendering software. So, I was pretty taken by all the expense I would have to fork over. So I am hoping someone here is using IClone and all the software I mentioned. To give me some feedback of how well it may or may not work. I would be very interested in knowing some informaiton on work flow. Their (Iclone) videos and tutorials make it look simple enough to get started. One of the main issues I found also, is that I went on IClone's forums to ask some basic questions (much like what is on here). I pretty much got long answers that said a bunch of nothing and made me feel as they could care less. They also mentioned that IClone really does not work good with DAZ and they don't recommend it. So I am confused.
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Comments
I don't know why they told you Daz stuff doesn't work with iClone - i use Daz models .
And yes you will need all the iClone add ons you posted .
Pipeline is not needed if you are not going to move models and animation to other software -
Move info here -
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/33730/the-path-to-iclone/p1
Hi
at a minimum you will need both Iclone and the 3dxchange pipeline application if you plan to retarget your iclone animation to other figures. as far as those people saying it does not work with daz figures please ignore the ignorant.
I am using the 3Dxchange tool to retarget Iclon motions to figures as old as the Daz millenium man Mike2. for my current animated feature film project
Mind you if you are not really into making complex character animations then Iclone is not a program you will find very useful.
IClone 6.1
If you are bringing over content from Daz3d, 3dsmaz, sketchup, lightwave, etc... into Iclone you will need 3dxchange Pro or pipeline version.
The Pro version will export content from Icline 6, but only as OBJ files.
If want a full export form IClone you will need the pipeline version.
You will also a decimator tool. I prefer the Daz Decimator.
If you plan to do animations and that is the strong suit for Clone, you will not want the poly rich content from Iclone or other static image products like Daz or poser.
You will need to lower poly counts into IClone. The Indigo tool in IClone is basically for the same type of static images of Daz and Poser.
I use Sony Vegas for final renders, not indigo. I do internet video and the internet doesn't really do justice to high quality video productions.
I bought the indigo package from Reallusion in a bundle when I bought IClone 6, but I will probably never use it.
Too many frames in video productions. If I do 25 fps video... I have to do 25 renders per second of video.
I guess it wouldn't matter, if I put my video on another computer and just let it smoke.
Don't be confused about the rendering. If you are doing video for blue ray, you might want to go the high quality rendering route.
When I first bought Iclone, I felt a bit dismayed by how little I seemed to get. That was version 4 which I bought just in time to get Version 5 free. There wasn't much doubt at that time about the final quality of renders and animation to be expected from the software. I would compare it to the cut-scenes from older games or the Sims2.
Nevertheless, the program gave me a lot of enjoyment. I bought 3dXchange Pro and was able to bring in animated objects I created in Carrara. Then Genesis was able to be brought in - that was a great feature, to animate Genesis very easily. I bought some simple physics-enabled clothing that vendors created and a number of motion packages. My use of Iclone was to bring in DAZ or Sketchup buildings and Genesis and create little animated clips for fun using the particle effects, water, trees, etc. that came with Iclone.
I had no hesitation in buying Iclone6 and think the program has developed for the better in many ways. Unfortunately, I think that the impression has been given that Iclone is now a kind of animated DAZ Studio. In fact, it still largely has the feel of games cut-scenes. Trees, for example, are nowhere near as realistic as would be found in a program like Vue. But, if I need a woodland scene, I can make one very quickly in Iclone using the trees that come with the package or the other vegetation packs sold separately. If I have DAZ or other assets, I can also place them in my scenes (3dXchange is needed).
As animation software, Iclone is great for story-telling and in the right hands (a phrase I've used several times elsewhere!) it can produce excellent results. In animation, the action is the main focus of the viewer and DAZ-render quality isn't really needed to tell a story. But I fully understand that many want to tell a story in the best, most realistic, quality possible.
Iclone is due to have a new character creation tool delivered in coming weeks and is likely to have excellent motion-capture possibilities available later on. The motion capture will come at an extra cost, probably for a plug-in and certainly for third-party hardware. The character creator will allow users to create more types of clothing themselves for their characters within the tool itself (combined with the user's art package of choice for texture creation, I think).
I didn't buy the Indigo RT plugin - I think excellent (or sufficiently good) results are possible with the Iclone renderer, lights, etc.
I only bought 3dXchange Pro. I have no need for Pipeline but, for those who do, I agree that it becomes expensive.
My advice is to buy 3dXchange Pro and some animation collections. Gradually buy any other packs that appeal (toon packs, medieval collections or Sci-fi, or toon monsters) and have a go at making some fun clips. Or just use the native figures and/or Genesis.
Most people in the Reallusion Forums are helpful and considerate but sometimes questions do go unanswered. One or two individuals are forever arguing and it gets nasty on occasion. Its a bit like going into a bar and a few guys are rolling around on the floor fighting while everyone else steps over them. No-one has ever offended me there and I've received help any time I asked.
I hope you come to feel that you got your money's worth.
For the average person, not in this for commercial purposes, I would not recommend Reallusion's software circa late 2017. The Good; it works well for specific purposes as long as you stay in a paricular program. For example, Crazy talk is great if you plan on using just CT to create video of a character speaking. This goes for iClone and Character Creator and so on. If this is all you plan to do then you can get in for reasonable price. However plan to spend more than the sticker price because there is very little content included. The Bad; The current pricing scheme requires a lot of capital outlay to work between programs in the Reallusion's family of software and a whole lot more capital if you wish to export items. For example Crazy Talk has 3 versions Standard, Pro and Pipeline priced at 49, 99 and 199. So great I can buy the 199 version and be able to export bvh etc to any thing else... well no. You need iClone of the appropriate version. Priced at 199, 398 or 698. So for the average person enjoying Daz, I sugest just staying away from the money pit of Reallusion Software.
what program should we use to do animation then ?