formerly male content creation thread

191012141517

Comments

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited September 2017

    Boots with Zipper - Getting Started on Clothes for My G8M Villain

     

    These boots are for a villain character I am creating for G8M.  The boots have a zipper on the side.  Intend to make morphs to zip and unzip the boots. Slowly improving on learning the Studio content file system for custom folders.  

     

    aa49 show boots with zipper now.JPG
    1574 x 961 - 145K
    aa50 boot mesh.JPG
    1189 x 863 - 91K
    Post edited by Diomede on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997

    And here is a morph for wrinkles and folds.  Will also make a morph for the heel.

     

    aa51 wrinkles morph.JPG
    1367 x 991 - 118K
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997

    Progress

    Couple more steps.

    1) Used Baker to convert the procedural shaders and bump maps in my modeler to texture maps. 

    2) Exported obj from modeler at base resolution (no SubD) in order to keep low resolution mesh.

    3) Imported to Studio and made sure the SubD in Studio was enabled.

    4) Used the transfer utility to convert the boots to a conformable figure for G8M. 

    Here are Daz Studio tests of fitting G8M and of applying the villain full body morph to G8M with bent ankle.    

    Now, for general use, need to clean up the weight maps for the heels a little, make a few more wrinkle and fold morphs, and JCMS.

    Also need to make styling morphs to unzip the calf zipper and make a FBM for my villain character.

    aa01 boots test render.jpg
    1766 x 887 - 194K
    aa02 test render.jpg
    1299 x 887 - 172K
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997

    will there be another Its Raining Men this fall?

     

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    Since July 2016, I am the only person who has posted any new material in this thread.  SileneUK posted a thanks, but that is it.  I tried bumping the thread last week, but still no interest at all.

    The thread has useful information from PAs on creating meshes.

    The thread has useful information from PAs on creating clothing morphs.

    The thread has useul informaition from PAs on creating joint control morphs.

    The thread has useful informaiton from PA on creating figure full body morphs.


    Maybe there would be more male content if the people who say they wanted it were encouraging instead of saying that they don't want new people to make any because the early bits will be low uqality and people will say male clothing doesn't sell.  The thread does not say everyone should make their own. The thread says we just need some more people to be encouraged to make male content.

     

    RIP men content, indeed.

     

    EDIT:  Sorry for being snarky.  My bad.

     

     

    Post edited by Diomede on
  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787

    Thank you for bumping this thread Diomede. It seems I read it back in 2015, but wasn't ready to start learning modeling at the time. I have bookmarked this thread and plan to start trying my hand at modeling, although I will probably make more children's clothes than men's clothes.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997

    I got a little frustrated and snarky there.  Sorry.  

    @Zylox, great news.  If you would like to share your journey, or if you would like help along the way, I hope you post.

     

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,270
    Diomede said:

    I got a little frustrated and snarky there.  Sorry.  

    @Zylox, great news.  If you would like to share your journey, or if you would like help along the way, I hope you post.

     

    I may not comment but I watch this thread and have it bookmarked. I'm still new to content creation but would like to learn how to create content for males - so just know that this thread is much appreciated (and I'm sure I'm not the only one to think so). :)

  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787

    I need to dust off my copy of Hexagon and seriously work on learning how to use it. I have several tutorials I can work through in addition to the advice in this thread.

    I understand the frustration when it seems no one is listening.

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    I just needed a good night's sleep.  Thanks for the encouragement, @Divamakeup and @Zylox.  Had one of those (don't hit send) moments of frusration.  blush

    RE: Hexagon - In case anyone is unaware, they are working on making Hexagon more stable and 64 bit.  You can run the current public beta on the same machine as your old copy.  There are lots of free tuts available on youtube, but if you have questions, please ask.  Even people who do their initial modeling in something else may find the Hexagon/Studio bridge very convenient for making certain morphs. 

     

    The Demon on Wheels is ready for the next race.

     

    speed racer.jpg
    840 x 630 - 23K
    Post edited by Diomede on
  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,157

    I've bookmarked this thread because one day I want to be able to create some clothes for my figures. When I get the chance I'll start reading from the beginning, but for now I'll quietly tag along :-)

  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787
    edited July 2018

    I have some video tutorials from YouTube, as well as the Classic Bikini tutorial by Fugazi1968 - https://www.daz3d.com/classic-bikini. Thanks for the offer of help. I am not shy about asking for help if I don't understand something.

    Post edited by Zylox on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997

    Thanks, @Mollytabby.  - There have been some significant advancements in cloth fitting.  For example, DForce can actually be used to assist in modeling folds and drapes.  Smoothing and push modifiers have been improved (or maybe I'm just more familiar with how they can contribute).  Perhaps there should be a quick reboot of the thread rather than have people go back to the beginning.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 17,890
    Diomede said:

    I just needed a good night's sleep.  Thanks for the encouragement, @Divamakeup and @Zylox.  Had one of those (don't hit send) moments of frusration.  blush

    RE: Hexagon - In case anyone is unaware, they are working on making Hexagon more stable and 64 bit.  You can run the current public beta on the same machine as your old copy.  There are lots of free tuts available on youtube, but if you have questions, please ask.  Even people who do their initial modeling in something else may find the Hexagon/Studio bridge very convenient for making certain morphs. 

     

    The Demon on Wheels is ready for the next race.

     

    Wow, Speedy!

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,157
    Diomede said:

    Thanks, @Mollytabby.  - There have been some significant advancements in cloth fitting.  For example, DForce can actually be used to assist in modeling folds and drapes.  Smoothing and push modifiers have been improved (or maybe I'm just more familiar with how they can contribute).  Perhaps there should be a quick reboot of the thread rather than have people go back to the beginning.

    Okay, I’ll read on from here smiley

  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787
    edited July 2018

    I thought I would discuss the tutorials I am working on in order to gain a basic understanding of Hexagon. Hopefully this will help other people who are just starting out like I am.

     

    Two of these tutorials were purchased here at the DAZ store, the rest are free.There are eight Hexagon tutorials in the store, but only three of them actually cover modeling clothes and one of those also covers the basic layout and functions of Hexagon. I have watched a bit of each of the tutorials I will talk about in order to get a feel for them.

    https://www.daz3d.com/hexagon-revisited-create-models-money - Despite it's name, it is actually a bundle of his other four Hexagon tutorials, plus lots of bonus videos, all for less than the combined price of the four tutorials purchased seperately. I have always found Dreamlights tutorials to be easy to understand and informative. This one includes videos on the basic tools in Hexagon as well as videos on the basic workflow, from modelling, to uv mapping and texturing, to packaging for distribution. I am looking forward to working my way through this tutorial and then going back and attempting to recreate the examples/projects.

    https://www.daz3d.com/classic-bikini - This tutorial dives right into creating a bikini for Genesis. Fugazi seems to do a good job explaining how to do each step, as well as why he does it that way.

     

    This is a YouTube watchlist of twelve videos by Guerrilla CG on the basic concepts of modelling. While not Hexagon specific, I highly recommend it.

     

    This is another YouTube watchlist. These videos by CGDreams Tutorials are a detailed introduction to the layout and tools in Hexagon.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/user/xSilentlySpoken/videos - xSilentlySpoken has four Hexagon tutorials from a Poser users perspective. One is an introduction to the basics of Hexagon, while the other three are a tutorial on how to make a dress. They seem a little more advanced or less beginner friendly, so I suggest watching this last.

     

    My plan is to work on these a little at a time, so that they have a chance to sink in, rather than watching them all at once and getting confused. I have watched the Guerrilla CG and CGDreams quick start videos a couple of years ago when I first found them, but I really need a refresher on them. I also watched the first module in Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited today, and it helped me to understand things I had seen on other tutorials but not underastood well. Over the next 10 days I plan on using the following schedule:

    Day 1 - Watch the Guerrilla CG videos followed by the first five CGDreams quick start videos.

    Day 2 - Watch the first module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited followed by the next five CGDreams quick start videos.

    Day 3 - Watch the second module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited followed by the next four CGDreams quick start videos.

    Day 4 - Watch the third module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited. This module has a lot more videos than the others, so I won't watch anything else this day.

    Day 5 - Watch the fourth module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited followed by the next four CGDreams quick start videos. I will actually get into how to model clothes!

    Day 6 - Watch the fifth module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited followed by the next four CGDreams quick start videos.

    Day 7 - Watch the sixth module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited followed by the last four CGDreams quick start videos.

    Day 8 - Watch the final module of Dreamlight's Hexagon Revisited, then rewatch all of the CGDreams quick start videos.

    Day 9 - Watch Fugazi's Classic Bikini tutorial.

    Day 10 - Watch the tutorials by xSilentlySpoken.

    After that, I plan to work on the projects in the Dreamlight tutorial, then the other two clothing tutorials. At that point I will go through this thread and see what else I can pick up. I will eventually want to learn more about shaders, both 3DL and Iray, as well as how to make clothing dForce compatible. It may be awhile before I produce anything I want to give away, lol.

     

    One final note. DAZ does have a PDF manual, tutorial pdfs, and training videos. However, they are for Hexagon 2.1 and when I glanced at them I was unimpressed. I will eventually read or watch them, but I suspect the most useful tutorials will be the ones I have listed. http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/hexagon/start

    Post edited by Zylox on
  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,157

    Thank you @Zylox, this is really useful. I’ve wishlisted the first two and I’ll take a look at the YouTube lists. I’ve installed both Hexagon and Blender on my Mac but haven’t a clue about how to use either product,lol.

  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787

    Blender makes my head hurt, lol. Having said that, it is very powerful, free, and there are a lot of tutorials available for it. Something about Hexagon just clicks with me, so I am going to see how far I can take it. From what I have read, I should be able to do all the types of modeling I want to with it. It is also very nice that DAZ is working on developing Hexagon again. The most important thing seems to be finding a program that works for you.

     

    It is possible that I may need to look into getting a different program for uv mapping and texturing. From what I have read in the forums, Hexagon will handle the basics, but other programs will allow a lot more options.

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,157

    Daz Studio made my head hurt at first! After 9 months I’m a lot more comfortable using it. I suspect the timeframe might be similar for me with Blender or Hexagon.

    I bought Esha’s texturing tutorial bundle in a recent sale. I view it as a skills investment and so far (l’ve watched three of the videos) I’ve learnt a lot. I looked at it as being the cost of X number of outfits and that in the long term I’d recoup the cost. At least I hope so! (X being a changeable number. In my case the outfits I like tend to be in higher price brackets, lol.)

    https://www.daz3d.com/the-complete-guide-to-texturing-clothing-bundle

  • ZyloxZylox Posts: 787

    I saw that tutorial, as well as https://www.daz3d.com/the-complete-guide-to-creating-iray-shaders. I have them on my wishlist, but I am not sure if I will pick them up. If I just share stuff I make for myself, I won't need to know how to make Iray shaders. On the other hand, if I do well enough to consider selling products, I will absolutely need to know about Iray shaders. I guess I will see how good I have gotten in a couple of months before I decide.

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,157

    So much to learn and not enough hours in the day smiley

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    @Zylox - that is a great plan!  Wow, there is always a lot to earn, but it is very satisfying.

    Here are some free Hexagon links that may be helpful.  In this comment, KnittingMommy points to some Jen Greenles free tutoials on modeling clothes in Hexagon.
    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/938838/#Comment_938838

    Jen also has a free tutorial on creating material zones, which is very useful as part of clothing intending to use DForce.  Currently, material zones are a convenient way to anchor DForce clothing to a character.  For example, if you create a material zone for the underside of the knot of a tie, the tie can be anchored to the front of the neck and still be allowed to swing freely over the chest.

    https://youtu.be/A-3CzQktxoA

     

    Good news

    It is even easier now to get started than when Jen made those tutorials.  You don't have to make her mannequin.  Instead, the Hexagon / Daz Studio bridge is very helpful.  Here is how I use it.  First I prepare the base model in Studio and then I send across the bridge to Hexagon.  Preparation includes making sure that the figure is at base resolution, no smoothing, and deleting extraneous geometry like the Genesis 8 Male eyelashes.  I will attach some screenshots.

     

     

    Then use FILE : SEND TO HEXAGON and the modeling app opens with G8M ready to go.  You can then get started modeling around G8M like Jen does in her tutorials linked by KnittingMommy.

    In case my Hexagon screen looks different from yours, note that I have Hexagon in 3-camera layout.  Find the camera layout on bottom.  Set to what you like.  I selected the Genesis 8 Male on the right side menu and confirmed that smoothing was set to 0.  

     

    I now have Jen's "mannequin" as a reference ready to go.  If you ever model something skin tight and are concerned about smoothing, you can always temporarily increase smooting to 1.  I recommend leaving smoothing at 0 and dealing with that level of detail later.

     

     

     

    bb02b jpg delete the eyelashes wont need those.jpg
    1900 x 1034 - 398K
    bb03b select g8m go parameters tab set resolution level to base and subd to zero both spots.jpg
    1756 x 1043 - 449K
    bb04b in hexagon.jpg
    1909 x 1043 - 485K
    Post edited by Diomede on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    Here are some posts in the thread that may be helpful.

    j cade on box modeling - https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/939565/#Comment_939565

    IceDragonArt found this free Hexagon tutorial for making a dress - https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/939745/#Comment_939745

    I have a series of posts starting here introducing some basics of modeling.  Starts in Hexagon and switches to Carrara for visibility of screenshots. But these points are the same in almost any software. https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/941914/#Comment_941914

     

    Post edited by Diomede on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    And full disclosure - you will find that creating the model mesh is the relatively easy part.  Other hurdles include weightmapping and joint control morphs for movement, and additional morphs for styling and to more closely support specific body shapes.  Have informaion in the thread on those steps as well.

    Post edited by Diomede on
  • GiGi_7GiGi_7 Posts: 1,343

    Do you work with dforce or only autofit? 

    Diomede said:

    And full disclosure - you will find that creating the model mesh is the relatively easy part.  Other hurdles include weightmapping and joint control morphs for movement, and additional morphs for styling and to more closely support specific body shapes.  Have informaion in the thread on those steps as well.

     

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997

    I am throwing together a quick screenshot tutorial on creating a crappy but effective DForce cape right now.  I am using the Hexagon bridge.  Will post shortly.

    By "crappy," I just mean that I'm not going to worry about things like edge flow, thickness of edges, convenience of the UVMap, and that sort of thing.

  • SylvanSylvan Posts: 2,681

    Yeah, bones en weightmapping can be very tedious. Thanks Diomede, will be very helpful!

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    OK, so here is a very quick and ugly cape for G8M.  I will just post a few important steps here, but I have saved many of the intermediate steps.  I will post them when I get a chance to edit them with explanatory text and arrows to buttons.

    - Load G8M in Studio, delete the eyelashes, and change mesh resolution to Base with no smoothing.  These steps are shown above.

    - Using the primitives menu at the top of Hexagon, I inserted a cylinder by clicking on the floor once to start, dragging to set the diameter, clicking again to set, and then dragging to set height, and clicking again to finish. (Note - depending on the tool, sometimes you have to use Validate to finish a step in Hexagon)

    - I then used the selection tools and the translate tools to move the cylinder up to G8M's neck.

    - I deleted some of the front faces so just a couple of rows around the neck remained.  I pulled the back of the cylinder away from the back of G8M.

    - I used the edge tools in the vertex modeling menu at the top to adjust the fit of the cape to the shoulders.

    - I used the extrude tools to extend the cape further down the G8M back.

    - I applied one level of smoothing to the cape and checked to make sure the cape emained ouside the mesh of G8M.

    - I clicked the little lightning bolt in the dynamic geometry window to convert the smoothed cape to a more dense geometry.

    - I UVmapped the cape by selecting the vertical lines at the front of the collar and creating a seam.  The cape unfolded easily.  I didn't worry about making the UVMap vertical.

    - I sent the cape back to Studio using FILE : SEND TO

    - I selected the cape in Studio and used the simulation menu to assign a DForce to the cape.

    - In the simulation setting pane, I changed the duration method to the timeline.

    - I advanced the timeline to 15.

    - I chose an action pose for G8M and applied it.

    - I returned to frame one, selected the cape, and clicked SIMULATE in the simulation pane.

    Here are the results for frame 15 and the end.  See that the cape flies out from the figure during the action leading up to frame 15, but then drapes to rest as there is no movement after frame 15.

    ** This is neither the only nor best way to create a mesh in Hexagon. It is neither the only nor best way to use DForce on an object or figure. Just a quick illustration. There is a whole fantastic thread on DForce.  **

     

    bb05 03 use shift plus several times to select whole cylinder.JPG
    1901 x 1031 - 194K
    bb06 raise cylinder to neck.JPG
    1898 x 1035 - 196K
    bb15 pulled selection with arrows to side.JPG
    1864 x 1032 - 223K
    bb26 iclicked the head icon and screen divied two left side object and right side uvmap.JPG
    1888 x 1036 - 180K
    bb30 used select all.JPG
    1880 x 1037 - 201K
    bb35 send to Daz Studio.JPG
    1899 x 1036 - 210K
    bb41 in simulation settings chage to use timeline.JPG
    1900 x 1025 - 259K
    bb47 DForce at rest.JPG
    1917 x 1018 - 266K
    bb48 dforce at 15 see ape fly.JPG
    1549 x 950 - 209K
    Post edited by Diomede on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 14,997
    edited July 2018

    You can have much more control with objects, figures, and DForce. This was just a quick illustration of how convenient Hexagon can be with the Studio bridge. Other useful issues include

    - assigning shader domains to your mesh so that DForce can be applied differently to different groups. 

    - tansforming your model to a conforming figure by using the transfer utlity.  If different shader domains, then can have part of the object conform to the figure while other parts drape with DForce.  For example, if the cape had been a conforming figure, and if I had created a shader domain called anchor at the front of the neck, the anchor would have moved with the figure (conformed) while the rest of the cape would have draped.  The controls for this are in the surfaces menu for a DForce object.  The key is that different surfaces of the same object can have different simulation settings applied.

     

    Post edited by Diomede on
  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    edited July 2018

    Gobs of Hexagon tutorials at Geek At Play Studios. Don't think I can link because they sell their tutorials but you can also just stream them.

    Also a bunch here: you will have to scroll thru the MD and ZBrush tutorials to get to the Hexagon tutorials, but there's quite a few of them ;).

    Laurie

    Post edited by AllenArt on
Sign In or Register to comment.