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Hi Ram,
In order to pan and rotate while in camera you have to lock in the camera view tick. To do that, press "N" on your keyboard. A new colmun should appear in your viewport on the right hand side. In it, you should look for the "View" drop down menu. In it you will see the option to lock the camera view as you pan and rotate.
Like this?
Correct!
OK, one more quickie.... how do I get out of looking directly through the camera?
You can press any of the numpad numbers to get out of it (1-9) and if you want to go back into camera view simply press the 0 on the numpad
You guys are AWESOME. THANKS!
RAMWolff:
My first thought was you were probably wanting to create morph targets for your Dawn top, and you already ran into the first hurddle during import which already gave you reordered vertices (separating MAT zones into individual groups - creating coincident vertices [two vertices occupying exact same space]). Upon import you have already negated proper usage for morph target work. Your exported work upon import (guessing DAZ Studio here) will result in morph target error - "Warning: Geometry did not match, failed to create morph." (DS 4.6)
I'm assuming you are using OBJ (which is default for MT work), so you need to first work out your import/export procedures (including sizing/rotations/translations). I won't give you the end-all/know-all workflow (ask 10 different users, and you will receive 10 different ways), but I will point out important OBJ import/export parameters, and why they need to be activated or deactivated for morph target work to yield correct results:
* IMPORT *
1. Uncheck "NGons" (your completed organic mesh shouldn't contain any ngons anyways - debatable)
2. Uncheck "Lines" (you shouldn't have degenerate separated edges [without facets] in your mesh as well - debatable)
3. Uncheck "Smooth Groups" - if not needed (auto sharp edge creation in Blender from dedicated smooth groups in OBJ file [s1, s2, s3, etc] - usually not needed for MT work)
4. Select "Keep Vert Order" button (tells Blender not to reorder vertices upon import) - this toggle selection negates "Split" parameters (including both "Split by" checkboxes)
5. Check "Poly Groups" (creates vertex groups for every object/polygon group in OBJ file [retains rigging groups such as shldr, neck, chest, abs, etc - but keeping mesh whole as one mesh]. Useful as selection groups for morphing work - not the same as material groups - they will be separately intact)
* The next four import selections should be directed by your workflow. I leave as default, except for "Image Search", which I uncheck, because I don't need texures for morphing work.
- - "Clamp Size" is equal to desired working size based on Blender default world size.
0.00 = 100 % original OBJ file size (whatever scale you set at export from original software)
- - "Forward" denotes left or right coordinate system within OBJ file to translate to Blender system (right Cartesian/ Z up, - Y forward)
- - "Up" (same as Forward - letting Blender know what coordinate system is default in OBJ file to translate from)
- - "Image Search" (checked - Blender will search for image files associated with OBJ file)
* EXPORT *
1. Only check the following boxes (all others unchecked):
- - "Selection Only" - If more than one object in scene (due to the nature that Blender will export everything in scene if working with multiple objects [even when not selected, on different layer, or hidden on different layer]. Make sure to only select the mesh you want exported along with this checkbox)
- - "Keep Vertex Order" (still keeping with not allowing Blender to reorder vertices)
* These are the only two needed (only one needed if only one object in scene) to create a working MT file. The OBJ file will be comprised of vertices and facets. Technically, you can delete the facets in a text editor, and have a true MT point cloud file, but leaving the facets is fine (just adds unnecessary additional file size [small as it is]).
A cavet to the export parameters selection would be if you are using Shape Keys for morph target creation. If so, then you would also need to select:
- - "Apply Modifiers" (this will allow the shape key modifications to be included in the OBJ file) - but make sure to turn off any other stack modifiers that manipulate vertice count (sub-d, etc.)
Hope this helps...
*EDIT: Also, yes, joining/separating meshes changes vertex order and destroys morph target work.
Thanks for the tutorial.
I only imported my completed top. I do all my morph work in ZBrush but what I want to achieve with Blender is a work flow to get new meshes made eventually.
According to your info there IS a way to get the top, though, into Blender after it's been made and not have it split up in all those various layers? Since I use ZBrush for most of my work right now it's happy with the Cinema4D export option as it mirrors ZBrushes internal setup for import export. So not sure if I'm working in Blender if I will absolutely need to change that in any way.
Here is a screen grab of the export dialog. I don't see any mention of Lines or Smooth Groups....
Sorry RAMWolff, I should have clarified, those are the OBJ Import/Export settings for Blender.
I surmise that when you imported your mesh the "Split" toggle button was active, and both "Split by": "Object" and "Group" were checked (Blender default) in the OBJ import module.
WOW... just used your import info. Worked like a charm. Made an import preset to keep my head straight about stuff. Thanks so much. You just made my life allot easier.
Richard
Too much to read in just a few days. So I'll just say my bit:
Blender vs. DAZ Studio
There is no "versus".
Blender can do everything that DAZ, Carrara, Bryce, and Hexagon can do, yes.
But DAZ Studio is a huge time-saver if you use DAZ figures, and I can't model EVERYTHING. Nor should I.
I prefer to use the tool that gets me to the art faster or more effectively. That's different depending on what I need. If I need people, I'll use DAZ figures. If I need props, I might make them or buy them. Depends on how fast I need them or how much/little I want to spend. Sometimes spending money on a model ultimately the more effective way to go. Sometimes manufacturing it myself is more effective.
At least with Blender, I get to decide!
And all I will say is that my success in Blender will depend mostly on ME. Not on the UI. On ME and on the attitude that I decide to carry with me. The fact is, I have the potential to be the biggest asset to myself. I also have the potential to be the worst liability to my own dreams, regardless of the tool. It's my choice. I choose success by being persistent.
That's it; I am off to find something to eat, then I think I'll try to make something in Blender that goes "boing." It could be anything and it doesn't have to be perfect. I just want it to go "boing", because I think that I might learn a new skill in that.
You are welcome, Richard.
Just to note; I used your export settings (sans 1% sizing), and using Blender default OBJ import settings I did get one object per surface/material group.
Then I reimported with my settings, and the mesh is whole, but the vertex groups are the surface names from the DS OBJ export.
If you want your vertex groups in Blender to match your shirt's rigging groups, then change in the DS OBJ export dialog under "Write Groups" and select "Use Existing Groups" instead. You can already select by material groups in Blender as well. The way you are doing it you end up with the same two selection groups (vertex groups = material groups for selections).
Vertex/Material selections in Edit Mode (if not known, or newbies following along).
Hear hear, Subtropic Pixel...
...I cannot afford Modo Zbrush, or C4D unless I win a Lotto. I am totally stymied by Blender's setup as it doesn't speak to the artist in me. I need Daz tro fix Hexagon. which yes, is a "pie in the sky" wish.
It's really a pain as I can viisualise designs, but either don't have the stability, the money, or the mindset (the latter where Blender is concerned) to be able to realise my ideas.
Got back to this a bit late for the responses to my previous post which was mainly about Blender being used as a toolbox for DAZ Studio content. Someone mentioned the comparison with ZBrush and I, too, had a brief experimentation with that (long enough to have the GOZ bridge). I noticed that I could export a figure and her clothing to ZBursh and select the clothing while on the figure. This is possible in Blender but it is not a quick and easy thing to do as each item needs to be exported separately. ZBrush would also let you know which item is selected by using darker and lighter shades of that red-clay colour they like. Blender has a uniform white which makes it difficult to know when poke-thorugh is happening. It wasn't very obvious to me how to set different colours for separate objects.
There are still things I fail to comprehend on a more basic level, though. Like how is it that in Blender Sculpt mode (or ZBrush) you can smooth something but that does not add polygons? I thought smoothing subdivided the polygons but surely that is not allowed either? The main reason I am wary of the modelling tools and use the sculpting is because I think of modelling as adding or deleting polygons while I see sculpting as moving existing polygons around.
Blender does add polygons when sculpting if using dynamic topology, however, smothing etc... can also be accomplished without adding/subtracting any polygons. Sculpting on an object with too few polygons will produce poor results. Sculpting by definition requires a large number of polys and yields a model that is usually not useful for direct use without retopologizing and then using the sculpt for generating normal maps, etc... Having said all of that, the sculpting tools while similar in function (not use) to zBrush are no where near as sophisticated (yet.)
Modeling tools do not need to add/remove polys. a lot of morphs etc are made using proportional editing tool without adding/subtracting any polygons or changing the vert order. Proportional editing is your friend if creating morphs.
Blender also has different colors for selected items. If multiple items are selected, the last one to be selected is the 'active object' and therefore has special properties when doing many commands. It is denoted by a lighter shade then the other selected items.
In summary, your last statement is a misunderstanding. Sculpting and modeling tools both can operate with or without adding/removing polygons (or changing vert order if careful.)
Technically no, you don't have a grouped object. In Blender, a 'group' is a different item altogether. Groups are a way of creating an addressable 'group' for certain specific functions and situations. Explaining what this means gets complex quickly so I'll give you this link to go through as it will hopefully explain it better then I could at the moment.
What you actually have is parented objects.
This might sound nitpicky but it isn't since thinking of these as 'grouped' will often cause problems later when we see a menu item or tutorial related to the actual Blender concept of grouped.
There is an add-on for that (adds an empty and parents all of the selected objects to the empty in one click,) I just don't remember what it's called or have a link handy for it unfortunately.
Thank you for that clarification. And for all the links. I have housefixing and garage decluttering to do today, so no Blender until later. But I will keep coming back to this thread.
And for Kyoto Kid: Okay, you're stuck. Very stuck. When we have financial limitations, as I know you do, then we need to find a way to make the free solution work, if one is available. One is available, so that's what I'm doing. It's the "one more time" equation. I just decided to stop being so self-stubborn and and try Blender "one more time."
But I know that you may not want to make the same choice as I have. So if you cannot or will not do that, then you will need to get creative and find a way to afford one of the non-gratis options. Or do nothing. Those are your options, and each is valid, even if you choose to do nothing. We all have limitations in life. Health, funds, available time, etc.
But I hope you'll try Blender again "one more time" because it's free, reliable, and so robust that truly your imagination is the only limiting factor to what you can do with it. "Low cost" and "reliable" are both factors that you've expressed a desire for. So you could become "unstuck" with Blender without having to pay any money, but it may require a lot of free time and patience with the software and more importantly, patience with yourself.
By the way, if you don't like tutorials, your local library will probably have a "Blender for Dummies" book that you can check out. Some libraries even offer electronic versions of books, which may appeal to you. I did this for a while, but eventually I purchased the current edition because I'm more free-time sensitive than I am cost-sensitive. I buy very few physical books now because I prefer ebooks, but in this case the physical book has been a nice desk reference while I teach myself.
<--- I keep a spare pair of reading glasses with the book.
But ultimately you get to choose. Good luck!
Kyoto Kid: Do you have Carrara? Because at $60 (on sale), it's not as cheap as Blender and others, but MAN the modeling UI is way easier to grok. It still takes some work, but you can go from 'what the heck is this' to actually making something in way less time.
(I have some issues with a lot of Carrara, but it's the only modeler I've encountered that I've found both robust and easy to use)
Wow, this is a long and active thread! Thought I'd add my 2 cents.
I started learning Blender around May. I was also intimidated by the interface and everyone talking about how hard it was. Looking at my choices for low cost modeling programs, basically powerful but expensive or cheap but abandoned, didn't leave me too many options. So I decided to dive into Blender and am glad I did. Here are a couple of things that made it easier for me as a newb, some have been mentioned before:
I had tried modelling in other software but it wasn't until I tried Blender and followed the different tutorials i came across that i actually created anything worthwhile. Between the low cost, the power, the active development and helpful community, Blender makes me very happy.
@falsedelic_90928cfd0b do you have a link for the video tutorials you recommended? Right now I have been watching the Blender for noobs videos which are very good but he goes a little fast for me at the moment cause I keep having to look for the different menus etc that he's showing as I don't know where they are yetand take time to move around in the viewport cause I don't have the recommended 3 button/with wheel mouse. I am learning how to get around a bit tho and where things are and how to select and a few other things. There is definitely alot to learn but so far its fun and this thread has been quite helpful.
A gotcha that can really mess up new people to using Blender with shortcuts is that Blender sets focus on whatever the mouse pointer is currently resting over. This means, if we select an object in the 3D Viewport, then move our pointer so it happens to be resting over another window and try to do a shortcut key combination, it won't work. We may find ourself scratching our heads as to why shortcuts work sometimes and not others. This is a more common problem probably with anyone using a tablet rather then a mouse but can happen to anyone. For instance, if we select an object in the outliner and leave the pointer there and use a shortcut expecting it to effect an object in the 3D Viewport, it won't. We need to move the pointer back over the 3D Viewport after selecting the object in the outliner for Blender to reset it's focus back to the 3D Viewport.
This may at first seem like an unnecessary complication but it's not actually. The reason is that shortcuts in Blender are context sensitive. That is, when the pointer is over the 3D Viewport we may have a key combination that does something in the outliner, like 'rename item' that in the 3D View does something else related to the 3D View, just like we can reuse shortcuts between modes: Object, Edit, Sculpt, etc...
While on the subject, it's handy to remember we have a built in reference for all of the shortcut keys for each window/mode on our system. It's under "File/User Preferences/" on the input tab. Note, I don't bother to use the shortcut key for that as I don't use it often enough to commit it to memory. Eventually I may learn it, but I won't go out of my way to as that menu area is already commited to memory because of it being a standard location (across applications) for 'user preferences.'
In summary, keep an eye on which window the pointer rests on top of before trying to do any shortcuts.
I read a couple of articles about the left vs. right mouse button and the pros and cons of not changing the default. Based on that, it made more logical sense to leave it alone and learn it the way the software was coded. So for me, that was a conscious decision, and so far it has turned out to be a good one. I recommend that EVERYBODY google it and read up on the topic before "giving up" on the RMB-to-select methodology.
Amen, and haleleuja to this! Yes, I increased my entire UI. Can't do this in Carrara without changing it in Windows. For this, I have developed a bit of a grudge against Carrara.
I have this activated on my workstation but not on my laptop. I may have to deactivate it. I like it, but I am left-handed, so my right hand, being normnally positioned over the right side of my keyboard, is not in position to use the number keys to select the pie-menu options. And as you know, the right-hand calcuator numbers function for views. Like I said, I like the pie menu but it won't work for my left-handed brain.
I love spacebar for search, but I kind of wish that "F1" were reserved for that, becasue F1 has been a more consistent standard for "help".
I will review these videos; thank you!
Me too. My lesson plan (I make my own lesson plans when teaching myself something new) allows for up to 3 months of playing with vertices, edges, and faces. I take on new stuff to learn all the time, but I've decided "no texturing" until I master the UI and the manipulation of the mesh topography. Now, if I have a task to do which might require some texturing, then I'll add it to my lesson plan, but right now I'm happy to learn how to model.
I wholeheartedly agree. If the learner is doing 3D full time and has some time to schedule other deliverables, then you have up to 8-10 hours per day to learn Blender. Your learning will be very rapid and you can probably be producing deliverables within just a week or two. But if you're employed outside of visual media production like me, then your "work time" is fairly inflexible. So you'll have to work it during personal time. If you have family or other obligations, then your free time dwindles quickly.
One possible option for me is to take vacation time and personal funds to take daytime courses and learn new skills. I have done this and it has helped my career. But it's not always available to everybody.
I could have written this statement!
There are a number of reasons to learning the Blender standard rmb-select but two of the more important are:
You don't have to select the pie menus using the number keys, in fact it's not the recommended method. Using the pointer in a 'swiping motion' to select the particular menu/submenu is much faster. Some people do exercises where they practice swiping different submenus until they can do it so fast they execute the submenu command before the pie menu is even fully visible. With the pointer over the 3D Viewport and an object selected, try hitting the tab key to bring up the mode menu and swiping towards the different menu items that pop up. Watch the mode change in the header bar at the bottom of the 3D Viewport while doing it to track if you are getting it correctly or not.
Something else to keep in mind about the Pie Menus is that they are fully customizable so we can recreate or add on to them to suite our particular workflow.
One thing to add that blender does. Since some recent updates blender is now a pretty nice texture painter. (I could be wrong but it might be the only free program that paints across seams) it also supports udim.
setting up custom brushes is admittedly a bit of a painpain, but it now has symmetry, and to set up to paint you just stick the texture you want to paint in the material and go to the painting mode
If I get time I might write up a bit of a tutorial on it. But seriously, it is one of the easier things to do in blender.
you can also just paint the flat image, which sounds like it shouldn't be that useful, until I tell you you can set it up to paint across the edge of textures(you brush goes off the right and pops up on the left, which Photoshop still doesn't do.
I'd love a tutorial on how to paint in Blender!
Just do a Google (or YouTube) search, there are plenty out there.
Blender has many hidden jewels, like a very advanced (relative to what's out there now) animation solution with not only the standard timeline but also a dope sheet, graph sheet, nla. It also has a video editor with camera tracking for blending 3D content with real world footage... There's so much there under the covers that part of the trick to learning Blender is to get a basic idea of what the different functions are, what it can do at a mile high view, then 'ignore' the 80% we aren't trying to learn at the moment. ;)
For Kharma
Darrin Lile: https://www.youtube.com/user/DarrinLile/featured
Born CG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdioEctcBLd2nw2aQkl8msw
You'll want to check the earlier vids for basic stuff, they're on to game engines and such now.
@ Subtropic Pixel
As a general rule I won't change key commands and such until I know the program well. It can interfere with understanding tutorials. I figure if I want to go back to right mouse button select it won't be anymore difficult to get used to in the future than it is now. The 3D cursor is still available, it just moves to the right mouse button now.