Rigging a Character for use in DAZ 3 and lower.

Comments

• Richard Haseltine Posts: 109,028

  January 30

  Daz Studio used legacy, parametrc, Poser-style rigging where the mesh behaviour was controlled (within its and its parent's group) by falloff angles, sweepng cones from the joint centre, and spheres setting areas to include/exclude. Figure Setup lets you create the Hierarchy, then the Joint Editor is used to adjust the parameters. 
• DarkShaolin Posts: 11

  February 1

  I understand that, i just can't figure out how to create the groups the mesh will use for the bones.  Or how to properly tweak the falloff and spheres.
• WendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,437

  February 1

  it's probably easier in an old version of Poser if you have one
• Richard Haseltine Posts: 109,028

  February 1

  WendyLuvsCatz said:

  it's probably easier in an old version of Poser if you have one

  Actually people did rig in DS and export to Poser, so I am not sure that is necessarily true. But certainly general tutorials on creating Poser content would be relevant.

  For grouping, a group may touch only its parent group and its children, if any - in the case of things like legs you need at least a strip of hip (or whatever) polygons between the left and right thigh (or whatever) groups. Falloff can bridge only the bone's own group and its parent's, it can't affect groups further up the chain and has 100% effect on its children and their descendants.
• Bejaymac Posts: 1,964

  February 1 edited February 1

  DarkShaolin said:

  I understand that, i just can't figure out how to create the groups the mesh will use for the bones.

  The  Figure Setup Tools for DS2 and DS3 can't group a mesh, you need to do that in modelling program before you bring the mesh into DS.

  Post edited by Bejaymac on February 1
• DarkShaolin Posts: 11

  February 2

  I appreciate all the help.  I will say after a weekend of trying to figure this out on my own (not a good idea!), i feel like im no closer to a solution.  I'm familair with Hexagon and tried to group the polygons.  I thought that by adding domains to each of the body parts they would separate in Figure Setup Tools as groups.  That was wrong!  I do own a copy of Poser 7, but i have never used it. I have seen tutorials showing groups made in Poser. I have been following a old youtube videos by rbtwhiz.  I admit i only broght Poser 7 due to some figures it was bundle with at the time.  I'm not opposed to learning it, my only opposition is adding a another program to my workflow!  Well when in Rome....
• WendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,437

  February 2 edited February 2

  https://youtu.be/kn1Bed1jwHU?si=kQ5Nm9NCOv5OJ2sx maybe

  there is a playlist of tutorials 

  I admit, I have only legacy rigged simple things I made in Carrara with groups

  in D|S 4 and exported as cr2 files which loaded in Poser7 and then resaved them there

  I am no expert and fluff around a lot making mistakes 

  saving something rigged in D|S 4 using weightmapping and converted to legacy rigging as a cr2 may possibly work, they certainly work in Poser7 with a message about being for a later version of Poser, unsure of D|S3 as not tried

  Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on February 2
• DarkShaolin Posts: 11

  February 2

  Hmmmm.....Wendy.  I guess i could attempt to rig in DS4 and then import to Poser/DS3 to see if that works.  I 'm don't know much DS below 3.  You mentioned Carrara, which i believe i may have.  Does items rigged in Carrara work in older version of DS?  The character I want to rig is for a comic book.  I have tossed around the idea of just rigging in another program and then rendering him on a transparent background.  Then photoshopping him in scenes with my older DS3 content.  Only issue is this being a major character and i would be stuck with doing a lot of postwork.  That is my main backup plan.  I did watch the tutorial and it did give me confidence that i could pull this of in Poser.  Of course there is a big difference between watching and doing.
• WendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,437

  February 2 edited February 3

  Carrara rigging is Carrara only, what I exported was obj files with polygon groups

  which is what Richard was saying to do using a modeling program 

  you should be able to actually do this in D|S4 too using the geometry editor to create groups then export an obj

  I am not really the one to help here though as it's not my area of expertise 

  Ii have only done simple things such butterflies and other insects

  a Carrara lobster model and ropes

  and as I said, not DS3, just DS4 to Poser7

  Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on February 3
• Bejaymac Posts: 1,964

  February 2 edited February 3

  Ah!! I thought you were trying to do this in DS3, you can actually do it all in DS4.

  As Wendy points out you can use the Geometry Editor in DS4 to group the mesh, export that as a new OBJ, and then load that into the Figure Setup pane, just make sure to set the rigging type in that pane to Parametric instead of the default TriAx before you load in the grouped mesh.

  Post edited by Bejaymac on February 3
• WendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,437

  February 3

  I just tested something I parametically rigged in D|S4 and saved as a cr2 in D|S3

  while it loaded rigged it didn't have any limits on the joints

  so there's that
• DarkShaolin Posts: 11

  February 3

  Bejaymac, I would prefer to do it all in DS3 but if grouping the mesh works in 4 and i can go bad to 3 i'll take it.  Wendy, with your test the rigging works in DS3 just not the joint limits?  Could i then add those limits by using the figure set up tools?  And even with the limits could i in theory use existing pose products as long as i don't manually go beyond a joint natural limits?  Side Node:  Can i just say how fantastic you guys are with all the help!
• WendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,437

  February 3

  I guess so

  having never used the figure set up in D|S3 I cannot help though