Convert OBJ to Daz3D rigged
xavierator
Posts: 163
in The Commons
Dear,
Which is the best way to convert a fix OBJ character to a full Daz 3D rigged character ?
I tried AccuRIG and to create the bones directly on Daz 3D, but the results are not the expected and/or the enforce is very high.
Is extremly important to create a rigged character from a T-Pose model or it could be have it's own pose ?
Thanks, Xavi
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DS has rigging tools built into it. You will need to set bodypart groups in your obj and then use the figure setup tool to set the hierarchy and then manually set up and adjust the weightmapping. There may be some import tools that wil convert figures rigged in other programs into DS, but I haven't used any.
The figure can be in T pose or A pose, or however you like, but any angled bones will be annoying to set up. This is why T pose is a default in most programs. Symmetrical figures are easier to handle, so I woudlnt siggest taking a posed object and trying to rig it.
DS has rigged things and non rigged things - regardless if they are a person, an animal, a plant or a desk. So the process for rigging things is the same no matter what is being rigged. The only exception is conforming items which need to start with a copy of the rigging/grouping of the figure they will fit on.
LM
In most cases, you probably do not actually want to rig the OBJ, you probably want to create a morph for a Genesis base so that it has compatibility for clothes/poses/etc, which would generally be done by "wrapping" it in an external application.
For example, this version of Serana from the Elder Scrolls series is one where I extracted her head shape and texture tints using modding tools, then converted that to a Genesis 8 Female head morph. (The hair, however is an edit of a very similar store hair).
You would only generally want to rig a new model if for whatever reason the character is far enough from human that it's not practical to morph Genesis for the job.
Used to be called the "Skeleton setup" in DS2 and 3, think it's called the "Figure Setup" now (not at home so can't check), the mesh needs to be "grouped" for it to work right.
You can also load the mesh into DS and use the rigging tools to add bones.
Doesn't matter what you do as it's going to take a lot of work on your part.
Rigging a mechanical prop (where there is no bending of the model, and joints are sliding or rotating) in DS can take a good length of time. Rigging a figure not based on a Genesis base figure is going to take a huge time in DS. Vyusur, now at RenderHub, did it a few times with a human - the unique character Lyra is one I remember. Vyusur's characters had bone names similar to, but not the same as, G8F's and I suspect after she did the first character, using the 'Transfer Utility' tool allowed the rigging to be copied to the next unique character more easily.
Blondie9999 wrote a way of doing it with this tutorial: Rigging Original Figures in DS4 Pro. It is old, and only refers to TriAx weight mapping (Used for Genesis & Genesis 2), but I'm sure you could use the same concepts with General Weight Mapping (used for G3. G8 & G9 may have additional guide curves, not sure). The tutorial shows everything you need to do and how to do it. It can't, and doesn't, make it quick & easy.
I have not rigged a character from scratch, but I have rigged a little jewellery box prop, as shown below with the lid, drawer & catch open from the default position:
In my modeller I created different groups, the body, the lid, the catch and the drawer. These are shown in different colours in my modeller below.
The material zones have different boundaries from the groups and are coloured in my modeller differently, as below:
The yellow is the main material, the blue is the interior, magenta is the goldish catch fitting and the darker magenta is the knob. You need to control both in the obj file imported into DS.
Regards,
Richard
That is a lovely jewelry box.
Following the instructions received from ChatGPT, I tried these actions:
1. Import the OBJ to Daz.
2. Edit → Object → Rigging → Convert Prop to Figure (check only the "General Weight Mapping" parameter).
3. Windows → Panes → Figure Setup.
4. Right click Geometry List → Add Geometry.
5. Create all the bones.
After these job, I couldn't get any suiteable movement from the character.
Effectively, these are a very long job without the expected results.
If you think that is not the way or in whole case, all possibilities to convert an OBJ to Daz rigged are too much longer, I will forget to do this project
My character has a very special face, aspect and clothes, create the pose in Daz using a general character in order to create later the clothes from 0 is very difficult.
Thanks, Xavi
if its bipedal and in a Tpose there are many options that can be FBX imported into D|S
Mixami, Reallusion Actorcore AccuRIG, Blender has some options, are many paid programs too, some using AI and Browser based
I too found Accurig difficult,
Honestly if imported sized and A posed to Genesis 9 the Transfer utility treating it as clothing works pretty well and poses will work on the result
It's available as a freebie, but because of texture sizes, I couldn't upload it to the forum, so it's only at Rendo (https://www.renderosity.com/freestuff/items/91116/jewellery-box-prop-corrected-zip)
That's a start. When you create the bones you must also ensure that the group names are associate with each bone (I'm not at home to look at my 11 point crib list so I can't give you the proper names for what to do, where & when to memorise the points and so on). Then you will need to create the weight maps to apply at each joint to smooth the bend and make the correct facets move.
Yes, it will take much longer to finish compared to how far you have already got.
I really do suggest that you look at that tutorial by Blondie9999 I suggested earlier.
Regards,
Richard
That, at a minimum, is missing "create weight maps for the bones", and depending on the nature of the figure, quite likely also "create corrective bend morphs"
Like we said, it's a large task to rig a model from scratch, and I've only done it for DS pretty rarely. (In most cases, I've done it in Blender and then used various methods to get it across - the recent-ish Blender to Daz tool actually offering a somewhat proper approach is very welcome compared to some of the hacks I've had to previously do).
There are a number of nice tutorials for learning to rig in DS, though they are all older. If you want to do props, there is
https://www.daz3d.com/rigging-vehicles-and-mechs-in-daz-studio
This one has advanced rigging with geografting
https://www.daz3d.com/advanced-rigging-in-daz-studio-4-pro
This one is a whole workflow including simple props and whatever else, based on Hexagon but should be applicable to other software.
https://www.daz3d.com/submerged-inside-hexagon-and-daz-studio--bundle
One for rigging with templates
https://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-rigging-with-templates
and many more. There is the 800# gorilla package, though I never actually got it
https://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-content-creation-mastery-bundle
And, of course, there are free resources on YT, quality varies.
Torquinox's last link goes to an 'Oops' due to a semi-colon or something, it should have been: https://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-content-creation-mastery-bundle
Regards,
Richard
links need their own line or use the forum link icon to avoid this
its actually impossible to go to those appended links on iPad in Safari as I cannot scroll along them to edit out the ; like I can on desktop or select anc copy them without it
the only way is to quote the post, switch to source and select text there then have to browse away and remove the draft post
As others said, rigging a stand-alone figure is a large task even for an exprienced content creator ~~ so wrapping the figure in external software and create morphs on Genesis figures should be always a wise choice.
We don't know how complex OP's character is but if you've already rigged it with AccuRIG and are happy with the result, you can export / import your rigged char. into DS via FBX format, then tweak bone structures / optimize weights / create corrective morphs, etc. rather than rigging it from scratch. This workflow should save you much time ~~
Edit: If you want to re-create a rigged figure, you still can extract the donor skeleton and customize the bones accordingly, then copy the weight maps from FBX figure over to the new char.. etc. That'll also save you lots of time.
Thanks Richard. I fixed it!
I did not know that. I'll keep that in mind for the future and I'll fix the above links when I get a chance. IDK about the forum links.
50% or more of forum users don't know
its the forum software, not the users fault
just pasting should work
Just pasting the link can work, but the important point is not to have a space then a line break after a link. A space and then other text on same line works, a line break just after the link too. But if there's just a space and a line break, the forum software interprets it as "the space is part of the link", which is what generates the wonky links.