Landscape Fun, post 1

Some ways I use an image editor and Carrara to make a landscape with a stream.  I believe there is a plugin that makes roads and streams in landscapes.  Instead, I am using a method to combine two landscape models, one with the stream and the other without it.  The one with the stream elevates all the land but the stream a few feet creating the channel for the stream.  The second landscape without the stream is the water. Optionally, a third landscape without the stream can be the bed of the stream.

This is the WIP for which these maps contributed.

Heightmaps of distant mountains.

I use an image editor to make rough heightmaps for the landscape. For generic landscapes, I don't worry if it is too exact because I am going to blur it anyway.  I also use Carrara's landscape filters to add some detail like erosion or roughness or a plateau or a small fractal generator.  For this image, I wanted a few distant mountains.  In an image editor, I started with a square tile and drew in some elevation lines for hills and mountains.  I saved both the base and the blurred version to import into Carrara's terrain modeler even though in this case I only used the blur for the distant mountains.

Here is a landscape modeler view of importing one of the blurred image maps into Carrara's landscape modeler after deleting the default mountain.  Pretty dull.

environment tab background 

import image

or assemble png layers in a photo editor 

Was the figure at base resolution with nothing else in the scene (or using export selected in the options dialogue) before you sent it to Blender? Using the Dev Load version of the figure can avoid pitfalls. And did you make sure that you used only tools that change the shape in Blender, nothing that adds or removes geometry, and that you had the option to preserve vertex order active on import and export?

PixelSploiting said:

I think it's going to be a while before there's anything like UNB for G9.

On one hand mesh structure like this makes sculpting far easier, on the other hand older generations have specific geometry loop placement for areas like limb joints and midriff. So G9 is much easier to work with for PAs, but G8 works better out of the box with less modifications for the end user.

This is what I was thinking of, but never had the right terminology; but yes, it will be somewhat difficult with making my loops for the joints and the like before I even think of morphing in any anatomical elements such as the knees/elbows and loins, that is why I have so much respect for modellers and sculptors, I was hoping to import UNBM morphs over and re-ERC them myself, but it looks like I'll not only have to re-build the specific G8.1 geometry loops but match them exactly to G8.1 I'll wager...

So, it will be better to build my own, despite being a novice with geometry loop placement. :P But I will remain patient as we're looking at a year or so before the UNBMs arrive!

I can see one problem with G9 that may or may not affect interactive license sales and that is how it decimates for things like animation or games. Because G9 doesn't have specific limb joint loops and relies more on the mesh density in this regard, decimating it might end with having to rebuild joint topology because now it has too few loops and the arm bends like a plastic straw.

'Ole noodle knees 9 should have spent more time in the oven so to speak, imagine the guesswork involved with having to build geo-loops with the resulting decimated character with only a smattering of polygons to work with, so the alternative for the interactive license carrier will be forced to buy a 3rd-party solution on top of the Daz original license I'll wager.

There also has to be parity between Daz's first-party characters as simply creating UNBMs for a single character such as Victoria is easy enough, but to have those morphs uniformly transfer between G9 and V9 is going to be another challenge *unless the Daz originals provide parity between themselves, otherwise, they would have to sculpt for two different character types as they did for G 8.1 and V 8.1 as the last UNBMs had parity between the two!

*I don't have V9 so I don't know.

The good thing is that most 3rd-party characters are usually based on either G9 or V9 so that is covered along with having the male included, I imagine only slight adjustments between the two genders as the geo-loops themselves will remain consistent between the two, at least that's my theory!

I just put the bundle in my cart .

I use DAZStudio for many years but never really investigate  HDR and how to use it in DAZStudio correctly  links for some basic tips would be apppreciate

Do you have an  user manual with the jpeg images you put in attachement?

I am interested to using it because i can now draw panorama with Ndvidia Canvas (free app) and saving it in exr format

i have posted a message about it in the common forum

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/625266/now-draw-panorama-with-ndvidia-canvas-1-4-and-import-in-dazsudio#latest

Have you installed the Starter Essentials for those earlier generations? They shouldn't show up in your Smart Content/Content Library if you haven't, but it's possible that you still have metadata from a previous library pointing to geometry that's not installed.

this is atuttorial about  it but  is outdate  and the linnk program dont work,

https://learnmmd.com/http:/learnmmd.com/import-daz-models/

loading it via environnemnt

nomad-ads_8ecd56922e said:

For a different approach.... is there a guide somewhere on painting one's own dFormer shift patterns?  As in, COULD one paint the appropriate colors (different shades of red for different levels of indentation) externally in a paint program, then import that texture and insert it into the dFormer interface pane, or can  those derformer patterns only be created within the dFormer control pane thingy?

You can paint a weight map for a dFormer inside Daz. Instructions here (also in my sig): https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/5646111/#Comment_5646111

@rugeyohe Yes you also have to import the figure custom morphs, that will import the custom jcms as well. Otherwise you only import the standard jcms for the base figure, that may work fine enough but the deformations will not be the same as daz. Otherwise you can use a corrective smooth if you don't care to have the exact same deformations as daz.

Well, when a product is too mangled to deal with as-is, I repackage it how I want (see Content Package Assist), fix up the metadata to match and install the new package with DIM (use a new part, like IM000xxxxx-02_ProductName.zip, so you can access it anytime, online or offline, with no interference from the official package). Everything is in place, and Smart Content (if I choose to use it) is intact. I can uninstall, or re-install as I please. If, by chance, an update corrects the mis-aligned folders, great, but I would not hold my breath.

For a different approach.... is there a guide somewhere on painting one's own dFormer shift patterns?  As in, COULD one paint the appropriate colors (different shades of red for different levels of indentation) externally in a paint program, then import that texture and insert it into the dFormer interface pane, or can  those derformer patterns only be created within the dFormer control pane thingy?

Has anyone had any issues importing Alembic to MD lately?  I keep getting crashes in MD during alembic loading, but can't really figure out systematically why that is.  (MD was also crashing when i tried to import a basic OBJ yesterday from Blender, so really seems to be on MD end...)

I upgraded Sagan to v3, and that seemed to help a bit.  However, a new project was causing crashing again.  The alembic files load fine in Blender, so definitely seems to be something weird about how MD reads files. (Converting from Alembic to Alembic in blender also seemed to allow it to load in MD).

For posterity, I noticed that in this particular case im troubleshooting right now, when I had the watch parented directly on the characters Forearm bone, the alembic would crash MD when loading. But when i kept the watch in the scene, but unparented, then the Alembic loaded into MD fine.

It's time to learn Blender. This kind of this is fun to do with proportional editing. You can import the changes back to DS as a morph and even animate it as the character interacts with the soft object.

Yeah using @Krys Kryngle method works a bit. I mean using smooth corrective modifeier.

@Padone Also I don't understand what u mean with using jcms? I mean how to use it? I just select import jcms in import settings but should I do something extra? Because knees and elbows looks fine when I import jcms. Do I need to do something extra? I also used smooth corrective with jcms imported figure. Like I said it looks okay. But if there is more advance and good way rather than smooth corrective I can give a try. I also pose my figures and animate them by self so I don't import poses from daz. But I would like to import some poses if its possible with mhx rig. Because I have tried that but didn't worked. But when I save figure in daz with pose and import it it works. It just doesn't work in blender daz diffoe menu if you have mhx rig. So idk.

How to export from Hexagon as Wavefront OBJ and import to Howler.

@Richard Haseltine

Richard,

I bought the Romantic Gentleman Outfit dForce Clothing for Genesis 8 and 8.1 Males (SKU 87103; https://www.daz3d.com/romantic-gentleman-outfit-dforce-clothing-for-genesis-8-and-81-males) yesterday and installed it today with DIM.  The pieces of the outfit load fine but I cannot load all of the Iray materials.  I can apply the materials for the boots and pants with no problem, but I cannot apply four of the five materials for the shirt, four of the five materials for the waistcoat nor the materials for the coat.  When I try to apply the offending materials, I get the same error – “Error opening file – An error occurred while reading the files, see the log file for more details.”

For example, I opened a new file, loaded the coat (RG Coat.duf) and then tried to apply the Purpur material (Purpur Coat.duf) to it.  The action failed; below is the info in the Help file.

Do you know if there are unresolved issues in the product.  The product page states that the product is compatible with DS 4.21.  Should I submit a ticket?  Thanks.

2023-03-15 20:37:24.176 [INFO] :: *** Scene Cleared ***

2023-03-15 20:37:43.359 [INFO] :: Prepare asset load (open): /People/Genesis 8 Male/Clothing/Romantic Gentleman/RG Coat.duf

2023-03-15 20:37:43.359 [INFO] :: Locking viewport redraw...

2023-03-15 20:37:43.365 [INFO] :: Viewport redraw locked.

2023-03-15 20:37:43.449 [INFO] :: Native format content directories: 4

2023-03-15 20:37:43.449 [INFO] :: Poser format content directories: 3

2023-03-15 20:37:43.449 [INFO] :: Other import format content directories: 1

2023-03-15 20:37:43.449 [INFO] :: Begin asset load (open): /People/Genesis 8 Male/Clothing/Romantic Gentleman/RG Coat.duf

2023-03-15 20:37:43.549 [INFO] :: *** Scene Cleared ***

2023-03-15 20:37:43.549 [INFO] :: Determining missing assets...

2023-03-15 20:37:43.829 [INFO] :: Setting textures...

2023-03-15 20:37:43.830 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(5665): Node parent not found.

2023-03-15 20:37:43.897 [INFO] :: Scanning for addons...

2023-03-15 20:37:43.957 [INFO] :: Creating node geometry...

2023-03-15 20:37:43.977 [INFO] :: Creating UV sets...

2023-03-15 20:37:43.977 [INFO] :: Creating materials...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.207 [INFO] :: Resolving legacy figures...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.207 [INFO] :: Preparing modifiers...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.208 [INFO] :: Creating modifiers...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.479 [INFO] :: Applying animations...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.479 [INFO] :: Finalizing modifiers...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.479 [INFO] :: Finalizing simulation providers...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.479 [INFO] :: Sorting property groups...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.480 [INFO] :: Setting up follow targets...

2023-03-15 20:37:44.480 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(2149): Failed to follow node.

2023-03-15 20:37:45.052 [INFO] :: Finished asset load (open): 0m 1.603s - /People/Genesis 8 Male/Clothing/Romantic Gentleman/RG Coat.duf

2023-03-15 20:37:45.231 [INFO] :: Unlocking viewport redraw...

2023-03-15 20:37:45.231 [INFO] :: Viewport redraw unlocked.

2023-03-15 20:37:46.059 [INFO] :: Loaded image: AKRGcoatinner1.jpg

2023-03-15 20:37:46.309 [INFO] :: Loaded image: AKRGcoatinnerTRS.jpg

2023-03-15 20:37:55.388 [INFO] :: Prepare asset load (merge): /People/Genesis 8 Male/Clothing/Romantic Gentleman/Materials/Iray/RG Purpur Coat.duf

2023-03-15 20:37:55.388 [INFO] :: Locking viewport redraw...

2023-03-15 20:37:55.388 [INFO] :: Viewport redraw locked.

2023-03-15 20:37:55.504 [INFO] :: Native format content directories: 4

2023-03-15 20:37:55.504 [INFO] :: Poser format content directories: 3

2023-03-15 20:37:55.504 [INFO] :: Other import format content directories: 1

2023-03-15 20:37:55.504 [INFO] :: Begin asset load (merge): /People/Genesis 8 Male/Clothing/Romantic Gentleman/Materials/Iray/RG Purpur Coat.duf

2023-03-15 20:37:55.663 [INFO] :: Determining missing assets...

2023-03-15 20:37:56.412 [WARNING] :: Invalid hierarchy for selected node(s) and "preset_hierarchical_material" type; no root(s) found.

2023-03-15 20:37:56.412 [INFO] :: Error loading asset: H:/My DAZ 3D Library - Passport/people/genesis 8 male/clothing/romantic gentleman/materials/iray/rg purpur coat.duf

2023-03-15 20:37:56.412 [INFO] ::   Operation failed

2023-03-15 20:37:56.517 [INFO] :: Unlocking viewport redraw...

2023-03-15 20:37:56.517 [INFO] :: Viewport redraw unlocked.

I sometimes use DAZ vehicles for animation shorts, however now when i try to import them to unreal via the bridge it fails.

2023-03-15 04:49:36.951 [INFO] :: Exporting File...
2023-03-15 04:49:36.952 [INFO] :: Loaded morph deltas: 0m 0.0s - /data/auto_adapted/Hankster_TVR_273801/Morphs/WindowDown_WINLHDR_WindowDown_162.dsf
2023-03-15 04:49:36.952 [INFO] :: Loaded morph deltas: 0m 0.0s - /data/auto_adapted/Hankster_TVR_273801/Morphs/WindowDown_WINRHDR_WindowDown_162.dsf
2023-03-15 04:50:18.392 [INFO] :: Error occurred while exporting file. See the log file for details.
2023-03-15 04:50:18.392 [INFO] :: Error exporting file: C Exception: Memory Access Violation - Attempted to read memory at address 0x043b4030
2023-03-15 04:50:18.392 [INFO] :: File exported in: 0.41 sec (41440.8 ms)
2023-03-15 04:50:18.393 [INFO] :: Failed to export: C:\Users\13093\Documents\DazToUnreal\PredatorCar\PredatorCar.fbx
2023-03-15 04:50:18.393 [INFO] ::     Unhandled exception during operation

This is the error that the log throws.

Any help would be appreciated!

I have been trying to import a DAZ3d pose onto Blender using the Diffeomorphic plugin but whenever I try to import the pose from DAZ onto Blender it gives me the error as shown in the screenshot.

I have tried mentioning every possible root directory in the advanced settings tabs in the blender plugin, but nothing works.

If anyone has a solution then please share and thanks in advance!

Hi there !

I'm facing an issue I can't fix.

When I finish my animation with a character, including clothes, I export in as a fbx animation to import it in C4D.
The thing, is when I import it, the clothes don't follow the animation, neither the model (Exemple attached)
Can someone help me on this ?
I precise that I have never been able to instal the DAZtoC4D bridge in C4D. Despite many installations, it never appeared on C4D.
Thanks a milion for your help !