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V4 & M4 Genesis characters in Carrara

JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
edited December 1969 in Carrara Discussion

So I've finally got Carrara 8.5 now, and I'm wondering what I'll need to do to put together some Genesis characters that use my favorite V4 M4 characters shapes/faces/textures.

I'm assuming for this to happen I need:

Latest version of Daz Studio Pro
Genesis Gen X
Corrected V4 UV for Genesis
V4 and M4 Shapes for Genesis

Plus what I got in Carrara 8.5 already.

Is there anything I'm missing? And what exactly would the process be? I'm thinking I'll need to build my V4 or M4 Genesis character in Studio and then somehow import it into Carrara?

Jeebus, I think Studio is the worst thing ever. :( I just opened it and I have no idea how to use it to do what I want. Actually have no idea how to use it period. If there is a way to do this without using Studio, I would be a very happy person...

Comments

  • araneldonaraneldon Posts: 712
    edited December 1969

    You need GenX to convert V4 or M4 characters, no way around it. It's not that hard, I'm sure the GenX thread has step-by-step instructions.

    GenX conversions are basically the same as any other Genesis morphs, you'll find them... somewhere, in their own category IIRC. I've never used them in Carrara, but they should show up.

  • DZ_jaredDZ_jared Posts: 1,316
    edited December 1969

    Any .dsf morph files that exist in the proper structure in the data folder will show up in the Parameters Pane in Carrara. I've never used GenX, but from what I understand it does place the morphs in the proper location, so it should work.

    Here is more information on how to access Genesis morphs in Carrara:
    http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/carrara/8_5/referenceguide/interface/panes/parameters/start

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,624
    edited December 1969

    Nice write-up, jared!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,624
    edited December 1969

    araneldon said:
    You need GenX to convert V4 or M4 characters, no way around it. It's not that hard, I'm sure the GenX thread has step-by-step instructions.

    GenX conversions are basically the same as any other Genesis morphs, you'll find them... somewhere, in their own category IIRC. I've never used them in Carrara, but they should show up.

    Sweet. I have to get that GenX. I hope Dimmension 3D makes one for Genesis 2's too!
    Thanks araneldon.
    If the new morphs have something specific in their title, like GenX_xxx, for example, they'd be easily filtered as shown in DAZ_jared's tutorial link above.
  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for the replies, guys.

    I had already purchased V4 and M4 shapes for Genesis a long time back, in anticipation that someday Genesis would work for me in Carrara, and that with GenX I'd be able to keep the pretty V4 faces I've got while still playing with Genesis.

    It took about 45 minutes of searching through my orders before I finally dug up the old order and was able to download the V4 and M4 shapes. Then after several hours of frustration of trying to install it and find and apply it in Daz Studio, I finally figured out that as long as I had put the downloads in the correct folder (which I had) that there wasn't morphs to apply, but that they were automatically applied to any Genesis character and I could find the sliders for them in the Parameters tab (like I said, I *never* work with Daz Studio and I'm pretty much allergic to its interface, so I have no idea how to use it).

    I haven't yet picked up GenX or the improved V4 UV thingie for Genesis; I was just too tired of wrestling with it, but I'll probably pick up the project tomorrow to see if I can figure it all out. Lurking in the back of my mind is that I might be spending all this time/effort/money for no real purpose, as I'm not sure that the V4 isn't better anyway, at least with the perfect morphs to make the bends work right. Plus if I start using Genesis, all my runtimes of poses that I've collected/bought/made for V4/M4 would be out the window I think...

    Still I'm curious to see what I can achieve, so I'll press on. Tomorrow...

    For now, I've waited too long already to start playing with Philw's Portrait Studio! I feel like a kid at Christmas as I'm installing it! :)

  • DAZ_SpookyDAZ_Spooky Posts: 3,100
    edited December 1969

    Dartanbeck said:
    araneldon said:
    You need GenX to convert V4 or M4 characters, no way around it. It's not that hard, I'm sure the GenX thread has step-by-step instructions.

    GenX conversions are basically the same as any other Genesis morphs, you'll find them... somewhere, in their own category IIRC. I've never used them in Carrara, but they should show up.

    Sweet. I have to get that GenX. I hope Dimmension 3D makes one for Genesis 2's too!
    Thanks araneldon.
    If the new morphs have something specific in their title, like GenX_xxx, for example, they'd be easily filtered as shown in DAZ_jared's tutorial link above.He has already stated that he intends to create one for Genesis 2.

    The morphs are also in a sub folder. So you can navigate directly to them with that little pull down that got added with Carrara 8.5. With Genesis there are way too many morphs to use a flat list. :)

    Remember select the Actor Line to see the morphs, and the line above the actor line for Pose Controls.

    It may be a good habit to get into to create a character preset in DAZ Studio as you add certain Characters. :)

    ParmTab.jpg
    254 x 493 - 47K
  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Quick update on my progress with this. I purchased both GenX and the Corrected V4 UV maps for Genesis.

    The Corrected UV maps was as simple as an install into the right folder, and Daz Studio now has a drop-down to select them (really easy). It was just a matter of loading them on a blank Genesis in Studio, then saving that as a material preset, and I'm in business and can get the corrected UV into Carrara easily (drag and drop over my Genesis character from the material folder where I saved in Studio). And it does make a big difference, for sure. Makes me wonder how far off the included M4 UV maps for Genesis will be...

    GenX is a big tool with lots of documentation and buttons/checkboxes/dropdowns, etc, and I haven't read through all the documentation and don't have a clue what most of it is for/does, but to export a V4 or M4 character morph I barely have to know anything to use it, also very easy and quick. I just build my character in Poser, save it to the character tab after importing all the morphs I want, and then open Studio and navigate through the runtimes to find the character figure I saved, and drag and drop it on the GenX tool. A press of the button and voila, I name the new character morph and the next time I load Genesis in Carrara, it's one of the morph sliders I can choose.

    It isn't an exact match, but it's close. I was bothered by this and figured out that the problem isn't in GenX, but the Daz V4 and M4 shapes set as they are actually close but different from the actual V4 and M4 shapes. It's a small enough difference that I feel that it is as absolutely close to getting the same face shape that I loved with any particular V4 character to work on Genesis. (but honestly, I prefer the actual V4 version than the Genesis copy). It's close enough to work though.

    So mostly I'm happy, and I can (mostly) report that this method works fine to get V4 character morphs to work on Genesis in Carrara.

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