Editing 3D props
Tsuzura
Posts: 119
How can I edit a 3D prop?
I have a prop that I want to use but it has several parts on it that get in the way and I can't make them invisible without making the whole thing go away.
I want a way so I can erase/delete the parts I don't want.
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One way would be to add a transmap to it. Just black out the pieces you don't way and leave the rest white
Is this in Daz Studio?
you can also use the polygon editor I think to create new shading domains you can hide.
I do not use studio a lot to render so unsure, I do this outside of studio or modify props in a modeling program.
modeling options inc:
Hexagon: is cheap if it plays nice (not on my computer sadly)
Carrara: my choice is on sale
Wings3D and Blender are free.
wendy you can also delete the hidden polys with the PGE tool hence way I asked the OP if it was DS.
I have only ever been able to determine how to select the polys and assign them to another surface name which I then hide
can you tell me how/if I can actually delete them? I've seen this mentioned before but I have not been able to figure out how to do it
also I was wondering is there a way to delete all the unused surface names once I move polys into another surface?
Ok once you have them Hidden and still with the PGE tool right click, go to Polygon Editing > Delete Hidden Facets, you will get a warning box read it and hit ok/accept
I get the message telling me This action requires an object in the scene, with geometry hidden by the polygon group editor tool, be selected
I click this and it would appear that nothing has changed.
when I said I hide it, I mean that I go to the surfaces tab and set the opacity to 0% on the Hide surface name that I create from the selected polys
is there a different way that I should be hiding them before trying to delete them?
Ok let's start again.
Select your polygons
Right Click > Polygon Visibility > Hide Selected
When finished Right Click > Polygon Editing > Delete Hidden Facets
ok found it. thanks
can you tell me if it is possible to remove extra surface names
there are some props I use with surface names that are not descriptive, I would like to select and assign new names to them, but then I still have to scroll through all of the non descriptive names - or - sometimes I just want to combine surfaces for the textures and have left over fields that I have to work around always taking time to look and see if I need to be doing something with it
it would be great to be able to remove them for my future use
That I would have thought would be for a modelling program, the truth is I just don't know.
okay thanks
Investing in UV Mapper Pro could help with these issues. It can rename or redefine material zones, it can delete selected polies. It can remap an entire model if needed , though a bit limited as it does not have unwrap functionality. The pro version costs more than the free classic version, but there is added functionality.
Hexagon can select and delete polies, rename materials, and remap the model, and it does have a basic UV unwrap.
Zawarkal,
Yes, you can delete unwanted material zones/names in DS, and even combine some together and then delete the resulting empties.
The work is done in the Polygon Editor Tab. Renaming done by double-click, adding-to (from selected source) and deleting done with right-click parameters.
FirstBastion's suggestions are good alternatives, but the Hexagon method (via bridge) will add an empty MAT zone which you will end up having to delete in DS anyways.
Mtoshigi:
You should have learned what you need to accomplish your goal with all that transpired in this thread. If you decide on an outside 3rd Party software for prop editing, I would go with Wendy's suggestions (especially Wings3D, or Blender).
I really must dive in to the PGE more
I've had some luck modifying BelBel & Aiko 3 to have fewer surfaces via a text editor.
First...ALWAYS...make a copy of the files and work on them!
You open the .OBJ & the CR2/PP2 files in the text editor and then use the 'find and replace' function to merge Surface groups...
Find the Surface names in the OBJ (search for 'usemtl' without the quotes) and figure out what colors you want to merge.
Let's say you want to combine Aiko's 'SkinTorso' and 'SkinHip' surfaces into 'SkinTorso'
Just do a find for 'SkinHip' and replace the found instances with 'SkinTorso' (Again, without the quotes).
Repeat this process until you've weeded down the prop's/character's colors list to your satisfaction.
Next, you have to repeat the process in the CR2/PP2:
Go to the bottom to the 'Material section, and condense the colors down by deleting the now unused color sections
(Be careful to keep track of what you changed/renamed in the OBJ so you can match it in the CR2/PP2.)
Save the OBJ with a new variant name into the desired spot.
Change the path links to the OBJ in the PP2/CR2 to match the new name on the modified OBJ...and then save it under a new name.
You SHOULD be able to open it in Poser or Studio now, and it should have fewer surfaces. :)
Is this a tab from the Window Panes(Tabs) or are you referring to the menu that pops up in the window where I am working on selecting the polygons.
If panes(tab), I do not see it.
If pop up, I see Polygon Editing with two choices, Reverse WInding Order and Delete Hidden Facets.
I do not see how to do what you are saying. Can you give me a bit more detail please?
I've had some luck modifying BelBel & Aiko 3 to have fewer surfaces via a text editor.
First...ALWAYS...make a copy of the files and work on them!
You open the .OBJ & the CR2/PP2 files in the text editor and then use the 'find and replace' function to merge Surface groups...
Find the Surface names in the OBJ (search for 'usemtl' without the quotes) and figure out what colors you want to merge.
Let's say you want to combine Aiko's 'SkinTorso' and 'SkinHip' surfaces into 'SkinTorso'
Just do a find for 'SkinHip' and replace the found instances with 'SkinTorso' (Again, without the quotes).
Repeat this process until you've weeded down the prop's/character's colors list to your satisfaction.
Next, you have to repeat the process in the CR2/PP2:
Go to the bottom to the 'Material section, and condense the colors down by deleting the now unused color sections
(Be careful to keep track of what you changed/renamed in the OBJ so you can match it in the CR2/PP2.)
Save the OBJ with a new variant name into the desired spot.
Change the path links to the OBJ in the PP2/CR2 to match the new name on the modified OBJ...and then save it under a new name.
You SHOULD be able to open it in Poser or Studio now, and it should have fewer surfaces. :)
Thanks for this.
It is a bit deeper into the editing than I really want to go. But, if I cannot figure out the other method then at least this will be a backup if I get one I really cannot live without.
Yeah, editing the OBJ and MTL file is old school. It can be done. It is just a longer way to accomplish your task.
There are a myriad of ways for you to accomplish the same task, but I'm trying to keep you inside of Studio.
Okay, here's the breakdown:
It is the "Tool Settings" TAB for the ACTIVE TOOL: "Polygon Group Editor".
You can open up the Tool Settings Tab via "Window/Panes (Tabs)/Tool Settings" in the drop-down toolbar (File/Edit/etc).
I have mine permanently docked with the Tabs on the right side of my screen (with Parameters/Surfaces/Posing/etc.). You can dock yours, or just use it as a floating tab and close it until you need it again.
Now, when you have a prop selected you wil have four tab attributes to work with; Face Groups, Surfaces, Regions, and Rigidity Groups. You only need to concern yourself with the Surfaces parameter.
Here you will see all the materials assigned to the prop, as well as each facet (face/polygon) assigned to each material. This is where you can rename materials, combine, and delete empties. Just hover over a material name, and then right-click for actions.
Example: Say you have two materials that you want to combine into one. The first one has 100 facets assigned to it, and the second has 42 assigned to it. We are going to assign the 42 facets to the first material, and then delete the empty.
First, hover over the second material name, and left-click on the name (select it), then left-click the " + " (add) button. Those facets on the prop should light up as selected.
Second, hover over the first material, and select it with a left-click on the name, then right-click and select "Assign Selected Faces to Group". You should see the second material facets "count" become "0", and material one facets count now at 142.
Third, and final step is to delete the empty (0 facets) second material. Select material two (the empty), and then right-click and select "Remove Selected Group(s)".
That's all there is to it. Just rinse-n-repeat as needed. Don't forget you can actually use the Polygon Group Editor Tool to create new surface materials, and delete them, as pointed out by Szark.
I hope this helps...
Thanks Ken I haven't played much with the Tool Setting part at all. I think it is about time I did.
Excellent! Thank you. That is exactly what I needed to know
Thanks. This is so useful. I've been old schooling it for so long. I'll give this a try. :)
Another question.
Let's say that I make changes to surface names in G2F as in I split one surface into multiple surfaces and apply materials which can be saved as material presets to those new surfaces.
How do I save the surface names so that I can apply the material presets at a later time to a new G2F
- or - if I give something as a freebie based upon new surface names, how can I be sure someone else will have the same surface names available for their use?
Can this be done? Is this as simple as saving a materials preset which contains the new surfaces - or - do the new surfaces also need to be given... I believe a new uv map can provide the new surfaces, would I need to create a new uv set for the new surfaces and then give the materials preset - or - is there more involved than I can figure out???
If a new uv set and a new materials preset is the way to do this, is it also necessary to give out more such as the exported obj used to create the uv set.... or would just the uv set and materials preset be enough?
I hope this is understandable. working in ds4.6
all help appreciated
...I would focus on Wings3D, or if you can afford it, Silo. Blender while incredibly powerful, has a learning curve akin to scaling El Capitan at Yosemite with your bare hands as it has a very unintuitive UI.
You are welcome...
Zawarkal:
This is a little bit trickier, but it can be done, and without stepping on any copyright/distribution rights. With older versions of DS that mimicked Poser, and both using OBJ as the master file (for figure CR2's/Props) it was a lot easier.
With DS4 series utilizing DSF/DUF you will have a little more work to do, but will eventually end up with what you want.
You do not need to remap the UV's as it has nothing to do with the UV mapping, but you will be using the UV's as a transfer protocol to retain the new MAT Zones without distributing any copyrighted mesh material.
First, both yourself, and the recipient of your new MAT Zones will both need UVMapper Classic (free) which can be found here:
http://www.uvmapper.com/downloads.html
UVMapper deals with OBJ's, so you will load in your modified OBJ with new material zones. You will be saving a .uvs file that contains the newly material mapped facets that you can send to your recipient which they can load onto their original copy, and save as a modified version that is a clone of yours. Recipient must have a copy of unmodified original on their end.
When dealing with only OBJ's, one would just replace the original OBJ in the Runtime: Geometries folder with the modified one. Or, as a secondary with a new CR2 to reference the new OBJ.
For DUF/DSF, I'm not sure there is any quick surefire way to do this other than to export the figure/prop as an OBJ, do the required UVMapper work, and then convert the modified OBJ back to a DSF TriAx figure and save it back to library.
So, the long of it, it can be done. The short of it, both you, and the recipient will have work to do for it to work.
so... here is what I think I understand thus far
I create the new surface settings using the product group editor
I set mesh resolution to base
I export the g2f figure as an OBJ file
I load the OBJ file into uvmapper
I Export UV's from uvmapper as a .uvs file
I give the .uvs file to someone else for their use
1).
-- do I need to give them anything else at this point (other than any materials I create), such as the OBJ file? or is giving the base res OBJ file not allowed?
here is where I get lost
>>>that you can send to your recipient which they can load onto their original copy, and save as a modified version that is a clone of yours. Recipient must have a copy of unmodified original on their end.
2).
so end user will load onto their original copy in uvmapper or in daz... where and how details
--is this where they are creating the uv set in daz for which I think they also need the OBJ file???
3).
save as modified version that is a clone... where and how... is this like having a v4 clone for g2f??
----
I know that I would load G2F in daz,
Load UV Set in geometry menu item using the OBJ file (not the uvs file I am to send),
and name the uv set
then save as support asset, uv asset to save the new uv set for future use
this worked when I combined all skin surfaces into a single skin surface so that I could use any texture file across the body like the genesis sculpture uv set from sculptural genesis product provided
4).
does the end user also have to perform steps like these or is it possible to just send the uv set asset file?
not sure if I'm now talking the same thing or two different things
please and thank you :)
okay here is an example of what I have done so far... in this I took all the surfaces and grouped them as a single surface which I then exported to uvmapper and generated the uvs file
in daz I then loaded the uv set and saved as a uv asset
now whenever I load daz and load a fresh g2f figure I find my new uv set which I named mySculpture as one of the UV Set choices in the surfaces drop down
so for this example I think if I would provide the uv asset file (in MyLibrary Data folder) to someone else that they should also be able to get this effect
---
the question I posed above is taking this idea in the other direction where I will create new surfaces which is what makes me wonder if it will work the same
I will go out and get this tested next, but for now to show the effect thus far
I used RachealMarie's free Abstract Backdrops from renderosity. I applied it globally across the G2F figure on the left using the default g2f base uv set. And, I did the same on the g2f figure on the right except this is with the new uv set mySculpture
I modified G2F to add the new surfaces
I exported the base mesh
I went into uvmapper, loaded the OBJ, and then exported the OBJ (no changes) and saved the uvs
I loaded a new daz instance and a new G2F
I created the uv set asset as before
when loading a new daz and new g2f the uv set is available
But, the new surfaces do not become available as selectable from the surface tab... though I did not expect them too doing it this way
So I have my saved copy of g2f with the new surfaces and I can use them how I want to
But the question still remains as to it being possible to get the new surfaces to someone else or not
I have looked around and I do not see what I would need to do to bring those surfaces back in to a freshly loaded G2F
Interesting...
I never thought to try and see if the DS native UV sets switching could take on the material functionality, and be used instead.
Did you get the results you wanted with this? Namely, did the newly loaded G2F inherit your new material zones when you switched to your custom UV's?
If yes, then you could forgo the rest, and only need to distribute that file for others to access your material mapping to work in conjunction with your presets.
However, I do see one issue; Even if you are creating only one MAT zone, the UV mapping is comprised of stacked UV's. Any single texture applied to the single material is distributed equally throughout each UV set (0, 1, 2, 3, etc., where 0 could be head/face, 1 could be torso, 2 could be limbs, etc., etc., etc.).
Usually, for single material mapping you want to combine all stacked sub-maps to one no covered islands UV map (such as for video games).
O.K., to address your questions; The most important is you can never send someone else the OBJ file (against copyright/distribution rights). That is why the UVMapper .uvs file is important. It is the precursor to DAZ's new(ish) UV set swapping in Studio (4 series). It allows you to send non-copyrighted data, and will only work if both parties already own the copyrighted material. The rest of your questions are basically yes, the other person will basically have to reverse the process you did after you send them the .uvs file.
I can go more into exact workflow later, but for now, how bout' I offer myself up as a Guinea pig. If you would like, you can send me both methods different files, and I can see if 1) The DS UV set swapping works for changing the material zones (which would be the easiest for your recipients), or 2) How much work it is on my end as a recipient to get a newly generated G2F to have your new material zone from the UVMapper .uvs method.
Contact me via PM, and we can go from there if you are interested.
when I tested the addition of material zones I did not see the new materials... but I truly do not know for sure what I'm doing, I'm just trying to see if it is possible for a potential future project idea
I will send you a pm as I would like to learn something new
I figured out what I need to do.
I need to save the modified g2f figure as a Figure/Prop Asset in the Support Asset menu. I can then distribute the figure preset.
Now the only question that remains is
if I have added new surface names to the list of surfaces
how will I get all the existing mat files to load because now they do not match