Experiments with the Perfect Fixes for V4

booksbydavid

I just bought the Perfect Fixes bundle for V4 over at Rendo. After doing a few fiddly little things to get set, the fixes load and work just fine in Poser. I love how they give new life to V4. Since I'm not planning (at this time) to follow the Genesis train or move up to Carrara 8.5 (I'm waiting for 9 and hoping) these Perfect Fixes were something I'd been waiting for with bated breath. Unfortunately, the ReadMe says they don't work in Carrara consistently. That made me sad.

The creators of the Perfect Fixes were kind enough to give a link to a discussion in the old DAZ Carrara forum concerning this very topic.

http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=185755&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I was a part of that discussion, but couldn't find it. That old discussion lead me to this little app by Fenric

http://www.sharecg.com/v/60711/view/10/Software-and-Tools/Fix-Pose-Channels-for-Carrara

After digesting all this information, I decided to give it a try. The following images are the results of my experiments with the Perfect Fixes for V4 in Carrara.

I will say that these fixes are not perfect in Carrara, but they are dang close in my opinion.

I should also add that no postwork has been done to any of these images. They are straight out of Carrara, so what you see is what you get.

booksbydavid

I had already set up my Perfect V4 in Poser following the very well documented instructions in the Perfect Fixes Documentation. I then followed Fenric's also well documented instructions in the Fix Pose Channels for Carrara app. Preparing the Loader file took quite a bit of work because I pointed it to all the fixes, and if you don't get everything typed correctly it doesn't work smoothly.

I added V4's morphs++ and elite morphs and created a very slim, fit character, which is what I favor in my character creation. Some of the bends work less well in this kind of character, but that's the same with the Perfect Fixes in Poser.

The following image is the first one I rendered using the new Loader cr2 containing the Perfect Fixes. Needless to say, I was a happy camper.

booksbydavid

You will notice in several of the images that V4's panties sag a bit at the back. That sag is where V4's buttocks/legs would have been had not the Perfect Fixes been applied. I did not adjust the clothing in Carrara or in post to illustrate the fact that the Perfect Fixes were indeed working for the buttocks/legs.

Btw, those lines on the back of V4's legs are from the texture not the Perfect Fixes.

booksbydavid

With the more extreme poses, where the arms or legs are bent quite a bit, I did notice some problems with the mesh appearing to break. This occurred in the inside of the legs and arms. I didn't notice it as much on the outside. The mesh may not be breaking at all. I'm not a modeling expert, it just looked a bit odd, but not so odd that I'd call my experiment a failure.

booksbydavid

I should mention that these Fixes are occurring automatically in Carrara as V4 is posed. I am not adjusting anything except the feet and that was only to get them grounded. The automatic part was enabled by using Fenric's Fix Pose Channels app. Nifty little tool.

Here are a couple more images of V4 lounging and enjoying her new look.

booksbydavid

As I said before, these Perfect Fixes aren't perfect in Carrara, but by following Meipe & Xameva's very well documented instructions and by using Fenric's Fix Pose Channels app you can get a workable result. Also keep in mind that my character is not the default V4, she's a character morphed to be slim and fit. She's probably about half the size of the default V4, so your mileage may vary.

Here's one last image of V4 showing her back. I have to say, I really like Vicky's new shape. As long as my wife doesn't find out, I should be all right.

hzr

Interesting results. Do the lowerfix morphs work in Carrara or are those broken? This way you might be able to tweak the strength of each regional fix to counter some odd looks.

booksbydavid

heinz0r said:

Interesting results. Do the lowerfix morphs work in Carrara or are those broken? This way you might be able to tweak the strength of each regional fix to counter some odd looks.

I bought the Complete package which includes everything and more. I pointed the Loader cr2 created from Fenric's instructions to all the individual fixes. Everything appears to work, including the lower body fixes (there are a few issues occurring with the more drastic poses, but overall they are minor). I am able to adjust the amount of fix, but I didn't for this experiment just to show that it can 'work' without adjustment. The package also includes some detail fixes and adjustments for V4. I haven't tried them all, yet, but the ones I've tried have worked pretty well.

booksbydavid

OK, I think I might be having a bit too much fun with this. The pictures below are from a set of very dynamic dance poses I just purchased. I wanted to see how my new Perfect Fix V4 would do as a dancer. I think she did pretty well. Again, please excuse V4's baggy drawers. They do show how the bottom fixes are working by showing where V4's bottom would have been without the fixes.

booksbydavid

This one does show a bit of something odd on the left leg at the crotch. It could even pass for the femoral artery or something...well, maybe.:lol:

booksbydavid

And the final two (for today, anyway).

hzr

Looks good, nothing that a few minor strokes with the clonestamp couldnt fix and this is already a massive improvement over what bad intersections the regular v4 produced.

Xameva

Very interesting results indeed! Awesome images. Thank you for posting this - the next time we do an update, we'll be sure to edit the ReadMe to point to this thread.

We weren't sure if they'd work in Carrara or not - that long discussion thread we had going on the old DAZ forums was deleted by a mod (grrr...), and neither Meipe nor myself actually own Carrara. He was using the trial version at the time to test. We didn't want to claim they worked and then not be able to give an exact workflow.

It's a shame it requires such an involved workaround to function in Carrara properly (Why can't it work like DAZ Studio? Argh!). While for us who know what we're doing it's somewhat simple to use the loader, but your average user won't be able to do it. That's also part of the reason why we can't advertise it as working in Carrara, unfortunately. :(

But it's great to see that it does with some clever help from Fenric (thanks again Fenric!)! So at least the advanced and determined users have a solution.

booksbydavid

Xameva said:

Very interesting results indeed! Awesome images. Thank you for posting this - the next time we do an update, we'll be sure to edit the ReadMe to point to this thread.

We weren't sure if they'd work in Carrara or not - that long discussion thread we had going on the old DAZ forums was deleted by a mod (grrr...), and neither Meipe nor myself actually own Carrara. He was using the trial version at the time to test. We didn't want to claim they worked and then not be able to give an exact workflow.

It's a shame it requires such an involved workaround to function in Carrara properly (Why can't it work like DAZ Studio? Argh!). While for us who know what we're doing it's somewhat simple to use the loader, but your average user won't be able to do it. That's also part of the reason why we can't advertise it as working in Carrara, unfortunately. :(

But it's great to see that it does with some clever help from Fenric (thanks again Fenric!)! So at least the advanced and determined users have a solution.

I'm just excited they work for me in Carrara! They are outstanding in Poser, too. As I said before, I'm not following the Genesis train at this time, so these Perfect Fixes just make my life a bit happier.

Headwax

Hey David, wonderful thread thank you. Sorry I missed this one! I'm mainly doing kids at the moment but this will come in handy later on...

booksbydavid

head wax said:

Hey David, wonderful thread thank you. Sorry I missed this one! I'm mainly doing kids at the moment but this will come in handy later on...

Thanks. I was just having fun. I'm glad they work in Carrara even if they aren't perfect.