Rigidity workflow
knuckledusterharris_b01188de76
Posts: 93
I made a long coat with buttons. In Zbrush, I defined polygroups that consist of each individual button, the body of the coat, and the collar. I have imported the coat into Daz, but I have not yet used the transfer utility to make it a Genesis clothing item--it's still an object with the defined groups. I do have the rigidity tutorial for 4.5, but I can't seem to get the groups I created in zbrush to appear once it's transferred to Genesis, so I can't follow the tutorial!
As nearly as I can tell, when I have used the transfer utility before, it has ditched all the polygroups I set up so that I can't assign them to rigidity references and participants. What order do I do things in order to get from the coat object to a fitted clothing item that has rigid buttons?
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Group in the rigging app is best. Often you will find yourself redefining because imports often botch modeling package group assignments. In ZB Materials as group names seems to translate better than polygroup name or subtool name does upon DAZ (or Poser & Carrara). Also there is the ZB poser group export script but it is only 75% and like most work around's it may be more effort than its worth for a one-off. Therefore I group in each rigging app. Even with DAZ group editor & weigh painting it gets easier with practice. DAZ, Poser or Carrara and then GO-Z to transfer back if needed to paint or rework and it will maintain groups, UVs and morph values for mesh changes.
If the buttons are not attached to the rest of the mesh you can select them fairly quickly by selecting one polygon and then pressing ctrl(Win)/cmd(Mac)-* to select all connected polygons. As you say, the Transfer utility will remove polygon groups so you need to regroup after applying the basic rigging.
Aha--I see what you're saying, and I just realized that the Content Creator stuff in the newer DAZ allows me to edit polygon groups from DAZ. Also, I discovered that you can be more selective about what you transfer from Genesis to the target object. I was able to keep my zbrush groups when I did not transfer surfaces, face groups, or region groups. Now on to the rigidity mapping--I'm sure I'll be posting again!
But you can't put those on a rigidity map subsequently. That is, you can, but it won't do anything because it can't read the "participant" polygons as rigid without reference polygons on the main garment (which it then won't read because the geometry is detached). Has that changed in recent versions of DS? I'd sure like to know if so.
I followed Blondie's rigidity tutorial, selecting the lapels (using the "all connected" method) and carried on with the rest of the instructions, and I did make a rigid lapel with mixed results. The tutorial recommended using the same polygons for both participant and reference; that surprised me, but I got A result, just not sure it's the BEST result.
The morph I'm using for Genesis to test out the rigidity is pretty extreme as compared to the base morph (big head, stocky build, very cartoonish), and so the mesh has to distort a lot. The lapels held up fairly well, with only the body of the coat poking through the lapel at the bottom, and the area around the neck staying fairly stable.
I'm groping around a fair bit, but a coherent picture of how all of this work is starting to take shape in my mind. Thanks so much, everyone, and any additional perspectives and help is much appreciated. Maybe I can get some screenshots together this evening.
But you can't put those on a rigidity map subsequently. That is, you can, but it won't do anything because it can't read the "participant" polygons as rigid without reference polygons on the main garment (which it then won't read because the geometry is detached). Has that changed in recent versions of DS? I'd sure like to know if so.
I hadn't realised that was so, and hadn't noticed it when using the tools - but I don't use them anything like as extensively as you (and haven't done any real rigging, rather than quick tests of a feature, for ages).
I hadn't realised that was so, and hadn't noticed it when using the tools - but I don't use them anything like as extensively as you (and haven't done any real rigging, rather than quick tests of a feature, for ages).
My experience to date is that it will not work at all on fully detached submeshes. If you want to use it on buttons you have to plan ahead and have the base of them actually attached vertwise to the garment. This probably doesn't matter to most artists because many are using Zbrush and not doing fully detached submeshes on anything, ever, but it can come up with other methods.
I hadn't realised that was so, and hadn't noticed it when using the tools - but I don't use them anything like as extensively as you (and haven't done any real rigging, rather than quick tests of a feature, for ages).
My experience to date is that it will not work at all on fully detached submeshes. If you want to use it on buttons you have to plan ahead and have the base of them actually attached vertwise to the garment. This probably doesn't matter to most artists because many are using Zbrush and not doing fully detached submeshes on anything, ever, but it can come up with other methods.
It's not the ideal mesh to test this but it's getting late. However, this seems to have worked OK with V5SM (as here), the troll and the Gorilla - the disc is not joined to, or even toughing, the rest of the "dress" and seems to be deforming following the reference poly on the "dress".
My experience to date is that it will not work at all on fully detached submeshes. If you want to use it on buttons you have to plan ahead and have the base of them actually attached vertwise to the garment. This probably doesn't matter to most artists because many are using Zbrush and not doing fully detached submeshes on anything, ever, but it can come up with other methods.
It's not the ideal mesh to test this but it's getting late. However, this seems to have worked OK with V5SM (as here), the troll and the Gorilla - the disc is not joined to, or even toughing, the rest of the "dress" and seems to be deforming following the reference poly on the "dress".
Maybe they did fix it!
Was the base mesh clipping before the morph was added? If not, though, it kind of looks like there are no "reference" polygons and it's all on the participant group.
forgive my typing - I sam fending off a cat who thginmks it's high time I got out of his chair (pluck at shirt, oops was that your skin?).
I redid the mesh and yes, it seems to move according to the position of the polygon I set as a reference -higher and it it moves out with the breasts, lower (as in the screen shot) and it gets the breasts moving through it). In the one shown I'd set a polygon off the disc as the reference, but in the past I've usually set a polygon on the regid part as a reference and i'm fairly sure that has worked.
Ha! I know exactly what that's like. They're going to wake up here in about half an hour and start their "it's time for my dinner" dance.
All righty, then, looks like the issue is fixed. That's certainly good to know. :-)