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bitmap swapping with erc plugin

createocreateo Posts: 15
in Carrara Discussion

Hello community,


I'm looking for information on a concrete case: using bitmap facial expressions on a character's head.


To use a "list" of bitmap, I understand that you have to use the ERC plugin.

Does anyone know the procedure to create a bitmap "swap" driven by ERC?

I'm also looking for how one bone can drive another as a percentage and not as a fixed value?

Carrara still has a lot of resources and I want to make it known through tutorials regularly posted, even if there are not many.


If I manage to master the technique of piloting with ERC, I will make tutorials of it.


It is a technique widely used in other 3D software but which is not very developed with Carrara.


Thanks in advance !

Comments

  • 3drendero3drendero Posts: 2,027
    No idea, but here are all the ERC tutorials that I know of: https://sharecg.com/pf/full_uploads.php?pf_user_name=fabaone
  • mschackmschack Posts: 337

    Is this plugin still available?

  • Bunyip02Bunyip02 Posts: 8,719

    mschack said:

    Is this plugin still available?

    ERC Modifier - https://carraracafe.com/fenrics-plugins-now-free/

  • mschackmschack Posts: 337

    plugin link goes to a non existant DAZ page

  • Bunyip02Bunyip02 Posts: 8,719

    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/380916/fenric-s-plugins/p1

  • mschackmschack Posts: 337

    I don't think ERC is a fenric plugin, it was a DAZ plugin

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,320

    Fenric made it for Faba
     

    who made this awesome frog prince animation

  • mschackmschack Posts: 337

    It's not included in the last link you gave, unles it's called something different.

  • UnifiedBrainUnifiedBrain Posts: 3,588

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    Fenric made it for Faba
     

    who made this awesome frog prince animation

    Wendy, I had never seen this awesome video.  Many thanks for posting!

  • rk66rk66 Posts: 441
    edited September 2021

    https://carraracafe.com/download/8967/

    Here the direct download link to Fenric´s entire Plugin- Collection.

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    Post edited by rk66 on
  • mschackmschack Posts: 337

    Oh great!  Thanks rk!

  • DesertDudeDesertDude Posts: 1,238
    edited September 2021

    I don't know about swapping images, maybe someone knows a method but I was able to use 2 sliders and the UV Transform Operator in the Texture Room (Operator > UV Transform).

    You'll need to make a sprite sheet of the various expressions. In my example my image is 2048 x 2048 and has 16 "cells", each one would be a 512 x 512 - you may need higher resoultion, but you get the idea. We're going to use the sliders and set them to use the 'X Offset' and 'Y Offset' of the UV Operator to move that cell around.

    The values for the 'X Offset' slider should be Min = 0 and Max = -1.00
    The values for the 'Y Offset' slider should be Min = 0 and Max = 1.00

    Click the 'Set' button to choose the X and Y Offsets

    So if I want to move that 'cell' around the sprite sheet across the 'X' axis I would use -.250, -.500 and -.750, and along the 'Y' axis .250, .500 and .750. Be sure to set your tweeners to Discrete or the 'cell' will slide around the image rather than snap to to where you want it.

    Hope that sort of makes sense.

    Here are some pictures to help illustrate.

     

     

    Edited to correct sprite sheet and cell size, apparently I can't even do basic math.

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    uv_transform_operator.jpg
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    sliders.jpg
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    Post edited by DesertDude on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,320
    edited September 2021

    the other obvious way is an image series,  can render a 2D video of the visemes, expresions you want with tweening that way to put in the various slots, Normal maps, displacement etc

    I have actually done this with a video of my face in a diffuse channel of a model UV mapped to my video

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • 3drendero3drendero Posts: 2,027
    Looks like Mimic for Carrara was removed from the store. https://web.archive.org/web/20161130010546/http://www.daz3d.com/mimic-pro-for-carrara
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,320

    3drendero said:

    Looks like Mimic for Carrara was removed from the store. https://web.archive.org/web/20161130010546/http://www.daz3d.com/mimic-pro-for-carrara

    sad but I think it was more related to the plugin developer than dropping Carrara support as Mimic Live for DAZ studio also was pulled. 

    it was an underated piece of kit as could do far more than just lipsync, it was a great way to link NLA clips to events

    for the lipsync aspect, the 32bit one in the Carrara plugin called DAZ studio will still import as saved animated duf poses so that can be used for character dialogue 

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 10,013
    edited September 2021

    Is this for animation?

    one method could be  to use a nested shader with a series if operators set at mixer and swap them in and and out that way

    shoestring shaders come to mind Supermixer Complex, MultiPass Manager and MultiPass Control. Nb havent tried them myself 

    Dartanbeck has a page on them 

    Post edited by Headwax on
  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 10,013

    https://www.dartanbeck.com/carrara-zone/carrara-info/carrara-plugins/digital-carvers-guild

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