Autoupdate placed objects?
michael-kristensen_e59faa8f72
Posts: 50
Hi there
If I make an object in one Carrara file.....and imports it into multiple other scenes.
If I then change the object in the first file.....is there then a way to (auto-)update that object in the other scene?
Is that possible in other Daz products
Thanks
Mic
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Good question but the answer is: I don't think so...
But if you build an object (.obj format) and import it with the DCG Obj Seq.Importer, all the changes you make to the original obj. are updated when you re-open the project(s).
It's a plugin who takes a reference to the object(s) and this object is not recorded in your project.
To use it, your object must have a number after the name for ex: "Object00001".
The answer is No,. since each "master object is saved within a seperate file.
Whether you create a model in a scene, or load a premade model into a scene
Once you save that scene,. a version of the model will be saved within the scene file will be unaware of any other copy of the model you use in any other scene file
You can save object for reuse in a scene to your Browser (My Objects) and that is where any "master objects" should be saved,...
saved versions of that ( in a file on a disk ) will still not be updated if you change the master object, since each saved scene file creates a model and saves it into the scene
Carrara doesn't have "X-ref" (cross referencing a saved master object)
OBJ sequences, are not the same a "Referencing" an original "master object" ....which I think is what the OP is asking
It can be a very handy way to transfer an animated model into other applications which don't have the ability to animate
However,. if you edited one "obj" from a saved "sequence" ..all the other OBJ's in the sequence would remain unaltered, the other saved sequence files wiould not be altered by editing one "frame" of the sequence.
There's no ability for a saved file to be aware of any external edits to the items saved within that file,. or aware of any other saved files which contain the same models.
Hope that helps,.. and makes sense.
Hi Andy,
Here, I'm speaking about the plugin DCG Obj Seq. Importer and I use it for Realflow to Carrara.
A "Seq." could be only one frame for this plugin, I tried that just before my post and all the changes are automatically reflected in the Carrara scene when you reload this scene (you must exit and re-open the project).
HI DUDU :)
I presume that the exported OBJ sequence (from Realflow) would be a single .seq file,. rather than a list of numerial .obj files,
then the DCG Obj Sequence Importer would bring that into carrara , and if that's the case, then it makes sense not to save that entire sequence of objects within the Carrara scene file, and to reference that data externally,. as carrara does for textures etc...
I only export OBJ sequences from carrara using Fenrics OBJ seq exporter , which saves as a bunch of Obj files with an alpha-numeric file name
Yeah, this is one of those features that is extremely useful, or even critical, in a professional team environment but isn't included in Carrara. I sure wish it was...
For example if you have a team of folks working on a project, and a modeller guy is creating assets for the team, then when he makes a change to a model that others are using in their scenes, a notification pops up on everyone's workstation that "a master object has changed, do you want to update?"
And it's also very useful when individual users are using multiple apps to generate/modify components of a scene. It's real nice to make your object in your modeller, save it, and then your 3D app like Carrara would realize that and notify you that the master object has changed, do you want to update?...
Or at least provide an "Update" button for each asset in your scene, even without the notification.
When people ask "Can Carrara be used professionally?", I think this is just one lacking design feature in a long list that makes it very difficult for professionals in a team environment to consider using Carrara.
This is not a criticism of Carrara, it just wasn't designed for teams like that.
Yes Andy, Carrara doesn't have a “X-ref.” and that's too bad !
I thought of the plugin as an alternative but is perhaps not what the OP wants.
RF creates a great series of objects which are imported one by one at each image of the scene (you only select the number 1 for import).
If you have only one object and if you import it with the DCG plugin, this object will be referred at the first image and usable over the entire length of the timeline.
You will be able also the resize, to rotate and animate it, but not morphing in this case (the modeling room is changed by a plugin tab) .
@ Joe,
You are right, there should be this possibility of recording a project with the referred objects (as one can do it with textures) and thus the files would be much lighter and the autosaving will be realizable.
Thank you for all the comments!
The DCG Plugin worked for me as DUDU described.
The scaling done in the secondary files was maintained when the obj was replaced.
I will update this post when I try different locations in the secondary files
Thanks again
Mic
UPDATE: The location of the object in the secondary files is also maintained when the obj is replaced.
Hi again
Is there a way to save shaderdomains to the obj.format?
If so can the shaderdomains be imported with the DCG plugin?
I need it because my workflow ends with DCG ToonPro and there i need shaderdomains to render all the lines.
Thanks
Mic
HI Michael :)
Shading domains are defined in the model,. so, yes, they are automagically saved as part of your model in whatever format you save it.
Shader Domans (areas of the model geometry assigned with a unique shading domain name) which allow you to apply shaders to a specific area of the model.
That's completely different from the actual "Shader" which you choose to apply to that "shading domain" area
"Shaders". are not saved in any model format,. since they are normally specific to the application,
However, the model will contain a list of Shading Domains "areas of the mesh" and also a list of the texture maps used in the shading domain, (if you're using texture maps). which allows most other applications to re-create the shaders
You can save any models shaders to the Browser (my shaders) whether it has a single shader applied to the object, or it has multiple shaders, in which case you would save the Carara "global shader" (multi-coloured ball at the top of the shaders list) whuich can be saved into your Browser, and re-used.
If you're transferring the Model to another program,. then you'd need to Bake the (program specific) shaders,. to Texture maps,.
EG:
If you make a shader in Program A, (using a plugin or shaders fiunction which is specific to that program,.. then Program B will not be able to re-create that shader, since it doesn't have the same function or Plugin.
Converting the "shader function" or "Shader Plug-in" to a texture map is the common option to have the same "appearance" in different applications
OBJ is a model format, which also exports a .MTL file,. the MTL file contains a listy of shaders/textures used in the model, but no actual shaders or textures are saved in the OBJ format,. it's purely geometry.
Hope that helps, and maked some sense.
Edited to add...
With a "shader" like Toon pro ..which I believe is a rendering function to render line-art,. then that would only work in Carrara with that plugin,. and wouldn't be transferrable to another program as baked textures, since it's actually a rendering function.
Just to expand a bit on what 3DAge was explaining about shaders, for anyone interested...
This is one area that can get a bit confusing when dealing with import/export of objects and associated materials.
For example, I'm fairly certain that the term "shading domain" is specific only to DAZ apps. In my experience, that term isn't used in other 3D apps. I believe that the OBJ format, for example, uses another term to describe named faces (ie, what DAZ calls "shading domains"), and that is "Group Names" (or something like that, if memory serves...). Other apps call them "Vertex Groups" , or "Regions" and so on...
I think that the term "shaders" is also somewhat DAZ-specific. And it's a general term that DAZ uses to describe both the standard materials applied to objects (ie, those materials used by, and recognized by other apps also, like color and bump and texture maps, etc.) and also the Carrara/DAZ-specific materials, such as procedurals, like noise and environmental and patterns that are "special" materials used by DAZ, and may not translate to other apps.
Which is why some folks (like me) recommend that you use only standard shaders (with emphasis on photos or other image maps) if you're going to export to other apps. It makes life easier, and can often result in better looking surfaces, IMO.
So what DAZ calls "shaders", in general, are not necessarily specific to Carrara or any other app, nor do they necessarily have to be "baked". They won't be "saved in any model format" only if they are DAZ/Carrara specific shading functions that aren't recognized by other apps.
Just an idea regarding the original topic - if you have Inagoni's Swap plugin (also part of the Advance Pack which I think is on sale at the moment), you could use this to swap the old version for the new version and retain any translations, rotations and scaling that you have subsequently applied. This probably won;t work for characters, but should work fine for props, vehicles etc.
Nice idea Phil :)
Also, the "EDIT / Align" option in Carrara can move an object to the same location as another eg: Target to Source.
If you have a saved figure in your Browser, then it should be relatively easy to "place" that "master actor" into any scenes to replace another figure
Hi there again
Thank you so much for giving new solutions to this thread.
I have bought SWAP……… it is only $5 and though it is not x-Ref it is very useful. I think many could use it at that price.
Here are some experiences with it:
The object to be swapped in must be a single object, it can't be a group. So you can't fx have a sphere and replace it with a group.
A group replaced with an object becomes dimensionless and have to be scaled.
If you replace fx a sphere with an object the sphere does not exist any more. Only the new object exists.
At first I thought the sphere acted as a placeholder for the object, but that is not the case.
When you import an object to be swapped in it enters as known as a group. Since it is only the object in that group that can be used there is a little extra cleanup to be done. This newly object can be made invisible.
After you do the swap there is now two instances of the object. There could be an option to autodelete the first imported object.
There is an option to "Fit in".
It makes the swapped object exactly as big as the object it replaces even if the geometry is streched then.
The plugin resides in the Edit menu and is command E on a Mac.
Mic
PS Wonder if this plugin in some way can overcome Carrara's limitation of being able to have multiple cameras but only one productionframe.
http://www.inagoni.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.6
Experiment with replacing objects of a group:
1. I made a group of 3 different objects: Group 1
2. I gave Group 1 scaling, placing and rotation.
3. I imported another group consisting of 4 objects
4 Emptying Group 1 for all its objects, but keeping the group
5 Dragging the the 4 new objects into the empty Group 1
6 Motiontab- Object –> Hotpoint
Conclusion:
I can see that Group 1 retain all its scaling, placing and rotation but the new members do not attain these properties.
Experiment failed.
Mic