Ok, I've searched the forum and read the Poser/3dsmax Faq but I'm still at a loss. I'm trying to make some morphs for Aiko (the Stephanie add-on version), but Aiko doesn't have her own obj. file in the geometry folder to use. I have tried exporting her head as an obj. using poser 5 and then importing it into 3dsmax 4, but when I import it back into poser as a morph target it gives me a distorted morph (as I expected). So....how can I get a "good" obj. file of Aiko to work on? I have made morphs for other figures just fine, but they all had their own obj. file in the geometry folder.

have you tried loading her into poser, zero the figure, and then export the parts you want?

hmmmm i think you likely have to use stephanie's base head to make a morph since she doesn't have her own .obj...as the aiko figure is already morphed,if stephanie is actually the "zero state".exporting and making it from aiko's head would just double the "aiko" effect ... is there an "aiko" morph dial for the head?setting it too zero when importing your morph may work if your's is a full head/face morph... you could also export steph's AND aiko's head to max,make your changes to steph's head,then to check if they achieve the effect you want,use Aiko's head as a morph target inside 3dsmax to see the final result before exporting it out..just remember to delete the morph modifier from the stack before you export steph's head...be a bit more complicated but should work

Yep, i load up the figure, and just to make sure I Edit>Restore>All and then export the head, import it into max, then import it into poser but it still doesn't work correctly when i apply it as a morph target.

<<is there an "aiko" morph dial for the head?setting it too zero when importing your morph may work if your's is a full head/face morph...>> Hmmm....it turns out that I was using the stand-alone Aiko with a Stephanie body morph, not the add-on version, so there is no "Aiko" dial. <<you could also export steph's AND aiko's head to max,make your changes to steph's head,then to check if they achieve the effect you want,use Aiko's head as a morph target inside 3dsmax to see the final result before exporting it out..just remember to delete the morph modifier from the stack before you export steph's head...be a bit more complicated but should work>> omg, it seems too unpractical to try to make a morph-to-make-a-morph. I have a hard enough time morphing directly to one object as it is :) thanks alot for the advice though. Ok, it seems that the Aiko installation is just a cr2 file and textures. I have heard that P-wizard can rip geometry files from a cr2, so are there any free obj rippers out there that I can try? Or does anyone have other suggestions?

Are you creating the morph for yourself or to distribute?
Either way I can probably help ya out. It is less complicated if you are not going to distribute the morph.

CR2's don't contain geometry anymore, they do however tell you what .obj it uses and where it is located.

Open the cr2 in a text editor, within the first couple lines you'll see the path and .obj name. I'm not familiar with Aiko, but I understand she is a character based on Stephanie.

Anyway, you'll need the 2 Habware plugins for importing and exporting .obj's.

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I'm probably not going to distribute them, but I wouldn't mind learning both methods. I opened the cr2 in notepad and found the obj file, thanks for the tip. This still doesn't solve my problem however, since it is basically a mesh of stephanie, but I'm assuming there is a way to use this? I already have the habware plugins, so feel free to elaborate...

damn i hate it when somebody posts a message while i'm typing and i have to type things twice!!!this was a long message...sigh basically what i was saying tho[trying to clear up what i said earlier while in a rush]..is if you want to modify aiko you'll have to make your morphs on steph's head since she's the base model and the "zero state" for aiko..if you export,modify and then reimport aiko's head,you'll double up on aiko's features..if you had an "aiko" dial it would look like you set it too "2" now for the 3dsmax magic tricks...or how to modify one mesh while looking at another in ten easy steps 1.import steph's head into max from her base obj in your poser/runtime/geometries folder 2.import a copy of a previously exported "aiko" head into the same max scene..you now have two head's in your scene,stephs original and aiko's right? 3.select steph's head and add max's "morpher" modifier to it 4.in the morpher mod select the first channel and use the "add from scene" function to select aiko's head... 5.hide aiko's mesh and set the "aiko channel" on stephs head to 100...now steph looks just like aiko right? 6.add an "edit mesh" modifier to steph/aiko's head on top of the morpher mod 7.modify steph/aiko all you like as you normally would 8.now that you're happy with how aiko looks...drop down the stack and delete the morpher mod from steph...now you should have a modded steph right?collapse the steph mesh's stack to an editable mesh 9.unhide aiko's mesh and delete it from your scene 10. export your new aiko morph to poser now ain't 3dsmax a nifty prog?this also works for any other custom characters whose look is quite different from the base model they're derived from...

When you export the obj head from Poser. Turn all IK off. Use the Joint Editor and push Zero Figure. Select the hip and make sure everything is at zero. Select the Body and make sure everything is at zero includeing the Body morphs. Zero all the morphs on the head if you want. If you dont then you'll want to zero them before useing the morph in Poser later. In post 4 you mention Edit>Restore>All and then export the head. That wont work since the hip has translation and the legs are bent. Restoreing a figure doesn't zero the figure (mesh), it sets it to the favoured IK pose. Which is the hip down, legs bent foward and arms bent. It also drops the figure to the floor, Y translation on the body. I think people make this mistake allot. It could be the problem.

Hot Diggity DOG! Rodzilla that mini tutorial is GOLD to a newb like me! It works like a charm. I have been trying to figure this thing out for days, thanks ALOT for all the help! I sincerely appreciate it, I'll be able to do alot more with these kind of custom characters now. I love this forum!! Lynn I'm going to try your suggestion also, thanks for the tip!

glad it worked for you..i was on my way out the door and should have explained it better the first time