Ok first off, this is mostly hypothetical (sp?) as I only have Poser 3 at the moment, and won't be able to upgrade for a few months at least (no work :( ) but I'm wanting to know about morphs now ;) I know how basic morphs work - Dr. Geep's tut on the subject was very helpful - but I've seen examples of more advanced morphs that don't seem to follow the "don't add/delete any vertices" rule. I'll use the MilDragon as an example (note that I don't have MilDragon though). The dragon's morphs include adding spines, ears, and other things that seem to add more vertices than the model had originally. Now, the reason I'm asking about this is that I'd like to make some morphs and texture maps for the dolphin - specificlly, morphs to create Ecco the Dolphin characters ;) Most of them would require some pretty drastic changes, so I'm just wondering how one creates complicated morphs like the dragon's spines, if such are morphs at all.

I'd have to see your specific example, but I doubt any new vertices are created. Consider the four polygons below (the plus signs being the actual points on the mesh) This is being viewed from above. if you were to pull that middle one up toward you and move the ones on the sides and corners toward the center, you would create a spike sticking out of the mesh. The four polys would become non-planar and may cause rendor errors, but poser's 100 degree smoothing angle covers a lot of sins. Veiw the mesh in wire frame mode, see if you can spot where points are being stolen from.

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Message edited on: 07/26/2004 23:44

Attached Link: http://www.critical-depth.net/modules.php?name=Reviews2&rop=showcontent2&id=24

K I made one mistake - a lot of the spines n stuff on the dragon aren't morphs, they're props. (See link) My bad ^_^; The pic I attached was the only pic I could find of one of the dolphins I wanted to make. It's a poor image I know, but it does show the spines. Most of the changes I want to make would probably done with morphs. The Clan guard above would just need a new UV map, elongated fins and a few spine props. Guess I don't need that much help after all, though direction to other morph tuts would be appreciated ^_^;

If you have access to a modeling package, the process is rather simple. Most packages support .obj format 1.) Using the heirarchy window, I usually only load/export the body part I want to add a morph to, creating a new file being careful not to step on the original geometry. 2.) I import the file into my modeler (in my case Lightwave) 3.) I move the points to where I want them, being careful not to move the object as a whole. (If you move it, the new point positions get calculated as a morph) I save the file new file. 4.)Back in poser I created a folder in my runtime called morphs. I load the model, select the body part and then choose apply morph target. It will prompt you for the new geometry file - Bingo you get a new dial to twist.

Thanks :) I do model, I favor Wings 3D. Poser 3 doesn't seem to have a hierarchy window at all. And when I import a figure back into Poser it forgets that the figure can move, and treats it as a prop. Feh. I guess I could experiment with Daz Studio, though I don't like it and it runs slow =/ Thanks for your help :) Wishes she could get Poser 5

Hi SnowFox102, You might be interested in this tut. You can ... [ CLICK HERE](http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=1843595) and hyperwarp to the tutorial. cheers, dr geep ;=]

Oh my gosh, the great Dr. Geep talked to ME!! faints ;) Thanks, I saw it already but I forgot to bookmark it. :)

Hi Rachel, "Great"? Hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha ... Thanks, I needed that! ;=] Perhaps, this one. It's an oldie, but a goodie. ;=] You can ... [CLICK HERE](http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=1649170) to do the hyperwarp thingie. ;=] cheers, dr geep ;=]

Morphs can be made for Poser 3, but you need the help of an external program such as Compose if I remember correctly. Holler if you want to try it.

Eh? I made morphs for Poser3 using nothing more than Ray Dream version 4.1 And BTW, it isn't the lack of heirachy window that's hurting your re-imported object file. For neither morph nor figure do you IMPORT an obj to Poser. In the former, you use the "add morph" routine from inside the body part to be morphed (select a body part and hit control-I to see the pop-up). In the latter, you have to text-edit the cr2 so it "points" at the new object file. I've seen a lot of spines done with smart-props.

Re the morph discussion. It might help to clarify what a morph actually is. In a nutshell, a morph target is a set of polygons (for an object or body part) which have been re-arranged. These polygons are added to the object/body part as an alternative version in the form of deltas, which is nothing more than a long string of new coordinates in text form. The deltas tell poser what the new configuration will be, and when you turn the morph dial, a value of 1.000 will give you that exact configuration. Any more or less than 1.00 will give you intermediate versions of the new configuration. So, if you realise that all your doing is shifting around the existing geometry, it follows that you can't add or subtract vertices from it. All morphs for spikes, spines or whatever are simply extrusions. In other words, vertices on the 'skin' are pulled outwards to form a spike. mac