OK, I remember playing around with a program years ago that would let you import two photos, a front and a profile, and you had to map out where the facial features were and it would build you a little 3d head.It was really neat, and worked almost flawlessly. I would LOVE to see something that could do the same thing for the millenium figures. If I could make a custom face morph for Vicky in that way, that would be almost priceless. Anyone know of anything?

I forgot to add. The program didn't just paste the photos as a map onto the existing head, it actually altered the shape of the head it'self

I bought that program and my roommate stole it when he moved out before I ever had a chance to install and try it. Always wondered if it was any good.

what was the program called?

Yeah... I had it and lost it to a crash... in practical terms it worked much better than the Face Room!

But what was the name of it?! You are getting me excited, but leaving me without a name!

anyone?

Attached Link: http://www.facegen.com

Are you talking about FaceGen? If so, the Face Room module is by the same folks ....

does it work with the millennium figures?

was it 3D me now?

Not sure ... there are a few folks in the Poser community who use it and have posted images made from FaceGen, but I'm not sure if they combine the FaceGen head with a V2 or V3 body or how they approach it. Any FaceGen users in the house that can answer this?

BillyGoat is the winner! Yes it was 3D Me now. I couldn't recall the name til I read it. ;) I've got a bad case of CRS! (Can't Remember Sheit)

FaceGen doesn't work with the Millennium figures. Basically, it's a fancy version of the Face Room. It only works on its own head mesh, just as the Face Room only works on the P5 and 6 figures.

When you think about it, it has to work that way. You can't expect a program like Facegen to be able to map and morph any mesh you stick in it. It has to be tied to a specific mesh (or meshes).

The only way to get a Face Room-like program to work on the DAZ figures is for DAZ to make their own plugin (or license it, as CL did with Facegen). They could do it. It would give D|S a big boost if they did.

I believe that 3DMeNow is kaput.

They had a free version of the program. About all that it did was to create animated heads with moving lips and eyelids. The heads could be e-mailed to deliver messages.

If you wanted full .obj export capability, then you had to buy the $2000 version of 3DMeNow. Shortly before the company went belly-up, they were also working on a companion full-body creation program to go with the heads.

I checked into 3DMeNow -- and dismissed it as being too expensive for what you got.

Likewise, I dismiss FaceGen as being too expensive for what it does. I also don't like the fact that FaceGen requires you to upload your front & profile facial pictures to their own remote computer in order to generate heads. The program isn't "standalone". You can't just create heads on your own computer. This means that if Singular Inversions ever goes the way of 3DMeNow, then you'd simply be out the $1000 for the software modules needed to use it with Poser -- and with no ability to use the program for the intended purpose.

The intitial purchase price of the program grants you a limited number of "free" heads -- and then you have to start paying a fee per each head that you create.

None of this sounds like such a great deal to me.

On the other hand, if Singular Inversions were to lower the price for their software -- they might suddenly find themselves with lots of sales. The other issue would be to get rid of the per-head fee.....and simply enable users to create heads on their own, personal machines.

Message edited on: 11/29/2005 17:04

Well seeing as how I never even cracked the celephane on it I can't say how good or bad the deal was. My roommate releived me of my copy so I'll never know the facts of what it could or could not export.

They could do it. It would give D|S a big boost if they did.

If anyone could come out with a face generating module which actually worked, and worked well....then they'd have an instant market, I think.

But the price would have to be reasonable.

If DAZ were to come out with such a functionality, then it'd go a long way towards getting me much more interested in D|S than I am now. Especially if it worked with the Mil figures.

I wish that EF would re-vamp the Face Room -- make it more than the hit-or-miss proposition that it is now (at best). AND make it compatible with the Mil figures. Without the Mil figures built in, the FR is just a fifth wheel tacked onto Poser, IMO.

Well seeing as how I never even cracked the celephane on it I can't say how good or bad the deal was. My roommate releived me of my copy so I'll never know the facts of what it could or could not export.

Unless if you bought the full, "pro" version of the software (a $2000 product), then the lesser versions of the 3DMeNow software had no export capability.

I know -- I e-mailed the company inquiring about it at the time. They gave me a friendly enough answer -- but, no -- you had to cough up the $2000 to be able to export anything out.

Am I correct in thinking, though, that you COULD get any figure to work in FaceGen if you purchase both FaceGen Modeler and FaceGen Customizer? It's still prohibitive, though, because it would mean a near $1000 investment in software, and you wouldn't be able to distribute the end results afterwards. So that's a lot to spend for most Poser hobbiests.

No, I don't think you can get FaceGen to work on any figure. It generates its own meshes, it doesn't modify existing ones.

The way Facegen users get their heads on V3's body is to edit it on, the way people frankenstein Vicky's head onto Posette's body. Or they fix it in postwork. This is why I think the best solution would be for DAZ to make or license their own plugin. One that works on unimesh heads.

I've seen some excellent celeb clone results produced by using FaceGen. I've also seen some so-so results from the same source.

To me, it just isn't worth the $1000 investment for a mono-use program like FaceGen. Especially not with the additional restrictions & fees that Singular Inversions slaps on top of the purchase price of their software.

When you consider that you can buy Lightwave for not much more than what FaceGen costs -- and that Lightwave would be the FAR more useful product of the two overall........

Yes, you CAN get heads generated in FaceGen to work in Poser. I've seen it done. But it's not easy. I've seen some tuts for adding heads to figures -- including Mil figures. It's a rather involved & lenghty process. But it can be done.

I think the main problem with this type of technology (or even making digital clones in other ways) is that you lose the likeness when you apply an expression. That's why all the Facegen clones tend to look like mannequins.

When DAZ made that Dick van Dyke clone for their children's book, they didn't just clone his head shape. They also modelled a bunch of his expressions, so it would still look like him smiling, frowning, laughing, etc. That's really what you have to do to get a good digital clone.

As I recall I only paid something like $29.95-$49.95 for it so I'm kinda glad I never got the celephane off I'd have been pissed to find no export feature that's for damned sure! Now it doesn't hurt so bad that I got ripped off. LOL!

Good thing too that your erstwhile roomate didn't walk off with a $2000 program -- if you had bought that version.

Sounds like a great roomate.

LOL! You only know a small part of it. The rest isn't something I'd post publically anywhere!

I have done experiments that indicate a replacement head with very soft forms and mapped planar can take a frontal photo and look good from frontal to three quarter and sometimes even profile. I do not have the skill to model a form like this with an opening mouth but using magnets I have gotten a range of expressions... a real morphing mouth and closing eyes are well possible but I can't make them. If you can find that spidy mask where ever it is and magnet down the chin you will see what I am talking about... the key is a form pretty much like someone with a nylon stocking pulled over their head, very smoothed out but without UV distortion, the texture on the planar mapping really fools the eye. Above is an example I did up in about four or five minutes.

I remember a freebie for Posette doing more or less the same thing...

Newer versions of Facegen do not require you to have to mail your pics anywhere (versions 3.1 +, I think). Everything is done right there on your pc, though it takes a while...and devours your processor for a little while. I actually love facegen.

I've set facegen up to work on V3 and M3 by replacing their heads with a default facegen head. Now all I have to do is import 1 morph and change the textures and whammo! Instant look-a-like (or pretty close). I have to be honest though, setting up those meshes so there's no neckline is a pain in the ass, to say the least. Well worth the effort once you've got it though.

Momodot, I may be out of it, or completely unhip not to know...but who is that woman in that pic?

I believe ebay had a few 3DNow programs for sale....I have tried a older version of Facegen a while back and that is a cool program.

Newer versions of Facegen do not require you to have to mail your pics anywhere (versions 3.1 +, I think). Everything is done right there on your pc, though it takes a while...and devours your processor for a little while.

Glad to hear that they've fixed that. The requirement for e-mailing your images off to them -- and then having to pay a per-head fee -- was a HUGE negative against the program, IMO.

Devouring my processor time I can handle.

I've set facegen up to work on V3 and M3 by replacing their heads with a default facegen head. Now all I have to do is import 1 morph and change the textures and whammo! Instant look-a-like (or pretty close). I have to be honest though, setting up those meshes so there's no neckline is a pain in the ass, to say the least. Well worth the effort once you've got it though.

$1000 is still a hefty price for a single-use program, IMO. I can make good clone faces for a lot less than $1000. It can be a pain to do....time consuming. But it works. And without having to pay the $1000 penalty.

Well.....to each their own.

I see the potential of FaceGen. It's a program that I'd consider purchasing -- if my internal price vs. value balance meter didn't tilt over the $$$$$$$.

Personally, I'd rather spend the bucks on other things....like Poser content. I can do heads without FaceGen.

Let me clarify by saying that I'll spend approx. $700 for a program like Photoshop -- or approx. $600 for a program like Vue 5 Infinite. Or approx. $450 for a program like Adobe Acrobat. Or more $$$$$ for Lightwave or Maya.

But all of these programs have many uses -- unlike a single-use program like FaceGen.

And that's the difference.

I believe that when I bought facegen it was about $300...though I seem to remember I got an educational discount. That's still fairly steep though for what it does, I agree.

BTW - trueSpace has a built-in head modeling feature. And trueSpace is a full-blown modeling program -- not just a head generator. TrueSpace costs $595. It's an alternative -- one with more than a single use.

Was it Digimask ?

Attached Link: EROKO thread

sbertram, I have no idea who that is... scammed it off the net. I have no idea who is famous these days. I have Celebrity Trixie from DAZ... any idea who that is? Anyway, I spent no time making a template or anything on that but if you match the template right it looks good I think for a full 180 sweep. With magnets you can move the eyebrows and corners of the mouth for basic expressions. I have no idea where my original work on this wen, I was frutrated the mouth didin't work and I wanted Poser eyes. The "adult" figure Eroko has a face mask I am thinking might take potos well and it has working eyes and mouth.

sbertram: The photo is Josie Maran, a top model.