I guess this is a grouping tool thing?  How do I get the morphing tool to affect multiple body parts simultaneously?  Also, how does the mirror thing work?  I played around with it but it doesn't seem to mirror anything.

If you load the OBJ from the relevant Runtime/Geometries subdirectory, you can create morphs that cross body part boundries.
You will need to use one of the available scripts to split the morphed OBJ into parts and / or apply it to the figure.

I read that the e frontier developers admit that the Poser Morph tool won't work across body part boundaries. I haven't tried the Mirror option myself, so I'm curious to hear other's experiences with it.

I see e frontier has a new Morph Brush video tutorial on their Website, but I couldn't download the large movie file, so I don't know if it would answer any of your questions, JQP.

nruddock, I'm very intrigued by your comments, but I don't understand what you mean by "load the OBJ". For example, how would I open V3's object, blMilWom_v3.obj, in Poser for editing? Or would I open it in an object editor, such as Hexagon, Milkshape, Carrara, etc.? Also, can you give us the name and/or location of one of the available scripts you mentioned?

Thanks,
Rick

Quote - ... but I don't understand what you mean by "load the OBJ".
For example, how would I open V3's object, blMilWom_v3.obj, in Poser for editing?

You import it.
File menu | Import | Wavefront OBJ
Then active the Morph Tool.

You can't pose the OBJ, because it's just a static OBJ, but you can apply magnets and use the Morph Brush.

The mirror finction is for something like a symmetrical face, not for say, working on the left and right arm, that have different groups.

I asked tech support about enhancing it to work across multiple groups, on say a left or right arm, but becuase of the way poser is setup, and the code the wrote to do this, adding that would be a major overhaul, and probably wouldn't be realized until the new poser version, IF then.

I see it as a nifty little tool for things like pop through, or minor facial expression work. ideally, it would be great to see zbrush or mudbox liek functionality in it, but by the time EF could add that, we'd see even more abiliteis in those other tools, and I'd rather see then impliment something like suface baking instead, since those other tools are just outstanding.

Gareee, what is surface baking?

say you use a bunch of proceedurals to come up with a killer texture for something. Surface baking allows you to create a texture map from that, and save itout as a jpg, psd or whatever.. then you won;t need that complex node setup next time, and can enhance/modify that in the 2d graphics app of your choice.

or bake ao or ibl on your object in poser, and then use that as a texture base, or overlay for another texture.

surface baking is in all major 3d applications,and when you think about it, the application is already setup to "look" at all the surfaces, and computer them for a render.. add a little more math, and you've got it readily available as a texture map.

Attached Link: Using UVMapper

Link to older thread on how to do it with Classic and Pro.

Quote - Using UVMapper works too. Instead of importing the geometry .obj. You can save the materials and groups in UVMapper then add them back to the figure when your done with the morphing.

This is only necessary when using a modelling program that makes working on a grouped mesh awkward or impossible.
It isn't required when working on a imported OBJ with Poser's Morph Brush.

I see that now but you also need those scripts you mentioned. And what are those scripts?

I mentioned the Mapper way as another way to do it. I also save the figuer to be used in other modeling apps.

Quote - I see that now but you also need those scripts you mentioned. And what are those scripts?

svdl wrote one (check the Python forum), PhilC's Poser Toolbox has a script (or scripts) for this, and Netherworks also did one.

Now I know which ones you mean, I have those. LOL Still installing everything into my new computer, so I have not got that far yet.

You have no idea at how much you have untill you have to transfer it all and organize it all too.

nruddock, 

I've used your great suggestion to Import V3's OBJ file for use with the Morph Brush tool. After backing-up the original, I made a small change with the tool that goes across body parts, and then used Export to overwrite blMilWom_v3.obj with the modified OBJ. 

However, when I open a previously-saved V3 character, she is invisible. On the other hand, she is visible and looks fine if I re-Import blMilWom_v3.obj. The modification still looks good too.

I left all of the Import and Export Options checkboxes and values at their defaults. For example, "Weld body part seams" and "Include body part names in polygon groups" are the only ones checked in the Export Options. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Rick

So, there's a very ugly workaround (load obj., morph, re-split via script) but they can't get it to work inside Poser?  It reminds me of a post in another forum where a blenderdefender told me that swapping blender's Y and Z axes to be like most other programs would require too much recoding of blender.  (Hmmm...  change "y" to "z" in GUI, check if object is native blender or import and reorient if necessary? Maybe change a hot key or something?)  I'm sure if it were more important to them they could find a way to do it.  I noticed a few people's answers in the survey (as discussed here) were quite different that mine.  I'm sure if "make morph tool work across seams" was one of those 1-to-5 questions it would get a few high rankings. 

Quote - I left all of the Import and Export Options checkboxes and values at their defaults. For example, "Weld body part seams" and "Include body part names in polygon groups" are the only ones checked in the Export Options. Am I missing something?

On import, nothing should be checked.
On Export, you need only "Include existing groups in polygon groups".

Don't overwrite the original OBJ file when you export, especially when you've used the wrong options.

Wouldn't changing the obj affect all the characters that used it?  How would you change just one character using this method? 

nruddock, 

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply.

V3 is visible now, by only checking "Include existing groups in polygon groups" on Export. Thank you.
 
However, I'm still doing something wrong, because the Imported-Modified-Exported object's changes don't appear in V3. It looks as if the geometry modifications I've made are simply ignored by Poser. I've re-tried it a few times, exaggerating the Morph Brush tool modifications each time, but still with no effect.

Also, thanks for the caution - I backed up my original blMilWom_v3.obj before I started.

moogal, good point about the universality of this approach, but I want this geometry mod to affect all of my V3 characters, as it is a subtle "correction" for all.

Thanks,
Rick

so, let me get this straight.  if you don't need to control the amount of the new morph, creating a new .obj source is just fine.  but if you want to create morphs, then use one of the many scripts available.

correct?

I'm still trying to figure out how to modify an obj for just one figure that uses it.  Only thing that comes to mind, a seperate runtime, doesn't seem the ideal solution.

moogal - if you don't care about changing the amount of the morph once you've created it, just don't save over the original obj. file.   instead name the file something specific and different (e.g., myv3.obj), and then edit a new character file to point at the new obj file.

if you do want adjustable dials, you need to spawn morph targets for each group, apply them to each group of the original, and (optionally)  making one master dial to control the morph in each group in the "body."   i really don't know much about that process.

No that's correct.  I spaced out and forgot that I could get the groups back out of the welded obj mesh with the script.