I just cannot get my head wrapped around how to model clothing, and I would dearly love if someone could mentor me in this. I use FormZ as a modeling program, which is pretty well loaded with all the right tools, so I dont think the modelling platform will be an issue. I just need some guidance on how it's done, and I'm more than willing to pay for someone's expertise.

Nothing fancy: I can do fancy in the texturing. But I have a few things Ive always wanted for Ichiro1 (yeah, a mesh that old!) that, unless I do them myself, probably will never happen.

Any takers?

unless the person is sitting in the same room with you its unlikely youll learn more from them than you would simply following tutorials.

ive never used FormZ, i use Silo and Max.  i would highly recommend that you start following some basic box modeling tutorials. start small - ie: not a lace-up corset modeling tutorial, but with simple things like 'box modeling a screwdriver' and/or 'making a chair'. 

you need to learn the fundamentals of box modeling before trying to model complex surfaces like most clothing cleanly and efficiently. 

http://www.silo3d.com/Tutorials/User_Tutorials/julien_tromeur_tutorial/julien_tromeur_tutorial.htm

^this is the type of basic tutorial i am referring to. i would google more for you but im on mobile broadband and my bandwidth is quite expensive, but there are hundreds of video tutorials out there. and dont worry about whether the tutorial covers modeling a chair, or a basketball: the core concepts are exactly the same for clothing modeling.

just be aware that unless you are going for dynamic clothing, modeling clothing is just a part of the clothing creation process.  you will need to learn to UV Map/group, conform and make JCMs.

Let me expand on my request a bit.

I work as a 3D modeler for the trade show industry. I know the basics and then some of the process, from simple box construction to nurbs work.

 

LOL -- no need for a lace up corset — my boys arent that kinky. But the point is: I know my way around a modeling program. There's just something in making clothing that I'm just not getting.

Oh well, thanks anyway.

what arent you getting about clothing modeling? could you be more specific?  if you post some reference pics of what exactly it is youre trying to model, it would help. otherwise there is no specific 'recipe' or 'universal tutorial' for clothing modeling.  if you can model a car you can certainly model a t-shirt or a pair of jeans.

take your base character model - preferably straight from the Geometries folder. import it into your modeling app. i find it helps to use two separate material colors and alternate them between body groups, then weld the figure groups, so you end up with a figure that has body groups that are more visible.  this helps you both plan clothing area and topology to better work with the figure grouping, and also helps you cut/group the final mesh.

clothing essentially starts off as a simple subdivided box that is then shaped to fit the body, with extruded sleeves/legs/etc. seam and wrinkle detail can either be added at the mesh level or you can displacement/normal map it afterwards. either or works, and both have potential drawbacks.

Modeling is completely beyond me. I tried Wings3D and some tutorials. Most of the tutorials just talk about the user interface and how make a box into a ball and back. Not many out there showing how to actually use the interface and techniques to actually make something.

BionicRooster found me a tutorial for wings that made a jar with a lid. Making the lid was the first part and was about 6 minutes long. I think I managed to get to the 3 minute mark or so before I started to get mega confused and was totally and completely lost. I finally gave up.

Fugazi has a number of tutorials in his store on modeling. Maybe look there. You might have to learn a different program to follow some tutorials, but once you know the "how", you could probably adapt it to the program that you most use.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?vendor=258278

^try Silo. there is still a 30 day free trial, AFAIK. after that if you decide to stick with it its only $150, which isnt too bad for an excellent modeler with uvunwrap and displacement painting.

Silo is free of the bloat that a lot of 3D apps suffer from, and has a very intuitive and streamlined workflow.

 

http://nevercenter.com/silo/?section=tutorials

start with Silo Tools Series (Beginner)

Wings 3D is free, and there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube. I have only been working with Wings for a few weeks, and I am already making clothes for Sydney, Simon and James. I made a simple nightgown for Sydney, and I'll post it when I get on my laptop again. Everything I make is dynamic because I want to animate it and not worry about morph dials and poke-through.

If you can wrap your head around modelling objects, clothing isn't that much different. Now conforming clothes on the other hand... I still won't mess with it because I am still trying to learn rigging.

sean check your PMs

A few tips...

Actually I've never finished anything and I have a ton of WIPs.  So I guess my only tip would be to have a lot of things going at once so if you aren't in the mood to work on one thing, you might be in the mood to work on something else.  Plus you have extra reasons handy if you haven't gotten anything done.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=2147631&user_id=38802&np&np

Are you sure you need conforming clothes?  What about dynamic?

Are you animating or just doing stills?

You can get some great clothes very quickly, from imagination to render, from MarvelousDesigner by Clo3d. 

 

Attached Link: Marv Gallery

To expand, the workflow I use is to load up poser and pose my model, test render, whatever (Nude) and then when it's right, save it and go into Marv. and whip up clothing in about 10-15 minutes, import the pose and watch it drape, then export that to poser.  It's static, but great for that one still and I can just delete it when I'm done.  (No need to save it since it's static and I have the original in Marv.)

Wow, William those clothes look fantastic! Do you need to be a tailor or seamstress to use Clo3d. It seems like you have to know how to use cloth patterns to create clothes in Clo3d.

Well, I'm NOT a seamster or tailor.  The principals are the same, but they are easily learned by tutorials to get you going, reverse engineering the demo dress that  loads by default, or just trial-and-error.

 

 

These are all made in 3ds max and imported into Poser as props.   I then ran cloth simulations on them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjRkv9BbDlE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eADL52rS3sw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPUU5pfoyJo

I followed the garment maker tutorials for 3ds max 2009 from the autodesk website.  It's definitely way easier than box modelling.

Making conforming clothes is a whole different beast.  Once you model the clothes, you have to import it into Poser and properly rig it to get it conform to the figure you made the clothes for.

Marv is similar to max/garment maker but is done in real time and you can manipulate in real time.  Also, it's significantly lower in price.

Quote - Marv is similar to max/garment maker but is done in real time and you can manipulate in real time.  Also, it's significantly lower in price.

 

That's cool.  I've never heard of it before.  I'll have to check it out.

I can't box model worth a darn, but I do fine with spline modeling. Either way an easy way to get started understanding concepts is to make a legwarmer for a figure. If you box model, start with a cylinder and squish it until it fits the leg. If you use splines, make a bunch of rings around the leg, scoot the points until they lay just above the leg mesh, then skin them. For either one, don't cap the ends of the tube and you've got a legwarmer. Then you just need to chop it into two groups to match the thigh and shin, and you can bring it into poser and rig it - very simple rig. Going through that process will help you figure out what your own personal work flow should be, which kind of modeling feels right to you, etc. If you can post a picture of the kind of thing you're trying to make, as said up above, folks can propose some different methods. Not as good as a phone call or a webex session from someone teaching you, but maybe it'll help...