Hi, I did do a forum search but didnt turn anything up.

Is there some way i can prevent expressions from overwriting facial character morphs?

Got a pose pack for the k4's and they remove the character morphs.. and vice versa.. if i apply the expressions first, then apply the character morphs then the facial expressions disappear. Most frustrating :-/

Thanks
Whims 

You might need to contact the vendor. That's a bit of a tricky one, since they shouldn't do, but if pose aspects were used, would do.

This was a bigger problem earlier when some inexperienced vendors didn't create or save their expressions properly. I haven't seen it much lately. It could happen when:

A) The vendor used non-expression morphs (the face-sculpting morphs) to help create the expression.

B) The vendor may have used only the correct expression morphs, but neglected to exclude the non-expression morphs when saving the expression. Thus when it was applied, all non-expression face morphs were reset to zero and boom, your character was gone.

A similar problem occurred when a vendor would sell a set of body poses and they would convert every custom body shape to Victoria's default body. Don't see that one much any more, either.

Is there something I can edit in the character file so as to not remove the expressions if i apply an expression first?.. or does that come back to the expression file again?

I just want to finish the scene im working on, so i can render it  lol

Would rather edit the character pose file just once if possible than 20 expressions files :-/

I'm actually surprised it wasnt picked up by rendo marketplace testing re the expression pack. Seems the vendor has a number of expression packs that all do the same thing re removing the character morphs.
Thing is, the expressions themselves are great. 

Thanks
Whims :-) 

I am assuming that you tried applying the expression after you posed the character.  You could just try saving the expression back into the library, then applying it after posing.  I don't see any reason for the expression morph to influence any existing pose.

Quote - I am assuming that you tried applying the expression after you posed the character.  You could just try saving the expression back into the library, then applying it after posing.  I don't see any reason for the expression morph to influence any existing pose.

...unless, of course, the developer actually used pose morphs to generate some of the expressions. Which I've done myself in the past, when I wasn't getting the effect I was after with just the expression morph set. Couldn't really offer my U-Beaut expression set to anyone else, naturally, because of it. :blink:

This really annoyed me when I had a similar problem with a package that had a large number of expressions for V4, everyone of which wiped the character morphs.  

Thankfully somebody here pointed me towards 'FC2FIX for V4 by Gary Sayers' but as the name suggests only works for V4.  This strips out all the morph channels from the expression files that are not related to expressions.  I have used it a number of times to cure the problem.  It also only works with windows.  

http://www.sharecg.com/v/32429/browse/10/Software-and-Tools/FC2Fix-for-V4-expression-morphs

Others might know if there is a similar program for K4s or perhaps those with programming skills I do not have might be able to create something

 

I got tired of this too. So I developed the following workaround/ solution:

1. Apply the character morph

2. Export head as a morph target

3. Zero out all head/face dial settings

4. Load morph target.

Now the expressions don't change the character. It may not be the best solution, but it works like a charm.

@ hborre - doesnt seem to matter what order I do it in
If I apply the expression first and then the character..the character zeros out and remove the expression

If I apply the character and then the expression, the expression removes the character.

@hornet3d.. just going off memory of reading other posts, i think it may have possibly been the same merchant re the poses. 

@nekkidchikken - how do I export head as a morph target? Sorry have done a search of the poser reference manual and it has how to spawn a morph target..is that what i am after?

Really dont want to have to mess around with resaving each expression... is something like 100 of them in the pack :-(

Thanks
Whims 

Unless this was a free pack, it's really the responsibility of the creator to repair the goof. If they have no interest in doing so, you have a legitimate complaint to make to the host site.

Yeah i could make a complaint however I'd rather just fix it, so I can use it and get my scene done and rendered.

I left purchase feedback and mentioned this issue .. as others had done on their other v4 expressions that had the same issue.. and moving forward I dont buy any further expressions from the same merchant

I think this will work but save everything first. This is the easiest fix I could think of if you can't get the vendor to fix the problem with his expressions. I assume you've made a character you like with eye morphs, mouth morphs, etc. Set all the vendor expressions to zero. Kick out a morph of the head as you like it, then read it back in. Set the expression you want, the face goes back to the original K4 face, then turn the new morph you made up until your morphed face returns. I think this will work and only involves having to turn one dial. If you don't use the vendor expression at full value (or 1), you may find you have to play with the settings on your new head morph.

 

I'll show you how to kick out a head morph and then read it back in below (click on the picture to see an example).

 

Kick out a morph:

Go under FILE, EXPORT, WAVEFRONT OBJ

Accept the frame you're working in

You see everything in your setting, click on UNIVERSE to deselect everything, then click on the head and select it

Export as a MORPH TARGET, everything else off

Give it a name and put it somewhere

Apply a morph

Select the head

Go to OBJECT, LOAD MORPH

Tell it where the morph is and then OK

It should appear at the very bottom of the head morphs or parameters.

Mark@poser that worked a treat!

I'd been trying to export the head but the instructions in the poser manual are different for exporting to your instructions, and when i was trying to import it back in it kept telling me wrong number of vertices or something along those lines.
Thanks too for the screen shots.. appreciate that. 

THANK YOU! my sanity has remained intact (what sanity i have anyhow lol)
and I can now merrily carry on with my picture making :-D

Enjoy your day
Thanks
Whims  

Quote -  and when i was trying to import it back in it kept telling me wrong number of vertices or something along those lines.
 

 

The main reason for that is not selecting the head prior to selecting OBJECT, LOAD MORPH or kicking out some body part other than the head.

Glad it worked.

Also, a reason for "wrong number of vertices" is that by default everything in the universe is selected in Export, including the Ground. Why the Poser programmers thought anyone would want to export the Ground Plane along with their item is beyond me. But the Ground adds a few vertices to the Export and screws up your Import. As Mark said, the best way is to de-select the entire Universe and then select only the item(s) you want to Export.

Exporting and Importing morph targets is actually a very powerful tool and an easy way to make your own morphs. Not just of head and body morphs, but morphed props as well.

I'm not sure what I was doing wrong.. it wasnt the ground that caught me out.. am used to deselecting that.. 

no idea what i was messing up lol

I've only just changed over to P9 too and the difference in the interface layout to P7 isnt huge but still takes a bit of getting used to .. things just look 'different'

thanks for the help everyone :-)))

Quote - If I apply the expression first and then the character..the character zeros out and remove the expression

Well, that shouldn't happen either. None of my characters zeroed out the expression, so you could have a problem with the character, also.

It didnt matter what order I was applying them in.. one would zero out the other no matter what ..which is a total pita