Is it possible?

Has anyone done it?

Can you use DAZ models like Micheal and Victoria to create a statue?

It is possible. It requires the model be solid (meaning water tight - no open geometry). e-frontier used to offer a service for this.

Quote - It is possible. It requires the model be solid (no open geometry). e-frontier used to offer a service for this.

Is there an easy way to "convert" poser models into solid no open geometry?

better check the DAZ EULA as well - I seem to remember there being something in there about not being able to do that but ICBW

(for V*/M* obviously)

Depends on the model. Some models have gums and teeth that have holes in them. If they intersect another mesh you can sometimes get away with it but it's best to cap them.

Other models don't have eye sockets beyond the lids, those are also a problem and would need to be capped . 

So - cap or fill all holes

Make sure there aren't alot of really thin parts that extend away from the body - these tend to break

Make sure your model is welded - UVMapper can do this for you I believe.

and make sure you scale it up a little, as Poser's size is pretty small - though some places will do that for you at a price.

I've looked into this before with shapeways.  www.shapeways.com  but I wasnt sure how to go about prepping a clothed poser model for printing as the clothes are now where near water tight and you get all sorts of hidden or interstcing mesh.. I started working on one character but I gave up on it as it seemed a bit too much work for me

Later I used Ownage. I had this done. It was suhweet.  But the pipes were too thin and one of the models broke in shipping.   Granted, not Poser models but to give you some idea of the pitfalls...

For Poser models and other models that have clothing:

your models need thickness so the easiest way to do that would be -

Look at the mesh and find points you can close off. Where you need to, you can also turn an item or object into a shell (that's what silo calls giving a model thickness).

Good points to close off - the pants at the opening of both legs and the waist. You can cap those and then delete the geometry of the body that intersects, capping the bits left over and moving them so that they only interesect a little. Some intersection is needed or they'll be milled as separate parts.

ZBrush is good for that part. There's a feature in it that will close open holes in geometry.  There's also a Curve Slice tool, which will make very nice cuts in a model so you can then cap them. I'd illustrate but it would take awhile.

Quote - ...I'd illustrate but it would take awhile.

I hope you would do illustrate this. This will be very helpful.

i've got zbrush & it's great, just mentioning tho that 3DCoat also has that option :)

but here's some tips on zbrush splicing : http://www.pixologic.com/docs/index.php/New_Brushes

Actually, you cannot redistribute the mesh in whole or in part per Daz's terms of service.

So no, you can't use Michael or Victoria from DAZ.

Also most content providers also do not allow you to share their products with others either.

Lastly, the cost is still like $50-$200 an inch. A 6 inch figure could cost you $300-$1200.

Ok so its not usually a problem to have mesh that intersects or overlaps slightly.  I was trying to delete clothing covered body mesh then weld the verts of the edges of those holes onto the edges of the clothing mesh to close those holes... 

So for instance if I have a shin going into a boot... I could delete the foot and cap it as well as capping the boot then just have the stump intersect into the boot geometry slightly.. rather than trying to join up the stump and boot geometry into one object.

I think shapeways was a bit more reasonable than that.. though I was looking at making small gaming miniatures so maybe it just didnt seem too bad

Its a good point about V & M.. in order to do it you have to send the obj which is re-distributing them so you'd need special permission.   I was working with Antonia (who is not restricted in that manner) and some of my own clothing work so I didnt even have to think about it.

Quote - Actually, you cannot redistribute the mesh in whole or in part per Daz's terms of service.

So no, you can't use Michael or Victoria from DAZ.

Also most content providers also do not allow you to share their products with others either.

Lastly, the cost is still like $50-$200 an inch. A 6 inch figure could cost you $300-$1200.

Daz won't give you "special permission" to share the meshes, because once they make one exception, that opens up a huge can of worms for them with thousands of items, and hundereds of content creators, each of whome owns their own copyrights to  thier products.

This topic pops up regularly, with the same result.. the cost is still way too high, and you need modelling skills and software to accomplish the watertight model, so there's a big time investment.

Also, if you want a clean finished item, the costs go up even higher.... the cheap prints really look bad, and they are very fragile.