This was actually meant for the "Dawn is live" thread, but I guess it'll fit here even better:

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William_the_Bloody wrote:

New figures are becoming ubiquitous these days, the standout figure that will capture the attention of the entire community will be one that:

Has no bending issues

Has realistic expressions

Has a neutral face and neutral body shape for maximum individualization

Has all expected morphs and more

Has Genitals out-of-the-box and built in to the geometry

I can't think of anything else to add, these few things are all that is required.

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http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=4045684&ebot_calc_page#message_4045684

Well, that's pretty much what I was trying to achieve with David3-WM.

At this time, I rather don't comment on DAWN, but I'll list the reasons why I based my work on David 3:

1. Neutral shape: Load Genesis and load David 3 and you'll notice their shapes are very similar. So David makes the ideal base figure for both males as well as females, for both adults as well as children.

Remember all 3rd Gen DAZ figures are the exact same mesh.

2. Detailed topology: You can only morph a mesh as far as the geometry allows. David's muscle morphs are still unsurpassed, thanks to all the anatomical correct edgelooping built right into the mesh.

3. Flexibility: Thanks to #1 and #2, the David 3 mesh can be morphed into anything imaginable. Lots of high quality morphs and expressions already exist and thanks to it's "simple" grouping, it's very easy to make custom morphs. You can easily "mix and match" existing shapes like Freak, Maddie, Aiko 3, SP3, etc"

4. Support: Lots of clothing and textures already exist or can easily be converted because the grouping is identical.

5. Realism: David 3 and SP3 are DAZ' most realistically proportioned figures out of the box. So even though proportions can be easily adjusted in Poser, the changes required to cover a whole range of realistic bodytypes are minimal. As rigging is always "tied" to a given bodyshape, the less you have to deviate from the default shape, the better.

6. The rigging: Rigging is three parts: Mesh grouping, joint center placement and joint deformation (weightmapping)

I found that David 3's "simple" standard grouping was more than enough for the full range of human motions. The joint centers were already placed in the anatomically correct positions, so the only thing I really had to do was weightmap the joints for realistic results, which made existing cloth conversion easier. While most improvements were done with careful bulge mapping I still added a single JCM for the buttocks to get better deformations in crouching/spread poses. My "personal" figures use a few more JCMs even if it makes cloth conversion a bit harder, but then I want my figures to have the most realistic joints possible.

7. Genitals: The "official" David3-WM can use the standard DAZ genital or the various 3rd party genitals.  For my "personal" copys I attached the genital permanently by simply adding them as a new bodypart to the rigging. (If it's not needed I simply make it invisible)

The DAZ 3rd Gen mesh has the most "crotch-polygons" of all meshes, so sculpting female genitals is no problem. But I already experimented with adding more detailed "female inner parts" permanently via an extra bodypart while sculpting only the outer bits from the hip mesh for added realism.

So far the anus is a parented prop, but could also easily be made a permanent bodypart, although again the 3rd Gen DAZ mesh is dense enough for some simple "rear plumbing".

8. Simplicity: I already mentioned the "primitive" grouping without additional bodyparts. With careful weightmapping/JCMs it's more than enough for realistic bends, but it doesn't break as easily as more complicated rigs. There is also the "bear skin" mapping that allows easy texturing even without costly 3D-painting tools.

9. Expendability: While I personally prefer standalone figures for optimum rigging and performance, David3-WM could easily be used as the start for a "Poser-Genesis" project. I already mentioned how close he is in dimension/appearance to the original Genesis.

ColorCurvator already made a clever little script that does all the work for you, so any existing 3rd Gen shape as well as any morphs that are derived from the base shape can be integrated Genesis-style into the base cr2.

Load David, flip a dial and you have Matt. Or M3. Or SP3. Or Laura. Or mix and match them into a new shape. Or add your own custom made shapes.

Again, except for the geografting (Which could easily be replaced by geometry switching), we now can do everything with a figure in PP-2014 what Studio 4.6 can, so why not use that new tech to make our art better ?

My goal is more realism and more diversity while minimising effort, and now you know why I choose exactly "that" figure and will most likely keep on using it as the basis of my work for the foreseeable future.

My point is: Use whatever figure you want to use, but this is what's technically possible.

You have to decide yourself if you want all what is possible, or if "good enough" is, well, good enough for you. 

:-)