Nearly every tutorial I've seen on making clothing stops at the point it resembles the article of clothing and doesn't cover mechanical movements like fastening/unfastening. Shirtfronts and cuffs unbutton, bras unclasp, hoodies pull back the hood, pants unbutton and unzip, etc.

Looking into the .cr2 files of conforming clothes that unbutton, I loosely understand how they're constructed (creating dials that run morphs whose deltas are inside the .cr2), but as to how those items are modeled and the .cr2 sections created, I haven't a clue.

Can someone help me out here?

Create the variation morphs in your modeler, load as morph target. Learn how to create jcm's or dependencies if necessary.

You basically have 2 options in Poser - dynamic and conforming clothing.

However, the original model has to be modeled with separation where you want things to open/close.  So, if you want to unbutton a shirt, the front has to be modeled in 2 pieces with a seam in order to morph the open option.  Pockets have to have an opening (and a liner inside the pocket?), etc.  The bottom line, though is the model has to be created with this end result in mind.

When you create morphs, you can move around polygons (i.e., open/close) but you cannot alter the count though deletion or addition.  Doing so will create a model with a different vertex order than the one you are trying to morph and fail.  You should move the existing polygons to create your morph.

Does that help answer your question? If not, perhaps you can ask more specific questions I can try to answer for you.

Many times adjustment morphs you create for the clothing will have to be full body morphs as they will span more than one body part group.

Sorry glitter, crosspost.

Sorry glitter, crosspost.

No problem.....the more info and opinions, the better.

Here's an example of a shirt I did with an open morph, in the modeling program in wireframe mode.  The front of the shirt is modeled in separate pieces, even though it appears closed.  It needs to be modeled this way to create the morph to open it.

Here's an example of a shirt I did with an open morph, in the modeling program in wireframe mode.  The front of the shirt is modeled in separate pieces, even though it appears closed.  It needs to be modeled this way to create the morph to open it.

I understand the concept, what I'm asking is the overall workflow for building the .cr2 from those changes: I assume you export the mesh in a closed form first as the base .obj for the clothing, then model the top button open and re-export as the first morph, but how do you export that first morph's changes to a corresponding targetGeom section in the clothing's .cr2? 

Here's an example of a shirt I did with an open morph, in the modeling program in wireframe mode.  The front of the shirt is modeled in separate pieces, even though it appears closed.  It needs to be modeled this way to create the morph to open it.

I understand the concept, what I'm asking is the overall workflow for building the .cr2 from those changes: I assume you export the mesh in a closed form first as the base .obj for the clothing, then model the top button open and re-export as the first morph, but how do you export that first morph's changes to a corresponding targetGeom section in the clothing's .cr2? 

No, that's not how you do it........ The original model is rigged.

Then, you export THAT object to the modeler and create the morph

Then, in Poser, load the original shirt, Figure>Load Full Body Morph, give it the name of the object file with the morph, name the morph

Then, dial the morph on the parameters tab (which is named in the step above) to test it, zero it out and re-save the CR2.  It will contain your morph and appropriately named dial.

(I use Full Body Morph in the example above because my shirt morph example spans the neck and chest groups, therefore must be a FBM.)

So, I create the closed shirt (whose pieces are separate but visually joined), import the mesh into Poser, rig it as clothing, save it as a .cr2. Then I open the buttons of the mesh in a modeler, export each button-open as an .obj and then import each as a FBM following your instructions. If the clothing somehow only covered one part it wouldn't even be an FBM. I think I get it now, thanks.

So, I create the closed shirt (whose pieces are separate but visually joined), import the mesh into Poser, rig it as clothing, save it as a .cr2. Then I open the buttons of the mesh in a modeler, export each button-open as an .obj and then import each as a FBM following your instructions. If the clothing somehow only covered one part it wouldn't even be an FBM. I think I get it now, thanks.

Sorry, you lost me on the "button" part.

A dress shirt has buttons down the front along the placket that fasten and unfasten the shirt? The morphs in the modeler are opening each successive section?

A dress shirt has buttons down the front along the placket that fasten and unfasten the shirt? The morphs in the modeler are opening each successive section?

Well, the shirt model itself serves no such function (fasten and unfasten) and is nothing more than an illusion. However, in order to make the morph you will have to export out the SHIRT, not the buttons. 

Now, in addition, I use a product for morph creation called PoseMorphLoader from colorcurvature.  In this case, I can pose the figure wearing the conformed shirt, export the shirt separately in the same pose and create morphs more easily.

PML exports the entire object with group names retained, but does not break apart at the groups when manipulating them into a morph in the modeler.

That's why you need the entire shirt exported - to ensure you are not moving the "chest" part so far afield of the "collar" part that the morph itself breaks the shirt into pieces.

Morphing is certainly not an easy task.  PML makes that task easier.

Hoodies are easy enough. just rig the hood or use a morph or a bit of both.

Hoodies?
A ghost bone
A real rigged bone
A external morph
An internal morph using the morph brush
A magnet

Any combination of the above.

Teyon, Vilters, (and anyone else who would like to participate) I'd like to do a friendly "challenge" and let you guys show the user how you would morph a hoodie.

I have created a hoodie for DAZ's K4 which you can grab here:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/yl768hhm8uj125y/Gi_K4Hoodie.zip?dl=0

It's fully rigged and includes templates (if some of the texture artists would like to have a play with it) and is fully re-distributable, with credit, when you are done.  It's rigged in Poser for P7+, but does work in DS3, though the included textures are mc6 files.  I don't have DS4, so I have no idea if it works in it or not.

The best way for me to learn something is to see how it's done.  I'm going to work on a morph in the modeler (using PML) but I'd really love to see how you guys would handle the same object, creating a hood down control and I think it would be helfpful for others.

If you have the time, of course.

(the pants are not included, just the hoodie)

@ Glitterati3D : Thank you for the Hoodie Glitterati3D, Sitemail send

And, attached is my Hood Down morph created in Silo using PML to export the objects, create the morph and load the FBM.

Now, I'll discuss my method to get the morph you see above.

First, as I said, I use Colorcurvature's PoseMorphLoader available here:  http://cgscripts.colorcurvature.com/morphloader.html

This is a python script which will export your necessary objects welded while retaining groups.  This makes morph creation easier because you are freed from the morph, move the separating groups back together, morph some more, repeat.

I load the figure and the clothing (and pose if you are morphing to a specific pose) invoke the python script and export the pertinent objects.  In this case, I simply zeroed the figure and exported the figure and the hoodie to object files.  At this point I save a scene file in Poser because I'll need it when importing the morph through PML.

I bring both objects into the modeler and set about tugging, moving, smoothing, tugging, moving, smoothing to get the morph I want.  By smoothing, I am simply using a displacement brush to smooth vertices that get stretched so that I can avoid severe texture stretching with the morph.  I find it easier to smooth those issues as I go rather than trying to manage a big job at the end.  But, that is personal style and one you will develop as you create morphs.  Once you are finished, export the morphed object to a temporary location (you won't need it again after importing).

Once the morph is complete in the modeler, it's back to Poser, open the saved scene, select the clothing>Body from the menu and being the import procedure through PML.  I supply the morph name, the object which was exported out, and the object creating the morph.  At this point, PML does the necessary calculations, loads the morph and creates the named parameters dial you supplied. 

Test the morph to ensure it's working properly, zero it and save the CR2.

And, a link to the hoodie with the Hood Down morph added.  (Just replace the files if you are not participating in the challenge and you will have the morphed hoodie you see above in my images).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s2f5t3w43vk3jaf/Gi_K4HoodieMorphed.zip?dl=0

you can start with a shirt open, and then add the morph(s) to close it. It doesnt really matter , the process is the same.

Crete an obj file and rig it for the character (donor rig).

then model and load the morph(s)

extract the morph data from a new saved cr2 and create the inj pose file. (there are scripts to help do this bit)

Just remember this : do not change the number of vertices or their order in the morph obj. If  you do you get an error when you try to load the morph.

You can make the morphs in Poser by using magnets to deform the clothing, then spawn the morph from that.