I have some wild ideas going through my head. I'd actually like to create clothes for the Millennium Kids. They still need a larger wardrobe to catch up with Mike, Victoria and Stephanie. There are two major limitations to consider here: 1.) Money. We have precious little. I'd really need to use a free program. I've seen Amapi mentioned a lot, but am drawing an utter blank. 2.) My own learning difficulties. You probably remember I asked many dumb questions to get to my current "still learning" level. I'd really need someone out there who knows Amapi well enough, and has enough patience to "hold hands" once and awhile till I finally got the hang of it. My current idea would allow me a chance to "make a few dollars to partially support my Poser habit," but the nature of the idea would involve stuff that can only be given away. Maybe you can indulge my sense of mystery for now? So does anyone think it's possible to accomplish this idea? (Given what little I've told you, grin!)

Ron I did a survey a few weeks back about the popularity of various modeling programs - got a lot of responses here, at PoserPros, and other sites. Amapi wasn't the most popular among those who responded, but it definitely CAN be used for modeling clothes. Here's a few links to info you might find useful in making your decision. (I think they all still work..." Good luck with your research, Ron. Jerry B leather-guy http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=654275 http://www.poserpros.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=5597#5597 http://www.poserpros.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=6152#6152 http://www.poserpros.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=6311#6311 http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=328879 http://webpages.charter.net/chawkins2/tutorials.htm

I'd love to offer advice, Ron, but I have very little experience with Amapi. I do know that Renderosity has a forum dedicated to the software.

Here are links to various modeling tools that can be had on-the-cheap:

Amapi v4.15 (freeware)
Anim8or (freeware)
MilkShape 3D (trialware, $20)
trueSpace 1.0 (freeware)

Each program has its own strengths and disadvantages, and the user interfaces can vary wildly. So look around and find something you'll be comfortable with.

geralday made use of anim8or in his Free Stuff creations.

I use MilkShape heavily myself.

trueSpace 1 is probably the oldest of the freebies; it was designed for Windows 3.1, and may not work well with some modern systems. Also, it cannot directly export to Wavefront .obj format.

yes you can make clothes in Amapi. however, I wont mislead you. The free version, 4.15 does not support obj models. However, after you make a model in 4.15...you could export it as a 3ds model, import it into poser and then export it out as obj. 4.15 is a bit more futsy about its controls too. For instance, some of them make you move the mouse over the control..stop..press mouse..move mouse later versions you can hit the tools "on the fly" which is much faster. the dClothes in the attached image were made in Amapi...was easy to make; not easy to pose (thats why I ***HATE*** making clothes for poser figures). on an up-note, the tools in 4.15 are the same as in later versions. Later versions just have more tools and stuff, so if you learn to use 4.15 then if you later decide to upgrade, you dont have to re-learn the app. different note, carrara 2 ships with amapi 5.15..this means you get two bangs for the buck. there are side-grades, upgrades and all kinds of ways to get a lower cost version of the program. If Im not mistaken, you can even use the free version of amapi as a 'side-grade'..I think its around 30-50% off. Youd need to look at the eovia site (www.eovia.com) to get more details. BT

Thanks, as usual you folks have given me valuable information. It appears I can't do any clothes until I can afford to buy a good software package. Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen for awhile. I was hoping to find a way that my "commercial ventures" could pay for themselves.. You know earn the money to buy the software and stuff.

In my opinion amapi is very good for modelling clothes. I use amapi 5.1 , which you can get at ebay for about 50$. Full version with handbook. i export as 3ds convert to *.obj than use uvmapper . Making clothes is a thing that needs a lot practise in any modelling program and making them conform is another challange

Attached Link: http://www.amabilis.com/

hello, take a look at this site, a nice low-end-hi-tech program which does output to OBJ, with a semi-photorealistic renderer (better than Poser 4) for only $70.00. They have a free version that only exports .POV and .RIB, but you could try it out. "3D Canvas" at the included link. Also maybe a friend may have an older 3D world mag or PCplus with the disc that has Truespace 3se on it, and there is a great TS plug-in that imports and exports the .OBJ format at this link: http://member.newsguy.com/%7Ecgrant/tsx/luuv/ good luck, Alex

One thing that concerns me deeply is the reliability of Amapi Resources. leather-guy made a nice list. However, one link lead to a message thread that promised a series of tutorials in the forum. The last message was a year ago. Another link was dead. Some of the other threads were merely repetitions of other threads, taking a poll, etc. I need good hard evidence that someone else uses the program, and that I can get some assistance, just as easily as with Poser. I remember not too long ago one artist chose a particular modelling program. Apparently he was one of the few who did. I recall the poor artist posting several messages in a few forums practically begging others to use the program so he could get help. (No I don't remember names.) I really sympathize with that artist. Then we have the possibility that the program itself will be a royal pain to use. I appreciate your efforts greatly. I just need to be very careful before I make a move. I can't afford to buy anything. I can't afford to invest time and energy in something that will be left on a shelf due to my own ignorance. By the way, somewhere around here I have a copy of "Simply 3D," which I bought in 1996. I never figured it out... It most likely "transformed" into a 3D program with another name. Ron

Attached Link: http://www.staigerland.com/amapi/index.mv

Here you have a link to some of the best amapi tutorials. Making clothes in any modelling program is hard to learn and needs a lot of practise and try and error.

Attached Link: http://www.eovia.com/community/tutorials_am.jsp

Amapi is a great program. I use it for pretty much everything. I do have v6.1, but even 4.15 can do just about anything you want it to. v4 doesn't support .obj files, so it makes creating morph targets pretty much impossible, but there are other simple programs like Anim8or that you could use for morphs but that aren't capable of even a fraction of the things that Amapi can do. No, Amapi doesn't have the enormous user base that Poser has, but then what other app does? The folks in the Amapi forum will do their best to help you with any problems you may have. There are quite a few tutorials around, too. There are some really good ones right at the eovia site, Staigerland is another good site, and there are some great tuts in the Amapi forum itself, mostly from Brycetech (who should maybe change his name to "Amapitech"?), but from others as well, including a wonderful series from Thip on creating... clothes for Michael! Also, I have to say that personally, I've found Amapi to have one of the friendliest, easy to master interfaces of any modeling app I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot of them). I got Cinema 4D 5SE free from a magazine, but its modeling tools are pretty weak and the interface is just horrible! Gmax is damned powerful, but learning it is like taking piloting lessons. Hell, even Carrara (which isn't free by any means) doesn't come anywhere near Amapi in modeling capabilities, and the interface is much more complicated. So to each their own, but I recommend Amapi highly. Here's a couple of links to tuts that can give you a better idea of what Amapi can do and how it works: http://www.staigerland.com/amapi/tutorials.html http://perso.club-internet.fr/odrion/

Oops, sorry, Thgeisel posted the Staigerland link while I was typing.:)

I've seen some of those tutorials. Some of them are actually quite good. I did get in so deep that I got lost. Maybe that's my biggst problem. I need to find some online classes for a program that I'm considering.

actualy I got a free version of amapi 5.15 in last months Digit magazine(an import available at barns and noble). though I havn't gotten around to trying it yet.

For on-line learning, I can recommend VTC. For $25 a month, I had access to literally hundreds (or thousands??) of hours of very clear lessons on how to use CGA programs. They use streaming video to allow you to watch the instructor's screen as he/she speaks and moves the mouse around. And you can go back over the difficult operations over and over until they sink in. I was learning Poser from scratch and improving my Bryce skills, plus trying to absorb enough Photoshop to be able to do post work.....all at once (Duh!) Next month I'm going to subscribe again and work on Photoshop6 alone

Okay cool, I am know I'm not ronknights, but would you please post the link to "VTC"? Alex

Attached Link: http://www.vtc.com/

okay I found it, no tuts on Truespace however, too bad. Alex

I have an amapi tutorial cd in testing here at the store and at commune. Hopefully, it'll be out soon. it has lotsa good stuff for all 3 of the latest versions of amapi. BT

Ron - Amapi looks a bit funny, and the pre-5 versions are lousy at tex'ing and rendering. But who cares - it's an immensely powerful modelling app. Version 4.15 is free (d/l link in the Amapi Forum), and the only thing it lacks is OBJ capability. But if you export as LWO you can use Anim8or or LithUnwrap to convert to OBJ. TrueSpace is also getting cheaper in the earlier versions (I still use 4.3 for all my commercial work) - check out www.caligari.com. Whatever you decide on, have fun.

...and if you make a search in the Amapi Forum for "finger exercises", "project" and "conforming" you'll find links that walk you step-by-step through learning the Amapi tools, modeling a jacket for Mike, and conforming it in Poser 4 or Pro. Not a bona fide online class, but some people found that they were a good kick-start of their Amapi clothesmaking for Poser.

Attached Link: http://www.electricimage.com/

I have the best idea yet for you, buy Amorphium! $120.00 to $150.00 depending on how you buy it. It makes OBJ files and has a top quality renderer in it's price range. A friend of mine bought it just to do morph targets, and he uses Solid Works to design medical instruments professionaly. Alex