One of my pits will fetch whichever of 5 colors and two types of ball she is told to get, in addition to an assortment of other toys, regardless of who gives the command (after that person has passed the acceptance test).

The other one bless her heart couldn't find her way out of an empty room with one open exit unless it involved food. As far as I can tell her only two thoughts are eating and being petted.

My cats....well......snakes with fur comes to mind. Cunning,devious, but just not real bright,,,,anything that wakes me up before 5:00 a.m. in a non-emergency situation lacks a certain instinct for self preservation.

Blender materials are limited to 16 per object.

If the material zones are critical you can circumvent this by using the separate by options in the import  object dialog. This does create other concerns depending on what you intend to do in Blender.

Collada import, while importing the skeleton and mesh, still requires a great deal of work and the methodology is different than Poser as weight painting of the blend zones is the primary technique used to control basic mesh deformation.

On to projection painting in Blender, this video tutorial cg.cgcookie.com/2009/06/18/projection-painting shows how to use the function.

Your idea for using simple planes is correct.

If you join the planes into a single object after distributing them on the model you can manipulate the whole using proportional editing ON while moving and rotating. 

The middle mouse wheel controls the size of the influence zone and different fall-off responses are available for the proportional editing tool.

Okay, just discovered that the script you would need has been hard coded into Blender 2.49, simplifies things.

What you will need to do is create a two part shell then connect the perimeter edge loops.

Example

1. Finish the modeling of the chest piece.

2. Presuming you are modeling in front view (Z up, X horizontal), in Edit mode select all the front polygons, press NUMPAD 3 to enter side view, press Shift + D + Y (to create a copy and constrain movement to the Y axis), either visually move the copy to it's required location or for more accuracy enter a numerical value for the displacement. Make any necessary adjustments to align the perimeter edges of the copy with the perimeter edges of the original.

*Note that using Shift + D in Edit mode creates a copy that is part of the original object while using the option in Object mode creates a separate replica object.

1. Still in Edit  mode change to edge select mode. Use Alt+ RMB to select the perimeter edge loop of one part then use Shift + Alt +RMB to select the perimeter edge loop of the remaining part.

2. Press F then select the Skin Faces/Edge-loops option in the dialog box.

5 Repeat for the back piece then create your straps and buckles.

The advantage in making a shirt then splitting it is that the front and back halves will match with little effort required to turn into armor plate by removing vertical faces at the spit to create space between the two halves. A few minor adjustments, make the straps, UV map, texture and you are done.

You can use the shrink wrap modifier on the shirt model if you like before splitting.

To split the model into front and back halves:

In EDIT mode press 3 then the decimal on the NUMPAD to frame the model in a side view.

Select either the front or back half of the shirt, press P then SELECTED PARTS in the dialog.

You will have matching front and back objects to use as the basis for the armor.

If you want to make the armor have actual thickness let me know and I'll point you to the scripts that you will need to make that easier to do.

cg.cgcookie.com/2008/11/29/retopology-tools-with-blender

This tutorial explains the retopology tool using the standard CTRL+Left Mouse Button to add vertices. This works well enough for the subject matter covered in the tutorial.

You may however want to use the paint function to draw the rough mesh rather than the method shown in the tutorial.

To do this click the paint button that is visible directly below the Retopo in Step 03. This will put the tool into sketch mode then you simply draw the base mesh over the existing model.

The mesh is created and snapped to the original model automatically when you return to normal editing mode. You can then edit the resulting mesh as you would any other mesh object.

Are you planning to make a back plate also? If so I personally would create a basic lowpoly sleeveless "shirt", instead of using shrinkwrap or retopo, fit it to the figure then split that into separate front and back  base objects to further manipulate.

Are you starting to get the idea that there are multiple ways to handle just about any modeling project?:lol:

(Learn the different ways, then you have the flexibility to use whichever method works best for a given situation.)

Shrink wrap should work but be prepared for odd results if the shrinking mesh is close to the arms. Since the verts snap to the closest points on the original mesh sometimes they shrink to the arms instead of the torso.

Retopo will also work pretty well for roughing in the curaiss.

Any way you approach the project define the volume in lowpoly then add edge loops and subdivide as needed to smooth and sculpt. I highly recommend using mirror modeling techniques, half the work and symetry is assured.

Quote - Also try and give you a rest from my questions for a while,lol.

?? Why...Giving up already??:tt2: LOL

You do know that if you stop asking questions you stop learning, right? Then your brain shrivels up like a sun-dried raisin and you start buying pre-made light sets for Poser.....it's true I read it on wiki!:lol:

Well....it's not you. The .dae files from that source are junk.

I've tried importing the files into 4 different apps and the import either errors out or I get useless files. Didn't have any problems manipulating the views in Blender2.49 though, just wasn't any point in it after deleting the imported ground plane.

Hmm, your own Q&A forum.....could simplify things....LOL

Which Blender version are you using?

Is the original model something that can be freely downloaded? If so give me a link and I'll test on my end.

Quote -
You know, I NEVER thought of putting the coil of wire in the GRILL??? I wonder if it will work on a gas grill? No matter, I'll dig a pit in the yard just to burn logs in...LOLOLOL. Anyway, that's a stellar idea and THANK YOU. You just KNOW I'm going to have to try it again now....LOL. I suppose any softness that may happen will get worked out by just regular work hardening and when I put it in to tumble in the shot for 12 hours or so. But it's definitely the springiness that gets me - I can wind it and all, but when I twist the rings closed they have a tendency to not stay closed...LOL.

I just use the charcoal grill cause I figure why waste the heat. Be careful whichever method you choose because you don't want to overheat the steel just soften it....not much good if your wire melts into a blob or burns. (trust me, thin steel wire burns easily if you apply heat and too much oxygen....don't ask:blushing:)

If you want to prevent oxidation without fluxing you can wrap the coil in stainless steel foil. I don't bother with it because the wire from Lowe's is pretty cheap so losing a bit is no big deal.

Annealing will take the spring out of the wire and should let you wind on hardwood, works for me anyway. The steel won't work harden like copper or brass. You'll have to heat the finished piece, quench it, then temper it to spring hardness. You will need to get the metallurgy report on the steel you use to determine the proper temperatures and whether to use an oil quench or a water quench. There are charts for all that but if you have problems finding the temperature info send me the specs and I'll track it down for you.

Your work flow will be anneal, cut the rings, polish, construct, polish, heat to temp, quench, polish, temper to proper hardness, final polish. You'll probably have to get out the rouge and the cotton string to get the tiny spots for the final polish but you're more than likely used to that step.

If your flexible shaft will use Dremel mandrels try the Dremel fiber reinforced cut-off wheels and a light touch making multiple passes to cut the wire.

To get your rings to stay closed put the ring on the next size down mandrel and close the ends slightly past each other, then when you pull the ends apart and twist them together any spring in the metal will work for you snapping the ends against each other. Using the next smaller mandrel just stops the rings from crushing when you make the ends bypass each other and will compensate for using the thicker wheel to cut the wire.

Nice jewelry work!

On the stainless wire difficulties:

Choosing the stainless wire makes a big difference, lower percentages of chromium and vanadium result in a softer steel so would be easier to work....that and power tools. I make jump rings using stainless wire from Lowe's frequently as it is fairly ductile for a stainless.

Anneal, wind onto a piece of wooden dowel and use a cut-off wheel in a flexible shaft tool or Dremel to cut the wire.

To anneal the wire I normally just bind the coil tightly and toss it in the charcoal grill after the food is off then retrieve the coil after the remaining coals have burnt out and everything has cooled off. I lose some wire to oxidation but I don't flux because it would wreck the grill.

Putting all those little rings together to make jewelry like you have....not happening here....I suffer from repetitious motion boredom.:biggrin:

Check through the freestuff on EvilInnocence.

www.evilinnocence.com/index.php

Dart gun.....high potency distilled spirits.....steady.....steady.....GOT HIM....all better now.

Quote - ....Don't any of you care?

Nope, cause Poser 8 and V5 are not real like Star Trek and Dr Who.:tt2::laugh: