Forum: Poser - OFFICIAL


Subject: updated Faceshop Pro - any good?

drifterlee opened this issue on Aug 18, 2007 · 109 posts


drifterlee posted Sat, 18 August 2007 at 6:56 PM

I got an email from Poserpros saying a new updated version of Faceshop Pro is on sale. Is this program any good? Thanks, Sherrie


thefixer posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 3:50 AM

bm

Injustice will be avenged.
Cofiwch Dryweryn.


HeRe posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 4:38 AM

Forget it - this is thrown money


drifterlee posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 12:01 PM

That bad, eh?


HeRe posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 3:06 PM

Absolute !!!!


drifterlee posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 3:59 PM

Thanks! I'll save my money!


mathman posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 5:14 PM

Sorry HeRe, I disagree, and there are a lot of others who would agree with me (including the renowned dr geep).

FaceShop is an excellent product. It does what the Poser Face Room is meant to do.


crucibelle posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 8:41 PM

You can get a trial version of Faceshop Pro on download.com.  You could try it out and see what you think.  That's what I'm going to do.


Paloth posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 10:43 PM

There's lots of bad blood about this FaceShop program, though I'm not sure why. Some people here really hate its creator and that gets mixed in with their "product review." I think the Pro version of the program is overpriced, but I've been able to get good results on occasions. Note:-Don't expect to produce usable textures with it. The program is good for facial morph creation, but it's automatic texturing feature is nearly a joke.

Download my free stuff here: http://www.renderosity.com/homepage.php?page=2&userid=323368


drifterlee posted Sun, 19 August 2007 at 10:44 PM

Well, I can't spend any more money. If it's not great I'm passing it up. Thanks for your comments!


HeRe posted Mon, 20 August 2007 at 3:36 AM

Sorry mathmann,
I think a lot of other who would agree with me.
Faceshop is a bad, insufficient and overpriced product.

The texture result from Faceshop Pro is a joke.


panko posted Mon, 20 August 2007 at 8:00 AM

In my opinion FaceShop Pro has potential, but is in desperate need of a solid update/enhancement/improvement. I bought it from DAZ as soon as it came out and had one update since. I got no further notification for a major update so I presume this one (at PoserPros) is the one I already have?

"That's another fine mess you got me in to!" -- Oliver Hardy


AbaloneLLC posted Thu, 23 August 2007 at 6:32 PM

Panko,

The next major update, FaceShop 3.5 is due in October.
It is completely FREE for all FaceShop users.
It will have some really cool new features and great improvements in quality and speed.
Laslo


BastBlack posted Thu, 23 August 2007 at 10:34 PM

This is good news. FYI, AbaloneLLC. Did you see that I solved the Head Import error on FaceShop Pro? I tried to import Koji 2's head, and it crashed FaceShop Pro every time I tried it. FaceShop Pro has crashed on other heads too, but not all of them. It turns out the UVmaps were out-of-range. So what people should do when they export a head out of Poser, is run the head through UVmapper and if the UVmaps are out-of-range, just fix it. After that, heads imported into FaceShop will work like a charm! ^^ p.s. I love FaceShop. It does what no other program can do. Here is a character I made with the help of FaceShop: file_1444338.jpg bB


AbaloneLLC posted Fri, 24 August 2007 at 9:01 AM

BB,

It is great to hear that you "love" FaceShop. It makes me sad that there are others (see further above) who don't take time to learn/enjoy and are given to ugly and rush sentiments.

A personal favor: can you send me 2-3 screenshots to document how you set/change the UV map in Poser, so that I can pass it along to others?

Laslo


BastBlack posted Fri, 24 August 2007 at 3:56 PM

Sure. ^^

Here is a suggestion: When the head imports, could there be some kind of error message that says, "Head UV Map is out of range." Or an error code of some kind so people know what the problem is? It's not the software, it's just the head is not set-up correctly for import. (Why this happens, I do not know. But I've run into this problem before on other projects.).

bB


BastBlack posted Fri, 24 August 2007 at 5:47 PM

You don't fix it in Poser. You need the free UVmapper program to fix the out-of-range UV coordinates. There is a free version for both MAC and PC.

Spanky's freeware STOMP is another great obj tool. It optimzes the OBJ (cleans up the code). (PC only though)

imho, Running an obj through UVmapper and STOMP is always a good idea. Maybe that could be included in the troubleshooting tips?

byw, I tried to replicate the Koji head import crash, but I was unable to crash FaceShop this time. ^^;;;;

bB


mathman posted Mon, 27 August 2007 at 8:02 PM

Abalone, let me also reiterate that I love FaceShop Pro as well. It is quite an extraordinary program, and I look forward to the new update in October.


estherau posted Mon, 27 August 2007 at 8:25 PM

what i find odd about it (i haven't got it) is how come there aren't a load of new characters in the MP boasting that they have custom morphs? love esther

MY ONLINE COMIC IS NOW LIVE

I aim to update it about once a month.  Oh, and it's free!


drifterlee posted Mon, 27 August 2007 at 10:57 PM

It's not on sale anymore so I'm not buying it, LOL!


AbaloneLLC posted Mon, 27 August 2007 at 11:45 PM

It still is at www.abalonellc.com $59.95


PhilW posted Sat, 15 September 2007 at 6:20 AM

I have FaceShop Pro and like it!  It's not perfect and does need attention to details like placing points - and the better picture you start with, the better the result (GIGO!) and yes, I agree that the texture map benefits from some editing after being output, but this is a lot easier than starting a texture from scratch!  Approach it as a unique tool that is easy to use and can produce some useful output and you can have a lot of fun with it!  Here are some example of what I have done with it:
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1496200
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1494058
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1496712

I would not have produced these pictures without FSP.


Klutz posted Sat, 15 September 2007 at 2:18 PM

I like it...It is a clever, but not perfect program....

Its strength is in the morphing. There are much more effective ways of texturing, but at least it gives you a start for tonal issues.

I am looking forward to the improved version. 

TBH I think it could do with a dual level interface. A functional basic one for beginners, and perhaps a more versatile advanced one?

Klutz :0)

********************************************************************************************************************

Life is a beta.

In faecorum semper, solum profundum variat.


Vestmann posted Sun, 16 September 2007 at 1:26 PM

Any heads up on what will be NEW in the 3.5 update of FSP?  (Optional sidephoto perhaps?)




 Vestmann's Gallery


AbaloneLLC posted Sun, 16 September 2007 at 10:42 PM

Yes Vestman. Here's the scoop on FaceShop 3.5:

The best: FREE upgrade to all previous FS users
What’s New in FaceShop 3.5?

Laslo


Vestmann posted Mon, 17 September 2007 at 12:03 AM

Looks impressive.  Looking forward to the upgrade. Good job.




 Vestmann's Gallery


AntoniaTiger posted Mon, 17 September 2007 at 3:29 AM

Thanks for the tip about the UV mapping. I know some really old Poser stuff pulled some tricks with this, before P5 brought in the ability to tile a texture. I can't think of any reason to do it with a figure's head. Might be some silly boundary error, using less-than where less-than-or-equal-to was required. Since the end result is a morph, the change in UV data is irrelevant, but it might be awkward for any texture processing.


momodot posted Mon, 17 September 2007 at 9:07 AM

Laslo, that sounds great!



BastBlack posted Mon, 17 September 2007 at 2:15 PM

It does sound great! ^^


leather-guy posted Mon, 17 September 2007 at 6:01 PM

Well, I'm stoked!
Cool!


AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 18 September 2007 at 4:34 PM

Incidentally, I am starting to build a list of beta testers for FS 3.5. Anyone who is interested pls. send me an e-mail at info@abalonellc.com

Thanks, Laslo


AbaloneLLC posted Sat, 22 September 2007 at 5:26 PM

Quote - It does sound great! ^^

 

Did I mention that in addition ot 3.5 there's a Macintosh version coming up in this Fall?
I think there are about 30% of the artists who use Macintosh computers.
Are there any stats on the CPU use - anyone?
Laslo


Acadia posted Sat, 22 September 2007 at 6:26 PM

If anyone is looking to buy Faceshop Pro, don't buy it from Daz at full price. Go to the creator's site and save yourself $20.00

http://www.abalonellc.com/faceshop-pro.html

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi



AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 4:13 PM

Attached Link: video demos and trial download

Thanks for the plug. Since Oct. 26 it  is now actually the new FaceShop 3.5, and also at a new price: $59.95. Yoy can buy it at Rendo for the same pirce:-) You can also download a 15-day trial of FaceShop 3.5 or watch demo videos at [www.abalonellc.com](http://www.abalonellc.com) Laslo

Neuer_Versuch posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 4:28 PM

save your money !!!!!!!!!


AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 4:32 PM

YES, save your money and tri the FREE demo version first!
Laslo


PhilW posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 6:04 PM

I have got good results from FaceShop Pro - certainly better than the built-in face room in Poser - and it is well worth trying before you buy. That is what I did and the results I got justfied the price. It is easy to use - especially once you get used to it, it can be remarkably quick - and while textures usually benefit from tweaking, it is a great start.

On 3.5, it is a step forward but perhaps not the leap that some would be looking for. I have had mixed results from the "refine" feature which for me was the big potential improvement area, but some of the workflow updates are welcome.

All in all a useful utility - and considering what you can pay for just one character, when FSP gives you potentially unlimited characters of your own choosing, not half bad value too!

I attach a picture of a V4 face that started life as a picture of Uma Thurman...


fls13 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 6:38 PM

I'm finding the demo interesting but crash happy.


AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 6:50 PM

If you are using 64-bit machines, crashes do happen (you can switch to 32-bit mode). We will be issuing shortly a FREE service release to address 64-bit machines.
Laslo


fls13 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 8:15 PM

Hardly a finished effort and only a first crack at it, but I defy someone to not recognize the face. Would need some fine tuning with either the included morphs or a modeling app, but looks like a winning app to me.

SSAfam1 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 8:43 PM

Angie Jolie?


fls13 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 9:00 PM

There ya' go.


AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 9:02 PM

I defy anyone to guess who this woman is:-) Laslo

SSAfam1 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 9:12 PM

Halle Berry?

hehe I like this game. :)


fls13 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 9:22 PM

I give this app my official thumbs up! Haven't looked at the manual, but is there a quick easy way to load the .obj as a morph target, as the exported geometry is different from the V4 head group?

AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 9:52 PM

Halle Berry it is - you got 10 points! By the By - here are a bunch of other (very good) celebs done with FaceShop:

SSAfam1 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 10:22 PM

Uncanny! I'm too scared to try this program...even the demo. LOL I'll just watch from the sidelines.


operaguy posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 10:38 PM

I am sorry to say the celeb look-alikes are not the slightest bit convincing, especially that Jolie attempt above. I am not criticizing the user nor the app, just the "re-animation" paradigm.

I purchased FaceShop3.5 the other day to create characters who do not look like anyone else. I won't be able to crack it open until next weekend, but am very excited to put it into play with photographs of interesting faces I have shot, and reference photos from here:
http://www.3d.sk/

If that makes me a party pooper, make the best of it.

::::: Opera :::::


fls13 posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 10:58 PM

If it's not convincing, how do you know who it's supposed to be? :O) It's only a rough draft as I said above, still needs work but I see a lot of potential in this app.

Paloth posted Tue, 06 November 2007 at 10:58 PM

The look of an individual is very dependent on the hair and skin. I've seen remarkable celebrity look-alikes created with FaceShop when a photo is used for the facial texture and the hair is cut and pasted onto the Poser image via PhotoShop, and when the figure is in the exact same pose as the original photograph. This raises a question. "Why go to all the trouble of reproducing a photograph you already have?" I have faceshop pro and consider it capable of creating good facial morphs. Things can also go very wrong, so don’t expect better than a 50% success rate.

Download my free stuff here: http://www.renderosity.com/homepage.php?page=2&userid=323368


PhilW posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 4:42 AM

I have to agree with operaguy - to make a REALLY convincing celeb look-alike, you would need to out in more work than just using FSP (although I believe it would be a good start!). But as a way to generate a range of interesting faces that no-one else is using, it is a great tool.  In case there is any confusion, FSP generates the morphs AND the texture from a single photo. I usually edit the texture to tidy it up, but again, it is a great starting point.


operaguy posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 8:09 AM

Phil, I forgot to say when I posted yesterday that the image you posted was an example of character creation, excellent. Gives me hope I can get what I want out of FS.

I don't begrudge anyone the celebrity game; have at it! If nothing else, sales of FaceShop for this purpose will keep the app healthy, alive and progressing. But even on the level of chasing the celebs, you've got to do better, in my opinion.  For one thing, I would suggest do not settle for the head shape generated by FS. That is one of the more disturbing aspects of the celeb renders being posted. I understand how/why FS is throwing off odd head shapes, but I'd say it would help your look-like-ness if you used a modeller or the Poser7 MorphBrushTool to make the head more pleasing.

One idea for the texture I heard someone say was to take the generated texture, the original texture of the head and the photo all into Photoshop (or your 2D of choice) and blend them together. This I thought was quite clever, and for one thing it might help you retain the original color right at the neckline with an eye towards seaming the head texture to the body texture.

Another level up would be to open the new head mesh with its new texture map in zbrush and tune it up with direct manipulation. In zbrush you can push and pull the mesh at the same time "painting" the texture. I don't have zbrush but that does sound good. The MorphBrushTool in Poser7 is a baby brother of zbrush.

::::: Opera :::::


PhilW posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 8:31 AM

Absolutely agree - there isn't an app yet that has an instant "Make Art" button!

If your FSP texture has been generated from a face-on picture, the sides will look poor (as the app has little or no data to work on) so if you blend the main face parts into a standard texture and match the basic skin colour then this improves the look and usability of the texture. And as you say, you can use the original photo to refine parts like lips and eyebrows.

I've yet to have more than a cursory play with the P7 morphing tool, but that looks to have a lot of potential with some work and patience, and as you say could be used to refine an FSP head as a starting point.  zbrush takes you into a whole new league, but at a significant price cost!

I have this time attached a head that I did to see if I could push FSP to extremes - it coped pretty well!


operaguy posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 8:39 AM

WOW! way cool!


AbaloneLLC posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 11:48 AM

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

Just for the record; the headline on this thread is out of date. There's no more FaceShop Pro or Basic, just one product called FaceShop 3.5. It started to ship on October 26 for a new pirce of $59.95 (down from the previous $79.95 for Pro). You can check FaceShop 3.5 out at Rendo, or see videos and a FREE 15-day trial of FaceShop 3.5 at www.abalonellc.com.

Laslo


AbaloneLLC posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 2:03 PM

Actually, I tried a nice high-res photo with FaceShop 3.5 (using Poser 7, James imported as OBJ) and best render. Lets call this "Native Warrior". I am quite pleased with the results. Any comments?

operaguy posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 2:29 PM

You bet.......this is wonderful!

Aside from one thing I'll mention in a moment, my opinion is that this is convincing as a face of a person, a human being. Makes me really excited to work with FS this coming weekend.

Can you say if you used a side shot, as is now supported in 3.5?

If you don't mind, I'll add a few ideas that might make this portrait become even more dramatic....take it or leave it.

We don't have an explanation of the reddish-orange glow lights coming at the face from his left, such as a fire or strong reflection. As a result, the lighting on the face clashes with the excellent background. Perhaps you used the default poser lights, which are orange-tinted?

Second, there is so much detail in the crags and crannies of this face -- you see that in the texture itself. However, the light is not interacting with them. If I were playing with this, I'd make a bump map or displacement map from the texture map and plug it into the proper slots in the Poser material room. Then, the "painted" wrinkles would correspond with the deformed polygons as driven by the bump map, and the lights would interact with those crevices. That could be striking.

At that point one might engage some AO on the face and that would add to the effect due to convincing tiny shadows overall.

If one were to take this even further, you'd make an HDRI probe from that background picture and light the scene with it. The lighting would then exactly emulate the lighting on the mountains and lake.

None of this is to take away from the obvious power of FaceShop and your efforts. Terrific.

::::: Opera :::::


AbaloneLLC posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 2:39 PM

Hi Opera,

Yes, I did use the new "Refine" feature tomake the nose more bent and prominent.
And Yes, I agree that the HDRI lighting would have been a better choice along with bump mapping. But hey, I can at least work on improving it - no point in finsihing it right away:-)

My main point was to see how far I can utilize the detailed texture of the original photo using the new 2048x2048 resolution in FaceShop 3.5. It came across pretty good.

Thanks for the excellent suggestions for the next render!
Laslo


operaguy posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 2:40 PM

If you want to try something fairly simple, make a safety copy of your pz3, delete all the lights. Then add one light and position it overhead. Make it "diffuse IBL". Then, in the material room with this light selected, plug a node into the first slot at the top, 2d texture -- image -- and attach your background .jpg to it.

What you are doing is telling poser to light the scene with the light from the .jpg. 

This IBL (Image Based Lighting) is better than typical spots and infinite, but not nearly as good as true HDRI technology.

::: Opera :::


AbaloneLLC posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 2:57 PM

Will do.
BTW: the background is my own photo (taken last year at Yosemita Park) and also featured in Poser Figure Artist as a background.
Laslo


fls13 posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 2:58 PM

Blender's sculpting tools are excellent, check them out.


operaguy posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 3:02 PM

i wanna go there!


SSAfam1 posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 3:23 PM

Opera----I like that Imaged based lighting suggestion. How does making one light and connecting it to your JPEG in the Material room differ from using the already made IBL's in the library? More accurate lighting because it's of and for that specific image?


operaguy posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 3:55 PM

yes. 

Actually you can get everything in place by clicking in one of the IBL lights, then just go into the material room and change the attached image to the one that is your backdrop.

You are likely to get better results (a closer match between the light striking your model's face and the background) than if you use regular lights or the supplied IBL image.

Your Mileagle May Vary, however...

::::: Opera :::::


SSAfam1 posted Wed, 07 November 2007 at 4:32 PM

This is really good to know OG. Thank you.


PhilW posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 3:20 AM

I used a similar lighting technique (but rendered in Vue) for this picture of using the background photo as the light source - the face is an FSP face done from a photo of an unspecified asian girl.  The background is from a set of images that will be available shortly in Renderosity Marketplace called Florence Exteriors, all taken by me specifically to be backgrounds for Poser figures.  I hope you like!  PhilW

operaguy posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 3:48 AM

the shadow catching is very good, makes it convincing. Good job overall, especially as this is a problematic picture because of the radical extremes of illumination.

Hm...........................................I just had a question......................

When you export from FS, you get the texture and you get????? I hope you get a morph, not an entire new head. If new head, you'd lose the head morphs...

I have not started using the program yet.

 

::: Og ::


PhilW posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 4:06 AM

I cheated with the shadow catching on this - it is just added by hand in Photoshop...but glad that you think it looks OK!

What you get out of FS3.5 is a revised version of the head model that you started with. You can import virtually any head - V2, V3, V4, Aiko, SP3, M3 etc, use FS3.5 to generate a morphed head and then save that. You can then in Poser use this new head as a morph target, you are generally recommended to apply this at perhaps 70% rather than the full 100% to avoid ripping the mesh, but you also have all other regular morphs available as well, so you can further tweak and modify the head to your heart's content!  The combination of texture and morph gives a good basis for a likeness, but as we have said here before, the more work you are prepared to put into it, the better this is likely to be!


operaguy posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 4:11 AM

Good, that sequence sounds okay.

Ha Ha caught you painting shadows. I do it to so no worries.

:: og ::


PhilW posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 4:19 AM

I didn't know that painting shadows was a crime!  In my book, it's the final image that counts and any method you use to achieve it is fair game.

I had an aditional thought on morphs - because you apply the output model as a morph target, there is nothing to stop you using multiple morph targets. Say for example you have two pictures of the person you want to model. You can have morph targets as follows:
Picture 1 original
Picture 1 mirrored (using the mirror function in FSP after saving the original mesh)
Picture 2 original
Picture 2 mirrored.

...and then apply morph percentages for each of these to achieve your desired final figure. Just a thought.


AbaloneLLC posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 10:51 AM

Phil, This picture is absolutely tops (or as the Germans say: Spitze!!!). Can you publish closeup renderings to see the face better? I am very curious... Laslo


operaguy posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 10:55 AM

Painting shadows: it is not a crime for stills, in fact it is a blessing.

But for animators like myself...4-minute short or music video = 7200 frames! It is a felony!

yes good ideas for the head morphs. I have seen morph sets for models that already have that concept in place; you can dial in partials to get influences. V4, for instance, comes with about 8 different female head 'looks' and you can feather them together. I do that all the time.

::::: Opera :::::


AbaloneLLC posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 7:53 PM

OK, so here it is with IBL in Poser 7 (based on FaceShop 3.5 morph and texture). IBL is take from the background image. Does look more natural:-) Laslo

AbaloneLLC posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 8:42 PM

Here's another take - lights a little brighter:-)

operaguy posted Thu, 08 November 2007 at 9:22 PM

well that is quite a lot better don't you think? Especially in the first one, the light matches quite well

I can tell there's going to be trouble with the "uncanny valley" with FaceShop...the face looks TOO real, as if it is not a 3D mesh but a photo.

Needs noise or bump or displacement.

I am not complaining, believe me. It's a powerful tool.

::::: Opera :::::


PhilW posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 4:38 AM

Laslo asked for a close up of the face in the previous picture on this forum, so I have rendered one and post it here. It is based on a pictue of an unspecified asian girl, but a couple of people have said that she looks like Anna Ryder Richardsaon (UK TV - may not mean a lot to many! - but it wasn't her in the original).  Worth taking a full screen view I think, hope you like.  Phil

AbaloneLLC posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 9:16 AM

Phil,

I am glad I asked:-)

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing! We should start a FaceShop "Hall of Fame"!
Laslo


Ariah posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 9:32 AM

She may be an unspecified Asian Girl, but for me she looks like Shannyn Sossamon ;]

She's lovely, btw.

The IBL lights really do bring out the best in the texture and morph, IMHO.

As for me, I usually use FaceShop as a starting point and work my way up in Poser, with the character's morphs. And I really love what it does with the textures.


PhilW posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 9:58 AM

Great work, Ariah!  Is the girl based on someone famous?


Ariah posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 11:53 AM

I was basing her on a certain actress, and to me she looks pretty accturate, but that's perhaps because I was looking at her too often ;]

The actress played in one TV series and is not 'THE' girl in many Hollywood movies. Oh, and she dates now one famous guy who used to date older women ;) and she once dated the man she is pictured with in the previous picture... She even starred in a movie with him.


PhilW posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 12:18 PM

So it's not who I thought it might be - but struggling to make a positive ID! I must get more up to date on gossip!


flibbits posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 1:18 PM

Can someone do a step by step on getting the frankenstein looking output from FaceShop to the way these renders look? People usually say: - carefully follow the steps in Faceshop Result is a textured head that doesn't match the body. - do (unspecified) post work - here's the great looking render/image



PhilW posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 1:58 PM

Hi Flibbits,

There are a few general tips to using FaceShop (which you may have seen before, so apologies if I am repeating):

Faceshop is clever but it can't make textures from no information, so as the face turns away from the camera, the texture will get less accurate until it is useless for areas that were turned away from the camera when the photo was taken.  This is where a little work in Photoshop (or similar) goes a long way.

The basic technique I use (and I'm sure I've seen a fuller tutorial on this somewhere - perhaps Laslo can point you to it) is as follows:

That's it in a nutshell. As I've said before, the more work you are prepared to put in, the better result you are likely to achieve but FSP is a really useful shortcut to achieve a reasonable likeness.  Good luck!  and I hope this is useful.


Ariah posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 1:58 PM

Quote - Can someone do a step by step on getting the frankenstein looking output from FaceShop to the way these renders look? People usually say: - carefully follow the steps in Faceshop Result is a textured head that doesn't match the body. - do (unspecified) post work - here's the great looking render/image

 

You're quite correct with the steps.

The postwork part is -- in my case -- the most important one. 

First: the postwork on the texture. I take the FaceShop texture into Photoshop do my best to match it with the body texture. This requires some fiddling with tones and hues, contrast and lightness. Plus, getting rid of all 'dirts' and 'quirks' in the original face texture.

Having done that, I take the result into poser. I apply the face texture, use white light (a sort of in-your-face light) and apply the FaceShopr morph, but I don't use it at its fullest (1), rather 0.2

The rest is  (are?) the figure morphs. 3rd party morphs. And I twist the dials until I get to a satisfying point. Then I take a break. Then I twist some more.

Sometimes it works.


SSAfam1 posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 2:34 PM

WOW Ariah.  Great work! Now I want to try this. 


momodot posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 3:01 PM

Some things I do...

I export and prep several base heads  to work with in FS. I use mainly Victoria 3 Reduced Resolution in the default pose, with the smile morph, and with open smile morph. I have set the materials on these exported heads to FaceShopSkin as explained in the FS tutorial.

I think I use fewer nodes on my curves than most people but I try to get them consistant from the source to the target. I have experimented with things such as drawing the curve down from the brow to deliniate the entire eye socket.

I float the FS texture over a base texture, fix bad shadow etc. and mask problem areas. I adjust the base texture hue, value, and saturation to match the FS texture. I use Photoshop curves to set the value.

I open the morph .obj in Poser and fix any bad mesh with the Morph Brush set to smooth and re-save the .obj.

In poser I open a Jpeg viewer app window with my original source image and then try to match the head shape in Poser with scaling. I use one or two imported FS morphs at about .6 on the dial and then I start using the Daz morphs for fine tuning. I usually end up spawning morphs as I work and blending FS morphs with these compound dial spinning morphs for the final effect.

I use a morph to hide the eyelash mesh and substitute a morphing mesh based eyelash prop.



AbaloneLLC posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 6:55 PM

Attached Link: Ella's Tutorial

Thanks all for these good tips! In addition, there's a pretty good tutorial at [ http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=58059&highlight=faceshop+gojugirl](http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=58059&highlight=faceshop+gojugirl) Her tut shows illustrations of some of the post work in Photoshop discussed above. Laslo

fls13 posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 8:19 PM

Thanks for the sale, I was going to wait until my trial was up, but I grabbed it tonight.


AbaloneLLC posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 8:31 PM

Frank,

You are welcome (luckily we have a special going this week at $51.95:-)
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Laslo


fls13 posted Sun, 11 November 2007 at 8:44 PM

I would like to get very good with this app and be of assistance to you. I know there is some frustration and dissapointment in some quarters and by pooling what we know that can be helped.


flibbits posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 12:52 AM

The idea of applying the before mirror and after mirror morphs is a good one. The only problem is that I've installed the FaceShop 3.5 trial on three computers, and on all three the mirror step does nothing. After the face and texture are saved both as a .fac and exported as .obj, I press either mirror button. It thinks for a second (the progress bar appears and finishes) but nothing happens to the model.



AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 9:17 AM

A few times I experienced some hesitation with the mirror function, too, but it always worked on the second try. Pls. play with it "before" and "after" refine and let me know if this is still an issue.
Laslo


Anniebel posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 10:36 AM

Quote - The idea of applying the before mirror and after mirror morphs is a good one. The only problem is that I've installed the FaceShop 3.5 trial on three computers, and on all three the mirror step does nothing. After the face and texture are saved both as a .fac and exported as .obj, I press either mirror button. It thinks for a second (the progress bar appears and finishes) but nothing happens to the model.

Yes this happens to me too when I try & use the mirror button after saving - it doesn't work & I am using the bought version. The only way to get it to work is to hit the back button & make it compute the head again, then mirror. Mind you the mirrored versions don't seem to import into Poser that well, I always seem to get more of a distortion as in splitting etc, with the mirrored version.

I have only played with it for the last day & haven't made anything I am happy with yet. It is a bit annoying that the premarked M3 & V4 heads can't be used for Poser & you have to plot the figure points as well as the photo points each time. This in my opinion is one of it's major down falls, because I think this is part of the reason I haven't been happy with the results, it limits accuracy. If I had known it was really a DAZ Studio programme rather than a Poser programme I probably wouldn't have bothered with it.

The best & most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched... but felt in the heart.

Helen Keller

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AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 10:59 AM

Actually,

You can save at EVERY STAGE as .fac (see save buttons).
Fac files can be opened and will contain the dostg (or curves) or whatever you have there.
As for the V4 and M3 being used in Poser, there are two ways:

  1. You can open V4 and M3 in Poser, export heads as OBJ (no eyes) and save them a .fac files.
    This way you always have them ready.
  2. There is literature on how to use built-in heads and select a certain scaling for them to work in Poser.
    Laslo

Anniebel posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 8:56 PM

Quote - Actually,

You can save at EVERY STAGE as .fac (see save buttons).
Fac files can be opened and will contain the dostg (or curves) or whatever you have there.
As for the V4 and M3 being used in Poser, there are two ways:

  1. You can open V4 and M3 in Poser, export heads as OBJ (no eyes) and save them a .fac files.
    This way you always have them ready.
  2. There is literature on how to use built-in heads and select a certain scaling for them to work in Poser.
    Laslo

If you save it as a fac file how do you use it at the beginning with a new photo?

Where is the literature on using the built-in heads, what page of the manual, I must of missed it?

The best & most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched... but felt in the heart.

Helen Keller

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AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 9:10 PM

OK. 
To answer your 2nd question first:
Here's a tutorial step-by-step by a user:
http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=58692&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

To Question #1:
I misspoke there. You can save .fac files but they WILL retain the photo. I think for the next version we do want to create the ability to save unlimited "templates" - it is an excellent idea.
Laslo


Faery_Light posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 9:54 PM

I have the demo version and I created a couple of heads, one on V4 and one on M3. Guess I don't understand how to use them in Poser because they won't work as morph targets. Problem is my time limit is up and I can't afford the full version yet...sob. I want it!!! Ooops, exxcuse me for getting emotional. The heads came out looking just like the photos and I only needed to touch up the textures a bit. If you go to my gallery you'll see an example there, Huntress:Close-up, is made in FaceShop pro Demo. Wish I could get the full version so I could make these heads usuable in Poser but I got too many medical and household expenses right now. But if I ever get the cash, Face Shop Pro is mine. :)


Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
     BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.


AbaloneLLC posted Tue, 13 November 2007 at 10:14 PM

If you want to use M3 or V4 in Poser, you have to first export the M3 (or V4) head OUT OF POSER as OBJ morph targets (see manual chapter 5 or watch demo video at http://www.abalonellc.com/watchdemovideo.html and

Import FaceShop 3.5 Faces in Poser

Laslo


Anniebel posted Wed, 14 November 2007 at 3:03 AM

Well I am not having much luck, & am a bit disappointed in the programme - too many errors.

I tried to save a project as a fac file, but when I went back to it, it won't open. I get the error noise & then the programme crashes.

Also if you use the refine button, you cannot mirror the result if you save first, as the mirror button does not work after saving, and after refining you cannot go back one step. If you hit back after refining it jumps right back to the beginning of the project.

The best & most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched... but felt in the heart.

Helen Keller

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AbaloneLLC posted Wed, 14 November 2007 at 9:22 AM

I heard of crash with 64-bit systems (FS is currently 32-bit).
I agree, easier to mirror first and then do refine.
Also, practice helps:-)
Laslo
Ps: I suggest you send me tech support directly to info@abalonellc.com or info@pantomat.com


Anniebel posted Wed, 14 November 2007 at 3:36 PM

Quote - I heard of crash with 64-bit systems (FS is currently 32-bit).
I agree, easier to mirror first and then do refine.
Also, practice helps:-)
Laslo
Ps: I suggest you send me tech support directly to info@abalonellc.com or info@pantomat.com

I realise the programme takes practise, that  is not what I have issue with, it is the problems with the crashes etc that are frustrating me. I will email the details when I get a chance.

The best & most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched... but felt in the heart.

Helen Keller

My Gallery                       My Freebies                        My Store


SSAfam1 posted Mon, 26 November 2007 at 10:11 AM

thinking I might get this...

True-color video card---we have to buy this to be able to use it?

 


DarkEdge posted Mon, 26 November 2007 at 10:17 AM

I just want to say that Anniebel's avatar is the greatest! 😄

Comitted to excellence through art.


Faery_Light posted Mon, 26 November 2007 at 11:08 AM

I finally got it and I did succeed in making one workable morph target.

I do not have a 64 bit card oand my graphics card is the NVAIDA that came installed o n my machine.

My biggest issue is that 3d model wants to turn sidways and I don't know how to get a full front view yet...sigh.
And when I load just one morph target it distortds the head instad of giving me what I worked hard for.
Maybe something I'm doing wrong?

And yes, it takes practise but I can be patient, I can be patient...lol.


Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
     BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.


AbaloneLLC posted Mon, 26 November 2007 at 11:47 AM

Attached Link: http://www.abalonellc.com/watchdemovideo.html

Quote:

My biggest issue is that 3d model wants to turn sidways and I don't know how to get a full front view yet...sigh.
And when I load just one morph target it distortds the head instad of giving me what I worked hard for.
Maybe something I'm doing wrong?

Hi Blue Echo,

  1. It is important that you put down the dots as directed. Pls. watch the demo video at :
    http://www.abalonellc.com/watchdemovideo.html (Hint: when you don't see an item, say the left ear, try to guesstimate where it may be and put down the dot anyway).
  2. The dialing of the morphs (how far to dial it in) is discussed in the manual chapter 5 as well as the demo videos (DAZ and Poser).
    I hope this helps - hang in there!!
    Laslo
    For more tech support , pls. write to info@abalonellc.com

Anniebel posted Mon, 26 November 2007 at 6:22 PM

Quote - I just want to say that Anniebel's avatar is the greatest! 😄

Thanks LOL

The best & most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched... but felt in the heart.

Helen Keller

My Gallery                       My Freebies                        My Store


who3d posted Wed, 05 December 2007 at 2:36 PM

Is there a Windows Vista compatible version of Faceshop yet?


fls13 posted Wed, 05 December 2007 at 2:50 PM

Is there a truly Windows Vista version of anything? :O)


who3d posted Wed, 05 December 2007 at 2:56 PM

I only asked if there was a Vista COMPATIBLE version - and there certainly are Vista compatible products out there. Lots of them :D

But that was before I found out they were claiming not to have any bug reports apart from 64-bit problems two weeks or so after they were publically handed a list of issues. Tsk tsk!