Hi, I wondered if anyone could enlighten me on workflow. I'm extracting a part of a wagon, the hitch, from the Daz Boundless Journey model, to modify it in Lightwave into a more complex harness. Is there a way to extract this component, modify it externally, and then bring it back into Poser without messing up hierarchy, boning, etc? thanks in advance. I'm exporting as LWO, and can save in any Lightwave supported format -- I've generally used OBJs when going back into Poser.

Don't bother to export in lwo.. just load the original obj they provided into lightwave.

Just make sure you don;t accidentally write over it, and remember that you MUST apply a map to all materials in order for lightwave to retain the UV info when you export the obj back out.

Quote - Don't bother to export in lwo.. just load the original obj they provided into lightwave.

Just make sure you don;t accidentally write over it, and remember that you MUST apply a map to all materials in order for lightwave to retain the UV info when you export the obj back out.

Thanks for this.

And if I want to substitute the modified version in the old object hierarchy? What should I do? I don't want to overwrite the original

just copy the cr2, and change the obj name in it in a text editor to your new obj's name.. and note you need to do it in TWO places, not just one.

If you do a lot of mods that is gonna mess up the grouping for the rigging isnt it . ?

It really depends. I twist polys until they scream, but then I've been doing if for 4 years now, and I know just how much I can torture them before they expire.

Plus keep in mind, if you add or delete polys, it'll bereak any morphs that already exist, and if you add polys, you need to make sure that you uv map them, AND make sure they have the same group names as the part they are associated with.

Also keep in mind that objs are copyrighted, so if you were thinking of doing an expansion, and redistributing it, you'd have to rtencode it against the original product.

Some vendors also do not allow cr2 redistribution, so that would cause you issues as well.

Just really depends on if this is for YOU, or for others.

Hey Gareee, thank you for the very complete answer! This is just for me, so redistribution/intellectual property issues aren't a problem, but i appreciate you alerting me to the concern.

Cool.. in that case, beat the hell out of it.. that's the best way to figure out what you can and cannot get away with.

Also, if you add additional parts and need to uv map them, keep in mind lightave can keep track of miltiple UV maps, so you can unwrap your new stuff and use as much uv space as you need.

save out the additions separately, and you can get tyhe uv maps for those very easily, and then toss away that saved additiona object.

Quote - Also, if you add additional parts and need to uv map them, keep in mind lightave can keep track of miltiple UV maps, so you can unwrap your new stuff and use as much uv space as you need.

save out the additions separately, and you can get tyhe uv maps for those very easily, and then toss away that saved additiona object.

I'm not following this. Are you saying that if I take a component, which had previously had to share a texture space with the rest of the Poser object, and export it out, I can give it its own UV mapping, and reimport it into Poser?

No. you can have multiple uv maps for an object. getting the template from that mess can be a pain.

Save JUST the new parts, JUST for the prupose of getting thier template easily, and make sure they all have new materials.

the Uvs will be the same in the original obj with the additions, as the exported additions only.

You coul ddick around in uv mapper to hide everything else and then make a template, but why bother if there is a simpler method?

Quote - Save JUST the new parts, JUST for the prupose of getting thier template easily, and make sure they all have new materials.

Oh. This is subtle, and I hadn't thought of it. Thanks-- gold star tip, that!

Sometimes easy stuff is overlooked...;)