Pret-a-3D opened this issue on May 13, 2009 · 104 posts
Pret-a-3D posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 2:09 AM
Hi.
Just wanted to let you all know that I modified the OBJ Import/Export programs included in Blender to add support for OBJ groups. The lack of that functionality is what prevented using Blender as a complete solution for creating PBMs and FBMs or clothing/props.
Poser and DAZ Studio require that a morph is written by preserving the vertex order and by preserving the groups (lForeArm, abdomen, hip etc) defined in the figure. This is needed also for rigging of conforming figures.
In the past we could model using Blender but then we need to use some other hack (UVMApper) to add the missing groups. Now all is done internally. Load V4's OBJ file, morph it, save it with another name, load it in Studio with Morph Loader and you are all set.
The new patches have been approved tonight so I hope they will be included in the upcoming v.2.49 but otherwise I will provide them shortly.
I'm also planning to prepare a video tutorial about the process and complete workflow demonstration.
Cheers!
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RobynsVeil posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 2:39 AM
This is the most exciting news I've heard in a long time, Paolo. Thanks so much for all your hard work in this essential area. Keenly awaiting further news. Did they give a timeline as to the v2.49 release date yet?
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Pret-a-3D posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 9:19 AM
Thanks. Not yet, there is a Release Candidate 2 that was released a couple of days ago. That one doesn't have my patches but hopefully the next one will. Considering that Blender has one of the best UV Map editor in the market, free or commercial, now we have a all-in-one solution for editing Poser content.
Interestingly enough, the fix was accepted with some "grumbling" because I used vertex groups to store the OBJ groups. Strictly speaking the two things are not the same and vertex groups "are used for weight painting", in the words of the code maintainer :)
The fact is, if the OBJ contains defined groups, for Poser or otherwise, I believe that the program should preserve them and use whatever method is available in order to avoid data loss.
But the best part is that by using vertex groups we are not stuck to defining materials for grouping, the only other semi-working alternative that was available. Materials could be used except that they made a poor choice because the exporter re-writes the material names and because of the infamous 16 material limit in Blender.
So, now you can create a new piece of clothing using the excellent Retopo tool in Blender, highlight the vertices , assign them a group using the same names of the bone rig, save the OBJ and it's ready for rigging in Studio with the Skeleton Setup Tool. It works like a charm.
Give me a few days to make the tutorial and I'll post more infos in this forum.
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Reddog9 posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 2:50 PM
Quote -
Interestingly enough, the fix was accepted with some "grumbling" because I used vertex groups to store the OBJ groups. Strictly speaking the two things are not the same and vertex groups "are used for weight painting", in the words of the code maintainer :)
That's terrific news. That sounds just like what I've been working on. I've been getting ready to release my export script that I've been working on. I've been working on it for quite some time now and I believe that was one of the first hurdles I had to cross. I think I started from scratch making a OBJ exporter that does just as you stated, exports an OBJ broken down in to smaller objects based on Vertex Groups. Since in my opinion, it really depends on full faces, my script goes further and eliminates any face that doesn't contain 3 or 4 vertices. It also does not include any face that has not been assigned to a vertex group.
Dealing with the fact that the original Exporter altered the material names was another issue that I had to deal with as well, since in doing so, it alters the Object names (if I remember correctly, although that may be in my Prop Exporter that I created as well.).
My exporter goes on further to actually create the CR2 file based on a Blender Armature. It also takes any bone rotation limits and adds those in as well. It starts with a default value for 'Angles of Deformation' and then allows you to edit them as well and re-export the CR2.
I've also included a 'Welding' script that allows you to add extra welding aside from the default situations which the script does for you. It automatically welds any seems between a Parent and Child mesh as well as any seems that may occur between to 'Sibling' joints.
At this time, I have not implemented any functions that deal with Spheres of Influence or Buldges.
Although It's rough around the edges, it still works quite well. I'm planning on releasing it with a detailed manual for a small fee. If there's enough interest in it, I'd work on it further adding other features and clean things up. Based on the man hours I've put into it, I don't think asking for a small fee would be unreasonable.
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Pret-a-3D posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 3:56 PM
@Reddog
Sounds like you are doing much more than working on the OBJ files, I'll be interested in seeing your scripts. Replicating the features of Poser file format is quite a hurdle.
Since I use DAZ Studio and Carrara for my scenes and Studio's Skeleton Setup Tool to do all the rigging for conforming clothing, my target was to make Blender the modeling app necessary to do morph and new props. The only things that was missing was the ability to preserve and save the groups. My concern was also to integrate that feature in the stock importer/exporter of Blender so that there is only one source that is maintained from this point on.
Now, regarding some of your observations about faces reduction and such, remember that for a morph to work it has to have exactly the same number of vertices in exactly the same order and the groups have to include the exact number of faces of the original geometry. But you probably know that already :)
Let us know when your CR2 exporter is ready.
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hoplaa posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 4:10 PM
Sounds very good, both of you.
I have a couple of small requests in case someone's up for it:
Pret-a-3D posted Wed, 13 May 2009 at 5:26 PM
@hoplaa Poser-specific updated are not going to be accepted easily. Blender is and will remain a neutral tool and in the land of Open Source commercial apps are not seeing too favorably. I was able to get the patches accepted because support for groups is more of a general issue and because a) Campbell Barton has seen more than a fair share of complaint from DAZ/Poser users and b) I advocated the update convincingly up to the point of making a short video to present the submission. That was, IMHO, key in making the process fast and simple.
To give you an idea about what kind of resistance there is consider this: initially my patches were totally invisible, the processing of groups happened completely transparently. Campbell asked me to add some UI to make it optional. I did and I set the option to be "on" by default. He changed it to be "off" by default :)
I'm just very happy that the feature is in the codebase, it's gonna be there for the time being and now we can add Poser-specific importers/exporters by calling the OBJ routines as modules. That is one very cool feature of Blender. By implementing the import/export process in Python, the developer gave us access to it and we can chain those modules together.
Regarding the scaling issue, you can work with Poser-scaled geometry OK but, yes, it's pretty tiny. I'll look into a Poser-scaler script, similar to the plugin in Z-Brush. Thank you for the suggestion.
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Pret-a-3D posted Mon, 18 May 2009 at 10:53 AM
Just wanted to let you know that the new OBJ importer/exporter made it in the latest release of Blender. 2.49 RC3 is available: http://www.blender.org/development/current-projects/changes-since-248/
And the Wavefront OBJ routines now preserve the groups. Just be sure that the "Poly Groups" buttons are pressed in both cases. I'm putting together a video tutorial but you can grab the update today and play with it.
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ysvry posted Mon, 18 May 2009 at 6:55 PM
great news, well done to get it accepted.
Pret-a-3D posted Mon, 18 May 2009 at 7:17 PM
Thanks!
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RobynsVeil posted Wed, 20 May 2009 at 5:21 AM
Fantastic... this is brilliant news. Will download this version and have a go as soon as our broadband is back at full speed. Great work, pciccone!
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Pol posted Wed, 20 May 2009 at 3:37 PM
Quote - Just wanted to let you know that the new OBJ importer/exporter made it in the latest release of Blender. 2.49 RC3 is available: http://www.blender.org/development/current-projects/changes-since-248/
And the Wavefront OBJ routines now preserve the groups. Just be sure that the "Poly Groups" buttons are pressed in both cases. I'm putting together a video tutorial but you can grab the update today and play with it.
Thanks a lot, best News ever THANKS
Pret-a-3D posted Wed, 20 May 2009 at 4:41 PM
To everyone, you're very welcome, much appreciated. I'm recording the tutorial, should be out next week.
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Enivob posted Fri, 22 May 2009 at 9:08 AM
Can we get the python code now?
I am quite interested in testing it with Meshfoot which uses Campbell Bartons OBJ import to load it's meshes into memory.
Is your code a drop in replacement?
Here is a snippet from the Meshfoot code:
import_obj.load_obj(localObjFullPathFileName, CLAMP_SIZE=
0.0, CREATE_FGONS= True, CREATE_SMOOTH_GROUPS= True, CREATE_EDGES=
False, SPLIT_OBJECTS= False, SPLIT_GROUPS= False, SPLIT_MATERIALS=
False, IMAGE_SEARCH=False)
Does your code leave the most recently imported object selected?
Pret-a-3D posted Fri, 22 May 2009 at 9:28 AM
@Enivob The code is part of the OBJ import/export scripts included in Blender. You just need to download Blender 2.49 RC3 or higher and you're all set to go.
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Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 1:16 AM
Hi. As I mentioned a few days ago, I worked on a video that shows the new workflow, starting from the stock V4 obj file.
The video tutorial, 17 mins, is now available, you can watch it at
http://paolociccone.com/tutorials/blender_poser_fbm.html
Enjoy!
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Pol posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 3:19 AM
[quotehttp://paolociccone.com/tutorials/blender_poser_fbm.html
Thanks a lot Paolo and if you have time why not a video tut for a piece of clothing.
sirenia posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 5:42 AM
Thank you an awful lot for this man ! Now i finally can make my own custom morphs on figures without using tons of magnets inside Poser :-)
Oh and yes please, if you would have the time to show us how to adjust the clothing to fit the morphed figures, that would be very cool too ;-)
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sirenia posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 5:57 AM
Hmmm... very strange, i just downloaded the 2.49rc3 for Mac OS X PowerPC and when i unzip this, it contains the 2.48.4 version ???
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Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 9:18 AM
@sirenia Th eversion number has not being changed yet, you can see the same number in the tutorial. Just run the OBJ import and if it has the "Poly Groups" then you have the right version.
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Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 9:19 AM
@Pol Good suggestion, I'll see what I can do.
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sirenia posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 9:41 AM
I don 't have the 'poly groups' option when i import an .obj as you do in your video.
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Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 9:46 AM
Strange. I didn't try the PPC version, it might be that that one is different. The Intel version has it.
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sirenia posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 9:56 AM
Aha they 're there indeed. I don 't get that 'poly groups' option when importing, but when in edit mode they appear in the panel window and i can work with them. Still a bit strange no ?
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Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 28 May 2009 at 10:09 AM
Interesting. That was the original behavior of the plugins when I submitted them. My rationale for that was that since groups are defined they should be included anyway, I mean there is not damage in importing them. Campbell Barton argued about a UI option and I added it. At the end of the day it was more important for me to have the updates in the new code release than trying to argue philosophical points.
Anyway, let us know how it goes.
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sirenia posted Sun, 31 May 2009 at 6:44 AM
Just downloaded the official release, and now i have the 'poly groups' when i import and export :-)
Gonna play with it some more now and see that i can import in Poser without problems then.
Thanks for the added functions !
Society failed to tolerate me...
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sirenia posted Sun, 31 May 2009 at 8:49 AM
If i load the morph target into Poser 6, the app crashes :-(
Society failed to tolerate me...
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Mannixman posted Sun, 31 May 2009 at 9:28 AM
Hello Paolo,
want to thank you for your work on Blender and the instructional video. Very professional and I learned a lot.
Pret-a-3D posted Sun, 31 May 2009 at 10:36 AM
Hey Mannixman, thank, I'm glad it was helpful.
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NanetteTredoux posted Wed, 03 June 2009 at 11:56 PM
This is very good news. Thank you so much for your efforts in making Blender more useful for Poser users.
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FutureFantasyDesign posted Sat, 13 June 2009 at 11:02 AM
I was just getting ready to start using Blender, and even tho totally a newbie I am very excited to hear of the new innovations you have both been working on!
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Pret-a-3D posted Sat, 13 June 2009 at 11:14 AM
Thank you. Have fun and don't hesitate posting here if you need more help
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FutureFantasyDesign posted Sat, 13 June 2009 at 11:23 AM
:D I already have one question on the board!!!
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Zaycrow posted Thu, 18 June 2009 at 12:13 PM
How do you load the morphs in Poser?
Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 18 June 2009 at 12:19 PM
Quote - How do you load the morphs in Poser?
Sorry, don't know about that, I don't user Poser anymore since DAZ Studio 2.3
Maybe other people here in the forum can suggest a workflow for that? If you can create a PZ2 file that refers to the FBM geometry file then you can use the PZ2 in Poser and apply the morph.
Seriously suggest to look at Studio, it makes a lot of things much simpler to do.
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FrankT posted Thu, 18 June 2009 at 2:06 PM
Basically you select the body part then in the properties bit of the parameters tab, click "load morph target" and away you go
Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 18 June 2009 at 2:12 PM
Quote - Basically you select the body part then in the properties bit of the parameters tab, click "load morph target" and away you go
AFAIK that doesn't work for FBMs
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FrankT posted Thu, 18 June 2009 at 2:30 PM
not for an FBM no, you'd have to save the morph out as a bunch of separate bits then import them all one at a time which is a serious pain.
There might be a script or something like that to load an FBM into Poser
nruddock posted Thu, 18 June 2009 at 4:32 PM
Attached Link: http://www.svdlinden.nl/webposerstuff/downloads/morphfromobjp6.zip
> Quote - There might be a script or something like that to load an FBM into PoserThere are a few, the one I've linked is by sdvl (see this thread for info -> http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2634045), and I'm fairly certain that one of PhilC's products has something for doing this.
fls13 posted Sun, 21 June 2009 at 11:45 PM
It was always possible but if you make it easier, that's great. Will be looking forward to using it.
Pret-a-3D posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 12:34 AM
Quote - It was always possible but if you make it easier, that's great. Will be looking forward to using it.
The update addresses a problem that prevented the use of Blender-generated OBJs for FBMs: Blender did not retain or export the group names defined in the original OBJ file. So, techincally, yes, you could make modified meshes from the original Poser figures but those meshes would not be recognized by Poser or DAZ Studio because of the lack of groups.
The updates in v.2.49 fix this issue.
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fls13 posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 3:28 AM
Like I said, it was always possible. Just because you didn't know how to do it doesn't mean it hasn't been doable all along. ;O)
lisarichie posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 8:35 AM
Quote - Like I said, it was always possible. Just because you didn't know how to do it doesn't mean it hasn't been doable all along. ;O)
Yep. Been doing it using Compose, Blender and Poser's Little Helper for a couple of years now. Started making FBM's in Blender for use in D|S before I even had Poser.
The update that retains groups is very nice but a convenience not an absolute necessity.
fls13 posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 9:38 AM
Quote - Yep. Been doing it using Compose, Blender and Poser's Little Helper for a couple of years now. Started making FBM's in Blender for use in D|S before I even had Poser.
The update that retains groups is very nice but a convenience not an absolute necessity.
Exactly! ;O) Even with the upgrade in Blender, Compose is a useful utility.
lisarichie posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 5:10 PM
Been told you can do the same thing using UVMapper in place of Compose but I haven't achieved equivalent results....but then I am old slow and slightly simple minded.:laugh: (Have to take off socks and shirt to count up to twenty-two.)
It continues to amaze me that Compose was last update in 1999 and still does the job.
In terms of software life that makes it what.....about a million years old.
Pret-a-3D posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 5:19 PM
Quote - Been told you can do the same thing using UVMapper in place of Compose
Yes, but that's exactly the point of the update. Export the mesh from Blender, load it in UVMapper, apply tthe groups, export it again. It's hardly a good workflow. It works but it's a kludge. Not to denigrate UVMapper or Compose, they served us well in the past but there is no reason to not have this all integrated in one tool. Blender can now be your one-stop-shop for modeling, morphing, UVMapping, and texturing. When using Blender to make new cloths of morphs of clothes, having to jump through so many apps every time you need to test the update adds substantial time.
Now you simply export to OBJ, launch Studio, run Morph Loader and you're done!
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lisarichie posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 5:40 PM
That's a great concept that I'm amendable to but, still get some wonky results when running the sculpt brush across group boundaries....results with Compose are consistent....shrug.
Plus Compose works in those situations that don't involve Blender. (some of us slip around and visit other applications on the sly)
Note: I'm not saying that the irregularities have anything to do with the update to .obj handling, which I like by the way.
Oh yeah, it's worth reading the doc that comes with Compose.
(Besides who tests updates to morphs, get it in one and call it done....sure,right.:laugh:)
jartz posted Mon, 22 June 2009 at 7:20 PM
Tried the Blender method in terms of Sculpting, and I am pleased with the results (referring to Poser thread: "you dont have money for zbrush? ")
Thank you Pret-a-3D for that info, and nruddock for the Python link.
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ice-boy posted Mon, 01 November 2010 at 4:50 AM
i noticed that in the new Blender 2.5 version we can not import OBJ objects with vertex groups.
http://www.blender.org/download/get-254-beta/
if someone can fix this this would be awesome because modeling in 2.54 is better IMO then in 2.49
thanks
RobynsVeil posted Mon, 01 November 2010 at 7:55 AM
How is it better, ice-boy? I am having issues with hotkeys all being different in 2.5x. The whole point to Blender - what made Blender so fast - was the hotkeys, and now I have to relearn all that? Makes absolutely no sense for them to do that.
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ice-boy posted Mon, 01 November 2010 at 9:37 AM
belive i was like you. it looked different.
but then i found out that modeling with the solidify modifier and all the other features makes my modeling faster.
moogal posted Mon, 01 November 2010 at 6:36 PM
Quote - How is it better, ice-boy? I am having issues with hotkeys all being different in 2.5x. The whole point to Blender - what made Blender so fast - was the hotkeys, and now I have to relearn all that? Makes absolutely no sense for them to do that.
Funny, I thought the point of blender was that it is free and open.
I just assumed being hotkey dependent was a symptom of blender's "linux" mentality. It's the only thing that ever kept me from learning it. Shortcuts are nice, but if I'm eating or on the phone I'd like to be able to access every thing by mouse as well. It also makes most blender tutorials look like magic as you can't see the the keyboard gymnastics everything actually takes to accomplish.
Pret-a-3D posted Mon, 01 November 2010 at 6:57 PM
Blender was not born on Linux but on SGI and then ported to Linux. The design of the interface of Blender has no connections with Unix, in fact there is no other tool, from Unix or other OS, that has a similar design. Blender was an internal animation tool for a company named NaN (Not a Number) and the philosophy around the software was to make it one of the most effecient, fast and powerful modelers.
It has been proven by many indipendent tests that menu-based UIs are not the most efficient ways of handling this kind of interaction. Other softwares, like Maya or ZBrush, in fact add a form of context-sensitive interface elements, like the right-click menu of Maya or the popup menu of ZBrush, that are meant to provide tools pertinent to the job right in the place where the artist is focusing, thus minimizing the shift from the work to the UI.
In the field of post-processing software, like After Effects, or Final Cut Pro, keyboard-heavy use is the norm, as editors and compositors need to manage huge amount of data under very tight deadline. This is also determined by the fact that professionals need to spend many hours in front of a compuiter and mouse-heavy UI are know for causing CTS. Many of the post-processing tools, like After Effects, were born on Mac OS or Windows.
Blender simply pushes that concept to an extreme.
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moogal posted Mon, 01 November 2010 at 7:22 PM
I always thought blender started out in-house on the Amiga. I just don't think blender would be as actively developed had it not been the standard 3D tool on the linux platform, where it can be improved by the whole community. Now it has matured to the point where, feature-wise, it can compete with 3D programs originating on the Mac or PC, but many people find that work flow to be too different from what they are used to.
I agree about context menus, it's one of the things that makes Wings so easy to use. I usually only learn the hotkeys for functions I use the most, and for the others I go to the menu. I use Sony Vegas which uses keys for the same reason as the programs mentioned, but still offers icons and numerous menus. I just can't see getting very far with blender without using keys from the beginning, which was always my complaint with it.
Miss B posted Tue, 02 November 2010 at 1:52 AM
Quote - How is it better, ice-boy? I am having issues with hotkeys all being different in 2.5x. The whole point to Blender - what made Blender so fast - was the hotkeys, and now I have to relearn all that? Makes absolutely no sense for them to do that.
Hey Robyn, I don't know how many hotkeys you use, but in the User Preferences in 2.54 you have several options for setting the keystrokes you want to use.
I've been using 2.45 and then 2.49 for about 2 years now, and like you I'm used to certain hotkeys, e.g., spacebar for the "add" menu, which of course they changed. I think a lot of changes were made because it seems to me more functions are now available. Then again, some of them may have been available and I just didn't know where they were. Now you need to use Shift A to get the "add" menu, and I guess you can't set that back the way you want, but some I have.
For example, in the older versions I set User Preferences to Emulate Numpad because I've been using my laptop more, and always used Alt + or Alt - for zooming in and out. I went into 2.54's File > User Preferences (Ctrl Alt U), and on the Input tab there's a long list of options available for editing. If you click on the arrow to the left of 3D View and then 3D View (Global), there are several Zoom, Move, etc. that can be edited. Since I suffer from acute CTS, I can't use a mouse, so those set up for the MMB are totally useless to me, so I clicked on two of the Zoom buttons and it changed to "Press a key" and then I clicked on Alt + for one of them and Alt - for the other, and now I can still use those older keystrokes if I want. Of course now I can also use Ctrl and LMB to do the same (which may or may not have been available in older versions), but when you're used to doing something a certain way, why give it up if you can work out how to keep doing it the same way.
Just my 2¢ FWIW.
_______________
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RobynsVeil posted Tue, 02 November 2010 at 6:51 AM
Thank you, Miss B... haven't been doing anything with the newer version (2.5x) of Blender lately, but it sounds like it is going to be sufficiently customisable to allow dyed-in-the-wool hot-key-ers like me to make the transition without too much pain. 
Think it's time to download 2.54 and have a closer look: thank you again for the info about user preferences and hotkey changes.
Much as people revile Blender because of the interface, it was precisely the interface that ultimately got me hooked. I like things that are unconventional - to a point... just could never get used to selecting with the right-mouse button - and if the process is worthwhile and gets me what I want, I'll spend the time to learn it. The Poser material room is largely still a grey area to me even though I play in it a lot, just as Blender has a lot of magic still to be discovered. The cloth room and Blender's own cloth simulator both have exciting possibilities, and then, if I get bored with 3D, there's always SQL and php.
Isn't life grand??!? :biggrin:
Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2
Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
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Miss B posted Tue, 02 November 2010 at 12:54 PM
. . . and X/HTML & CSS. Life is definitely grand when you can find something else to fill in your time when 3D isn't on your plate. ~grin~
Quote - . . . and then, if I get bored with 3D, there's always SQL and php. Isn't life grand??!? :biggrin:
_______________
OK . . . Where's my chocolate?
ice-boy posted Wed, 03 November 2010 at 1:52 AM
Quote - Blender was not born on Linux but on SGI and then ported to Linux. The design of the interface of Blender has no connections with Unix, in fact there is no other tool, from Unix or other OS, that has a similar design. Blender was an internal animation tool for a company named NaN (Not a Number) and the philosophy around the software was to make it one of the most effecient, fast and powerful modelers.
It has been proven by many indipendent tests that menu-based UIs are not the most efficient ways of handling this kind of interaction. Other softwares, like Maya or ZBrush, in fact add a form of context-sensitive interface elements, like the right-click menu of Maya or the popup menu of ZBrush, that are meant to provide tools pertinent to the job right in the place where the artist is focusing, thus minimizing the shift from the work to the UI.
In the field of post-processing software, like After Effects, or Final Cut Pro, keyboard-heavy use is the norm, as editors and compositors need to manage huge amount of data under very tight deadline. This is also determined by the fact that professionals need to spend many hours in front of a compuiter and mouse-heavy UI are know for causing CTS. Many of the post-processing tools, like After Effects, were born on Mac OS or Windows.
Blender simply pushes that concept to an extreme.
could you maybe fix the polygroups cuntion in blender? ;) thanks
bob1965 posted Wed, 03 November 2010 at 9:14 AM
Pretty sure it was Realsoft 3D that was developed on the Amiga.
Hot keys....don't really get the issues....most high end apps rely on them for speed.
Suffering from CRS....post cheat sheet next to monitor, non-problem solved.
Regular complaints about the existing UI always bemaze me...especially when by ZBrush users...now there's a UI from hell. :biggrin:
Will be nice when Blender is out of beta and the basic functions work properly again though.
moogal posted Wed, 03 November 2010 at 5:32 PM
Quote - Blender was not born on Linux but on SGI and then ported to Linux. The design of the interface of Blender has no connections with Unix, in fact there is no other tool, from Unix or other OS, that has a similar design.
Linux gave it the option of being open sourced, which led to rapid improvement. SGI used what, Iris or something? Whatever it was, it was some kind of *nix. It seems to me that all flavors of Unix use keyboard input the most of the popular OSes. Programs originating on the Amiga (Lightwave, Truespace, Cinema 4D etc.) and Mac (Carrara, Poser, etc.) have used the mouse primarily since about the second generation of 3D programs. Dos and *nix developers liked hotkeys and scripting, as it was consistent with their use of the console to use the OS. Mac and Amiga developers were always trying to perfect a VR like interface that would mimic traditional sculpting and hand-animating.
nruddock posted Wed, 03 November 2010 at 6:00 PM
Quote - Linux gave it the option of being open sourced, which led to rapid improvement.
The open sourcing of Blender was nothing to do with Linux.
When NaN shut down, a buy out of the code was organised so that the code could be open sourced.
See -> http://www.blender.org/blenderorg/blender-foundation/history/
Linux was an easy platform to port to, because is extremely similar to Unix (similarly for MacOS)
I'm not sure, but ISTR that there where ports for Linux and Macs before the Foundation buy out (it was definitely available for Windows in the NaN days).
Pret-a-3D posted Wed, 03 November 2010 at 6:10 PM
The issue with Linux etc was heavily influenced by the fact that Blender uses OpenGL even for drawing the UI. While MS was trying to fight OpenGL with DirectX, OpenGL was infact created by SGI and became the 3D API of choice on Linux. Same for Mac OS.
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moogal posted Wed, 03 November 2010 at 6:10 PM
Quote - > Quote - Linux gave it the option of being open sourced, which led to rapid improvement.
The open sourcing of Blender was nothing to do with Linux.
When NaN shut down, a buy out of the code was organised so that the code could be open sourced.
See -> http://www.blender.org/blenderorg/blender-foundation/history/
Linux was an easy platform to port to, because is extremely similar to Unix (similarly for MacOS)
I'm not sure, but ISTR that there where ports for Linux and Macs before the Foundation buy out (it was definitely available for Windows in the NaN days).
I am aware of the history of OSS, and never said Linux created that movement. Linux being an OSS alternative to Unix made porting easy, and blender's popularity among Linux users gave it a large enough following to raise the needed money. I don't see how it could have happened without the gains OSS and Linux made during the time immediately leading up to the decision. Could any other community, already having dozens of commercial or free/shareware 3D programs, have been bothered to raise the necessary money?
ice-boy posted Thu, 04 November 2010 at 4:17 AM
Pret-a-3D
can you please turn on the polygroups function in Blender 2.55 back on ? thanks ** **
i dont even understand why they turned it of. **
**
Pret-a-3D posted Thu, 04 November 2010 at 9:31 AM
The polygroups deal is an old argument that I didn't win :( Campbell, the person in charge for accepting submissions, for some reason prefers to have it off. I'll see if I can put together a quick tutorial on how to modify the exporter to turn on that option by default.
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ice-boy posted Sat, 06 November 2010 at 12:04 PM
whaaaaaaaait what???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they dont want to have an option to export OBJ with vertex groups? how is this in the interest of the blender group?
ice-boy posted Sat, 06 November 2010 at 12:07 PM
Quote - I'll see if I can put together a quick tutorial on how to modify the exporter to turn on that option by default.
thank you very much for this
Pret-a-3D posted Sat, 06 November 2010 at 12:42 PM
Quote - whaaaaaaaait what???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they dont want to have an option to export OBJ with vertex groups? how is this in the interest of the blender group?
Beats me. I argued about this but it was going nowhere.
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nruddock posted Sat, 06 November 2010 at 5:10 PM
Quote - they dont want to have an option to export OBJ with vertex groups?
Strictly speaking the OBJ format only has face groups, although it's easy to write an OBJ file so that it appears to have vertex groups, it would be portable unless the reading app understands the new semantics.
PoalaVandel posted Tue, 16 November 2010 at 2:27 PM
That's wonderful news. But I wonder when this capability will be added to Blender Beta 2.55.
I've always thought utilizing blender and poser's combined capabilities would be a very efficient workflow.
Pret-a-3D posted Tue, 16 November 2010 at 3:23 PM
The vertex groups have been supported in 2.5 since the script worked.
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ice-boy posted Thu, 18 November 2010 at 7:29 AM
in the first 2.5 version it worked?
ice-boy posted Tue, 07 December 2010 at 4:41 AM
Pret-a-3D you wrotte that you could modifiy the exporter to turn on that option by default?
could we maybe make an add on so that we turn that option wia the scripts in blender ?
thanks **
**
Pret-a-3D posted Tue, 07 December 2010 at 9:21 AM
Quote - Pret-a-3D you wrotte that you could modifiy the exporter to turn on that option by default?
could we maybe make an add on so that we turn that option wia the scripts in blender ?
thanks **
**
It's nit clear to me what you meant but it's fairly simple to open the importer/exporter in a text editor and simply change a value. Just didn't have the time to look at that yet
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ice-boy posted Fri, 10 December 2010 at 3:34 PM
its only a value in a text editor?
wooow thats interesting.
thanks
ice-boy posted Fri, 17 December 2010 at 2:23 PM
whait a minute.
polygroups now work on export?
PoalaVandel posted Wed, 22 December 2010 at 2:56 PM
Let's just hope ever future release of Blender enables the ability to create poser morphs.
ice-boy posted Wed, 22 December 2010 at 3:51 PM
i have the build 33478 and polygroups import and export
Bea posted Wed, 22 December 2010 at 9:26 PM
Are there problems with the Blender site? I don't seem to be able to access it at all.
ice-boy posted Wed, 05 January 2011 at 10:52 AM
edit
jartz posted Wed, 05 January 2011 at 11:47 AM
I'm still using the 2.45 version. I still am hesitant on the new 2.55 build
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RobynsVeil posted Wed, 05 January 2011 at 3:47 PM
2.49b is a very stable version, Jartz... probably the best one for bug fixes and everything...
Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2
Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand]
ice-boy posted Thu, 06 January 2011 at 3:44 PM
2.56 i think has only 45 bugs. this is low.
when you get used to the new look its fantastic.
RobynsVeil posted Thu, 06 January 2011 at 11:14 PM
2.56a took care of a critical issue, or so I hear... need to get that one, I think.
Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2
Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand]
Miss B posted Fri, 07 January 2011 at 11:06 AM
I haven't upgraded past 2.54, so maybe I'll take a look at 2.56a and see. I still have 2.49b installed in any case, but I guess I haven't been using Blender enough in the past few weeks to see any cricital issues in 2.54, so I'm glad you guys and gals are keeping us up-to-date and informed.
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PoalaVandel posted Fri, 11 February 2011 at 9:04 PM
Can I use make Human and Blender to create characters for Poser?
I am using Blender 2.56 Beta version.
Pol posted Fri, 11 February 2011 at 9:41 PM
Quote - Can I use make Human and Blender to create characters for Poser?
I am using Blender 2.56 Beta version.
Short answer YES but with lots of works.
jestmart posted Fri, 11 February 2011 at 9:56 PM
You can model and group your character but to rig, i.e. make it poseable, you will either need to do that with Poser or DAZ's Figure Set-up Tools.
Faery_Light posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 2:39 PM
I just downloaded the latest build and still can't figure how to get it to import an obj file.
Most of the tutorials I see are avi format and I need written tutorials...sigh.
Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.
bob1965 posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 3:43 PM
File
Import
Wavefront(.obj)
Main view becomes Explorer type window goto your desired file.
Select the file.
Import options are in the left hand window.
Choose the options you want to include.
Press "Import Obj" button in the upper right hand corner.
Done.
Faery_Light posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 3:52 PM
@bob1965:That is what I've been doing but the obj doesn't load for some reason.
I hope I figure it out soon because I want to use it to edit custom morphs. :)
Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.
bob1965 posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 4:08 PM
That is strange.
Does this happen with every OBJ you try to import or a specific mesh?
Faery_Light posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 6:19 PM
Any of them.
But I may still be doing something wrong, just need to figure out what,,,lol.
Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.
bob1965 posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 6:26 PM
Quote - Any of them.
But I may still be doing something wrong, just need to figure out what,,,lol.
No, if you followed the step-by-step I posted you should have no problems.
Since you are let's start eliminating possibilities.
First download the most recent ZIP file appropriate to your OS. (There have been occassional difficulties with the installers)
Let me know when you get that downloaded and unzipped, remember Blender can run from any location so simply unzip somewhere that is convenient for you.
RobynsVeil posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 8:04 PM
Here is another possibility, BluEcho... just possibly the file actually imorted, but since it's Poser scale, it's so small you can't see it. On your numeric keypad hit the full-stop (or period "."). That will bring what you've imported to full size in your view window.
Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2
Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand]
Faery_Light posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 8:27 PM
@RobynsVeil: That worked. :)
Thank you both so much for the help.
Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.
RobynsVeil posted Sun, 13 February 2011 at 9:19 PM
Quote - @RobynsVeil: That worked. :)
Thank you both so much for the help.
You're quite welcome BluEcho. Enjoy this new version: it really is brilliant!
Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2
Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand]
ice-boy posted Thu, 17 February 2011 at 1:29 PM
and they again removed the polygroups for OBJ import.
this is just crazy. i am desperate.
bob1965 posted Thu, 17 February 2011 at 5:58 PM
What are you talking about?
I just imported V4 into 2.56a to do some morphs and the groups are all there.
bob1965 posted Thu, 17 February 2011 at 6:15 PM
ice-boy posted Fri, 18 February 2011 at 3:48 AM
are you using new builds every week?
because in the beta version from the official site it works. but on a new build from this week it doesnt.
bob1965 posted Fri, 18 February 2011 at 6:01 AM
Quote - are you using new builds every week?
because in the beta version from the official site it works. but on a new build from this week it doesnt.
:b_unbelievable: You broke Blender! :b_grin:
Just tried import in the Ocean sim branch and you are right OBJ import is currently less than functional....just love beta software sometimes.
villalobos posted Thu, 19 January 2012 at 7:09 AM
Thanks Paolo for this thread.
You solved a problem I had in using morph loader in DS4 with Blender. After many unsuccesfulll trials I found out that the problem was with the group names not being preserved in the obj exported from Blender.
So I made a search, found this thread and had the solution (I didn't know and wouldn't ever have imagined I had to check the poly groups option when importing and exporting from Blender).
Now I can go on...
jartz posted Mon, 30 January 2012 at 1:20 AM
When I finished sculpting a Poser figure, and had exported, and transfer to Poser Pro 2012 to load the morph into said figure, it won't load full body morph. Is it something that I'm missing? Now, when I made a head morphed, it worked fine, but making a full-body morph is another matter.
I was using Blender 2.61.
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