Ok guys 'n' gals... here will be my tut for conforming items... please bear in mind that i am neither an expert, or a professional and that alot of the info here-in will be based on the specific programs that i use (Daz Studio 2.5 and Hexagon)... this tut should give you some basic guidelines in a step by step form but will not nessessarily work in all programs... I'm going to assume that you all have some basic knowledge of sculpting models and setting them up for export so this tut will begin from there.... also... i'm not too sure how well this will work to make conforming clothing since i have yet to try my hand at that... though i do know it will work readilly to make conforming figures such as back-packs, belts, hats, weapons and other items...

Please bear with me since it will take a little while to get this tut finished... i'm a building maintenanceman and it may take me a day or two to get the posts here done... if you have questions i would ask that you hold off till my tut is complete that way the workflow isn't disrupted...

STEP 1): Exporting the model...

When you create the item in your modelling app... make sure that it's groups match with the body groupings of the geometry for which the item will be made... *for example; a belt would have to be grouped as the "Hip" group since it would attach to the the hip group of the parent mesh and replace the main geometry for the hip in rigging in later steps in this tut...

Also when creating the item it is best to load the parent figure and check the scaling of the item to make sure it is scaled correctly compared to the figure it is intended for... and positioned properly on the figure before exporting it!

Note: for this to work properly in the later steps, you must make sure that the grouping for your conforming item matches exactly the spelling and name of the group geometry it will replace!*

Once you have modelled the item, check it for correct sizing and position by importing the base parent figure geometry at 100% scale (1.0 poser scale size for hex) and adjusting size and position until it is fitted as it will appear when complete

(import the parent model with an import scale of "1"  and a unit size of "ft" selected, with "merge groups" check in Hex's import settings window, the parent figure is just to addjust scale and fit so loading it with it's groups will just get in the way).

After finnal adjustments are made to your new figure and groupings have been set, delete the parent model and save the item out by "exporting wavefront obj. with the following settings;

1)export scale; "1"

2. unit size; "ft"

(see included pic for settings example in Hexagon)

*Important note! make sure that "merge groupings" is turned off before export

STEP 2): Load parent figure...

Open Daz Studio and load the parent figure (ie; Aiko4) as normal from your Daz "content" tab (as though loading it for a scene) and select it in your "scene" tree...

This will be needed for the next steps to work properly...

Step 3): Skeleton Set-up...

Once the parent figure is loaded and selected ( the character you are making the item for), open your Skeleton Set-up tab and use the "copy from selected figure" option to copy the skeleton rigging from your parent figure. When you do this it copies the skeleton rig of the figure and sets it up automatically boned and rigged with all bones in place saving you from having to manually group the skeleton!

When the import window opens set the options as follows...

1. "Preset"; "poser; 1 unit = 8ft"
2. "Scale"; "24384%"
3. make sure that the boxes for "read uv's", "read groups", "read surfaces", and "read materials library" are all checked on....

These settings will read everything in the parent model and import it at the same size as it appears on your viewport.

Once you have imported the skeleton your Skeleton Set-up screen should look something like this... (note that the bones of the skeleton are already set and conected parent to child with geometry listings included)

You should also note at this point that everything in the "groups" list has a corresponding bone in the "relationships" list and that the geometry list shows the mesh for the figure... this is the reason for being so specific in the naming of your new item's groupings... it must match with the names in this "groups" list for the parent figure!

STEP 4): Removing geometries...

Now that the parent mesh is loaded and you have a set skeleton you can delete the geometry of the main figure... in the Skeleton Set-up tab "right click" in the "geometries"  list on the Obj. and select "remove geometry" (Important! do not remove the figure from your scene tree!)

STEP 5): Loading your new item geometry...

In Skeleton Set-up, in the now empty "geometries" list, right-click and select "add geometries", when the next window opens go to your new item and load it...

When the "import options" window opens import your new geometry with the same settings you used in step 3...

STEP 6): Working with the new geometry...

Once your item is loaded, your skeleton set-up will look something like this....

*Note that your new item will still not be visible in the scene tree... it hasn't been created there yet... up till now you are just dealing with program code and the actual figure has yet to be generated!

*At this point your geometry is not yet attached to the skeleton but is loaded and available to get settled in place....

Click and drag your geometry from the "geometries" list, to the "relationhips" list... this automatically places and sets the geometry in the correct bone locations of the parent skeleton!

When you drop the geometry make sure you drop it over the main figure name at the top of the "relationships" list as in this pic....

STEP 7): Creating the new figure...

Now that the new skeleton is set, and your geometry in place, in the Skeleton Set-up menu select "paste to selected figure" (make sure that your parent figure is still selected in your scene tree first!)

By doing this, the joint rigging, bend, and control riggings will be kept from the origional model sparing you the tedious job of editing the joint parameters, bend zones and such... In your viewport the origional figure will be dissassembled and replaced with your new figure!

(As a side note; if you are doing conforming clothes then the parent figure should be loaded without any morphs or scaling changes prior to copying the skeleton... use the base figure only without modification or the copy will also clone any changes and the conforming items may not function properly... you may still have to make some adjustments in the joints parameters and bend zones for clothig figures... i'm not sure...)

Still a few steps left.. but bear with me... i have a few things to do in RL....

Once the new figure has loaded into your viewport it will have replaced the origional figure. In your scene tree you will now be able to open up the figure to manipulate it just like any other figure, but it will not have any textures applied.

(At this point i will assume that people know how to manually apply textures and change surface settings in Daz's "surfaces" tab.... so i won't go into that here...)

Edit your surfaces and apply your texture maps.

At this point you have a choice....

you may either...

1. export a new cr2 with your new figure selected in the scene and create a base figure (at this stage the figure can be loaded and still conformed using the "parameters" tab "fit to" option when loaded into a scene... but will not auto-conform when loaded....

OR
 

2. Load a new copy of the base figure that you used as your parent model (as in step 2.... Do NOT delete the current figure or close the current scene as this will delete your figure and you'll have to start from scratch!).... now you will have your new figure and the origional parent model in the scene together....

Check to make sure that everything is sitting where you wanted it when you made the geometry and then select your new figure in the scene and in the "parameters" tab select the "fit to" option and parent it to the base figure that you made the item for...  when you do this and export the new CR2, your figure will be created as a "conforming figure" that will auto-parent to the origional when loaded...

here's the example for option 1...

SPECIAL NOTES!

To use this tut properly you will have to create a valid runtime file structure to save your new geometry, cr2, and textures in BEFORE you start working on creating your conforming item... it doesn't matter where this runtime is located ( i save my works in progress in individual runtimes in "my documents" but anywhere will work as long as a proper runtime is set up)

Create a new folder named "runtime"

Inside this create a "geometries" folder, a "libraries" folder, and a "textures" folder....

In the "geometries" folder create a new folder with the name of your item, this is where your obj. file will go

Inside the "libraries" folder create a folder named "character" and inside this create a folder with the name of your new item... this will hold your new cr2 file...

In the "textures" folder create a new folder with the name of your item to hold your texturemaps...

if you do not do this prior to starting your new model, you will not be able to properly export your new cr2 or to set up the skeleton and such to get your item to work!

OK folks... that is, as they say, that.... i hope this gives you some idea how to set up conformng items... if you have an questions feel free to ask... i don't think i'v missed anything but if i have i will try and make sure i get an answer to you as soon as possible... good luck

this method has been tested and creates iems that will work in poser as well as Daz... Enjoy!! ;)

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this.

I've been teaching myself the setup tools, and you've shown me several new tricks I hadn't found. You've saved me a lot of time!

Ty! This is invaluable!

You're very welcome guys... sorry bout all the types... i was running on about 3 hours sleep when i wrote the tut... lol... there are a bunch of shortcuts you can use if you're making items for pre-existing characters... and the steps in this tut will also allow you to make fully conforming items for your own creations as well...

just a quick question to the forum moderators... how would i go about getting this tut sticky'd or preserved over in the tut's section for reference purposes for users and members?

Thank you for posting this!

yw