Ratz34 opened this issue on Mar 15, 2010 · 15 posts
Ratz34 posted Mon, 15 March 2010 at 8:44 PM
This process will let you export your poser figure with all your cool morphs applied and import it into Zbrush to edit and smooth across body parts with out any tearing at the body part group boundaries.
Do this because..
The morphing tool in poser is unreliable and will not copy morphs across limbs in poser versions below 8. When poser does apply copy morphs across limbs it does so with errors.
For this tutorial you can use either the Daz3D V4 or M4 models. ( Any model should support this method.)
Intro.
So you've created that perfect looking morph in Poser but need to do some extra editing to the mesh in a way that only Zbrush can handel. Typical what happens when you export from Poser and import into Zbrush you quickly find that you cannot use the smooth tool, because it starts to destroy the mesh at the group boundaries. By following the steps below you should be able to edit in Zbrush with no problems at all.
The theory behind this comes from the fact that the base Daz3D models are 1 cohesive mesh. That are not broken up into groups. While the mesh is split into poly groups those groups are still part of 1 mesh. However when you export the Model from Poser it explodes that model into many meshes that are grouped into single model, but each part is it's own mesh. This is why when you import into Zbrush and try to smooth over the body part boundaries the mesh starts to tear. Using weld body part seams only causes errors on re import of the model for a morph target because it renumbers the vertices.
To fix this problem is rather tedious but only takes about 30 min.
Step 1.
Load your figure in Poser
( EXTREAMILY IMPORTANT!!!! )Turn off all IK for the feet and hands.
( EXTREAMILY IMPORTANT!!!! )Open the Joint Editor and click Zero Rotations
Export the figure with all your morphs applied using the following settings.
File-->Export-->Single Frame
Click universe to clear the object selection
Click on your figures main root AKA Victoria4 / Michael4 to select only that figure. Click ok.
Check only
Include Body Part Names In Polygon Groups
Include Figure Names In Polygon Groups
Include Existing Grouls In Polygon Groups
Click Ok and name your output file – Base_Mesh.obj
Step 2.
Locate the master OBJ file for the poser figure you are working on. Daz3D figures are located in PoserRuntimeGeometriesDAZPeople
Create a copy of this file, name it Convert.Obj and place it in the same folder as your Base_Mesh.obj file . This way the two files will be easily accessible from the same folder.
Step 3.
1.Load up Zbrush and import the Base_Mesh.obj file.
2.With the Base_Mesh.obj file open in Zbrush hold down ctrl shift and click on the neck to isolate that body part. You should now notice that only the neck mesh is visible.
3.On your tool pallet expand the Morph Target widget.
4.Click StoreMT
5.Hold down ctrl shift and click any where on the screen to make all body parts visible.
Step 4.
1.Import the Convert.OBJ file.
2.With the Convert.OBJ file open in Zbrush hold down ctrl shift and click on the neck to isolate that body part. You should now notice that only the neck mesh is visible.
3.Under your Morph Target widget slide the Morph slider to the right 100% and you will see the body part change
4.( EXTREAMILY IMPORTANT!!!! )Hold down ctrl shift and click any where on the screen to make all body parts visible and export the figure and over write the Convert.OBJ with the updated mesh.
Step 5
1.Import the Base_Mesh.obj file.
2.With the Base_Mesh.obj file open in Zbrush hold down ctrl shift and click on the chest to isolate that body part. You should now notice that only the chest mesh is visible.
3.Navigate to the Morph Target widget.
4.Click DelMT to clear the previous Morph Target
5.Click StoreMT
6.Hold down ctrl shift and click any where on the screen to make all body parts visible.
Step 4.
1.Import the Convert.OBJ file.
2.With the Convert.OBJ file open in Zbrush hold down ctrl shift and click on the chest to isolate that body part. You should now notice that only the chest mesh is visible.
3.Under your Morph Target widget slide the Morph slider to the right 100% and you will see the body part change
4.( EXTREAMILY IMPORTANT!!!! )Hold down ctrl shift and click any where on the screen to make all body parts visible and export the figure and over write the Convert.OBJ with the updated mesh.
Repeat these steps for all body parts if you are confident that the jaw, tong, and eyes have not been moved on there x,y,x axis then don't worry about applying the morphs to them in Zbrush.
Once complete you can now edit your figure with out worry that the seams will break apart when you try to use the smooth tool.
If you simply want to work on the base Daz3D model then you simply need only to import the model from your runtime folder.
Step 5.
To apply your morphs you can do 1 of may things.