Fenrics MDD File Format for Carrara... an error has occured..cant import marvelous designer 2 files?
Orion_Uk
Posts: 231
Hi, as the title says: Fenrics MDD File Format for Carrara... an error has occured..cant import marvelous designer 2 files?
Does this actually work in Carrara 8.1 pro or 8.5 pro?
I cant seem to get any luck with this in Carrara, every thing I try ends up resulting in `an error has occured` message :(
Can some one tell me the correct method to getting an animated dress from Marvelous Designer 2 in to Carrara please. I have watched the videos and have (kinda) worked it out for Daz Studio (cant sync the dress motion with V4 atm) but whats really baking my noodle is Carrara and getting past this darn `error has occured` message and seeing my export from MD in Carrara :(
I guess that I import the v4.obj (that was exported as an animated obj sequence)
I then import the Dress (as a single obj file) and then I import the MDD sequence right?
I have just tried using v4 from content lib (in a t-post) and am trying to import the dress as an OBJ with the paln of importing the MDD sequence but anything MDD/Fenric MDD related just ends with the error message :(
ANY help would be great please?, Thank you :)
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I believe this is a timeline bug in 8.5 (not sure about 8.1). It is a known issue. Hopefully we will get a new version of the beta soon as the current serial expires this week... I think it is mentioned in the beta thread under the known issues....
I am not sure if Digitalcarversguild.com 's animated obj plugin is also effected.
Sorry, I don't have more info....
Thanks for the reply & info Holly,
I have sent Fenric a PM requesting he drop by this thread.. Hope I did not just waste my money buying Fenrics MDD format for nothing! Lucky I am still on the 30 day trial of Marvelous Designer 2 and did not buy it just yet! Shame as it seems exactly what I need (if I can get Fenrics product to work)..Lol.
Thanks again x.
I have only ever been able to export using it (into Blender and Messiah)
all import attempts failed but am unsure if my exports from Blender were to blame
only 8.1
MDD does not work in 8.5 due to a known bug in the SDK code.
For importing:
MDD and the related object are both imported together as a pair. They must have the same name (except for the extension), and the OBJ file should be created by the same application that created the MDD (preferably at the same time). Choose File | Import, and then select the MDD file. The OBJ file will be loaded automatically, first, and then the MDD data is loaded and applied to that object.
Critical: Due to a Carrara bug, you must use the "Import" command on the File menu, not "Open"!
Another problem: MDD information takes up a HUGE amount of memory. If you aren't running 64-bit Carrara, that alone might be your problem.
******
Ok, why so picky?
MDD files are nothing more than sets of vertex position data which get imported as morphs, one per frame. This means that all of the usual vertex count and vertex order issues that exist for morph targets exist for MDD as well.
The trouble is that it is amazingly uncommon for any application to preserve the vertex count and order after loading Poser-type content (including Poser itself in many cases!). Trying to use the "original" OBJ file will give results that vary between "tumbleweed" and a crash, but it will almost never work properly.
As far as the memory goes: MDD is specifying a "full body morph" PER FRAME. Marvellous designer tends to make fairly dense meshes, and at 30 fps, that adds up tremendously quickly. So, for example, a 50,000 vertex object needs approximately 8 megabytes per frame just for the morph. So one second at 30 fps is 240 megabytes just for the MDD morphs -- that is ignoring the significant amount of other memory that Carrara needs to work.
One other thing: ALWAYS IMPORT INTO AN EMTPY SCENE. Sorry, Carrara is just not well behaved if there's anything else taking up space. If you want it to work reliably then you must always import to an empty scene, save to browser, close, load your real scene, import from browser.
I don't have marvellous designer, so some things I have to leave vague, but...
When you export, you should get two files :
something.obj
something.mdd
if all you get is the mdd, then do whatever you need to do to export the obj, too. They must have the same name and be in the same place.
In Carrara (8.1 only, 8.5 will not work), go to the File menu and pick Import. Select "MDD" as the type, and then choose the MDD file. The plugin will ask you about the application you are importing from, and then proceed. It will automatically load the OBJ file, and then apply the MDD to it.
If you get "an error has occurred" IMMEDIATELY, that means your OBJ file might have some problems. You need a fairly clean mesh with good, valid UV mapping and without n-gons or defects.
Mesh problems: The worst mesh I've seen came from Lightwave, of all things, so don't expect that just using a higher-end modeller will necessarily help.
Big problems are lone vertices that aren't attached to anything, lone edges (two points and an edge) that aren't attached to any polygon, and polygons that refer to UV map data that isn't in the file. N-gons usually work, but will very often cause Carrara to put strange discolorations in unexpected places (often in places that seem unrelated to the n-gon).
If you see the object appear, but get "an error has occurred" after a delay, then the MDD data may have trouble. The biggest cause is an OBJ file that doesn't match the MDD, but I have had people send me corrupt MDD files. Corrupt MDD is usually from Blender, but can happen if your mesh has problems.
If the object appears and things seem to go along for a while, but things suddenly stops, frequently leaving the progress dialog up but you've got control back and nothing seems to work right anymore, then you ran out of memory. 16 gigabytes is a nice start for trying to do animations with MDD. You'll need to get used to working in short segments and stitching them together in your editor.
Thank you Wendy :)
Hi Fenric & thanks for the detailed reply(s)
:)
Here's where I am at so far..
In Carrara (8.1) I grabbed v4 from the content tab, I then created a t-pose (empty) aniblock, converted it to a (blank) t-pose clip and stuck it in the timeline. Then I imported a walk cycle aniblock and converted that to a master clip and stuck it next to the t-post clip in the timeline.
Selecting v4, I exported v4 as a single OBJ in a t-pose, I know ur MDD exports the MDD & the OBJ but I will explain why later!
I then did the MDD export to another folder (to keep my OBJ separate from the OBJ created with your MDD (explanation coming!)..
Switching over to Marvellous Designer 2 now:
1st you must open/import your Avatar, this SHOULD be the OBJ exported during the MDD export process BUT (here is the first issue) the OBJ exported by your MDD process imports grey and the cloth falls through the mesh! But, if I import the OBJ that I exported separately (my v4 t-pose) the cloth hangs off v4 fine and she is NOT grey on import but is textured/mapped. Although I do have to change the import size to 2540 mm to match up v4 with the arrangement point setup template for v4.
Now I have a 'working' Avatar (at this point)..
I can create my cloth and drape it on MY OBJ exported from Carrara, like I say, if I try your OBJ the cloth falls through the mesh during the drape process!
So, if I was working on a 'still' project then all would be fine.. But I am not... So..
The next step is to import the motion data (MDD exported from Carrara, thanks to you)..
I import the MDD data (flip z axis) exported from Carrara and guess what?
The motion is there (v4 walks) but, she is again grey and we are back to the issue where draping the cloth falls through the mesh!
And that's where I am at, stuck!
I have had success in Daz studio but only the above in Carrara.
In Daz studio I basically follow the same process and have managed to export the animated draped cloth as a sequence of OBJ files that are converted by morph loader pro in Daz studio and then I run a script (from the freebies section of Marvellous Designer 2's store) that syncs the motion of the animated cloth with the motion of v4's aniblock. I am currently rendering my first attempt in Daz with the Octane Render plugin. But, my initial goal is to render in Luxus for Carrara (the reason I brought your plugin) as I feel I have more animation freedom in Carrara.
Judging by the info in your replies (not forgoing my lack of knowledge here) I am guessing its one of a number of things..
UV mapping during MDD export? flipped normals? Wrong exports settings in Carrara (I used the Marvellous Designer preset, changed no other options)? Some kind of user error ????
All I know is that an OBJ exported from Carrara accepts the drape but an OBJ from your MDD export won't :(
Well... that's new. It sounds like normals, but that doesn't really make sense as Carrara calculates the normals, not me.
Send me an email: fenric at fenric dot com I'll send you a different build of the plugin to try.
Sent u an email and a PM with my email details, Thanks Fenric :D
One point that may be worth mentioning here is that V4, M4 etc, and all previous generation figures, are supplied to you in OBJ format.
It may be worth trying to load the OBJ from it's normal location, in your \Runtime\Geometries\DAZPeople \ blMilWom_v4b.obj
and skip the load figure / export obj
for the Lux rendering step,., if you have octane,. which has auto / manual Depth Of Field, and a simpler system of shaders, why use luxus?
any animation you make for your figure,. especially if you're importing aniblocks from DS into carrara, then it seems logical that you don't need any animation control over a preset animation,.
but I may be missing the obvious here, because I don't use marvellous designer.
Hi 3Dage, sorry for the later reply!
I was just working out the process of getting motion in to Marvelous Designer, I will be excluding Ds in the whole process eventually by exporting the motion directly from Carrara to MD, I just like to see how my applications can work together in various situations/tasks ;)
With regards to MD, The point for me was limiting the amount of programs I have to go in & out of during my process of creating my own cloths for Carrara (which I can then use in Ds if I want to later) and so I brought Fenrics MDD. Sadly, exporting seems `broken` with the MDD export process (either that or it is an MDs import issue, i plan to confirm this by exporting from Carrara to another app later today!) but importing to Carrara works just fine :)
MD is just another tool that I can use for Carrara (or Ds) animation that creates the effect of cloths with physics via a sequence of OBJ files & an MDD file. I cant afford to keep buying cloths from Daz (I will here n there still) and wanted to learn how to make my own. I have not really looked in to creating conforming cloths for either Ds or Carrara (I plan to this week) but as a quick solution, I wanted to use MD to simulate cloths reacting physically in my animations.
I still have a lot to learn when it comes to creating conforming clothing and making it look/react as real as possible. Besides, I don't like limiting myself to any one program and want to learn the ones I have to broaden my tool set. Different tools for various jobs kinda thing :)
I have found a work around for getting the cloths in to carrara and only use Fenrics MDD to import the MDD from Marvelous Designer 2, It will do until I get a solution from Fenric that fixes MDD import/exporter I brought from the store, it half works and does the important part of importing in to carrara and that's whats important. If export to MD worked as it should then this would reduce my work flow between Carrara & MD and I could exclude Ds when using Carrara.
I will be updating this thread later explaining what & how I did as a work around for now (maybe even a link to my first attempt video) but it is still rendering, besides.. its fathers day here I am getting yelled at to get off that darn computer.
Thanks for the info,. :)
That all makes sense,. but as a Scot,. (still part of the UK.),.. MD seems way too pricey for a one trick pony,. although it seems to be a very good clothing design and simulation program. ..I feel it's perhaps priced for the fashion industry, rather than small / independent 3D studio's.
As far as Conforming clothing, it's a "Figure" with bones, and weight mapping,. plus a bunch of shape morphs to create flappy windy like effects, or just adjust areas for a better fit.
The 3D program fits the bones in the conforming clothing, to the same bones on the figure. so, generally,. the clothing is made using the target models bones, so that the names match.
DS and Poser both have tools for creating conforming clothing from a base 3D mesh object.
As far as the issues you have right now,. if it's fixable,. I'm sure Fenric will sort it out,. ..unless,. as he mentioned earlier,. it's an issue with the Carrara SDK,. in which case it's up to the developers at Daz3D to fix that.
Either way,.. I'm sure it'll get fixed.
looking forward to seeing your renders,. :)
OK, So after FINALLY being able to get back on the computer and getting some time to test a build sent to me by Fenric (thank you Fenric, so much) I have worked the process out and this new build seems to work a charm.. Yippeeee..
A MASSIVE thank you to Fenric for taking the time out to look in to the issues I was having, for updating the code and for waiting AGES for me to get back to him with the results...Sorry about the delay!
The great thing about Fenrics MDD import/exporter is that I can use it to export my scenes/animations straight in to Marvelous designer 2, Blender as well as Carrara with literally no hassle now and work flow is a smooth & plesant process.
Big Thanks Fenric.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgrG2Yihcz8&feature=youtu.be
Ok, great! I'll be packing that one up for everybody else, now. :)
Sounds good, glad to see the great support. Is the current version of the MDD File Format For Carrara fixed? I have Carrara Pro 8.1 64 bit, and a friend is just starting a major animation project in Lightwave V. 11.6. I have an older version of Lightwave (9.6), but if I end up helping him, I'd much rather use Carrara and my vast library of Poser content. I realize Poser Fusion is another option, but I don't care for Poser either.
The product description is a little sobering: "Any object can be exported. On export, a pair of files will be created with the same name and different file extensions: an OBJ and an MDD. It will have material definitions, but no shading, grouping, or normals. Textures are not exported. You may need to scale and/or rotate the resulting file in your destination application." The basic product description does say "animation" so I assume the frames are exported. But is sounds like the whole sequence will have to be re-textured in Lightwave, right? (I tend to use textures rather than Carrara shaders).
(BTW, your Carrara plugins for tweaking/doctoring have been a great help, thanks.)
Export from Carrara hasn't changed in a long time and there are no outstanding issues that I am aware of, but if you do run into any trouble I will get you fixed up as soon as I can.
"No shading, grouping, or normals"
It doesn't convert Carrara shaders to texture maps, doesn't create an MTL file, and doesn't add "g" or "vn" entries to the object file.
UV maps and material zones are properly exported. If you are using texture maps, then you just need to re-apply them in lightwave.
OK, thanks for the prompt response. If I do end up working with my friend on his (feature length!) animation in Lightwave, I'll let you know how it goes.