v9.0 -- mcjBuilderA - script to build anything in Daz Studio - updated sept. 16 2017

RAMWolff

That made me laugh for some reason! LOL

mCasual

guess i'll make it a complete decor like in the music video

mCasual

about 14 k polygons
all the walls with holes are generated from a 52-lines mcjBuilder script

you cant use it for now since you don't have the "overarch" "bigwall" and "archeddoor" profiles

but it looks like

define wall x y z thick ang w h pro
Profile pro
profileSize w h
CloseProfile On
setPos x y z
setRotY ang
Ring
EndCap
Move thick
Ring
EndCap
break
Move -thick
defineEnd

// three central bigwalls
wall -12 0 -6.5 1 180 12 18 bigwall
wall 0 0 -6.5 1 180 12 18 bigwall
wall 12 0 -6.5 1 180 12 18 bigwall
wall -12 1 -6.5 1 180 6 2 square
wall 12 1 -6.5 1 180 6 2 square

// side alcove left
wall -24 0 -6.5 1 180 12 10.5 archeddoor
wall -24 1 -6.5 1 180 4 2 square
wall -30 0 0 1 -90 12 18 bigwall
wall -30 1 0 1 -90 6 2 square
wall -24 0 6.5 1 0 12 10.5 archeddoor
wall -24 1 6.5 1 0 4 2 square

// side bigwalls left
wall -17.5 0 13 1 -90 12 18 bigwall
wall -17.5 1 13 1 -90 6 2 square
wall -17.5 0 25 1 -90 12 18 bigwall
wall -17.5 1 25 1 -90 6 2 square

// overarches
wall -12 0 -6.5 1 180 12 18 overarch
wall -12 0 7.5 1 180 12 18 overarch
wall 0 0 -6.5 1 180 12 18 overarch
wall 0 0 7.5 1 180 12 18 overarch
wall 12 0 -6.5 1 180 12 18 overarch
wall 12 0 7.5 1 180 12 18 overarch

// side alcove right
wall 24 0 -6.5 1 180 12 10.5 archeddoor
wall 24 1 -6.5 1 180 4 2 square
wall 30 0 0 1 90 12 18 bigwall
wall 30 1 0 1 90 6 2 square
wall 24 0 6.5 1 0 12 10.5 archeddoor
wall 24 1 6.5 1 0 4 2 square

// side bigwalls right
wall 17.5 0 13 1 90 12 18 bigwall
wall 17.5 1 13 1 90 6 2 square
wall 17.5 0 25 1 90 12 18 bigwall
wall 17.5 1 25 1 90 6 2 square

Beta 7 will include new profile curves
plus some bug fixes
and possibly will include "variables"

so you'll be able to say

var CeilingHeight 18

and later on

CeilingHeight = CeilingHeight+4

or

BuildCeiling CeilingHeight 

mCasual

i guess it will be a must for mcjBuilderA's street-cred :)

figure 2 - mcjLathe and mcjSuperLathe had an option to display an image in the background of the preview window
future versions of mcjBuilder may have it too

in the meantime you can use a primitive plane !

it helped me a lot to create the teapot path, which i will now use as a profile/mold .....

StepAngle 3
Rotate 90
Ring
Move 4.13
Ring
Radius .23
Turn -103
Radius .58
Turn 70
Radius 2.55
Turn -65
Radius 15.15
Turn -20
Radius .14
Turn -180
Turn 118
Turn -180
Move .2
Turn 65
Radius 15
Turn 16
Radius 2.45
Turn 65
Radius .72
Turn -60
Radius .22
Turn 94
SetX 0
Ring

RAMWolff

Can you explain what the gray frames are with the black centers? I think I'm getting confused! lol

mCasual

well following my recent tests

it's just too easy to overwrite valuable files

so in Beta 7 when you click anyone of the Save Update or Export buttons,
the script will request your approval before proceeding if the file exists

it slows down the process but reduces the chances of loss

...

but anyway i proved the script can do teapots !

mCasual

RAMWolff said:

Can you explain what the gray frames are with the black centers? I think I'm getting confused! lol

my reference image was on a semi-transparent primitive plane

and my camera was below ground level, looking upward

so the gray frames are .... the columns of the chappel

-----

in other news Beta 7 will be able to read extra long profile curves like that of the teapot

scatha

This is starting to get more and more interesting. It will improve the possibilities of doing complex models within DS itself, without the aid of external programs.

mCasual

scatha said:

This is starting to get more and more interesting. It will improve the possibilities of doing complex models within DS itself, without the aid of external programs.

teapot pot and lid, made in mcjBuilderA+DS3a

though i had to draw a plan in paintshop,
a series of arcs creates the lid "extrusion profile" then a very simple script Lathe this into a lid

StepAngle 3
Tread .1
MoldSize .1 .1
SetZ 93
Rotate 90
radius 10.5
Turn 35
radius 56.6
Turn -29
radius 1.4
Turn 50
Turn -116
Turn 60
Radius 1.4
Turn -180
radius 54
Turn 31
radius 5.4
Turn 70
Move 11.5
radius 1.9
Turn -90
radius 29.3
Turn -12
SetX 0
Ring

// lathe the teapot lid
Profile teapotlidpath
radius 0
MoldSize 8 6.56
Turn 360

mCasual

handle made of arcs

the "guitarpickside profile curve will be bundled with mcjBuilderA Beta 7

Figure 2 is the plan i made first

eventually i guess i'll integrate mcjSuperLathe's spline editor

Profile guitarpickside
ProfileSize 20 30
ProfileUnits cm
Tread .05
PathUnits ft
closePath off

SetPos 2*57.2 0 2*27.7

Radius 10
Rotate 100
Stepangle 12
turn -48

Stepangle 4
Radius 200
Turn -8
Stepangle 5
Radius 150
Turn -10
Stepangle 7
Radius 100
Turn -21

Stepangle 9.3
Radius 22
Turn -93

Stepangle 3
Radius 160
Turn -12

Stepangle 3
Radius 125
Turn -6

Stepangle 4
Radius 80
Turn -16

Figure3 : mcjBuilderA Beta7 - The preview window ( blackboard ) will display profile vertices and path rings as green dots

mCasual

tada ! completed Utah teapot made in Daz Studio using mcjBuilderA Beta 6 script

script for the spout ( which was then SubDivided )

Fig 2 you can see the spout is in fact a few rings carfully placed and rotated

Fig3: while nuilding the spout my camera was below a ground plane textured with a photo of the real teapot

Profile hexagon
ProfileSize 110 110
ProfileUnits cm
Tread .05
PathUnits ft
closePath off
closeProfile on

Radius 1000
Rotate -82
SetPos -95 0 90
Ring

SetPos -105 0 90
Rotate 10
Ring

SetScaleX .7
SetScaleY .7
setPos -105-12 0 90+21
Rotate 8
Ring

SetScaleX .5
SetScaleY .5
setPos -105-22 0 90+44
Rotate 8
Ring

SetScaleX .35
SetScaleY .35
setPos -105-33 0 90+66
Rotate 32
Ring

SetScaleX .5
SetScaleY .35
setPos -105-42 0 90+76
Rotate 24
Ring

SetScaleX .5
SetScaleY .35
setPos -105-43 0 90+79
Ring

SetScaleX .4
SetScaleY .25
setPos -105-43 0 90+79
Ring

SetScaleX .4
SetScaleY .25
setPos -105-42 0 90+76

Ring

SetScaleX .3
SetScaleY .3
setPos -105-33 0 90+66
Rotate -24
Ring

SetScaleX .4
SetScaleY .4
setPos -105-22 0 90+44
Rotate -32
Ring

SetScaleX .6
SetScaleY .6
setPos -105-12 0 90+21
Rotate -8
Ring

SetScaleX .9
SetScaleY .9
SetPos -105 0 90
Rotate -9
Ring

RAMWolff

That's really a nice teapot. Now we just need a drunk mouse! *hic*

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!

**HICCUP**

mCasual

RAMWolff said:

That's really a nice teapot. Now we just need a drunk mouse! *hic*

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!

**HICCUP**

i'm short on flying tea trays but tomorrow i'll post the teapot as a prop

mCasual

version beta 7

( which will be published today or tomorrow )

will also include 4 new commands : trans, transX, transY transZ

which translate the extrusion nozzle

example:

transX 123

will augment the nozzle's current X position by 123 steps ( the length of the step is given by Thread abd PathUnits )

this is different from the Move commands which are movements
relative to the current heading of the extrusion nozzle
the other difference is that Move commands are interacting with the "slope" and "taper" effects

also in beta 7

you will now have read-access to the current position orientation and scale of the extrusion nozzle
in the form of the global variables:

curPosX, curPosY, curPosZ
curRotX, curRotY, curRotZ
curScaleX, curScaleY, curScaleZ

so for example you could obtain the same effect as the

TransX 123

command by using

setPosX curPosX+123

also in Beta 7 - better measures to prevent a faulty path script from locking you out

mCasual

example : creating a vertically compressed arch ( hemi-oval ? )
which is needed for the cross arches of the chapel's ceiling

Profile demiRondUp
MoldSize 1 1
ProfileUnits in
Tread 1
PathUnits m
StepAngle 11.25
Radius 2

define squasharch x y z steps
rotateX -90
setPosX x
setPosY y+sin(0)
setPosZ z+sqrt(2)*cos(0)
Ring

repeat steps
setPosX x
setPosY y+sin((count+1)*pi/steps)
setPosZ z+sqrt(2)*cos((count+1)*pi/steps)
rotateX -180/steps
Ring
repeatEnd
defineEnd

squasharch 0 2 0 16

and the oriented version
since i use the 'trans' commands, this script only works with the ypcoming Beta 7 version of mcjBuilderA

Profile square
MoldSize 3 3
ProfileUnits in
Tread 1
PathUnits m
StepAngle 11.25
Radius 2

define moveSpecial a d
transX d*cos(a*pi/180)
transZ d*sin(a*pi/180)
defineEnd

define squasharch a x y z steps
rotateX -90
rotateY a
setPos x y z
Ring

repeat steps
setPosY y+sin((count+1)*pi/steps)
moveSpecial a sqrt(2)*(cos((count+1)*pi/steps)-cos((count)*pi/steps))
rotateX -180/steps
Ring
repeatEnd

defineEnd

squasharch 45 1 2 1 16
break
squasharch -45 1 2 -1 16
break

mCasual

global variables in the upcoming Beta 7

i planned to introduce this later but since it wasn't hard to implement ...

using the "var" command you can now create globally accessible variables

eventually there will also be "local" variables which only live when created and maintained inside a defined command

so if you type

var A 5

from now on, each time you mention A in your extrusion-path-script it will be taken as meaning 5

for example

MoveTo A 0 0

Once a global variable is created, you can also change its value using the 'Set' command

Set A 3

example for the image shown below

define stick length
Move -length/2
Ring
Move length
Ring
break
Move -length/2
MoveX spacing
defineEnd

var a 7
var spacing 2
MoveX -spacing/2
stick a
set a 4
stick a

hmm come to think of it ....the sticks should have different lengths

mCasual

making a flowery-shaped tea tray using the upcoming Beta 7 version
notably the new "var" command

i'm debating the idea of including the repeat-within-a-repeat feature

Profile teatray
CloseProfile false
ProfileUnits in
PathUnits in

var A 12
var B 10
var sa (360/A)/B

StepAngle sa
Tread .5
MoldSize 10 2
Radius .0001

define petal C
SetScaleX 1+0.1*sin(C*pi/(B-1))
Turn sa
defineEnd

repeat A
petal 0
petal 1
petal 2
petal 3
petal 4
petal 5
petal 6
petal 7
petal 8
petal 9
repeatEnd 

Fig 1, 2 Blender Cycles render
Fig 3 DS-Soft render ( could look better with good lighting materialsetc )

mCasual

work on Beta 7 resumes with the high hope to post it before saturday noon eastern time (no not eastern Australia )

new in Beta 7

- variables
- almost no chance of getting locked outside the script
- no file over-writing without your approval
- UV texture rotation
- profile curve rotation
- trans transx transz transz ( (translate ) direct manipulation of the extrusion nozzle position sliders
- special lathe command?? ( because using a Turn with a radius of 0 has some drawbacks
- repeat within repeat blocks ??
- pathCaps can be inserted in the path script
- more profile curves

things more likely to be in Beta8
- vertexCaps - similar to the pathCaps ( see the red cross in the preview window ) but attached to a specific vertex of the profileCurve ( see the
- usability of mcjLathe spline curves
- usability of mcjSuperLathe spline curves
- backdrop images in the preview window
- control of the size of the preview window
- mouse interaction

-------
image below, simple test of the "var" command

Profile sheet16
closeprofile off
ClosePath off
tread 1
pathUnits m
profileSize .1 1
profileUnits m
WeldUVs on
radius 1
StepAngle 5.625
RotateUVs on

var bob 270
moveY .5
Ring
Turn bob

RAMWolff

Cool man, cool!

none01ohone

RAMWolff said:

Cool man, cool!

That's why he has a cool cat avatar. ;-)

Miss B

This just keeps getting better and better. :coolsmile:

RAMWolff

Hey Casual... have you attempted to create UV's that wind around soft objects like human meshes or clothing with more complex modeling?

mCasual

RAMWolff said:

Hey Casual... have you attempted to create UV's that wind around soft objects like human meshes or clothing with more complex modeling?

the yv maps produced by http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/36930/
would almost work
eventually i'll make a script like that, but with cylindrical and planar projection
which has the advantage of being 1 piece

http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.6/Manual/Textures/Mapping/UV/Unwrapping

mCasual

good news !

it wasn't easy but i located a bug affecting the UV maps

( when i introduced tesselated caps i also introduced a second sign() function
behind the scene, the two sign functions were leading fierce battles
the sign() function used by the UV mapping was losing the battles )

so in Beta 7,
the lathe objects you can create ( teapots cups dishes and a million things ) will
have nice UV ,maps just like it was in Beta 5

mCasual

there see, purfect closed-path-Welded-UVs
that's a daz studio software render
unfortunately the daz studio hardware render for this doesnt always look good

Figure 2
even some blender renders dont treat warped UV maps like this correctly

...but what if i triangulate it? ... nah it didnt help

which means Blender's texture coordinate interpolation isnt very good

Figure3 higher resolution meshes hide the problem a little

RAMWolff

That looks tight man.

I asked about that because as I'm working away on my Pan project (a figure I'm building from scratch) I'd really like a way to make UV maps for him using something that's not been seen before. Also as I'm working on his base beard I'm having a hell of a time getting a really nice flat map with surface groupings for various looks (goatee, stache, burns chops, soul patch... you know the usual). I've been fiddling around in a UV mapping program I like and have actually mostly mastered moving the verts around to make it flow as I want but I've kinda hit a wall as I'm getting close to finishing it so might not work after all.... GRRRRRRRRRR

mCasual

RAMWolff said:

That looks tight man.

I asked about that because as I'm working away on my Pan project (a figure I'm building from scratch) I'd really like a way to make UV maps for him using something that's not been seen before. Also as I'm working on his base beard I'm having a hell of a time getting a really nice flat map with surface groupings for various looks (goatee, stache, burns chops, soul patch... you know the usual). I've been fiddling around in a UV mapping program I like and have actually mostly mastered moving the verts around to make it flow as I want but I've kinda hit a wall as I'm getting close to finishing it so might not work after all.... GRRRRRRRRRR

not directly related but there's an old impressive animation
it was actually the result of someone's masters or doctorate thesis
about among things, simulated muscles
and the Michaeljacksonesque dancer is named Pan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVucWc6kh-o

RAMWolff

Awesome. Thanks for the diagram too. I'll perhaps retry using those pointers and see if the thing comes out better.

RAMWolff

WOW, whomever did the modeling on the Pan is really really good. Kinda what I had in my minds eye! The rigging is excellent seeing how well it moved!

mCasual

IT'S A WELL GUARDED SECRET oops sorry capslock got stuck

mcjBuilderA Beta 6.98 was posted on my site a minute ago
it's the state it's in presently,

* * * i post it in case someone had planned to use Beta 7 it this afternoon * * *
( if not then you should wait for Beta 7 and skip this version (

https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts3/mcjbuildera

immediately, next, i'll go update the manual to explain the new commands

[["description", "comment", "//" ], -1],
[["gvar","global" ], 2],
[["var" ], 2],
[["set" ], 2],

[["pathcap" ], 0],
[["trans" ], 1],
[["transx" ], 1],
[["transy" ], 1],
[["transz" ], 1]

then during the day if all goes well i'll tie lose ends and publish Beta 7 !!!! in the evening ],