Converting Gen3/4 characters to G2M/G2F with new skins. Same people?

NotAnArtist

The many threads about updating figures has me a bit confused. So I'd really appreciate some help with four basic questions.

1: Is the skin important to a character's identity? I almost bought the old TC2 products, believing the original textures were necessary when converting to G2M/G2F. But G2M/G2F has higher quality skins available.

Doesn't shape determine identity? Skin color, make-up, etc, are options for variability, but a "person" is identifiable by shape. People would still recognize me if I colored my skin or painted freckles on my face. They'd just think I'm weird.

Wouldn't character morphs for Millenium Kids, A3/H3, A4/V4/M4/K4 look like themselves in the G2 mesh with new skins? Wouldn't the subtle shape differences of the new mesh be a bigger problem than skin color, make-up, blemishes, etc.

2: Do you first use GenX2's add-ons to morph Genesis2 so that it looks like the base gen3/4 figure, and then use GenX2 to apply your old gen3/4 character morphs to the adjusted Genesis2 figure? Is that the basic process?

3: Which leads me to the add-ons, which are even less clear. Those titled "Iconic shapes", "Legacy shapes", and "Shapes for" have different purposes. Genesis 2 doesn't (yet) seem to have versions of all of them. What unique purposes are each for? Some include UVs while others don't. Why if so, or why not if not? ...I'm feeling a bit woozy again.

4: "Autofit clones"? What do "clones" have to do with fitting clothes? The impression I get is that there's an additional presence there - a "clone" - to which the older clothing fits instead of the actual character. Does it add the equivalent of another character to the scene, resource-wise?

I'm nervous about all this. I bought GenX1 with its add-ons & nothing worked - and then got busy studying Hexagon and never looked back until now.

I think question #1 will determine whether I really want to do this or not. If converting old skin is required to replicate the character, then my guys are good enough in their old meshes. Old is old.

Which reminds me, if anyone knows a good doctor, I'd also like to get ME into a new mesh, and of that I'm certain.

Richard Haseltine

I thought it was personality that was the key to identity, though even that changes over time. However, if you limit the discussion to 3D characters then it's not a question with an absolute answer - the real question is what do you want to transfer?

NotAnArtist

Nah, I think you'd recognize a person by his features even if he got bonked on the head and his personality completely changed. Or me, when I'm drunk...

What I want to transfer is the artistry that went into the sculpting of earlier characters like those based on Millenium Kids & A3/H3, mostly. Gen4 characters aren't that out-of-date yet, I suppose, but bringing them all up to one standard sounded "wise", for some reason.

My primary question is: How critical are the old textures that went with them? They look really bland to me, so I don't see why it's so important to keep using them. Updating every character I have sounds like a 2-fold opportunity. I'd have the same "people" in my repertoire, but they'd have more attractive, realistic skins AND function with the newer technology.

Heck, I'm still proud of the primitive things I've made studying Hexagon. The creators of the old characters might feel the same. I just thought it'd be nice to improve them if it can be done... OK, I'm also poor and would like to avoid buying new ones as much as possible...

Richard Haseltine

As I said, it's up to you - if you don't feel the textures are vital, and have substitutes, use them. If you are asking if there are technical issues then no, shape and maps are independent so you can mix and match as you wish (I pretty much buy character sets for the maps and largely ignore the morphs, for example).

Cybersox

Just as a good makeup artist can create a convincing illusion of wrinkles and an altered facial structure with nothing more than an application of greasepaint, changing the textures on a figure can completely change the appearance even though the morphs are copied exactly. Not only can the subtle placement of colors and shadows completely change the apparent contours of the face, but the effect is even greater in the case of DAZ and Poser figures. That's because a certain amount of the "sculpting" is actually achieved by bump maps rather than actual manipulation of the mesh, and the bumps are part of the texture set. So, if you want a Genesis version of a Gen 3 character to have the same general feel as the original then, yes, you would probably want to use the original textures.

That said, I personally rarely use the textures that come with any figure on the original set of morphs. However, that's just an aesthetic choice I make because I usually don't want my characters looking like anyone else's. As far as bringing Gen 3 textures over to Genesis 1 & 2 goes, the results that Texture Converter 2 usually produces are good enough, as is, for long to medium shots, but when you get in closer you may find yourself having to do a bit of touching up to cover up some places where the seams have been readjusted.

NotAnArtist

Three people have opened my eyes, Richard Haseltine, Cybersox13, and me!

Haseltine eased my mind about converting the characters using new skins, and Cybersox13 inspired me to do it and appreciate the possibly increased variety of characters.

And I hit my forehead with a "Duh!", realizing even if they do look a lot different, so what? I'll still have the originals.

I can now go one step at a time, rather than feeling I have to understand it all before-hand.

Thanks folks for your help. Cheers!