OT a little -- NEW FREE program over at Pilgway

Hermit Crab

Thanks, Catherine.  I hope that is the case for you and others.  For me I get a 'program not responding' message.  I'm on the edge of useability with the full program because this happens to me sometimes with that also if I've clicked on too many things without really knowing what I'm doing.

Hermit Crab

Last comment for now.  Here is Aiko 4 with similar cloth sims.  The hair also was sculpted and is quite a mess- again a beginner playing around.  The top cloth covers some of the hair.

 

Catherine3678ab

Hermit Crab said:

Thanks, Catherine.  I hope that is the case for you and others.  For me I get a 'program not responding' message.  I'm on the edge of useability with the full program because this happens to me sometimes with that also if I've clicked on too many things without really knowing what I'm doing.

My laptop is also at the edge of usablility concerning the full 3DCoat so I love these striped down partial programs Pilgway has been making of late. [I have their Textura as well].

Clicking on two or more actions - or clicking a series too quickly, can freeze up several programs in my experience.

Maybe it's also a memory thing, since you have the full 3DCoat and it will open up the 3DPrint scene file, maybe going that route to export out the .stl would work better. For starters, it won't try to limit the numbers so much.

Love what you're doing with the 3D prints! Drawing mesh out for the hair - sounds like a great idea!

I don't have a 3D printer [yet] but your work encourages me to think about getting one, maybe one day ;-)

 

marble

Hermit Crab said:

Hi all

Having bought the full, latest version of 3d Coat, I can honestly say that it is the one 3d program that I am most pleased to own because it can do so much so well.

My skills with it are another matter.  I've just reached the stage where I can do enough to make me want to learn more and I discover how to do more things each time I use it. As with any non-trivial software, perseverance works wonders and leads to 'eureka' moments.

Therefore I would encourage anyone and everyone to try their hand at digital sculpting with this fantastic release.

I love that I now have a version limited to the sculpting side of the software.  My computer is very low-spec and it is nice to run a light version for what I mainly use it for.  I've found that I can save the scene from this version and it loads up into the full software as though it had been created there.

I have a Creality Ender Pro 3d printer and have been using 3d Coat to prepare figures for printing (for purely private use).  Believe it or not, getting a printed figure isn't too important to me: I get enjoyment from making one-off sculpted figures which can be rendered as turntables.

I mentioned my-low spec computer (i5 GTX 750 ti).  I must add that the few plays I've had with the free print version caused the computer to hang at the 'export to stl' phase.  So I don't know what would become of a Poser/DAZ/Reallusion figure at that stage for other people.  With the full software, it has been no problem for me because there has been no restriction causing downsizing of the sculpted model at that point.

To Marble:  The difference between mesh sculpting and voxel sculpting shouldn't deter you from having a go.  (the following is meant to be helpful, not condescending):

Imagine an eggshell made up of polygons.  That is your polygon mesh (wireframe).  Morphing or sculpting a wireframe mesh moves the polygons around and can cause drastic stretching.  

These days many sculpting programs add polygons to such a mesh as it is being sculpted to prevent this stretching.  Such dynamic tessellation keeps the model smooth.

A voxel body is like a hard-boiled egg with its shell removed.  It looks like the eggshell mesh but if you slice it you will see it is solid all the way through.  Sculpting with voxels is like using virtual clay which can be dug into, stretched etc.  If you make a hole in the surface of a polygon mesh you will see it is hollow inside but a voxel object will be solid underneath the hole.  You could sculpt undercuts in the latter.

 

Hi and thank you. I hope I am mature enough to know the difference between helpful and condescending. :) 

Your egg analogy really helps visualise the difference but I am still uncertain about how that voxel model is exported. We are all used to working with egg shells and to exporting them to other 3D applications but what happens when you want to make a prop using voxel modelling and import it into DAZ Studio which, I assume, wouldn't know a voxel from a Vauxhall?

Catherine3678ab

marble said:

Hermit Crab said:

Hi all

Having bought the full, latest version of 3d Coat, I can honestly say that it is the one 3d program that I am most pleased to own because it can do so much so well.

My skills with it are another matter.  I've just reached the stage where I can do enough to make me want to learn more and I discover how to do more things each time I use it. As with any non-trivial software, perseverance works wonders and leads to 'eureka' moments.

Therefore I would encourage anyone and everyone to try their hand at digital sculpting with this fantastic release.

I love that I now have a version limited to the sculpting side of the software.  My computer is very low-spec and it is nice to run a light version for what I mainly use it for.  I've found that I can save the scene from this version and it loads up into the full software as though it had been created there.

I have a Creality Ender Pro 3d printer and have been using 3d Coat to prepare figures for printing (for purely private use).  Believe it or not, getting a printed figure isn't too important to me: I get enjoyment from making one-off sculpted figures which can be rendered as turntables.

I mentioned my-low spec computer (i5 GTX 750 ti).  I must add that the few plays I've had with the free print version caused the computer to hang at the 'export to stl' phase.  So I don't know what would become of a Poser/DAZ/Reallusion figure at that stage for other people.  With the full software, it has been no problem for me because there has been no restriction causing downsizing of the sculpted model at that point.

To Marble:  The difference between mesh sculpting and voxel sculpting shouldn't deter you from having a go.  (the following is meant to be helpful, not condescending):

Imagine an eggshell made up of polygons.  That is your polygon mesh (wireframe).  Morphing or sculpting a wireframe mesh moves the polygons around and can cause drastic stretching.  

These days many sculpting programs add polygons to such a mesh as it is being sculpted to prevent this stretching.  Such dynamic tessellation keeps the model smooth.

A voxel body is like a hard-boiled egg with its shell removed.  It looks like the eggshell mesh but if you slice it you will see it is solid all the way through.  Sculpting with voxels is like using virtual clay which can be dug into, stretched etc.  If you make a hole in the surface of a polygon mesh you will see it is hollow inside but a voxel object will be solid underneath the hole.  You could sculpt undercuts in the latter.

 

Hi and thank you. I hope I am mature enough to know the difference between helpful and condescending. :) 

Your egg analogy really helps visualise the difference but I am still uncertain about how that voxel model is exported. We are all used to working with egg shells and to exporting them to other 3D applications but what happens when you want to make a prop using voxel modelling and import it into DAZ Studio which, I assume, wouldn't know a voxel from a Vauxhall?

Hi there, and I hope you are awake enough to also realize that I have a following of several  VERY intelligent people who have sadly, rather severe health conditions and so yeah, I repeat myself for them. So now,

in 3DPrint you fashion the treasure. Then hit Enter on the Keyboard or Apply in that little toolbox panel. Then, you export it as .stl or .wrl file. These are used for 3D printing.

To make a file that D/S can import, we need to use another program or utility to make the .stl file into an .obj. That can be done AFAIK using Blender, 3DCoat and/or some other modeling program. While in a modeler you may wish to slap on a uvmap.

 

WendyLuvsCatz

voxels are solids

the iray OpenVDB is a good exaple of a voxel

as are Carrara and Bryce metaballs

they export as hollow objects like chocolate easter bunnies and how faceted they are depends on export settings 

in their native programs smooth AF

a vertex model on the other hand is made of polygons

Catherine3678ab

Well that might be, but 3DPrint does not export vdb files.

WendyLuvsCatz

Catherine3678ab said:

Well that might be, but 3DPrint does not export vdb files.

Blender does 

Catherine3678ab

Of course it does

Hermit Crab

Now it's a new day, I'm just popping in again.

Thanks Catherine for the advice and for the appreciation of the images.  3d printing is fun and I have made loads of items from just one reel of filament so far.  I have a project in mind and am trying different ways to get the robes and hair styles I need.  I've tried sculpting and building on various figures for practice but eventually will need to make primitive base figures of my own and start over for full ownership.

I need also to make better use of layers so that a home-made sculpted hairstyle, for example, could be exported on its own.  Maybe it would be less complex to print a figure with no hair and then add the wig!

I tried exporting of the draped clothes only to stl (seen in the black and white images I posted) but the 3d Print version gave me an 'out of  memory' message.  Of course, the full program would probably cope because the work of reducing the item to 40k isn't being done.

Wendy, your info about exporting is helpful to me, thanks.  Now where can I get a nice chocolate Easter Bunny...

Marble, Glad I helped a little.  Obviously there are other free sculpting applications you might try.  I like the idea of learning to create one-off items that would fit into a scene - a rock to sit on or a top-hat or whatever.  Sculpting is a fun way to try these things out.