help with instances / replicators

Diomede

Trying to figure out instances in Studio (I think it is called instances).  I am trying to transition from Carrara to Studio.  In Carrara, it would be called a surface replicator. Is it possible to assign instances to the surface of an object in Studio?  For example, if I had an uneven rectangular plane (changes height and angle), could I use instances on several flower plant models to make a garden?  Is there a tutorial or guide?  The wiki guide seemes to involve a lot of programming script. 

http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/nodes/create_instance_group_like_siblings/start

 

Seems like I've seen some sets for sale that use instances so I think I am missing something.

DrunkMonkeyProductions

INstances in daz studio are copies of the original figure/object.

Instances are basically lighter, memory wise, copies of the original and are pretty good for crowd scenes,plants, or other large amounts of stuff, but you have limitations on manipulation as they are copies of the original

Change a surface on the original, the surface on the copy changes.

Change the pose on the original, the pose on the copy changes.

As far as your garden idea, start with an initial plant or group of plants and just instance them to create a larger flower garden.

You can use the Align tab to quickly set the plants into alignment.

One thing to note is if you create multiple instances simultaneously they will be grouped together and dispersed in strange patterns, so you'll need to unparent and zero or copy(original) and  paste(instance(s)) the pose to the instances to get them to initial alignment.

 

sriesch

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but check out Instances Plus ( http://www.daz3d.com/instances-plus-for-daz-studio )

Here's a thread discussing it: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/69403/instances-plus/p1

Diomede

Thank you for the tips.  I will check out instances plus.  Looks good.