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Creating Custom Content

somefatcheesesomefatcheese Posts: 9
in New Users

Hey All I'm brand new to Daz3d and loving it so far! (I'm also brand new to the world of 3d modeling in general) I'm trying to create an animated music video.

My questions: Is there a way to create custom items and clothing in Daz or should you use a different program and import these items into Daz? I already played around with Facegen to get custom faces into Daz and its awesome! But I'd like to create custom sunglasses for my character with a special design on the front. And import custom items like a sweatshirt that i own, bottles of soda, fossil watches, and honda civics. Is there any facegen equilovent for other items like i mentioned above?

Also is Daz a good program to create custom worlds? Or again would that be better done in another program? I see programs such as blender and maya (and content creator in Daz) being mentioned quite a bit but I haven't been able to find a definitive post that answers what i'm looking for so far.

Or even further, does it make more sense to create custom charcter animations in Daz and then bring those charcters into another program for backgrounds and clothing/props?

Thanks in advance for any advice! 

Jon

Comments

  • srieschsriesch Posts: 4,241

    Part of an answer: 

    You would need a modeling program to create custom items.

    Not sure exactly what you mean by "custom worlds".  You can of course create your own custom world within DAZ Studio if you own all the pieces you need.  I haven't worked with blender or maya, but I wonder if you are thinking of something like Bryce, Carrara, etc. that has options for creating terrain, skies, plants, etc. vs using a DAZ Studio skydome and purchasing individual plants and terrain objects?  Do some serious research in whichever application(s) you pick though, each has it's own strengths and weaknesses and possibly things one application does can be accomplished in another in a different manner.

  • OstadanOstadan Posts: 1,128

    There are (sort of – there are always more details) two basic components to creating custom digital assets: the mesh, and the surfaces of the mesh.  Customizing the surface of an existing object is often all you need to do, and can be done in Photoshop or Gimp or your favorite editor.  For example, if you can find a pair of sunglasses in the DAZ3D or other store, or on ShareCG, you can put a logo on the frame in various ways, depending on how its surfaces have been set up.  But if you need the sunglasses to have a distinctive shape for some reason, you will have to 'sculpt' a new mesh using a program like Blender.

    If you are brand new to all this, messing around with surface textures for existing clothes, etc., is, I think, a good way to start.

     

  • SixDsSixDs Posts: 2,384
    edited January 2016

     "Is there any facegen equilovent for other items like i mentioned above?"

    The short answer is, yes. However, the quality of the results are highly dependent upon the photo references used. In particular, the number of references and the tight control over the lighting and scale. Usually a series of photos are taken of the object to be modelled from all angles from precisely the same distance. This is normally accomplished in a studio setting by rotating either the object or the camera using precision rigs designed for the purpose. Obtaining such reference photos therefore involves some investment in equipment and time beyond any investment in the software itself. If you are interested you should do a search on the internet for "photogrammetric modeling" or similar.

    In the end, there tend not to be quick and easy solutions that replace the old way of creating models using a manual modelling program, and the latter do take some time to learn and become proficient. Alternatively, as others have said, there are resources available that are "ready-made", both for sale or free, that may suit your needs, and those are probably the best shortcut to getting what you want.

    Post edited by SixDs on
  • guilledcfguilledcf Posts: 75

    i'm also pretty new to this, and i'm finding scultptris (the free, lite version of zbrush, sort of) an awesome tool for modelling: simple, easy as hell and so fun it's addictive. yep and free. may be more intended for organic stuff tho. you can export .obj files, which are daz-friendly.

  • kaotkblisskaotkbliss Posts: 2,914

    if it helps at all, I got quite a bit of help doing this exact same thing. here's a link to the thread I had on it and I hope it helps you as well :)

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/69494/packing-up-custom-items-into-a-zip-for-distribution#latest

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