Conceptual Art and Previz Workflow for Theatre Sets & Costumes - Daz Studio and Max

martin-2150282

Hi guys,

I'm increasingly interested in using Daz Studio to assist with concept art and previz for costume and set design for a musical. I'm primarily a 3ds Max user, using Max for scene and set conceptualisation.

[I do have an old-ish version of Poser, and there is an upgrade path, but Genesis figures are not - as far as I'm aware - Poser compatible, so Poser + PoserFusion is sadly a no-go for me.]

So, I will need to render out in Daz separately, and comp in (my workflow is currently Max -> Nuke -> AE / PS). I have a couple of workflow questions which I hope some lovely souls will be able to help with :)

1) Is there a standardised workflow for transferring cameras between Max and Daz? Is this in any way possible? Camera settings, and (most importantly) positions?

2) If no, can Daz import a "backplane" image which could be used for positioning? What about lo-res geometry from Max (which will be hidden at rendertime, but for character posing purposes). Is the FBX importer reliable enough for this?

3) If (1) is no again, are there any Python scripting abilities in Daz? It might be possible to write a pipeline tool to import cameras etc.

4) Are worldspace scales the same between applications?

5) Is it possible to render out separate passes in Daz? Particularly z-depth?

The Genesis figures look incredible, and it would be great to add them to my toolbox. Poser + PoserFusion would have been ideal, but it's not to be, unless I go to V4 figures (which is an option, but not my preferred route).

Cheers,

Martin

Richard Haseltine

1) No, not that I know of.

2) DS can display a still backdrop image, yes. It can also import geometry which can be set to be invisible in renders - though I think OBJ would be more reliable than FBX. You could also use pwGhost to use the geometry to mask out the figure, or do the same - I think - via Shader Mixer.

3) DS doesn't use Python, its scripting engine is based on ECMA script isntead (JavaScript, ActionScript etc.)

4) I'm not sure about FBX, but DS supplies several presets for the OBJ importer/exporter which should make scaling relatively straightforward

5) I believe you can achieve that with Scripted rendering, though it's not ana rea I have explored.

martin-2150282

Thanks very much for the reply Richard.

One final question, can cameras be placed in exact (typed) co-ordinates, rather than guessing?

Cheers,

Martin

Richard Haseltine

Yes. Not the Perspective View (which is also not tracked for undo or animation), but a real camera can have its properties set through the Parameters pane.