DAZ to Blender tutorial request
74
Hi, 
In a long run, I need to find a way out of DAZ Studio, Windows and Nvidea GPUs.
So I need to find a way to make my DAZ Genesis 8Female character a native Blender figure, that has ALL geografts, ALL JCMs and ALL expressions migrated.
With "ALL" I mean those native to the DAZ figure essentials AND those custom made.
Why?
I just don't see much of a future under a Windows OS anymore.
Sure, Linux can run DAZ Studio in a bottle, but this will only be necessary for still having access to DAZ content.
I want independence with my ROXY figure/character in Blender in a Linux environment.
What else would you need, except Blender and Gimp, right?
I also hope, this would break my procrastination cycle and finally makes me learn Blender. (learning by doing)
In a long run, I need to find a way out of DAZ Studio, Windows and Nvidea GPUs.
So I need to find a way to make my DAZ Genesis 8Female character a native Blender figure, that has ALL geografts, ALL JCMs and ALL expressions migrated.
With "ALL" I mean those native to the DAZ figure essentials AND those custom made.
Why?
I just don't see much of a future under a Windows OS anymore.
Sure, Linux can run DAZ Studio in a bottle, but this will only be necessary for still having access to DAZ content.
I want independence with my ROXY figure/character in Blender in a Linux environment.
What else would you need, except Blender and Gimp, right?
I also hope, this would break my procrastination cycle and finally makes me learn Blender. (learning by doing)
! REPORT
It is not a straightforward path ahead, Masterstroke. As a Blender user myself, I can tell you that everything is handled on a per-asset basis. I cannot write a full tutorial, but I will share my thoughts in the hope that they might guide you.
The Diffeomorphic add-on is your best friend for this. It will export the figure with your morphs, weight maps, materials, and even set up a Principled BSDF shader in a very accurate way (please take this with a grain of salt; I have never used it myself and have only read about it and watched videos in the past, going by memory).
JCMs could be exported as morphs, and then you could merge them as shape keys, if you go about it manually:
However, shape keys would not automatically activate when bending a joint. You would need to create drivers manually (I am not certain whether Diffeomorphic does this automatically; I suspect it might, but I truly do not know). You could also use the Corrective Shape Keys add-on, though I personally prefer drivers.
If Diffeomorphic handles it automatically, then everything becomes so much easier for you. You would simply export, and perhaps only need to make minor adjustments for a particular character's materials, or an environment asset material, etc.
But beyond setting up your figure and importing your assets + having materials setup. You need to learn how to render. Chose either cycles or EEVE (I like Cycles). Expect a no straight forward learning curve for setting up your rendering environment (camera, HDRI, lighting, etc).
Here are a few videos for this that might help:
And this is not a video, but I bookmarked it. It is a great tutorial.
https://vagon.io/blog/the-best-render-settings-for-blender
Please, if you end up staying and loving Blender as I do, remember that they run on generosity. Please donate five dollars or whatever you can to support the project.
The Diffeomorphic add-on is your best friend for this. It will export the figure with your morphs, weight maps, materials, and even set up a Principled BSDF shader in a very accurate way (please take this with a grain of salt; I have never used it myself and have only read about it and watched videos in the past, going by memory).
JCMs could be exported as morphs, and then you could merge them as shape keys, if you go about it manually:
However, shape keys would not automatically activate when bending a joint. You would need to create drivers manually (I am not certain whether Diffeomorphic does this automatically; I suspect it might, but I truly do not know). You could also use the Corrective Shape Keys add-on, though I personally prefer drivers.
If Diffeomorphic handles it automatically, then everything becomes so much easier for you. You would simply export, and perhaps only need to make minor adjustments for a particular character's materials, or an environment asset material, etc.
But beyond setting up your figure and importing your assets + having materials setup. You need to learn how to render. Chose either cycles or EEVE (I like Cycles). Expect a no straight forward learning curve for setting up your rendering environment (camera, HDRI, lighting, etc).
Here are a few videos for this that might help:
And this is not a video, but I bookmarked it. It is a great tutorial.
https://vagon.io/blog/the-best-render-settings-for-blender
Please, if you end up staying and loving Blender as I do, remember that they run on generosity. Please donate five dollars or whatever you can to support the project.
REPLY
! REPORT
Masterstroke
Karma: 4,362
Sun, Feb 08However, something like automatig blend shapes must be possible in Blender:
https://www.renderhub.com/kingnewnew/female-advanced
(I want THAT for my character in Blender)
I know, I know. can't even do a doughnut, but want a top notch character.
https://www.renderhub.com/kingnewnew/female-advanced
(I want THAT for my character in Blender)
I know, I know. can't even do a doughnut, but want a top notch character.
Luxe Muse
Karma: 6,872
Sun, Feb 08I hear you, and right now it might feel impossible, but practice will give you the tools along with the tutorials.
It is all possible in Blender. I would say the problem is not that it is not possible; the problem is that there are many ways to do it, and it is confusing
I just read that Diffeomorphic does this; it automatically creates all your JCMs on import.
https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/wiki/Features/Morph%20Tools
It is all possible in Blender. I would say the problem is not that it is not possible; the problem is that there are many ways to do it, and it is confusing
I just read that Diffeomorphic does this; it automatically creates all your JCMs on import.
https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/wiki/Features/Morph%20Tools