Category Archives: Clothes Skins Etc

RedPoly and Mesh Upload

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Redpoly has a new tutorial video out. It is for the people buying mesh clothing kits that plan to sell the clothes made from the kit. Check it out and then I’ll explain why the kits are sold in such a complex way.

[youtube epaA9AmD81w]

Creators making mesh clothes and uploading their model are shown as the creator in the objects’ properties in-world. But, if you buy a mesh kit, usually a mesh object and template files, the creator that uploaded the mesh object shows as the creator. This kit misnaming creates problems for everyone.

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CCIIUG Informally Closed

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Content Creation Improvement Informal User Group (CCIIUG) is informally disbanded… or temporarily just not meeting. Geenz Spad was facilitating the meetings. When asked directly on Wednesday at the Open Source UG Geenz said, “Informally, for the time being. Sadly, not much was actually getting done there and sadly I don’t have as much time as I used to for the group.”

I’ve written about the group several times. Click CCIIUG in tags (to the right) to get a list of the articles.

This is a group that had excellent potential. Geenz is the primary doer in the Materials project. I am not clear on whether Geenz is bound by an NDA or his personal desire to get things finessed before going public. I think it is a combination. Without his being able or willing to talk about progress on the Materials System there is very little fresh meat for this group. Thus interest in it has died.  Continue reading →

Possible Alpha Layer Problems

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Part of the thing with mesh clothes is alpha layers. Even with prim and sculpty shoes and other attachments alpha layers have become a part of wearing these items. Invisaprims are a thing of the past. There is a thing in Second Life™ Alpha Masks that has been over looked by many. It may come back to bite us if we don’t pay attention… or not.

Alpha Mask Edit Panel

Alpha Mask Edit Panel

Understand

We call them Alpha Layers and they do layer, but, they do NOT layer with clothes. The real name is Alpha Mask. The Alpha Mask has its own channel. That makes sense to you if use channels in Photoshop. If not, just understand that a channel effects everything associated with an image, like all the layers.

You can layer clothes and skin as they are in a texture channel. You can stack textures in a clothing channel like SHIRT. But the clothing layers are a bit like folders in the texture channel. You can’t change the order of the folders; Jacket – which is on top of: Shirt – which is on top of: Undershirt – which is on top of Skin stay in that order. You can add shirts and rearrange their order.

The Alpha Mask is a channel that affects all the clothes layers; Skin, Shirt, etc. We can add masks together. We can think of that as layering, but it is really more like ADDING transparency.

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Current State of Mesh Clothes

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The new Mesh Deformer Project Viewer seems to be working well. See the left column for a link to it. I’ve been playing with it in ADITI. I’m excited and seriously getting into finishing some of my models (clothes). I’m spending more time weighting and tweaking now that I think we know how the Deformer is going to work.

Problem Clothes

I will caution you that the Deformer is only in testing. It could change. But, I think it is pretty much as it will be at release time and I could be wrong. So, keep that in mind, if you plan to go crazy with mesh clothes making…

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Another Deformer Update

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With the Mesh Deformer project near completion several people are much more into testing, using, and complaining about  the Mesh Deformer. Early adopters are definitely jumping in. That doesn’t mean there are enough test clothes submitted. We still need more. But, those of us trying out the Deformer are bringing up our special cases. Avoid being left out, make sure your stuff works, get involved.

The Design Model – Default Avatar

I am interested in using the latest Deformer Project viewer (see the left column for a link to the download) to make tight fitting skirts. I and others have run into problems. That has increased chatter in the JIRA STORM-1716, which I covered a couple of days ago in: #SL Mesh Deformer Discussion. Discussion is continuing.

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Thinking About #SL Mesh Modeling?

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I wrote the following for an SL user that wants to learn to build mesh items for Second Life™. If you are thinking about learning to build mesh items for Second Life, you too may find it interesting.

First: 3D modeling is not as complex as it is voluminous… There is just so much to learn… So, my suggestion is to avoid getting bogged down in details and cover as many aspects of modeling as possible. Then as you choose to make things, get into the details related to your project.

With and Without Normal Mapping

Modeling for each world or game has its restrictions and limits and Second Life certainly does. You will find lots of generic modeling tutorials around that are NOT Second Life specific. CG Cookie is a great source for good to great generic educational tutorials. Their best stuff is not free. But, it is cheap, cheaper than a book and more up to date. Also, some of the purchase-to-view stuff becomes free after a time. I tend to purchase a month’s access every now and then. I download the lessons so I can go back and review them later.

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The Consensus

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Hopefully you have been following the Mesh Deformer and developments around it. Today in the Content Improvement group meeting I brought up the subject of Consensus on Mesh Deformation Tools.

Content Improvement Group

Some people have the same concern I do. What’s best and how do we know? There is speculation on what is the best way to deform mesh so clothes fit. Discussion extended into the work flow of making clothes too. Maxwell Graf is keen on the idea that any solution has to provide a reasonably simple work flow. I agree. Making mesh clothes is already complicated.

Karl’s Mesh Deformer is reasonably simple. It certainly avoids adding complication to the clothes making process. In general it will simplify what needs to be done to get clothes to fit. Simplicity is a large factor.

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