Today AvaStar released a new release. You can get it from your products page. I’m not sure what, if anything, is new or changed. I assume there are bug fixes. If you read the problems I had adding in the Slink 2.0.30 rig to the then current 2.0.46, you are aware of one problem.
Crystal Gardens
The new version is 2.0.48. It updates easily. I disabled and removed 2.0.26, installed and enabled 2.0.48 (2RC10) without error.
Of first interest to me is whether I can update the Slink model I want to use. Slink updated their May 2016 to a May 2017 version. The 2017 version used AvaStar 2.0.30. The Slink people, AvaStar people, and I had trouble updating. Slink was gracious enough to update their files to 2.0.46.
With this new AvaStar version I tried updating the Slink 2.0.46 version to 2.0.48. At first, it seemed to have updated without a problem. I did have to close Blender and reopen to get the Outliner to update. Then I realized all the Slink meshes failed to parent to the rig in the update. So, I’ll have to move the Slink model and my things manually.
Talking with Eleanora Newell (AvaStar) and Siddean Munro (Slink) We have come to the conclusion the updater in AvaStar 2RC8 has a bug. It will supposedly be fixed in 2RC9. Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with the bug.
Siddean Munro has updated the May 2017 Slink Dev Kit. The May Kit updated to AvaStar 2.0.30. It is now a June 1 Kit updated to 2.0.46, the newest AvaStar.
So, just download the Kit again and get the latest version.
Also, if you are moving older projects to the new version, Append those objects to the new updated avatar. It is easier, faster, and presents fewer problems than trying to update the rig.
Talking with Siddean,
Heya, I’ve been chatting with Eleanora and Gaia [AvaStar peeps] about the update process. It’s not entirely unique to my kit.
There was some bug with the update process that Gaia says she’s fixed, will be released in the next version of the release candidate, and Eleanora says you need to have the little snowflake enabled on the update tool for the female body, and to uncheck “male” under the appearance sliders on the male body.
I found it just easier to add the new rig and attach the bodies to it, than mess around with their update tool. It’s always been problematic.
I will be advising anyone who asks to download the latest from my DropBox though, I will try and keep on top of Avastar updates as much as I can.
The thing you described with the bones all rotating from their individual origins – I asked about that in the Blender channel the other day, and someone responded she’d had the same issue as me, and locking and unlocking the bones did the trick. 🙂
I don’t really know why they lock the bone rotations. It’s like they have AvaStar all setup for animations, but we have to jump through so many hoops to get the rig ready for creating mesh with it. I’m going to send them a NC with some thoughts today so I will put in a suggestion for a rig setup toggle – animation to skinning maybe.
The best thing you can do with your older projects is append them into the new kit, rather than updating the old rig and risking errors from the old body meshes.
…
Eleanora just messaged me that the update tool is broken, the sliders don’t work. So appending to an updated rig might be better in the short term until they figure this out.
The rest of the article below is mostly outdated now. However, if you need to update a rig, you may find some help in it.
Having some problems with newly released Slink model? I did. Took me some time to figure out how to get it working. This is the ‘step-by-step’ to getting an integrated Slink-AvaStar working base.
PS: 6/1/2017 – Various people and myself are running into additional problems. Be sure to read the comments. BUT…
Siddean Munro has resolved the problem. A new Dev Kit was released 6/1/2017 that is updated to AvaStar 2.0.46. So, save yourself some heartache and get the new file. If you are updating one of your older files, the information in this article may help.
As it appears now, the fix is to replace the old rig with a new AvaStar generated rig and avoid trying to update.
The model released by Slink is made with AvaStar 2.0.30 (or 2.0-Beta-30). The latest release of AvaStar as I write this is 2RC8 (or 2.0.46). The original Slink file works just fine. Whether you are Skinning and Wight Painting or Animating.
Here is the problem I found.
The file as received works as I expected. In Blender Weight Paint and Pose Mode, the bones behave as I expect. Once I ran the AvaStar Rig Update, the bones were screwed.
Adding more detail and making a texture look real takes some effort. The know-how is in a tutorial in this series: Creating a Realistic Head in Blender – part 08 – Clothing Textures. In the 8th of the series, CG Cookie Blender is working on the clothes. So, don’t let the title put you off.
You’ll notice Cycles and the Node Editor are not used in the early creation part. So, it is mostly an older workflow. Still, I found the video helpful on a number of levels.
I’m not that great at texture painting in 3D. I am trying to get better. So, when this video caught my eye, I checked it out. Blender Character Texture Painting (Play List).
Darrin Lile made the videos. I think he did a good job. There are six in the set, each about 15 minutes long. I found them clear and well explained.
I want to put way more detail in some of the stuff I am doing. But, this is a good basic ‘how to’ tutorial. The last video on baking and converting to Cycles is nice and clear.
I like Slink and I’m playing with making clothes for my Slink Body, attached mesh and applier type clothes. So, I’ve been hoping this update would provide a bit better help for the applier clothes. Nope.
For Second Life, I do a high poly first design. Not as dense as his dragon head. But, I don’t do a load of sculpting. But, for my starting work, I am concentrating on appearance and fit. Then I do a retopo for my SL high poly where I concentrate on reducing poly count. I use this for the first two and sometimes three SL LoD models. Then do another retopo for the 3rd or 4th SL LoD model. So, these tricks will be way handy for me.
The last time I published anything on Blender Retopo was 2012-13.
This video is about how to use AvaStar and the Slink Developer Kit. If you notice the file name in the top menu of Blender you’ll notice is says: …\BentoVersionMarch2017\… My kit is labeled March 2016. So, to me this means an updated kit, which would be great as the current one is a bit of a PITA.
The video was posted to YouTube May 19, 2017, last Friday. In it Siddean Munro uses AvaStar2.0.30 and Blender 2.78. AFAIK, the latest versions are 2.0.45 and 2.78c… with 2.79 getting close to release. Continue reading →
Mesh Body Addicts is running their first survey of 2017. Please stop by and answer the questions. There are only 13… Luckily it isn’t Halloween. No fear.
I’ll have more to say about this video in a following article.
Daria lists 26 bodies in the survey when asking which you wear most often. 26! Plus, “other”… Amazing. In only a few months we have a load of competing brands and models. Continue reading →
