Bongo Steampunk

OK, i'm in - instructions worked great, thanks guys!

Hi Folks, Just wondering, if it is still possble to get onto the aditi test grid for mesh testing? I'm spending way too many L$ just uploading things whilst trying to solve issues. I have no idea how to find it anymore, it's been too long! Thanks, Bongo

Hi Folks, Just wondering, if it is still possble to get onto the aditi test grid for mesh testing? I have no idea how to find it anymore, it's been too long! Thanks, Bongo

Hi folks Just wondering about the use of the new bones in the face. One thing which has been putting me off making mesh heads for ladies and gents is the lack of jaw/mouth functionality. I'm not an expert - but i believe when the new mesh heads blink or pout, it's all a flickbook style of thing, requiring extra meshes to flick between. The standard avi has the ability to move it's mouth, driven by mic/audio as we all know. Whilst not being brilliant i like it - made interesting machinima with being able to lip synch to whatever soundtrack, just feed in some ineteresting banter via audio - the mic / mouth picks up on it - and hey presto - your avatar can be captured lip syching to whomever one chooses. - there must therefore be a way for anyone to make thier mesh head do the same - and be driven by audio inputs like this. Scenario: One makes a head - and makes sure the relevant parts of it are rigged to the right mouth / jaw bones and when uploaded, it talks and moves mouth with the audio driving it just as the old heads did. This would bring new life to botox ridden faces of stony stillness! Now I'm not sure as to how the SL avatar moves it's mouth to the mic - is it just shapekeys or another deformation sequence, with so many assigned to move when voice is enabled? Can it be possible to make it so that a new mesh head can be rigged to respond to mic like this with the new bones? Or is it just that they can be given preset animations only ? [smile, 3 seconds - blank 3 seconds - scowl etc.] I dream of making mesh heads because I can make them, but I don't script and have no idea about many things pertaining to the mechanics of SL. I can get the eye holes lined up with my mesh heads - so that the old SL eyes are still visible and move, but being able to drive expression and/or jaw movement through mic would be truly amazing I think. any links to help this one better understand facial animation with SL and blender would be hugely appreciated. Bongo.

I have an issue also - processed credit 1st Nov 2015 .. still waiting.. not a large amount. Frustrating.

same here ... processed on 1st Nov 2015 .. still waiting

Thanks for the reply Hmm .. I can imagine that if I sort my head into polygroups which are as close as i can get to the SL seams and unwrap the head, I can then move the flat UV parts around manually until they fit over the SL uv's. I wonder if the vertices have to line up at all - because I work in quads and my mesh is more dense than the SL standard. This means many vertices would not be lined up to the standard uv layout... Thanks again - I'll play around with your suggestions

Hi folks :) To give you an idea of where i'm at - i've been toying with various aspects of creating things in SL for a long time, albeit only in fits and starts as hobbyist. i usually use Zbrush, Blender, Topogun, Photoshop and have stuggled up to the point where i can comfortably create and rig a textured mesh attachment or item of clothing. Have learned slowly and in small steps, and my brain isn't super heh. i have created my own male mesh head from sctratch to play around with - the idea being that i can learn the art of mesh headmaking, do some nice variants/ethnicities and have fun learning. Going to subdivide up from here, add details - bake out maps and bring it into SL. head basemesh is about 2k .. which is arguably high i know. My first ever retopology, used Topogun. i have lined up the eyeholes to match position of standard SL avis eyeholes - the head is roughly same size as standard avi and located in same part of virtual space. This means my moving [inworld] eyes should be in the right place, so at least they move visibly behind my new mesh mask if i don't alpha them out. Questions!! Is it possible to rig the eyelids somehow with the standard SL avi so that it can blink like standard avi does ? [have seen other mesh heads which blink - is it just animation, like random flickbook?] I have heard about people making bodies and heads, but somehow using the same UV maps as standard avi so popular skins can fit. My next question is how can the SL uv's ever be made to suit a totally original different mesh? is it that simply that head/body makers always use the standard avi head / body mesh and rework the mesh yet maintain the uvs? Much Puzzlement. Any help on these questions would be brilliant. [grinz] Bongo.

Hmm, I followed the instructions here : http://blog.machinimatrix.org/bone-weight-copy-in-blender-2-52-6/ it seems that the problem I'm having is that all my options are greyed out in addons. Anyone know how to fix this ? A friend checked and could select/deselect all options for addons in there !

Hi folks, I'm a bit frustrated, I can no longer see the options to copy wieghts since uploading 2.74. I do the usual, bring in model, add materials to groups, join it up, smooth it and parent it to SL skeleton [with empty groups] I have always worked this way, normally when I have it parented to the skeleton, I just need to select it, and then with SHIFT bring in say the small avi to copy weights from. I select my boot - then the Avi with Shift right click - but there's no iterpolation options - and no way to copy the weights. I recall perhaps having to upload an addon script - maybe thats my problem, I did find one called space_view3d_copy_bone_weights_enhanced Problem is, I cannot seem to upload it into the preferences/addons without it overwriting everything. Also, all the addons apart from just a few are deselected and cannot be selected.. greyed out. Does anyone know how to help ? Bongo.

Hello Folks :) After struggling to amass decent non-copywright fabric images for the making of mesh clothing from the web, have decided it might be best to start paying for them. I cannot find a decent rescource however, I find that many are misleading or substandard/too pricey etc. Does anyone know of any professional standard payed fabric rescources which would be suitable yet not cost the earth [like shutterstock] ? Even considered getting my camera and making a tent to do my own, but getting real fabric and doing all that work is another hobby altogether. Would be massively appreciative if anyone has any links to share. I'd rather put my hand in my pocket than run a wild goose chase in the hope of some free gem somewhere, takes hours and hours. Cheers, Bongo.

Thankyou kindly once more for your reply - Since I have watched all I can find on the matter so far, I did infact use a method previously which did not require an alpha channel but just transparency on layers in image layer stack - it works, but it's not really an alpha channel proper. Having followed your links and watched some other bits and bobs, I'm feeling a great deal better about it all so thanks again Bongo.

Thanks for the swift and most excellent response. I didn't realise that black would create invisible in sl in this way, always thought it had to be actually transparent for it to work. Also now very tickled with the idea of trying various shades fo grey to vary texture transparency. I use PS 3 [i know, but i never needed better yet] - should maybe grab gimp also. Been doing PNG's as JPGs save out as white where transparent should be. I'm gathering from what you say that in whichever image editing program, one must draw black areas over the relevant SL avatar UV space in order to make invisible parts, grey [eg, 0.5] would show a semi transparent area of the texture on the model and white would reveal it completely. One thing is confusing me though, when the texture is uploaded into SL as you say - where does one locate the alpha blending/alpha masking options you mention ? Please forgive this nooby question, but the more i squeeze in new knowledge about making mesh stuff, the more i forget how to navigate SL ! Once again, thankyou i look forward to experimenting ! Bongo.

Hey folks :) I'm toying with the idea of making some hair - All the slulpting/rigging and weighting bit's I can think through fine.. It's just the effect of see through bits i notice when i scrutinise the classier products on the market. i'm imagining it must be one of two things or a bit of both. It might be that the bangs [or major forms of hair] have slightly larger replica's which envelope the smaller bang of the same shape, but with the normals reversed on the larger so that the effect is of seeing through it, but seeing glimpses of it from certain angles. The smaller bang being always visible. This gives that liveliness to the hair perhaps. Or is it some sort of alpha cleverness i wonder...? i see sections of hair whick look clear, but the painted lines of the hair texture are still about 50% or so transparent on those forms - thus creating the effect of liveliness to the hair .. I understand how to do the first, but not so much the second, alpha method - i know how to make alphas for SL avatar at basic level, but cannot translate that to clear bangs of mesh hair with 50% transparency with regards to texture/opacity. I hope someone can understand my meaning and perhaps point me in right direction before i begin experimenting with mesh hair :)) Bongo.

Thanks for the info guys. Yes I have a collection of images of my work, which as you kind ones are suggesting I am about to put together on flickr - something ive not used yet. Also this weekend going to get myself established with an MarketPlace [hope its not a big headache] and begin to get myself in a position to be able to fire links about which will clearly demonstrate my style/quality. Thanks for the seraphim links and so on - i'll check that out, by shows i mean events really, gacha events or anything similar where merchants get a place to sell to an audience. All of the info you guys have provided is greatly appreciated Bongo.