If I export my avatar, how can I directly make that a rigged mesh?

[Sara Nova]

I exported my avatar as a .obj using a tutorial I found online. Is there any way I can rig that automatically without having to mess with weight painting?

Barring that, is there anyone who, if I email you a .obj, you could rig it for me and send me the .blend file, either for a favor or for a small fee?

Thanks.

[Chosen Few]

---

MyAlt4099 wrote:

I exported my avatar as a .obj using a tutorial I found online. Is there any way I can rig that automatically without having to mess with weight painting?

---

Grab the standard sizing kit from the marketplace.  Among other things, it will include the default avatar, fully rigged, in FBX format.  Copy weights from that to the avatar model from your OBJ, and you should be good to go.

Of course, any time you copy weights, you might need to do a little ceanup work by hand afterward, so do keep that in mind.  Depending on what software you're using, which particular copy method you use, and the geometry and UV layouts of the models, copies can't and won't always be perfect.  A little bit of repainting here and there will very often be necessary.

With that in mind, if your goal in asking the question was to avoid learning basic begginner level rigging techniques, such as weight painting, you were barking up the wrong tree.  There's no way to get around the fundamentals.  You might as well be trying to bake a cake without first learning how to use a measuring cup.  It's that crucial.

As with so many things in the digital arts (and in life in general), one must either be willing to make the commitment to spend a few very short weeks learning the fundamental basics, or else just decide not to try to get into it all.  There can be no in-between in this.  You either do it, or you don't.

If, on the other hand, you already know the basics, and you were merely asking for a tip on speeding things up a little, great.  You, of course, can disregard the previous two paragraphs, and consider it advice aimed at anyone else reading who might have been thinking there could be any such thing as shortcuts in this stuff.  We both know there are not.

 

 

---

MyAlt4099 wrote:

Barring that, is there anyone who, if I email you a .obj, you could rig it for me and send me the .blend file, either for a favor or for a small fee?

---

This is the wrong forum for that.  If you're looking to hire someone, head on over to Wanted or Inworld Employment.  That's what they're there for. 

The Creation forums here are strictly for education.  So, if you do want help learning the how-to's, then by all means, ask here.

 

 

[Chic Aeon]

Just wanted to say I got a big smile out of your reply

After two and a half weeks I finally (FINALLY) finished a Gothic house today. Most went well but of course at the very end I had some very very odd  texture issues. Checked the long list of "this could be the problem" things only to find out (down the line)  that I needed to make the hex nuts smooth for some reason so that they wouldn't pick up odd lighting. Perfect in some Windlight settings, mismatched in others. Not the viewer and not materials. Still  a puzzle.

Have NO idea why turning them smooth solved the issue but I was SO READY to be done!

This is not easy stuff. Those of you who do it daily and some for hefty pay (hopefully) make it seem like it can be -- and I do have to admit that I had very FEW problems this time out - LOL. So making some progress after nine months. Whew!

Smarter about materials and proud of my topology *wink*.

Taking a break before I start another big project. That's for sure! 

[Sara Nova]

Thank you. A few more questions:

1. How do I copy the weights in Blender?
2. Does Blender import FBX by default? If not, where can I find a plugin for it?

Actually, just starting with the standard sizing mesh (i.e. not my exported avatar mesh) gave me the effect I wanted. In case anyone was curious, all I did was move the vertices along their normals to make it appear a bit thicker, and flip the normals on the faces to make it inside-out. Then it gives my avatar a nice outline. (Had to remove it from the head though, or it made my face look really ugly.)

Thanks again!

[Nalates Urriah]

Previously only Phoenix 1185 exported OBJ files of the avatar. But, now, and I can't remember which, Cool VL Viewer or Singularity has the feature. Firestorm is promising to add it when they get caught up.

But, there is a gotcha in how OBJ is exported from SL and Blender import handles the mesh.

The short version of the gotcha is that the avatar height information is lost and the default avatar bone sizes are used for Blender. The long explanation is here: Second Life Shape Export. That includes the work-around methods to get the Blender model sized the same as the model in SL.

----------

In answer to your question, there is a Weight Copy feature in Blender. You can use it to transfer weighting from a 'weighted' model to your newly imported OBJ model. This is about the simplest way to accomplish what you seem to want.

There are a number of Blender files available that already have a weighted default avatar that can be used as a source for weight values. Those files are linked to and explained in: Second Life Mesh Clothes Blender 2.6 Setup 2012 Tutorial. That tutorial also explains how to transfer the weights.

----------

There is no simple way to work with 3D models. Additionally, there are a number of things about SL that I will call non-standard modeling practices. To get things to work, there is a considerable amount one has to understand and be aware of. 

To get just the information needed to accomplish your task can be frustrating. But, it is possible. However, I suggest you learn as much as you can along the way.