Where to start with hair creation?

[Nyfix]

Hi!

I know about general workflows for hair creation for 3D in general, but when it comes to importing it into SL I am completely lost.

When I've tried to import it, my hair was miniscule compared to the avatar and I am not sure how to go about fixing this.

I have been desperately trying to find an avatar I could use in 3ds max, but their rigs tend to be messed up. It's incredibly frustrating to find any kind of information about anything regarding SL since a lot of the results are dated at somewhere like.. 2012? 2013? Sure, I've found a bunch for the more resent years but they're not really what I'm looking for.

 

My questions are:

Where can I download a basic avatar with a rig so I can model the hair and rig it properly? ( I use 3ds max. I've started learning blender but I don't really like it. I'd like to find something that is compatible with 3ds max.)

Where can I find more comprehensive and up to date information about hair in general? Again, I can't find anything concrete and it's frustrating to see the same stuff over and over again.

Are there any settings I should be aware of when importing/exporting objects?

 

I am at the end of my hopes right now. I've been searching for information a lot on my own but I feel like I'm chasing my own tail.

 

[Sean Heavy]

You can download RuthTooRC3, which is an open source fully rigged mesh body. It is in Blender format, but you should be able to export it as an OBJ to import into 3ds max, or use one of the plugins available for that purpose. (I don't have 3ds max and don't know all the details, but a search resulted in several hits that looked like it is doable.)
https://github.com/ocsean/RuthToo/blob/master/BlenderSource/RuthToo_RC3_DevKit.blend  (Full RuthTooRC3 rigged mesh body DevKit.)
There are other files associated with this available here:
https://github.com/ocsean/RuthToo
There is also a male version if needed here:
https://github.com/ocsean/RothToo

Whenever I try to create things, like hair or clothes, I usually start with one of these models. It usually works fairly well for generic hair, hats or jewelry, but clothes would be specific to RuthToo/RothToo. This is also the appropriate size for (more or less) normal human bodies in SL.

[MaxMare]

Us, Max users are completely overlooked when it comes to dev kits, information or anything.... I do my rigging in blender even tho I make everything in Max...

First thing you should do,  if you haven`t already is to switch to metric units so you can match things better with SL...

Transferring from Max to Blender is a big problem tho cause sizing, latest 2.8 blender is a huge improvement just make sure to set it to metric as well...Older versions don`t transfer as well even with units set properly...

Try with a shorter style or a bun, those styles do not need to be rigged, (adding a re-size script will suffice, those can be bought with full permission for builders/creators on MP) so you can focus on how SL works

Another important thing for Max users is setting up materials/faces, system has a weird way of reading names, so before exporting your mesh, determine faces of your mesh as you want and apply a material to it (or multi sub for objects with more then one face, only diffuse!!) name of that material in material editor can only use simple letters and no special signs, underscore is ok, but best to keep it one word..if you keep the usual Material# naming, system won`t read your UVs properly..btw max number of faces per mesh in SL is 8...

Export as AutodeskCOLLADA, for SL upload.

If you are working with unrigged mesh then you want your mesh to have strong LOD settings, especially for hair (so it doesn`t start disintegrating when someone zooms out) if it`s rigged, you can completely scrap all LODs except high...physic shape is also not important for avatar attachments like hair, clothes etc, you can use a simple cube or none at all...

There are a few groups in world for 3ds max users, it would be a good idea to join, you can always ask anything in the group chat, most times there is someone who can offer advice, suggestion etc...

I don`t know where to get the basic rig since I only use dev kits for mesh bodies (those come without a head so you still need a base if you do hair)...alternatively you can buy avastar or mayastar, those are plug ins for blender and maya with base avatar already added, it`s a great rigging tool and would save you a lot of time! Speaking of dev kits, you will have to apply for those for every mesh body and mesh head brand...some are easy to come by and some not so much. Don`t worry a lot about mesh heads tho, just make sure to test your hairstyles in world with some of more prominent brands, at times you might have to adapt your hairstyles for particular brand, depending on the style...Most worn/popular are Catwa, LeLutka, Genus...For dev kits (base head model and rig for those brands), best to check their web sites and fill applications if provided ofc..

Hope this helps! 

[Kyrah Abattoir]

Well lets see.

How would you rate your skills when it comes to general low-poly modeling and texturing?

[OptimoMaximo]

14 hours ago, MaxMare said:

Transferring from Max to Blender is a big problem tho cause sizing, latest 2.8 blender is a huge improvement just make sure to set it to metric as well...Older versions don`t transfer as well even with units set properly.

Because Max, AFAIK, uses two sets of metric, one is for the scene, and the other is internal, always set to inches. Blender importer now takes that into account when the profile in the fbx is set to 3dsmax. I don't know the details, but you should look up about the internal linear unit and change that to metric as well. 

On 9/13/2019 at 6:49 PM, Nyfix said:

Are there any settings I should be aware of when importing/exporting objects?

The one above, additionally for import, you should be aware that the skeleton file is in Maya default linear unit, centimeters, because SL actually doesn't use any metric system, rather a set of arbitrary units. So whatever measurement unit you're using does not matter really, as long as each joint position returns the appropriate numbers. The problem is that 3d apps use scale conventions based off linear measurements. So, assuming that you're using meters in Max for both grid and internal units, importing an fbx from the sl wiki will get you a tiny avatar, but that's what you want to work on. You can then parent the skeleton to a group or a dummy and scale it up by 100 to get it meters sized, while maintaining the local position data untouched. 

However, since this might be a bit annoying, i suggest to contact @polysail who has made a 3dsmax plugin similar to what Mayastar and avastar do in Maya and Blender respectively. 

Edited September 15, 2019 by OptimoMaximo

[MaxMare]

"Metric system" does not mean using meters..centimeter is also a metric unit which is what I use as my base unit....Metric has always been a standard in 3d modeling

And yes ofc any unit used correctly will work, I mean that`s basic math. However, any unit will behave the same when transferred between 3ds max and Blender cause Blender has their own internal units...I did follow instructions from Blender official site and did a lot of research and testing but results were not satisfactory when working with Avastar ..I am talking about versions prior 2.8, cause Avastar did not yet offer corresponding update

btw I was not aware of any Max plugins of that sort, thank you for sharing that information!

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by MaxMare

[OptimoMaximo]

1 hour ago, MaxMare said:

"Metric system" does not mean using meters..centimeter is also a metric unit which is what I use as my base unit....Metric has always been a standard in 3d modeling

Metric system means a system based on meters as principal unit, indeed a centimeter is a submultiple of a meter (1/100th), but your next statement (metrics being a 3d modeling standard) is not entirely correct. I looked it up for you

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/3DSMax/files/GUID-69E92759-6CD9-4663-B993-635D081853D2-htm.html

there is a difference, in Max, between scene units and system units. If you follow the directions on that page i linked above, you'll find out that Max uses inches as System units regardless of your meter based scene. Which is most likely why 

1 hour ago, MaxMare said:

.I did follow instructions from Blender official site and did a lot of research and testing but results were not satisfactory

 

1 hour ago, MaxMare said:

btw I was not aware of any Max plugins of that sort, thank you for sharing that information!

No problem