|
|
Renderotica
»
Creative & Technical Forums
»
Graphics 3D/2D
»
Creating a charachter from a photo and a question about modeling
Rank: Member
Joined: 7/5/2020(UTC)
Posts: 7
Thanks: 2 times
|
1, One of the things I've been having trouble with is using Daz's Face Transfer tool to re- create a real life person in Daz. Everything I've read about Face Transfer and FaceGen is usually the same; The photos should be high quality with a neutral face. That's all well and good, but let's face it, most of the time the photos we get from the net are one off with poor lighting and with facial expressions like a smile. I've tried finding tutorials on using a photo with out using those tools but I haven't had any luck. Have any of you had any luck using those tools on poorer quality photos? If not, any suggestions on how I could use the photo to make the face and body using Daz's sliders? I have some of Zev0's tools that I think would do this, but I'm not sure how to approach it.
2. The other question I had was about modeling. I'm currently working on a whipping frame that I'm modeling from scratch in Blender; I figured it would be a relatively simple project to help me learn Blender, and make a much needed prop for a scene I want to create in Daz. I would like to have ropes or chain cuffs of some type move on the frame to pull the model's arms overhead. How would I go about this? Do I need to make a mechanical assembly like I would in CAD, or is there a simpler way to achieve this? I would like to do an animation with this eventually.
Sorry for all the random questions guys, but with Google searches failing me, I had to go somewhere I could ask directly. Thanks again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 1/16/2016(UTC)
Posts: 332
Thanks: 15 times
Was thanked: 122 time(s) in 77 post(s)
|
1.) None of them get you really close, there's various other ones on Daz, but none of them really work. Part of the issue is they really aren't modelling the face they you or I would in Zbrush, and they mainly rely on the transferred image as a texture. Or another way to look at is is "Do any of the promo images looks remotely like the photo?" If the promo images are bad, don't imagine somehow you're going to do better. Now, what I will say is handy about them is using the mapped image of the face to help make textures. Things like moles and blemishes and darker circles around the eyes will carry over, and you can blend that down into existing textures to make something closer to the photo you're basing it off of. But no, sadly there is no shortcut. Or if there is, I haven't found it yet.
2.) For this you'll need to do weight mapping and rigging in Daz itself. I would recommend you use youtube to look for video tutorials on weight mapping and rigging for Daz.
|
 2 users thanked SnarltheWerewolf for this useful post.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 12/14/2017(UTC)
Posts: 73
Thanks: 2 times
Was thanked: 9 time(s) in 9 post(s)
|
Originally Posted by: JJ3 
1, One of the things I've been having trouble with is using Daz's Face Transfer tool to re- create a real life person in Daz. Everything I've read about Face Transfer and FaceGen is usually the same; The photos should be high quality with a neutral face. That's all well and good, but let's face it, most of the time the photos we get from the net are one off with poor lighting and with facial expressions like a smile. I've tried finding tutorials on using a photo with out using those tools but I haven't had any luck. Have any of you had any luck using those tools on poorer quality photos? If not, any suggestions on how I could use the photo to make the face and body using Daz's sliders? I have some of Zev0's tools that I think would do this, but I'm not sure how to approach it.
2. The other question I had was about modeling. I'm currently working on a whipping frame that I'm modeling from scratch in Blender; I figured it would be a relatively simple project to help me learn Blender, and make a much needed prop for a scene I want to create in Daz. I would like to have ropes or chain cuffs of some type move on the frame to pull the model's arms overhead. How would I go about this? Do I need to make a mechanical assembly like I would in CAD, or is there a simpler way to achieve this? I would like to do an animation with this eventually.
Sorry for all the random questions guys, but with Google searches failing me, I had to go somewhere I could ask directly. Thanks again.
I was also interested in trying the Face Transfer tool to see how it worked, but had little luck with the Mac version. I happen to be a professional photographer and have thousands of high quality, high res model released photos of models in my files. I wouldn't mind giving you a few to work with at no cost to see what can be done that program. Drop me a line via email if you'd like to discuss: [email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 2/7/2019(UTC)
Posts: 192
Thanks: 102 times
Was thanked: 102 time(s) in 82 post(s)
|
For FaceGen, and probably any other tool that does the same thing, you are going to need good quality portrait and profile shots with neutral expression, even lighting and ideally no hair but even then results won't be 100% As a test I tried to recreate one of my old favourite Victoria 1 characters because I could create perfect portrait and profile images from her. I tried various methods including from mesh and a couple of iterations and got quite varied results. I also got varied results when applied to different figure types - G1, G2, G3, G8. I sort of averaged out the multiple face dials FG had created and with a few tweaks of the standard morphs I got something I was pleased with, but a likeness not an exact recreation. The best approach as far as I know if you want to recreate an exact copy including facial expressions etc is to become proficient in Blender and the art of importing to DS. There are loads of Blender tutorials on line and for the DS stuff search for creating custom characters for DAZ Studio in Blender, there are some tutorials on the subject available from DAZ. I do like Snarl's suggestion on the use of FG to capture skin images though, but again you would need a good quality image and a bit of work in a decent 2D image editor. I'm just here by mistake, for a friend, for science... anyway you can't prove nuffin'.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 11/5/2017(UTC)
Posts: 236
Thanks: 51 times
Was thanked: 142 time(s) in 112 post(s)
|
Face transfer is mainly for texturing (coloring) the face.
The handful of times I've used it, I've found dialing the head and face shape as best as possible first increases the likeliness to source. I think Rarestones face morphs are best for finer details.
FT works best with neutral expressions because often if photo's model is smiling it will print teeth to the lips, and eyes can sometimes print to figures eyelids or more often eyelids to eyes.
The teeth on lips is easy fix by simply ignoring the maps for lips from FT and use the set from Daz base or other figure character. If needing high detail likeliness with more skill and effort (and good source images) you can set your source's lips on the lip maps in a photo editor (ie: Gimp, Affinity Photo, or Adobe Photoshop).
The Eyes seem to screw up most the time in FT (or did when I applied to G8F) and were improved by turning off shared glossy in the eye maps (pupil, iris, scelara) moisture, or tear maps I don't remember which one had the weird double reflection. I use Chevybabe25's Natural Eyes *(II for G8.1) which overwrites FTs mats and reflect light from in DS better than photos prebaked reflections. *This is also commonly a problem with skin when source photos have harsh lighting with intense highlights and dark shadows. Again source editing can improve results.
I dont know if you want to go down the rabbit hole of deepfake technology but there are possiblities of extracting and manipulating expressions from that as well.
As to modeling in Blender if you're coming from mechanical cad I've heard Blender as being more of a modifier procederal workflow when compared. BlenderGuru's Doughnut series on Youtube is the best 101 for starting Blender modeling (and general intro to 3d overall). I think 3.8 is his most recent.
For a chain you wouldn't need to model but a link or two then modify as an array, set as a collection along a moveable curve, or bone rig as needed for your animations.
Lots of Blender tuts and how to's on Youtube. Edited by moderator Sunday, September 25, 2022 12:16:12 PM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
|
1 user thanked TheBitterGent for this useful post.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Newbie
Joined: 9/25/2022(UTC)
Posts: 1
Thanks: 2 times
|
Originally Posted by: TheBitterGent
Face transfer is mainly for texturing (coloring) the face.
The handful of times I've used it, I've found dialing the head and face shape as best as possible first increases the likeliness to source. I think Rarestones face morphs are best for finer details.
FT works best with neutral expressions because often if photo's model is smiling it will print teeth to the lips, and eyes can sometimes print to figures eyelids or more often eyelids to eyes.
The teeth on lips is easy fix by simply ignoring the maps for lips from FT and use the set from Daz base or other figure character. If needing high detail likeliness with more skill and effort (and good source images) you can set your source's lips on the lip maps in a photo editor (ie: Gimp, Affinity Photo, or Adobe Photoshop).
The Eyes seem to screw up most the time in FT (or did when I applied to G8F) and were improved by turning off shared glossy in the eye maps (pupil, iris, scelara) moisture, or tear maps I don't remember which one had the weird double reflection. I use Chevybabe25's Natural Eyes *(II for G8.1) which overwrites FTs mats and reflect light from in DS better than photos prebaked reflections. *This is also commonly a problem with skin when source photos have harsh lighting with intense highlights and dark shadows. Again source editing can improve results.
I dont know if you want to go down the rabbit hole of deepfake technology but there are possiblities of extracting and manipulating expressions from that as well.
As to modeling in Blender if you're coming from mechanical cad I've heard Blender as being more of a modifier procederal workflow when compared. BlenderGuru's Doughnut series on Youtube is the best 101 for starting Blender modeling (and general intro to 3d overall). I think 3.8 is his most recent.
For a chain you wouldn't need to model but a link or two then modify as an array, set as a collection along a moveable curve, or bone rig as needed for your animations.
Lots of Blender tuts and how to's on Youtube.
Thanks for the info. I don't want to use deepfake tech. Is there a way to use the existing photo and dial the Genesis character to it, like if you were modeling it from scratch in Blender? Making the morph fit the background image.
When you say "The sliders are just like a character customization in a video game the more morphs (sliders) you unlock the more options you have to tweak.", do you mean the more assets I purchase from the daz store the more morph options I'll have? Edited by moderator Sunday, September 25, 2022 12:16:29 PM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 1/16/2016(UTC)
Posts: 332
Thanks: 15 times
Was thanked: 122 time(s) in 77 post(s)
|
Correct, they mean the morph dials. They can help, but more than likely you will need to use a program like Zbrush or Zbrush Core (if you're just making morphs for Daz, Zbrush Core is fine and way cheaper/easier to use than full Zbrush. I own both, but continue to use Core because I can jump right in and make morphs instead of jumping through all these hoops like with full Zbrush).
I just spent most of this year working on making a realistic Daz model based off of a real person. There is one thing people never mention when making figures based off of real people, it's more than just a base static pose. What I mean is that things like how the person blinks, the movement of their eyebrows, how they smile, etc. will all require you making jcm's so it matches the real person's expressions. Otherwise, the second you start to pose them, the illusion is broken and it just looks wrong.
It's definitely a fun challenge, but it was definitely a lot more work than I thought it would be :|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Renderotica
»
Creative & Technical Forums
»
Graphics 3D/2D
»
Creating a charachter from a photo and a question about modeling
Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.
|