Poser Integration
From ShadeCamp
Shade and Poser complement each other in a both fascinating and efficient way. For detailed information about Poser, please refer to http://www.e-frontier.com/go/products/poser
Contents |
PoserFusion
The PoserFusion feature allows you to host Poser files directly within Shade 9. Unlike import/export functions that translate data from one format to another, PoserFusion serves as a liaison between Shade and the Poser files, actually opening Poser files and accessing their contents directly in Shade. This allows you the option of using Poser for figure creation, posing and animation, and then combining Poser files with Shade’s powerful modeling, rendering, and animation capabilities. For example, an architect could design a shopping mall in Shade and open Poser files of people walking through the stores, sitting on benches, and so forth.
Why File Hosting?
Modeling articulated pose-able figures is a difficult and time-consuming task, especially if one wants to include more than one figure in a scene and have them each look like individuals. Enter Poser. Poser allows you to load one of numerous ready-made figures and select from a wide variety of clothing and preset poses, enabling you to get high-quality results in a short amount of time. Here are just a few examples of how using Poser within a powerful rendering, effects, and deforming application such as Shade can benefit you:
• A product designer is working on a new line of office furniture. Adding Poser figures can help with the process, helping to ensure that both the style and ergonomics function as expected.
• A hobbyist is modeling a spacecraft and wants to include a pilot sitting at the controls. Add a Poser figure with a few props, and the pilot is there, ready for the next mission. And, like the designer, the hobbyist can ensure that the cockpit is realistically laid out.
• A film studio is creating an animated movie using Shade to model and render the scene. PoserFusion allows them to add key-framed Poser animations, which they can re-map to seamlessly integrate into the final production, thereby combining Poser’s ease of use and Shade’s powerful rendering engine to create professional results. You can also use Shade 9 with Poser as follows:
1. Create a geometric object using Shade.
2. Import the geometric object into Poser and convert it into a figure using the Setup Room (described in the Poser user documentation).
3. Save your new figure to either *.pz3 or the compressed *.pzz format
4. Launch Shade and open your new Poser figure within it.
You can also export Poser figures as OBJ files, allowing you to (for example) create morph targets, create UV data, or modify material groups. Using Poser with Shade is a fast and effective means of adding high-quality residents to your 3D worlds.
NOTE: Poser now supports many popular file formats for both texture and bumps! The Poser bump map (*.bum) format is unique to Poser and will not transfer to Shade. To get around this issue, simply use the original image file used as the source for the Poser *.bum file.
Hosting Poser Files in Shade
Poser files hosted within Shade retain all of their data including the geometries of the figures and props, materials, and keyframe data. Shade treats hosted Poser figures/props as Shade object primitives, and allows you to manipulate them within Shade as you would any other primitive. For certain tasks, however, you may need to open the Poser file within Poser itself. For example, if you want to articulate the figure directly or change body part keyframe values, you will need to do this in Poser, save your changes, and reload the figure into Shade.
NOTE: Poser supports saving compressed *.pz3 files, which have the extension *.pzz. For clarity, this chapter uses the term ‘Poser file’ to describe either file format. To select a Poser file to open and host it within Shade:
1. Select the View Menu PoserFusion option from within Shade 9. This will open the PoserFusion dialog window.
2. Click the Poser button and specify the location of your Poser application. NOTE: Poser figure hosting is compatible with Poser 5, Poser 6 and Poser 7. Hosting Poser files requires that Poser be installed on your computer.
3. Click the Open... button, and browse to the location of the Poser (.pz3 or .pzz) file you wish to open. When you open this file, a new native Shade object will be created using the figure(s) within the Poser file. If the Poser file contains animation data, the object will be positioned within Shade at frame zero of the animation. If you open the same Poser file multiple times, a new instance (linked object) of the same file will be created.
PoserFusion Options
The PoserFusion dialog window contains the following options and functions:
• The Use Integer Frame Numbers checkbox allows you to use either integer frame numbers or floatingpoint frame numbers during the animation.
NOTE: When using dynamic cloth simulation from Poser during the animation, you need to select integer frame numbers.
• The Update button will update the selected object and all its linked objects to the current status from the Poser object source file. If the link to the Poser object file is broken, the Update button will allow you to reselect the file.
• The Preserve Poser Normals checkbox allows you to use either the normal settings from Poser, or the automatic normal settings from Shade
NOTE: Shade treats each individual material group of a Poser figure as a separate object. Therefore, in order to preserve smooth shading across the body part boundaries when rendering the Poser figure in Shade, make sure that the Preserve Poser Normals checkbox is checked.
Display Bounding Box
Poser figures loaded in Shade with PoserFusion can now be displayed using the Bounding Box view. This significantly reduces the load on system resources, resulting in a faster workflow.
Left: Wireframe View. Right: Bounding Box View.
To display Poser figures in Bounding Box mode, check Display Bounding Box in the PoserFusion window.
The display can be changed back to full tracking mode at any time.
Note: There may be a delay when switching between display modes on some machines.
When Display Bounding Box is on, the individual parts of the Poser figure or object cannot be selected in the Browser. To select individual parts, turn off Display Bounding Box.
PoserFusion Supported Features
These are the features supported by PoserFusion at a glance:
• Hosting of .pz3 and .pzz Poser File formats.
• Creation of one Polygon Mesh Object for Each Poser Material Group.
• Texture Mapping (transparency, bump, reflection and diffuse) and UV Settings
• Native Animation Playback Within Shade.
• Dynamic Cloth Simulation Playback.
• Transparency Mapped Hair Rendering.
• Hosting of Multiple Poser Objects.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility.
• Update from Poser File Option.
NOTE: Dynamic Hair Simulation playback is not compatible with PoserFusion.
5. When the OBJ Export Options dialog window appears, select any desired properties: |
