Documentation Center artzone:pub:software:dform

Anatomy of a D-Former

2011-11-01T17:41:56+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Anatomy of a D-Former

There are three elements to a D-Former: Base, Handle, and Field. The figure below shows how the assembly appears in the Viewport (minus the labels, of course.)

The figure below shows how the assembly appears in hierarchical order within the Scene tab (in this case parented to the head of a figure.)

The D-Former Base

The Base looks like a flat, circular disk. It loads into the scene directly beneath the D-Former Handle. The Base defines the baseline point from which mesh deformation occurs when you move the D-Former. Move the Base to where you want the center of the deformation to occur.

The D-Former Handle

The Handle looks just like a toy top with a long spindle. It rests on the Base when first loaded into a scene, and is listed as child to the Base in the Scene Tab.

The handle helps DAZ Studio determine how much deformation you want. The further from the Base that you move the Handle, the more deformation will occur.

To pull the mesh, pull the Handle away from the Base.
To shove the mesh off to one side or the other, move the translation sliders of the Handle off to one side.
To push the mesh, push the handle down through the base.
To twist the mesh, twist the handle along a rotational axis.
To squeeze or stretch mesh, use the scale sliders.
To restore the mesh to its original positions and sizes, set the handle’s translation and rotational settings to 0.00 on all three axes, and all scaling to 100%.

The D-Former Field

The Field appears as a wireframe sphere that surrounds the Base and Handle. The Field determines the size of the area that deforms when you manipulate the Handle. When you create the D-Former, the Field tries to encompass the entire node to which the D-Former is applied. You will likely have to position and shape the field to taste before you manipulate the D-Former.

The strength and amount of ’r;pull’ that a D-Former exerts within this field falls off from the center, with the weakest point being on the edges (by default.) For more information on how to edit this, please refer to the D-Form Spline Editor reference later on in this chapter.

TIP! If the vertex colors are hard to see, or if you want to display different colors to show the amount of strength, select the D-Former in the Scene Tab. Then open the Display group in the Parameters Tab. You will see options to change the minimum and maximum strength colors, and a slider to change the Point Size. Move the slider toward the right to increase the vertex size. You can also use the Display Weights button to turn off the vertex display.

The figure below shows how the D-Former assembly looks in the Viewport when any D-Former element is selected in the Scene Tab. The figure's head is colored black for clarity.

When you select any D-Former element in the Scene Tab, you will see which vertices it effects on the mesh, as the colored vertices stop at the edge of the field. The vertex colors indicate the amount of affect that the D-Former affects the vertices:

Yellow vertices are where the field is weakest.
Red indicates where it is the strongest.

You can use the Parameters tab to move, size, and shape all three D-Former elements to taste (especially the field).

TIP! When a D-Former loads, the deformer and its base appear in the exact center of the node that you are applying the deformer to. This can result in the deformer and base being hidden from view. Move the Base (the Handle moves with it) out and away from the node so that you can see and manipulate the D-Former without deforming the object. You only deform the parts of the mesh when you move the Field.

D-Form Tab Options

2011-11-01T17:41:56+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

D-Form Tab Options

The D-Form Tool has its own tab shown below. To open the tab, choose View > Tabs > D-Form.

There are no tab options, so that particular button is grayed-out. The tab can be docked or left floating, as you desire. The buttons that appear in this tab are as follows.

Create New…: This will create a new D-Former tool that will affect all nodes selected in the Scene. Select one or more nodes, and clicking this button will present the dialog shown below, where you are asked to give the new D-Former a name. Give the new D-Former a name, and click OK. If you do not wish to create a new D-former, simply click Cancel and you will be returned to the D-Form Tab.

TIP! You should always try to assign a unique name to each new D-Former, especially if you plan to use more than one. If you do not assign a name, DAZ Studio creates a default name that is followed by a number (D-Former_1, D-Former_2, and so on) in the order in which the deformers are created. If you name them yourself, you can keep track of them more easily and determine at a glance how your deformers affect the mesh. For example, it is easier to determine what a deformer named “bulge_head_upwards” is supposed to do.

Add Node(s): If you want to add one or more nodes to an already existing D-Former, simply select the nodes you wish to add, then click this button. You will be asked which D-Former you want the nodes added to. Select the D-Former you wish to add the nodes to, click Accept, and the effects of the D-Former will be applied to the added nodes, if the D-Former (and its field) are large and strong enough to encompass those nodes.
Remove Node(s): If you want a D-Former’s effects removed from one or more nodes, select those nodes in the Scene and then select this button. You will be asked which D-Former you wish removed from the selected nodes (even if there is only one D-Former, in which case only one will be displayed.) The effects of the D-Former will then be removed from those nodes. If there are no nodes left for the D-Former to effect, it will remain parented to the node it is currently parented to, but will not affect it whatsoever. Note that this will not delete the D-Former itself - you’ll have to do that manually.
Remove All From Node(s): This option allows you to remove all D-Former effects from one or more selected nodes. Select which nodes you want to clear, then select this option to clear all D-Former effects from the selected node(s). Note that this will not delete the D-Formers.
Edit Spline… : This opens the D-Form Spline Editor for the selected D-Former Field. Select a D-Former Field you wish to edit, and select this option. Full details on how to use the Spline Editor are explored in the next part of this chapter.
Spawn Morph… : Once you are done deforming the node(s) with one or more D-Formers, this option will create a Morph in the selected node(s)’ mesh, which will then be listed in the Parameters Tab for each node selected. At this point the D-Formers are no longer necessary to create these deformations in the node(s)’ mesh, and can be deleted or removed from the node(s). Be sure to save the figure (preferably under a new name from the one you loaded) if you want to keep the new morph permanently.
Create Root Control Parameter: This option allows you to save the D-Former effects as a Morph for the entire figure, instead of one or more nodes. The resulting Morph will appear as a slider in the Parameters tab when the root node of the figure is selected. Select this option if you want your work to be saved as an overall Morph for the figure’s entire mesh.

The D-Form Spline Editor

2011-11-01T17:41:56+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

The D-Form Spline Editor

The D-Former by default will apply it’s strongest ’r;pull’ at the center of the D-Former’s Field, fading off gradually towards the edges of the field, wherever the mesh lies within that field. However, you can alter that behavior, and how much strength is applied to all points of the mesh from the center of the field outward. This is done by clicking on the Edit Spline… option within the D-Form tab.

Before we detail how to work within the Spline Editor, a bit of concept will familiarize you with what a spline is and how it works. If you are already familiar with splines, you can safely skip the next part and get to the inner workings of the editor itself. For those who are not familiar with splines, the sections that follow will likely be of use to you.

What is a Spline?

The strength of the field will always reach outwards from the center in a 360° consistent radius, in all directions. In order to represent this radius of force from the center, the D-Form Spline Editor presents us with a Spline, which in 3D terms is a single-line intersection of given points in space, which in our case is from the center of the field to the outer edge. In the editor above, the spline is shown as a blue line on a graph. The left-hand side of that spline represents the center of the field, while the right-hand side of the spline represents the outer edge of the field.

Out from the Center

Think of each point along this spline as a spot sitting at a given distance from the center of the field in all directions… sort of like a shell inside the field that is shaped just like the field, only smaller, as shown below.

The center of the three spheres (blue) is the center of the field, or the point represented by the left-most end of the spline (as shown in the graph.) The outer sphere (in red) is the field’s edge, or the point represented by the right-most end of the spline.

The darker sphere in-between them (gray) represents the area affected by the blue dot between the ends, as shown on the graph. As you can see in this example, that blue dot is actually representing a sphere within the field’s edge. It’s size depends on where it is along the spline… the closer to the center that dot is, the smaller the sphere it will represent.

Give it some 'oomph'!

The editor’s graph also shows the relative strength of the field’s ability to “pull” mesh at certain points along its spline, by representing strength with height on the graph.

The top of the graph represents the greatest strength, while the lower edge of the graph represents the weakest. This means that if a point on the spline is at the top of the graph, that area of the field will have the strongest amount of pull.

Working Within the Editor

Let’s take a look at the Spline Editor itself, and see how one goes about editing the D-Former Field’s behavior. To open the Spline Editor, first open the D-Form tab (View > Tabs > D-Form), and then click the Edit Spline button in the D-Form tab.

The D-Former Field drop-down menu allows you to select which D-Former Field effects you want to modify. Click on it to see and select from all of the D-Formers you have loaded in your scene (if you have only one, you get only one choice to pick from, though that one will already be shown by default.)

The three Action modes available to you are there to control what you want to be within the spline itself:

Move: When this mode is selected (default), it allows you to move existing points (dots) on the spline up or down to control the strength along that point of the spline.
Insert: This mode allows you to insert additional points along the spline (which shows up as new dots on the spline. The further to the right along the spline, you insert a point, the further out from the center of the field the effect will be. To insert points along the spline to manipulate, select the Insert option, then insert as many points as you wish along the spline by clicking on the spline where you wish the point to go. Note: Before you move any points along the spline, go back and select the Move option first, or you’ll end up inserting additional points instead.
Delete: This mode allows you to delete any additional points along the spline that you don’t want. Select this option and then click on all the points along the spline that you don’t want.

TIP! Something to keep in mind is that as you delete a point along the spline: The spline will try to compensate for the missing point by re-drawing itself in a smooth curve between the two points that surround the now-missing point.

TIP! Before you manipulate or move any other point, be sure to select the Move checkbox before you do, else you may accidentally delete points along the spline that you didn’t want to.

Undo Last: Clicking this button allows you to fix a mistake when editing the spline. Simply click the button to undo the last thing you did to the spline.
Undo All: Clicking this button resets the entire spline to its default curve. If you become completely lost or turned-around when editing the spline, click this button to get a smooth curve once again. Note that all points along the spline (except the two default points) will also be removed.
Show Grid: Toggles on and off the background grid on the graph. The grid represents no real numerical value, but rather they are relative divisions in space that you can use as a convenient reference. If it gets in your way, use this option to shut the grid off.

The Graph itself is where all the action is. To manipulate it, you simply add points to the spline (or use the two default points supplied) and move them up and down to increase or decrease strength of effect, respectively. Note that you have to add a point to the very spot on the spline where you want the effect to take place - you cannot move points left or right along the spline. The points only move up or down. As you manipulate the spline, keep an eye on the Viewport and look at the colors change on the affected vertices as you change each point. Vertices will turn red as strength increases, or yellow as it decreases along any given vertex. (Move the editor window out of the way if you can’t see the Viewport.)

When you’re done editing the spline, there are the Accept and Cancel buttons. Depending on which button you select, your changes to the spline will be applied to the Field (Accept) and the editor will exit, or ignored and not applied to the field (Cancel), then the editor will exit.

DrawStyle in DAZ Studio 4

2011-11-01T17:41:56+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

DrawStyle in DAZ Studio 4

DAZ Studio can give you a preview of content in the viewport. The viewport is the main window in the center of the UI (User Interface). The active camera is the view you see in the viewport of the scene.

DAZ Studio 4 relies on OpenGL (2.0 or higher) supported by the video card to give a real-time preview of the scene. A real-time preview of the scene is different from a render which takes place in render-time.

The way that the scene, including objects and textures, appear is all handled by OpenGL in real time. You can choose the way models and textures appear in two places in DAZ Studio 4.

DrawStyle Option in the Viewport

The main DrawStyle menu is available just inside of the viewport in the upper right. Click the icon shown below to see the menu in DAZ Studio 4.

By default, DAZ Studio 4 is set to 'Texture Shaded.' This setting gives you a realistic shape of the model and a reasonable preview of the texture on the model. It's possible to change the drawstyle to other settings and you'll see the model and textures change, usually to a simpler form.

DrawStyle in Tool Settings

You can also change the way that a model is previewed when manipulated. For example, when you change the morph on a figure, OpenGL handles showing how the figure looks in real time. You can change this so that it looks realistic or so it appears as blocks for the various parts of the figure. To change this setting (DrawStyle), go to the Tool Settings.

To open the Tool Settings Menu, go to WINDOW –> Tabs –> Tool Settings. Keep in mind that you may not have access to all the options on the Tool Settings Tab if your layout is not set to 'Hollywood Boulevard.'

In the Tool Settings Tab, look down and find the section labeled DrawStyle. Look at the drop-down labeled 'Manipulation.' It is shown in the screen capture below. You can change it to Off, Wireframe Box, or Smooth-Shaded Box. If you do not like the box or smooth-shaded look, change the setting to 'Off.'

D-Form

2011-11-01T17:41:56+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

D-Form

D-Form is a tool that allows the user to distort and modify figures in ways the original object modeler may have never intended. It is also a way to help make fitted figures fit their parent figures better, without the need to open the figure in a modeling program and modify it. It works by taking a user-defined area of the model (in groups of what are called vertices), and distorting them at whatever extents and directions the user wishes.

Some of the ways D-Form can be handy in your artistic endeavors are.

To make clothing and hair fit better on a figure by eliminating ”r;poke-through“
To give a figure a set of horns or other appendages without the need to load and position props
To give a figure a unique personality
To change the state of a figure’s ”r;condition”, such as making a female (or male?) figure appear to be pregnant
To give the illusion of a harder surface pushing into a softer surface (such as a parent’s fingers pinching a baby’s cheeks.)

The possibilities are as boundless and endless as your imagination.

Choose View > Tabs > D-Form to open the D-Form tab.

How D-Form Works

D-Form works by setting up a field of effect on the surface of an object. This field affects the vertices of an object. You can use the spline editor (explained later in this chapter) to adjust the amount of effect that the field exerts on each vertex. You can see the effect of the field before and during manipulation of the D-Former. When you move or scale any element of the D-Former, the vertices in the affected region change position. The change depends on the size and shape of the field, the distance that you move it, and the amount of effect applied on each vertex.

To add a D-Former to an object, select the object that you want to deform, then choose Create > New D-Former.

Click on the links below to learn more about the D-Form tool: