Day 489: NOMI Sculpted Prim Relief Maker

Ever wanted to make those 3D Bas-relief sculptures in Second Life? Or add some 3D effects to a flat picture?

Now you can, using sculpted prims and a program called NOMI.

NOMI is a commercial program from the creator of ROKURO, designed specifically for creating relief sculptures.



For example, you can take a flat picture...

(BTW, this was me at summer camp ;P)



and add some 3D effects. So in this case, I can even add a local light source to create new shadow effects in the painting :)



You can also make mini 3D maps, or some cool sculptures. You can check out the samples here: Hewes (168,130,79).

In this tutorial, I will show you how I added the 3D effects to this painting :)




Getting NOMI

NOMI is a commercial program. You can download a trial of NOMI and get for information here.

The trial version lets you try and work with NOMI for 3 days, but it does not let you actually create the sculpted prims. The full version is L$2980. You can purchase the full version at the NOMI serial box. The SLURL is Hewes (168,130,79).


Preparing the Texture



First, you need a picture. This mermaid painting is by JW Waterhouse, found on Wikipedia.

You should look for a picture where the light areas of the picture should come out, and the dark areas of the picture should be set back.

In this case, the body of the mermaid will come out, while the darker background will be set back.






Open the picture in Photoshop (or you can use your favorite drawing program).

Select "Image" from the top menu bar, select "Adjustments", and "Desaturate". This will turn the picture to black-and-white.

This black-and-white picture will be used to create the sculpted prim. A completely white area will be out all the way. A completely black area will be down all the way. And different shades of gray represents things in between.

Depending on your picture, you may want to play with the contrast. Of course, you can also grab a brush and just paint over an area :)

In this case, I am going to add a little blur to remove the cracks in the painting...



Select "Filter" from the top menu bar, then "Blur", and "Gaussian Blur...". At the Gaussian Blur window, enter "1.0" for Radius and click "OK".













Thats it! Our picture is ready.

Just save the picture, and we are ready to create our sculptie :)














Creating the Sculpted Prim with NOMI



Start the NOMI program.



Select "File" from the top menu bar, and "Load Base Picture...". In the Load Picture window, select the black-and-white picture we created above.



Click on the picture in the left side of the NOMI window and hold it. Now move the mouse until you have a slightly side view of the picture.

Next, adjust the "Relief Height" as needed. You should exaggerate the height a bit here, so you have something to work with once you import it into SL.

When you are ready, just select "File" from the top menu bar, and "Save Sculpted Prim..." option to save the sculpted prim.

We are ready to upload the sculpt map to SL!

BTW, you can also save it as an "OBJ" file, so you can import it into Wings 3D for some Tweaking before you upload the sculpt map into SL :)


Creating the Sculpted Prim



Go ahead and upload the sculpt map you created from NOMI to SL.

Rez a prim on the ground. Edit the prim and go to the Object tab.

Change the "Building Block Type" to "Sculpted".

Click on the square above "Sculpt Texture". At the "Pick:Sculpt Texture" window, select the sculpt map you just uploaded.

You should now have a bumpy wooden board ;P



Next, upload the original picture to SL (the color one).

Edit the prim and go to the Texture tab.

Click on the square above "Texture" and select the original picture you just uploaded.



Rotate the picture as needed.

If you picture is not a square, you will need to stretch one side of the prim to make the picture look right.



Because part of the sculpt map is for the sides and back of the sculptie, we need to adjust the color texture slightly to get a perfect fit.





At the Texture tab, enter the following settings:

   Repeats Per Face Horizontal (U): 1.200
   Repeats Per Face Vertical (V): 1.130

   Offset Horizontal (U): -0.100



Congratulations! You have just created a 3D version of your picture :)

You can adjust how bumpy the picture is by stretching the depth of the prim. So you can decide just how "3D" you like the picture ;P






Detailed Pictures

Sculpted prims are not very detailed. So if you have a very detailed picture, you may need to break down the picture into multiple sculpties.



For example, you can use a sculptie for the mermaid's face, another for her body, etc.

You can break up a picture using the grid in Photoshop. Try to make each section a square, since they are much easier to work with.


Good luck and have fun creating those 3D pictures!

96845-080128-885582-67

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Day 475: Creating Clothes with Photoshop (with new PNG file)

I did an earlier step-by-step tutorial for making clothes with Photoshop using the traditional Alpha Channel and TGA file.

Second Life began to support the newer PNG file last year. PNG files take less space to store. PNG files also do not require a separate Alpha Channel, so they are much easier to work with!

From what I understand, theres no different in quality between PNG and TGA files. So you might as well use PNG if you are new to making clothes in SL :)

The steps are a bit different between creating TGA and PNG files in Photoshop. So this is a similar step-by-step tutorial, written for creating PNG files in Photoshop. The screenshots were taking using Photoshop CS2. Since I only use basic Photoshop features, they should be similar to most versions of Photoshop.



Working with PNG in Photoshop



A PNG file gets the transparency information from various "Opacity" settings in the Photoshop "Layers" palette. So when you create a new texture (File/New...), be sure that you select "Transparent" option for "Background Contents:".

You can adjust the transparency of any part of a texture by setting the "Opacity" below 100%. You can change the Opacity of a Brush, or even an entire layer. You can even create Gradients that go from 100% Opacity to 0% Opacity. (Most Photoshop books will discuss how to adjust Opacity)

When your texture looks good, just select "Save As..." and "PNG". Thats it! You dont need to build a separate Alpha Channel :)



Overview



This is a tutorial on how to create a simple shirt in Photoshop (in PNG) using the SL Avatar UV template from Robin Wood. You can download the templates from here. For this tutorial, you should download the "layered Photoshop (.psd) Files". You only need the "Top (2.4 MB)" file. These are the same template files I use for making clothes in Second Life.

This tutorial will cover how to use the Template to make a shirt, and how to save the shirt as a PNG file for uploading to Second Life.

This tutorial is not intended as an in-depth Photoshop tutorial. There are many many books on Photoshop at the local bookstore, and classes and online tutorials. I do intend to show you step-by-step on how to use Photoshop to make a shirt in Second Life.

So lets get started!



Preparing the Template



From Photoshop top menu bar, select "File", then "Open...". Look for the "SL Avatar Top Layers.psd" file on your computer (make sure you are using the ".psd" file!). Click the "Open" button to open the Template file in Photoshop.









This will open the Template file in a window.

First, let's save a copy of the Template file so we dont accidently overwrite it (I accidently overwrite the template all the time! :P) Select "File" from the top of the window, and "Save as...".

Enter a Name for the new file (something like "Little Black Top") and click on the "Save" button.

OK, now we can play with the file without worrying about messing up the original. :)

By default, the Template file is 1024x1024 pixels. This is great for detail work where you want the highest resolution to align the edges (such as when you are making skins or textures that need to be closely aligned). However, we are just making a simple top for demonstration purposes.

Also, we will be producing a Targa format file (with transparency information). This file will be huge at 1024x1024 pixels. So let's reduce the size to a more manageable 512x512 pixel file.

Click on "Image" from the top menu bar. Select "Image Size...".



This will open the Image Size window. Enter "512" in both the Width and Height textboxes (Height might change automatically when you enter Width). Then click the "OK" button.

This reduces the resolution of the Template from 1024x1024 to 512x512 pixels.

Now we can start drawing.

First things first...I cant see anything :P Lets put a white background so we can at least see the Template.



Go to the Layers, Channels, Paths... palette. Click on the "Create a new layer" button.

(If you dont have the "Layers, Channels, Paths..." palette, click on "Window" on the top menu bar and make sure there is a checkmark next to "Layers".)







Right-click on "Layer 1" and select "Layer Properties...". This will open the Layer Properties window.

Enter "Backdrop" as the Layer Name (I dont want to call it "background" because that layer has a special meaning in Photoshop). Click on the "OK" button.



On the Layers, Channels, Paths... palette, click and hold on the "Backdrop" layer. Drag the layer to the bottom of the stack of layers (below "SubDivided UVs").










Click on the White square in the Color Swatches to select White as the foreground color.







Click on the "Paint Bucket" button on the Tools bar.

Make sure that the "Backdrop" layer is selected (highlighted in blue in the Layers, Channels, Paths palette). Using the Paint Bucket tool, click anywhere in the Template window to fill the Backdrop layer with white.













OK, thats better. Now we are ready to work :) You might want to save a copy of this file as a starting point for your future projects...

The wonderful thing about these graphics programs is the ability to create different layers for different things. Dont be shy about creating new layers! They are there to make things easier. As you can see, the Template came with a number of layers already. We just added a layer as the backdrop to make it easier to see the Template.



Creating the Shirt

We are going to create another layer to draw in our shirt.

On the Layers, Channels, Paths... palette, click on the "Backdrop" layer to select it. Click on the "Create a new layer" button on the bottom.

Right-click on "Layer 1" and select "Layer Properties...". This will open the Layer Properties window.

Enter "Shirt" as the Layer Name. Click on the "OK" button.





Your Layers, Channels, Paths palette should look like this when you are done.

Click on the Shirt layer to select it.

Make sure that the Shirt layer is below the SubDivided UVs layer, but above the Backdrop layer. If not, then click and hold on the Shirt layer, and drag it into place.







From the main Tools palette, select the Lasso tool. (If you dont see the Lasso tool in the palette, Right-click on the second square down from the top and select the Lasso tool.)

















Draw a line all the way around the front side of the shirt (the figure on the left). Be sure you dont include any parts of the arm at the bottom.

Click on the Black square in the Color Swatches to select Black as the foreground color.

From main Tools palette, select the Paint Bucket tool.






With the Paint Bucket tool selected, click in the area you selected around the front side of the shirt. This will fill the selected area with black.












Now repeat the same process with the back side of the shirt (the figure on the right): select the Lasso tool, draw a line around the back side, selec the Paint Bucket tool, and fill the area with black.

Next, we are going to cut out an opening in the front and back sides for the neck. We are going to do this using the Pen/Path tool.






From main Tools palette, select the Pen tool (if you dont see the Pen tool, Right-click on the square [9th square down] and select the Pen).

















There will be a new menu bar that appears at the top. On the left side, there are 3 options (Shape layers, Paths, and Fill pixels). Make sure that the middle button (Paths) is selected.





Using the Pen/Path tool, draw a path around the front side of the shirt (the figure on the left). It may help to zoom in on the neck area.

Simply click at each of these 5 points. Try to get the 3 points on the Green line. Remember to click on the first point again to close the Path.

Remember, you can always Undo your last action by pressing Ctrl-Z in Photoshop.



From main Tools palette, Right-click on the square with the Pen tool, and select "Convert Point Tool" at the bottom.

















Click and hold on the Anchor Point in the middle of the neck. Drag a line towards the right. Move your mouse around until you have a nice-looking neck shape.






Right-click in the Template window (in the drawing window). Select "Make Selection..." from the popup menu. This will open the Make Selection window.

Select the "New Selection" radio button, and click "OK".

This turns the Path we just made into a selection.






Click on the "Edit" menu at the top of the window. Select "Clear".

This will cut a hole in the shirt for the neck :)



Now, do the same thing for the back side of the shirt:

Go to the main Tools palette, select the Pen tool (you need to change the Convert Point tool back to the Pen tool). Click on the 5 points around the neck. Click on the first point to close the Path.

Go to the main Tools palette, select the Convert Point Tool (change from Pen tool to Convert Point tool). Pull the middle Anchor Point to the right.

Right-click in the Template window (in the drawing window). Select "Make Selection..." from the popup menu. This will open the Make Selection window.

Select the "New Selection" radio button, and click "OK".

Click on the "Edit" menu at the top of the window. Select "Clear".



So here is our completed shirt.

You can create additional layers and draw in additional designs. You can do that now or come back later after you finish this tutorial. I would recommend you run through this tutorial first though...



Creating the PNG File

One last thing before we create the PNG file: we need to make the transparent areas...transparent :) In this case, we want everything in black to be opaque, and everything else to be transparent. By the way, white does NOT mean transparent! White is a color, just like black or any other color. We just happened to pick white to use as a working backdrop color.



Go to the "Layers, Channels, Paths..." palette. Click on the "eye" next to all the layers to hide them, leaving only the Shirt layer visible (use the scrollbars and make sure you check all the layers). When you are done, the Shirt layer should be the only one with an "eye" next to it.

Thats it :) We are ready to create the PNG file! (Isnt that much easier than messing with Alpha Channels ;P)

Click on the "File" menu at the top of the window. Select "Save" to save all of our changes.

Finally, lets export the file in PNG format...

Click on the "File" menu at the top of the window. Select "Save as..." to save all of our changes.



In the Save As window, select "PNG (*.PNG)" and click on the "Save" button.

You may want to change the file name and remove with word "copy" from the end of the name.










The PNG Options window will appear. Select and click on the "OK" button.

Thats it! The PNG file is now ready to be uploaded to Second Life.


The steps for uploading a texture file to Second Life and turning it into a shirt was covered in Creating Clothes Part 1 Tutorial. You can jump to the end of the tutorial, where it says "Next, go into Second Life..."



I just showed you the very basic steps in creating a clothing item in Photoshop and uploading it to Second Life. Now, feel free to go back and change the shape of the Shirt. Add some layers and create some designs. Or play with some of the other clothing templates (SL Avatar Bottom, Skirt, etc).

Have fun with your SL designer career :)

39023-080112-307366-90

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Day 468: Clothing Texture Previewers

If you make stuff in SL on a regular basis, you have probably noticed those L$10 upload charges :) Although its less than 4 US cents, they do add up after a while!



And if you create clothes or items based on the Clothing Templates, you probably do a lot of uploads just to see if the seams match up on a texture (and other issues).

Wouldnt it be nice to have a way to check your clothing textures before you upload them to SL?

Well, you can! In fact, there are at least 3 ways to do it: Using the SL Upload Preview, SLCP, and AVPainter.


SL Upload Preview



When you select File/Upload Image (L$10)... in the SL program, you will see the texture in a small window.

The texture is flat in this case, and should look pretty much like the texture you created in Photoshop or GIMP.











However, SL has other cool ways to preview the texture.

If you click on the "Preview image as:" box, you can change the preview from "Image" to a different Clothing Template. In this case, we are using "Female Upper Body" to preview the top of our dress.









Also, you can use most of the SL Camera Control keys within the Preview window.

If you need to zoom in to get a closer look, press and hold the [Alt] key, click-and-hold on the image, and move the mouse forward/back to zoom in.

You can rotate the preview by pressing and holding [Ctrl] and [Alt] together, click-and-hold on the image, and move the mouse to rotate.

To pan the preview, press and hold [Shift] and [Alt] together, click-and-hold on the image, and move the mouse to pan.

This is a great way to do those last-minute checks on the seams :)


SL Clothes Previewer (SLCP)



SL Clothes Previewer (better known as SLCP) is a free program created by SL Resident Johan Durant. He announced SLCP on this SL Forum post in late 2006. The popular post is still active today, over a year later! :)

SLCP is available for free. The Windows version is available here. The Mac version is here.

If you are an SL premium member (with access to the SL Forums), be sure to check out the SLCP Forum post!



SLCP is a program that runs outside of Second Life. The cool part is that you can just run it: no installation needed (so I dont get in trouble with my brother ;P).

It was specifically designed to preview clothing textures. It enables you to preview the Head, Upper, Lower, and Skirt textures together.



It enables you to see how the Upper and Lower textures join together! Great for making things like jackets or seamless dresses.

Note that the Camera Controls in SLCP is a bit different from SL. Click on Help/Camera Controls for a quick explanation of the keys.



AVPainter



AVPainter is probably the ultimate SL-specific clothing texture program. AVPainter not only lets you preview textures, it even lets you Edit the textures while they are on the mannequin!



AVPainter works great as a texture preview program. It will let you preview the Head, Upper, Lower, and Skirt textures together.

And since AVPainter supports Layers (just like in Photoshop or GIMP), you can preview textures on top of each other. So you can see what a Jacket might look like above a particular Top :)



AVPainter also lets you Paint directly onto the texture, while it is on the mannequin!

It has an adjustable brush and a number of different tools. For example, I used "Mirror drawing" to draw on both sides at the same time :)

This is a great way to touch-up those seams in a texture!



And if you are making a Jacket or one-piece dress, you probably have a hard time with the seam between the Upper and Lower templates.



Fortunately, AVPainter has a Smudge tool like the one in Photoshop and GIMP. And you can Smudge across different templates!

With just a little bit of smudging and touch-up, you can make the seams a lot less noticeable!



The full version of AVPainter costs L$2495 and is available inword in SL and on SL Exchange. Here is the AVPainter Website.

You can download a Free Demo version of AVPainter to try it out. You can import and edit textures, but you cannot save your changes in the Demo version.



Have fun creating all those cool clothing textures ;)

91622-080106-833351-62

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Day 454: LinkRez

***Note: Just FYI, Ged Larsen has not been in SL since Jan, 2008. I have not been able to contact him. So please be careful when purchasing the product (it might be difficult to get a refund until he returns!)

Ged Larsen created LoopRez and LoopRez Deluxe, which made creating flexi skirts much easier!

Several months ago, Ged introduced LinkRez, a cool tool for creating necklaces and jewelry pieces. (Sorry for taking this long to write about it :P)



In SL, a flat circle necklace like this doesnt look very realistic. It either floats in the air up front or sticks into your neck in the back.



A few months ago, I wrote a tutorial on how to create a Chain Necklace with LoopRez.

However, the standard LoopRez script can only bend in the exact middle of the chain. This doesnt work for longer chains. Also, the LoopRez script cannot rotate the chainlinks, so you are limited to links that will lock to itself (like the one in the tutorial).



Wouldnt it be nice to have something that lets you adjust the bend around your neck? And create rotating chainlinks?

Thats what LinkRez does, along with a bunch of cool features that take the major pains out of creating necklaces in SL.



Also, LinkRez does what LoopRez Deluxe did for flexi skirts: it lets you design your necklace interactively :)

You stand on a special posestand, adjust the guides around your neck, and give the command to create the necklace.

Plus you can tweak and customize the necklace in ways that go way over my head (even while wearing an updo ;P).

Check out these amazing creations on Ged's blog for what other residents have done with LinkRez!



You can also stop by Script Thingies (Ged Larsen's store) and check out the real time LinkRez Demo. You can watch LinkRez create a number of different designs :) Search/Places for keyword "thingies". The SLURL is Linji (148,225,67)).

LinkRez costs L$3000. It is available at both Script Thingies and the Sirena store. BTW, I do not make any L$ from the sales of LinkRez (or LoopRez Deluxe). I write these tutorials because I use these tools myself (and because Ged promised to pose in Hot Pink hair ;P).


The Quick Demo



LinkRez can create temporary test necklaces. This is a great way to see how LinkRez works :)



Just stand on the LinkRez posestand.



Right-click on the Blue/Purple Guides and select "Edit...".

Be sure that "Stretch Both Sides" and "Edit linked parts" are both checked.

Click on the lower Blue Guide to select it. Press [Ctrl-Shift] and stretch the Blue Guide to the desired length. Then press the [Ctrl] key and rotate the Blue Guide to fit the neck.

Next, click on the upper Purple Guide to select it. Adjust it as needed around to back of your neck.



Then just say "/1 TEST" in Chat, and watch LinkRez create a necklace to fit the 2 guides :)

The necklace is temporary, and will disappear in about a minute.



You can get fancy by saying "/1 LINKTYPE ALTERNATE", and then "/1 TEST". This will create a necklace with links that rotate alternately. Perfect for tiny chain links :)

LinkRez has a whole bunch of commands you can use to adjust the shape and style of the necklace.

Remember, this is just a fitting demo. We are going to make the real thing next :)



Creating a Necklace Link



The most important part of the necklace is the individual links.



You can create an entire necklace from the same kind of link, like this necklace made from Tiny Tubes.



You can even program LinkRez to use different kinds of links and different settings with a Notecard!

This necklace was completely generated by LinkRez using 6 different kinds of links :O

And a necklace link can be a single prim or a linked set of prims. But keep in mind that SL has a limit of 255 prims in a single linked object (so we cant get too crazy ;P).



Lets create a necklace using a single Tiny Tube.

Go ahead and rez a Torus on the ground.

Edit the Torus. Select the Object tab and enter the following settings:

   Size X: 0.020M
   Size Y: 0.040M
   Size Z: 0.040M

   Hollow: 95.0

   Profile Cut Begin: 0.200
   Profile Cut End: 0.300



Go to the Texture tab.

Change the color to Orange (Red=255, Green=128, Blue=0).

Check the "Full Bright" checkbox (because we are making jewelry :D).

Change the "Shininess" to Medium.

Go to the General tab.

Change the Name to "Tiny Gold Tube".

Right-click on the Tiny Gold Tube and select Take to take it into your Inventory.



Sizing the Link



Next, we need to figure out how these links fit together.

Instead of fiddling with settings, LinkRez has an ingenious little tool for figuring out the exact settings: the Sizing Board. Its right above the posestand. Its tiny, so you have to zoom into it!



In the middle of the Sizing Board are 3 "toothpicks" (thats what Ged calls them ;P).

Theres a tiny blue sphere where the 3 toothpicks join together.



Rez the "Tiny Gold Tube" we created above.

Place the Tiny Gold Tube in the same direction as the Red toothpick.

Then try to center the Tiny Gold Tube at the tiny blue sphere where the toothpicks join together. As you move the Tiny Gold Tube, you will notice the Red/Green/Blue lines will start to match up with the toothpicks :)



Press and hold the [Shift] key. Click and drag the Red arrow to make a copy of the Tiny Gold Tube to the right.

Position the copy of the Tiny Gold Tube so that it is how you want the links to appear on the necklace.



Then just Touch the "Center" button on the Sizing Board. It will say something like this in Chat:








   zzzLinkRezSizingBoard: CENTER alignment sizing
   zzzLinkRezSizingBoard: Name ~ distance(mm) ~ rotationOffset ~ positionOffset
   zzzLinkRezSizingBoard: Tiny Gold Tube~6.103516~<-0.00000, 0.00000, -0.00000>~<0.00002, 0.00002, 0.00015>

Make a note of the last thing it says ("Tiny Gold Tube~6.103516~<-0.00000, 0.00000, -0.00000>~<0.00002, 0.00002, 0.00015>"). We will need this in a minute.


Creating the Necklace

Ready? Lets make a necklace :)



First, lets put the Tiny Gold Tube into the LinkRez.

Right-click on the big transparent LinkRez ring and select "Edit...".

Go to the Contents tab. Drag-and-drop the "Tiny Gold Tube" from your Inventory to the Contents tab of LinkRez.



Go on the posestand!

Adjust the Green and Purple Guides as needed to fit your neck. Remember, you can always say "/1 TEST" in Chat to see how the necklace would fit :)



Here comes the fun part :)

Say "/1 LINK Tiny Gold Tube~6.103516~<-0.00000, 0.00000, -0.00000>~<0.00002, 0.00002, 0.00015>" in Chat(without the quotes). And watch LinkRez make your custom necklace :)

BTW, all those numbers came from the Sizing Board above (just cut-and-paste it from your Chat history). Dont ask me what they mean ;P



Finally, we need to link the Necklace into a single object. We want the metal ball in the center to be the Root object.

Stand up from the posestand.

Right-click on the metal ball in the center and select "Edit...".

Click in an area outside the necklace and draw a box around the entire necklace to select all the necklace links.



Press and hold the [Shift] key. Click on the big transparent LinkRez ring to de-select the LinkRez object.

While still holding the [Shift] key, click on the metal ball in the center to de-select it. Click on the metal ball in the center again to select it. This will make sure that the metal ball will become the Root prim.

Click on "Tools" from the top menu bar and select the "Link" option.



Right-click on the metal ball and select "Edit...".

Go to the General tab. Change the Name to "Test Necklace".

Right-click on Test Necklace and select Take to take it into your Inventory.

Look for Test Necklace in your Inventory. It should be in your Objects folder.

Right-click on Test Necklace in your Inventory and select "Attach To>", then "Chest".



When you first attach the necklace, it will be in the wrong place.

Just Right-click the Test Necklace and select "Edit...". Then use the color arrows to move it into position.

Thats it! You should now be wearing your custom fitted necklace :)

Ged Larsen has very thorough documentation at his blog, including a detailed tutorial, tips, and other great info!

If you plan on making custom jewelry (or similarly complex designs), definitely check out LinkRez.

Have fun makeing those prim-hogging necklaces ;P

13867-071223-558090-84

© 2007 All Rights Reserved.

Day 433: Flexi Skirts Part 2 (Self-Adjustment with AttachmentSet)

Once upon a time, a little mermaid put on her legs and a little black flexi skirt to visit some friends...



At her friend's house, she sat on a pretty little chair and...

*Eeeek* What happened to my skirt?

Unfortunately, this is a common problem with flexi skirts (and other prim attachments). Some attachments work well in one position (like when you are standing), and look funny in other positions (like when you are sitting or walking).



Wouldnt it be nice if the flexi skirt can adjust itself when you are in different positions?

Well, you can! Thanks to Carricre Wind and Virrginia Tombola's wonderful AttachmentSet :)




AttachmentSet Overview

AttachmentSet is a script that will adjust a prim attachment's position/rotation, depending what the avatar is doing. You can have different positions/rotations for standing, sitting, ground sit, walking, and running.

AttachmentSet is simple to use. And best of all, its FREE! :)



You can pick up the free AttachmentSet script at Carricre Wind's Caveat Emptorium (The SLURL is New Toulouse (120,84,24)).

The script and complete instructions are outside the store in a cart :)

My longtime friend Virrginia Tombola has written an excellent and detailed AttachmentSet Tutorial on her blog. She has tips on how to deal with lag when using AttachmentSet. She goes into stuff thats way over my head :P

If you find AttachmentSet useful, be sure you drop Carricre Wind and Virrginia Tombola a note to thank them for creating such a wonderful and Free tool! :)



A Little Black Dress with AttachmentSet

Virrginia's Tutorial covers AttachmentSet in detail.


So Im going to show you how to create a little black dress that uses AttachmentSet. It's a step-by-step tutorial, but it will not go into details on how AttachmentSet works.

You will need both the AttachmentSet script from Caveat Emptorium above, and Ged Larsen's LoopRez to complete this tutorial. You can pick up LoopRez for free from Sirena Hair & Fashion (Search/Places for "sirena", the SLURL is West Sunset (160,50,22)). You can find the free "Ged Larsen's LoopRez Generator" package in the Tutorial Supplies area under the giant mermaid sign.

If you have never created a flexi skirt using Ged Larsen's LoopRez, you should try the Flexi Prim Skirt tutorial first before doing this tutorial. You will need to know how to generate a flexi skirt with a specific skirt panel.


First, the top: Right-click on your avatar and select "Appearance...". Select the "Shirt" tab. If you are already wearing a shirt, select the "Take Off" button.

Click the "Create New Shirt" button.

Click on the square above "Color/Tint". Select the Black square.

Enter the follow settings:

   Sleeve Length: 27
   Shirt Bottom: 100
   Collar Front: 78
   Collar Back: 78
   Shirt Fit: 0
   Shirt Looseness: 0
   Shirt Wrinkles: 0

Click the "Save As" button and enter "Tutorial Shirt" as the Name.

(Optionally, you could use the top from the Creating Clothes with GIMP or Creating Clothes with Photoshop tutorials.)



Next are the "Glitch Pants". These pants provide the background for the flexi skirts (and provide some...umm...essential coverage :P).

In the Appearance window, select the "Pants" tab. If you are already wearing pants, select the "Take Off" button.

Click the "Create New Pants" button.

Click on the square above "Color/Tint". Select the Black square.

Enter the follow settings:

   Pants Length: 20
   Waist Height: 100
   Pants Fit: 0
   Cuff Flare: 0
   Pants Crotch: 0
   Pants Wrinkles: 0

Click the "Save As" button and enter "Tutorial Pants" as the Name.


Flexi Skirt for AttachmentSet

Now comes the fun part: we will make a flexi skirt designed for AttachmentSet :)



You can use just about any flexi skirt with AttachmentSet. But since the skirt is rotated upward when you sit down, the skirt panels tend to open up. If the skirt panels are narrow, they will leave a large gap...

We need to create a flexi skirt with wider and more curved (less Path Cut) panels.



Go ahead and rez a cylinder on the ground...



In the "Object" tab, enter the following settings:

   Size X: 0.158
   Size Y: 0.300
   Size Z: 0.440

   Path Cut B: 0.150
   Path Cut E: 0.850

   Hollow: 0.95

   Taper X: -0.75
   Taper Y: -0.75



In the "Features" tab, enter the following settings:

   Softness: 2.000
   Gravity: 4.000
   Drag: 4.000
   Wind: 1.000
   Tension: 1.000



In the "Texture" tab, click on the square above "Texture". In the Pick:Texture window, click on "Blank" and then "Select".

Click on the square above "Color". In the "Color Picker" window, click on the Black square and then "Select".



Go to the "General" tab. Change the Name to "Tutorial Panel".

Now Right-click on the "Tutorial Panel" object and select "Take" to take it into your Inventory.



Rez the "LoopRez v0.6 object, full perms" object on the ground.

Go ahead and follow the steps from the "Making Flexi Prim Skirts with Ged Larsen's LoopRez Script" tutorial. Create a flexi prim skirt using your newly created "Tutorial Panel".

Use the following settings for the LoopRez script (its the same settings as the "sample-short" skirt):

   string objectName = "Tutorial Panel";
   integer numObjects = 12;
   float xRadius = .16;
   float yRadius = .22;
   float flareAngle = 45.0;
   float bendCoefficient = 0.0;
   vector rotOffset = <0.0, 180.0, 0.0>;
   vector posOffset = <0.0, 0.0, 1.0>;



When you are done, you should have a little black skirt that looks something like this :)



Go ahead and attach the skirt to your Pelvis. Adjust the skirt as necessary.

For me, the skirt looks good with the following Rotation settings:

   Rotation X: 180.00
   Rotation Y: 74.00
   Rotation Z: 180.00

Using the colored arrows to position the skirt. Using the numbers at the top middle of your screen as a guide, the following Position fits me well - X: 0.043, Y: 0.000, Z: 0.306.



You should now have a little black dress thats all ready for AttachmentSet :)








Adding AttachmentSet to the Skirt



While you are wearing the skirt, Right-click on the skirt and go to the "Content" tab.

Drap-and-drop the "AttachmentSet OSS" script from your Inventory into the "Content" tab of the skirt.

Right-click on the skirt and select "Detach". (This step is VERY important! The script wont work unless you Detach first!)

Look for the skirt in your Inventory and "Wear" it again.

Now, we are ready to setup the skirt with AttachmentSet :)

In your Chat window, type "/66 suspend" (without the quotes). You should see a reply from AttachmentSet that says, "[Your Skirt]: Skirt animations stopped."

Next type "/66 set stand". This sets up your standing position/rotation.



Find a comfortable chair nearby and sit in it :) You should use a chair without poseballs or poses installed. When in doubt, you can just rez a box and sit on it for now :P

You will notice that our skirt still looks bad...



Right-click on the skirt and select "Edit..."

Click on the "Rotate(Ctrl)" button at the top of the Edit window. Use the Green wheel to rotate the skirt up.

Alternatively, you can enter the following settings:

   Rotation X: 0.00
   Rotation Y: 38.00
   Rotation Z: 0.00



Click on the "Position" button at the top of the Edit window. Use the Red arrow to slide the skirt forward and the Blue arrow to slide the skirt down.

Using the numbers at the top middle of your screen as a guide, the following Position fits me well - X: -0.052, Y: 0.000, Z: 0.191.

Once our sitting position/rotation looks good, we need to tell AdjustmentSet above it...

In your Chat window, type "/66 set sit".

Click the "Stand Up" button at the bottom of your screen. Notice that your skirt is in a weird position :P



OK, we are ready for AdjustmentSet to do its magic :)

In your Chat window, type "/66 resume".

Walk forward a little bit. You will notice your skirt now goes back to its "normal" standing position.

Go ahead and sit down again. Notice the magic :)

Congratulations! You just made a Self-Adjusting Flexi Skirt. Super cool, isnt it?



Adjusting for Other Actions



Most flexi skirts will go into your legs when you walk. This is typically hard for you to see yourself, but everyone around you can see it :P

You can fix this problem by rotating the skirt up a bit using the same steps as above. When you are done, just say "/66 set walk".



And you should be walking in style :)

AdjustmentSet can store adjustments for:

   "/66 set stand": Standing
   "/66 set sit": Sitting
   "/66 set ground": Ground sit
   "/66 set walk": Walking
   "/66 set run": Running

Dont forget to check out Virrginia Tombola's AttachmentSet Tutorial for more details and information on AttachmentSet. And be sure you to thank Carricre Wind and Virrginia Tombola for creating AttachmentSet! :)



Im back for some more Dragon Tea.

And this time, no more looking up my skirt you guys! ;P

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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.

Day 419: Creating Poses Part 3 (Animation Priority)

In Creating Poses Part 1 and Part 2, we used QAvimator to create pose animations and placed the animation into an object (a purse).



In this Part 3 of the tutorial series, we are going to use multiple animations on our avatar at the same time. So you can burn your tongue on a hot cup of tea while wearing your purse :P This is made possible thru the use of Animation Priority.





Animation Priority Overview

Every animation in SL has an Animation Priority, from 0 to 4. An newly "Played" animation will override a running animation of equal or lower priority on a given body part.

For example, a animation with priority of 3 will override an animation with priority of 1 on the Right Forearm. A new animation with priority of 2 will override an existing animation with priority of 2 on the Left Forearm.



When your avatar is not Wearing any attachments that play animations, your avatar will use a set of SL "built-in" animations. You have probably seen your avatar go through his/her "built-in" stand poses many times.

Here is a list of all the SL "built-in" animations and their Animation Priorities from the LSL Wiki.

Note that most of the "built-in" animations have a priority of 2. While most of the standing, walking, or moving animations have a priority of 0.

So if you want your custom animation to always Play and override everything else, just set the Animation Priority to 4.

But if you want some "built-in" animations to work with your custom animation, then you have to pay more attention to the Animation Priority. For example, this is useful if you want the built-in "Typing" animation to work.



Testing Animation Priority



In Part 2 of this tutorial series, we created the "Hold Purse" pose animation and uploaded to Second Life.

When we uploaded the "Hold Purse" animation to SL, we selected an Animation Priority of 2.

Go ahead and Wear the purse containing the "Hold Purse" animation and the "Hold Purse Script". We are going to do a few things while we are Wearing the purse and see what happens :)

Also, be sure you take of any attachment or HUDs with animations. This includes shoes with Sexy Walk or avatar-based animations (for furries or mermaids :D). Just be a "normal" boring avatar Wearing a purse for a few minutes ;P




Typing (Priority 2)

If you open the Chat window and start typing something, your avatar should perform the normal "Typing" animation. Thats because "Typing" also has an Animation Priority of 2. So the newly played "Typing" animation would override the existing "Hold Purse" animation.




Walking (Priority 0)

Try walking while wearing your purse.

With the "normal" SL walk, your arm should be holding the purse while you walk. Thats because the normal "Walking" animation has an Animation Priority of 0. So the "Walking" animation does NOT override the "Hold Purse" animation that's running on your avatar's arm.




Sexy Walk (Priority 3/4)

Do you have an Animation Override gadget or a pair of shoes with Sexy Walk? Wear it and turn on only the Sexy Walk (but disable the "Stand" poses).

Now try walking while wearing your purse and the Sexy Walk.

You should see your arms drop down and do the Sexy Walk. When you resume your stand pose, your arms should go back to the "Hold Purse" animation. Most Sexy Walk animations have an Animation Priority of 3 or 4. So the Sexy Walk will override the "Hold Purse" animation.


Facial Animations



Did you know your avatar has teeth? You do brush your teeth, dont you? ;P

Second Life has a number of "built-in" facial expressions/animations. They are in the Animation Priorities list with names starting with "express_" (like "express_smile").

We cannot create/upload custom facial animations. The only ones available are the ones built-into SL. Fortunately, theres quite a list to choose from!

The easiest way to play facial expressions is use Yadni's EmoterHUD.



You can pick up the EmoterHUD for free from Yadni's Junkyard (Search/Places for "yadni"). The "YadNi s EMOTERHUD v3.1" is in the "Freebie of the Month" area. Its been in the "Freebie of the Month" area since I joined SL over a year ago ;P



To use the EmoterHUD, open your Inventory window, look for the "EmoterHUD v3.1", and Wear it.

Now, just click on one of the blue faces to play an animation. You can even play multiple facial expressions at the same time (it gets pretty weird ;P)



Combining Animations



As you can see, your avatar can perform a number of different animations at the same time. The Animation Priority determines which animation would be used for each Body Part on your avatar!

So it's possible for your avatar to play a facial expression, hold something, and do a Sexy Walk.

Note that Animation Override (AO) and multiple animations will cause lag. So dont try this in a busy sim!

But when you have a moment, give it a try. Understanding Animation Priority is important if you want to design poses and animations!

Besides, you would be amazed at all the things your avatar can do at the same time :)

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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.

Day 405: Creating Poses Part 2 (Animations in Objects)

In Creating Poses Part 1, we used QAvimator to create a simple pose animation and uploaded it to Second Life.



Whats the one thing that we cant live without in Real Life, but rarely use in Second Life?

Our purses, of course :)

Like most accessories, purses/handbags are prim attachments. They are typically attached to the shoulders or hands.

If we attached a purse to our shoulder, it would just magically hang there (and never slip off no matter what we are doing). Also, it would move around oddly while we go thru different stand poses.



Wouldnt it be nice if our arm is positioned properly whenever we Wear the purse?

In this Part 2 of the tutorial series, we will do just that! We create a pose animation and put it into a purse. So whenever you Wear the purse, your arms will automatically hold the purse :)

We are going to create a pose animation that positions our avatar's shoulder, arm, and hands to hold the purse. This will keep the purse in place and stop our shoulder from moving because of the built-in stand poses.

We will put this animation into the purse, along with a script, so that the animation will automatically Play whenever we Wear the purse.



To complete this part of the tutorial, you will need a free box from Yadni's Junkyard (Search/Places for "yadni"). The box is on the 2nd floor of the freebie wall. Its labeled "111 FREE CLOTHES ACCESSORIES AND JEWELS -03/07-". Just Buy it for L$0 :)


Ready to create the animation? :)


Create the Animation



Important Note: This animation may look slightly different on your avatar! This is because each avatar has a slightly different shape (height, arm length, etc.). But if this pose doesnt look perfect on your avatar, you can always adjust the purse or the pose :)

Go ahead and start the QAvimator program. The steps for setting it up are in Part 1 of this tutorial series.



Make sure that the "Figure" setting is set to "female" (sorry guys, you have to figure out your own purses ;P).

Change the number of frames from 30 to 2 at the bottom of the window. It should read "Frame 2 of 2" when you are done.



Click on the avatar's Left Collar (or "lCollar"). This is the small area between the avatar's upper arm and neck.

Change the "Y Rotation" to "6".

Change the "Z Rotation to "-10".



Now do the same thing for the Left Shoulder, Left Forearm, and Left Hand. Here are the settings:

   lShldr X:3 Y:36 Z:-60

   lForeArm X:0 Y:-123 Z:-2

   lHand X:23 Y:-5 Z:-9



Make sure that the ONLY body parts you move are the lCollar, lShldr, lForeArm, and lHand! This is because we dont want to override any other avatar animations (like walking or breathing).

Only these 4 body parts should have a little bump in the lower left window.



Click on "File" from the top menu bar. Select the "Save As..." option.

At the "Save Animation File" window, type in "Hold Purse.bvh" in the File name box. Note that you HAVE to type in the ".bvh" part of the name!





Upload and Testing the Pose

Its time to try out our new pose :)



Start the Second Life program.

Select the "File" option from the SL top menu bar. Select the "Upload Animation (L$10)..." option.

At the Preview window, change the "Priority" to 2. We will talk more about Animation Priority in the next Part of this tutorial series.

Click on the "Loop" checkbox (because we want to play our pose indefinitely).

Change the "Hand Pose" to "Left Fist". This will turn our left hand into a fist most of the time (unfortunately, this doesnt work very reliably).

Finally, press the "Play" button to see a preview of the pose.

If everything looks good, click on the "Upload (L$10)" button to upload the animation! (Note: this will cost L$10!)



Next, look in your Inventory for the "111 Free Clothes Accessories and Jewels-02/07-" folder you picked up from Yadni's Junkyard.



Pick one of the "Side Purse". You can get a quick list by typing "purse" into the Inventory Search bar.

Right-click on the "Side Purse" and select "Wear".

Optional: Type "bling off" in the Chat window before you go blind from the bling ;P

Extra Credit: Hunt down the prim with the "bli