Avastar “Weld Edge Normals”

Great news!
Avastar RC4-812 also provides us “Weld Edge Normals” option in Tools shelf [Other] section as collada export option, in order to avoid visual seems (line) between objects.

http://blog.machinimatrix.org/2013/04/25/avastar1-rc4-812/

Visual seems? Yes, you can see “Line” between objects or doubles vertices in smooth shading.

Why we can see such a “line” even though we adopted “smooth” shading in blender?
Because vertices on the line are “doubles” and vertex normals are different.

Here is a great video to understand Normals and Smooth shading by Avastar’s creator, Gaia Clary. It’s Good Job!!!!

Face normals

Vertex normals and smooth shading

In order to hide/avoid visual seems, so far we use [Remove Doubles] in Tool Shelf in Blender. However [Remove Doubles] means merging vertices to one vertex. If you would like to keep separated objects, you could not avoid visual seems between objects by normal functions.

Keep separated? Yes, if you would like to have over 8 materials in one object, you should separate object for more materials under secondlife mesh limits.

See “Mesh” limits below link.
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Limits

Why we need more materials?

We need “faces” for each facial expressions. With like a flip cartoon  method, you can adopt facial expression to mesh head/face instead of morphing.

Eye part has 8 materials as 8 (prim) faces

Mouse part has 8 materials as 8 (prim) faces

Eye and Mouse part should be separated objects. It means we can see visual seems between Eye and Mouse parts.

But now we can erase it by Avastar “Weld Edge Normals” option in exporting collada.
See the video below

Enjoy!

UTILIZATOR – M3 Mesh Anime Head

PMX imported model? Non non, it’s mesh anime head “M3” from UTILIZATOR!

(Head only. Miku costume by GANTZ)  with Wind Light, light/shadow and DOF rendering options

UTILIZATOR – M3 Mesh Anime Head in marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/UTILIZATOR-M3-Mesh-Anime-Head/4697296

With PMX imported mesh doll.(Applied Wind Light setting, without light and shadow)

With another M3 Head avatar. (Applied Wind Light setting, without light and shadow)

Realistic mesh head (hybrid avatar) “Nea” is also amazing work and this M3 Mesh Anime Head has so many facial expression patterns controlled by HUD.

This M3 Mesh Anime Head shows us high potential of mesh works in secondlife, I think, as well as Nea gave us.

UTILIZATOR creator’s blog and news
UTILIZAOR BLOG

(deferred rendering – light, shadow and DOF – close-up)

Changed eye size, blushing and opening mouse

Imported pmx mesh doll GUMI by Mamama-san and M3 Mesh Anime Head + Edelweiss school blazer (Only Wind Light setting)

*Edelweiss* http://moekakohime.blogspot.jp/

Enjoy!!!

Nea - Hybrid Avatar (skin and mesh head)

As I introduced in this blog, mesh head and skin - Hybrid Avatar - "Nea" is released in Skin Fair 2013 in Second Life.



I think this fabulous mesh head and skin opens new era for secondlife mesh avatar. Still it's a starting point and less facial expressions but I believe so many creators will be heading for high quality mesh avatar.　(I MUST SAY SHE HAS RICH FACIAL EXPRESSIONS - PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING URL-FLICKR.COM)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snumaw/sets/72157633063375895/

I made the following video with Nea mesh head and MikuMikuDance motion - Cyber Thunder Cider -. This avatar gives me a lot of motivation for making video.



Enjoy, ;)

Touhou project models in secondlife

Sorry, It’s not for sale. 

Izayoi Sakuya http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Sakuya_Izayoi
Original PMD model creator: アールビット様 (arlvit sama)

Koa (koakuma) http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Koakuma
Original PMD model creator: アールビット様 (arlvit sama)

Houraizan Kaguya http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Kaguya_Houraisan
Original PMD model creator: iroha02 様

Try to reduce Physics land impact

Already we know, if we would like to reduce land impact – especially “download”, we try to adjust triangle limit number of each LOD level.

However if Physics value is so big, how to reduce it? [Physic] tab provides us [Analyse] and [Simplify] buttons but we have more effective way to reduce it if mesh model is linked objects one.

 

Again, if your mesh model is linked from several mesh objects, the following workaround is so effective. Your mesh model doesn’t have children objects, this workaround does NOT work.

reference wiki
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Physics_Optimization

According to the above wiki article, Create the following script in root prim, and execute it. When completed it, Script will be deleted by itself.

default
{
    state_entry()
    {
        llOwnerSay("Setting all child prims to PRIM_PHYSICS_SHAPE_NONE");
        llSetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast(LINK_ALL_CHILDREN, [PRIM_PHYSICS_SHAPE_TYPE, PRIM_PHYSICS_SHAPE_NONE]);
        llRemoveInventory(llGetScriptName());
    }
}

If you don’t want to make script or you are not familiar to scripting, you can do the same thing from [Edit] dialog.

Open [Edit] dialog and check land impact.

Except root prim (yellow line prim) in edit mode, check [Edit linked] and select children prim (blue line prim). Open [Features] tab and select [None] in [Physics Shape Type].

Already you can see 31 land impact changed from 38 on the above picture.

Try to select [None] in all children prims.

When Physics value is less than download, you had better stop this workaround. No more effectiveness is expected.

Also you can see land impact value is reduced from 38 to 8 in Edit dialog.

Enjoy!

mesh, object, side, material,,, Hmmmm?

In order to understand secondlife mesh system for making pmx mesh dolls, I’m trying to recognize mesh as the following.

• mesh = prim
• mesh has up to 8 materials
• materials = sides (faces), can be customized in texture, shininess, color, glow and transparency. (by manual or script)
• object is configured by several prims (linked prims)
• object is configured by several meshes (like linked prim)
• Alpha channel implementation in secondlife is damned!!!!

For example, if pmx model has 32 materials for setting color (to be exact, for setting its diffuse, specular, ambient, transparency, texture, toon, sphere and so on), you should divide mesh to 4 mesh objects. One mesh object can have up to 8 materials in secondlife collada model therefore it should be divided and linked.

Fortunately some pmx importer can import diffuse/specular/ambient setting to blender. In secondlife, we can not set up diffuse/specular/ambient to “side(material)” but diffuse color is converted to side color.

Animasa style Rin Act2 pmd model has 27 materials

pmx importer can export diffuse, specular color to blender

In blender edit mode, you can separate meshes with “material”.
[Mesh] – [Vertices] – [Separate] – [By material]

If you use “blender_mmd_tools” (https://github.com/sugiany/blender_mmd_tools), tool provides [separated by materials] which separates mesh and set one mesh to one appropriate material. Default blender separating by material can not omit extraneous materials therefore you should delete them manually later. I recommend bender_mmd_tools for separating by material.

Now Rin mesh model has 27 mesh objects. In uploading to secondlife, one mesh has at least 1 land impact(download) therefore to reduce land impact, you should join mesh objects under 8 materials (= 8 meshes into 1 mesh).

Change all JAPANESE name to English including texture name, if you would like to avoid “parse error” in uploading. The names are not important(we will not use the names) but should be alpha numeric character.

Select all objects by [A] in object mode, check collada option (blender 2.65a) and export as collada file(dae). Especially [Apply Modifiers], [Selection Only] and [Include Material Textures] should be checked for mesh doll.

In upload dialog, optimize land impact by triangle limit for each LOD. It’s my personal recommendation, around 20 land impact might be better.

Upload and rez it!

You can understand pmx model material diffuse color exported as “prim face color” in secondlife by [Edit], [select face] option and [Texture] – [Color].

Good luck and enjoy

Making liner – Normals inside

In 3DCG, face has “normal vector” which means “visible face” or “outer material”.
PMX model also has normal vector on face however MMD allows “両面描画”(both sides drawing) option by PMX editor, you can see “liner” by this option.

No liner – no both sides drawing option for skirt

Liner – by both sides option for skirt material

PMX Editor “両面描画” (both sides drawing) option

In importing pmx model to blender, even though “both sides drawing” option is checked, you can NOT see inside normals(liner).

in edit mode, press [N] and check face icon in [Normals]. blue line is normal vector.

When you export collada model to secondlife, no normals materials get transparent because there are not anything as faces.

Therefore you should make new faces which have inside normals.
By using materials selection, vertex group assign or anything, select faces you want to copy.

Press Shift+[D] to make duplicate and [Enter].
And press [Mesh] – [Normals] – [Recalculate Inside].

Check inside normals.

In terms of “Secondlife Collada Exporting”, sometimes you can see huge number of “land impact” by this approach. For example, when I upload this skirt mesh model with liner, I can see 308.048 even though LOD low and lowest are 0.

Land impact is not simple vertex count. It depends on shapes.
If you see huge number of land impact by making liner, you should separate liner as another object in blender.

When you duplicate inside faces, you should assign to new vertex group or separate vertices by selection. And select all objects and try to export it as collada.

You can see 9.074 land impact in the following snapshot.

Also liner is not transparent in-world.

Good luck.