JasonWynngard (4/16/2011)
Question: Does anyone have experience with Faceshop Pro v.6 used in collaboration with iClone and can advise me? This is how I have used FaceShop in conjunction with iClone (and 3DXchange). I make use of the fact that you can import an obj file of a head in FaceShop.
I start out with an iClone character to which I want to apply a face created using FaceShop.
- Load the character into 3DXchange.
- In the tree on the left, select Face.
- Click Export Mesh, which will save the head as an .obj file.
- In FaceShop, load this .obj file as a custom mesh.
- Apply a photo in FaceShop as usual. I found this to be tricky, especially the lining up.
- Save the modelled head as an .obj file. This obj file has the same vertex count as the original; FaceShop only changes the shape. Also, the all-important neck area isn't touched, so the revised head will fit the body.
- In 3DXchange, click Replace Mesh, and load the modelled head.
- The head texture map will not change automatically, so double-click the Diffuse icon and load the texture that FaceShop has created.
- Reimport the character with the new head in iClone.
There are a couple of things that didn't work for me. One was creating a texture map larger that 1024x1024, even if I selected 2048x2048 or 4096x4096. I have an earlier version of FaceShop that does create a larger texture.
The other problem I had was lining up the imported head. FaceShop always insists on tilting and turning it, which results in a deformed mesh. I had to use Agile to fix that.
Although this pipeline is possible, the question is of course if it is worth the trouble. Hopefully iClone 5 will have improved face-mapping capabilities.