OK...got it...3DXchange recognizes the bone structure based on the bone names.


However, you are suggesting that I use the bone names from one of the non-RL bone strcutures, for example, the DAZ because I don't have the plugin.
Are you talking about the 3DXchange Pipeline that would allow me to export the FXB character file (so as to have the correct armature) or is this some kind of a plugin for importing a standard character as opposed to a non-standard character?
I was trying to read up on the difference between a standard and non-standard character but I didn't really get a good answer. I realize that for the iMotions to work correctly, the character needs to have a iClone (compatible) bone structure. This is why I was talking about creating a character with the RL bone structure so that I could completely change the meshes but keep the character compatible with the iClone motions. Please correct me if I am wrong but isn't that basically what the Soft Cloth bases are? i.e. Standard characters which have had their meshes significantly altered but I am guess that was not done with a simple Replace Mesh option (which requires the same number of vertecies).


Thanks I will look into that. I have done some Morph animations through the use of the 3DX Change slots on Face Puppet (following the numerous available tutorials). I have played a bit with Bone Based animations. I am not sure if a COMBO-RIG is just the merging of these concepts or if it is something else. I will Google it. Yesturday I was trying to find info on this topic but I was probably using the wrong key words because I did not get too many useful results. Now Ic an try searching for COMBO-RIG.

sw00000p, you have been very helpful in pointing me in the right starting direction. Thanks.



"We often compare ourselves to the U.S. and often they come out the best, but they only have the right to bear arms while we have the right to bare breasts"
Bowser and Blue, Busting The Breast

Unless you have an older version of Max and the plugin for G4/5 avatars, your only option is characterizing biped models. I have made a few with Makehuman, but you need to do the clothing in Blender. MH doesn't have much clothing built in. The benefit to the MH approach is that you can freely sell your avatars. Even if you could get the exact same skeleton, you can't do a "drop-in" standard avatar. Not sure you could even export all the bones, but the skeletal (movement) bones, you could. There are probably additional skin layer distortion bones that are not visible in iClone or 3DX.

As the new character system is only a couple months away, I think everyone is pretty much hooked on the idea of morph-based avatars, rather than the facial bones. The bones do work fine, of course.

I would like to create some iClone characters which have a significantly different mesh. In my case the Replace Mesh functionality in 3DXChange will not work because the vertecies in my replacement meshes will be different.
As far as I understand, this means making a Non-Standard Character. OK...I have done that for props morphs, so I understand the general process. However, my previous works were all based on the DAZ bone structure. To make my characters as close to iClone characters as possible, I would like to use the iClone bone structure.
I currently have 3DXchange 6 Pro but not 3DXchange 6 Pipeline which means, as far as I understand, I can't export an FBX to get both the mesh and bone structure in one.
If I have my new meshes in Blender, is there any file that I can import to get the iClone bone structure so that I can wrap my new meshes around it, or (without FBX export) am I stuck re-creating the iClone bone structure?
If I have to re-create the iClone bone structure (armature) in Blender, is there any conditions that will get it recognized as a iClone bone structure in 3DXChange?


"We often compare ourselves to the U.S. and often they come out the best, but they only have the right to bear arms while we have the right to bare breasts"
Bowser and Blue, Busting The Breast