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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Hey All!
I'm trying to get back to iClone whenever I have some spare time to continue my project.
And I understand that the latest version of Character Creator, iClone, 3DXchange are much more dynamic and open that it used to be and that's wonderful!
I've followed some of the latest video tutorials from Reallusion and from other amazing members from the community to get the idea of how to merge my original content modeled with Blender to one of my Character Creator creatures.
Since I'm using Blender, there are some things that may be confusing to me and not work exactly as I wish while I'm still testing and learning how it's done.
The main problem I'm getting is that one of my Character Creator's creature is really BIG (about 3+ meter tall)
and when I'm trying to make clothes for this character using Blender, I'm getting many problems and errors when importing.
Errors something like... the bones won't match or something like that (sorry I don't remember).
I've tried to make cloth for one of the Templates and inside Character Creator saved it as individual custom item so I can just drop it on my HUGE 3 meter tall character... but it is not even close to what it should be and almost impossible to fix manually inside Character Creator with the mesh edit and the conform...
If it was up to me, I wouldn't make the character 3+ meter inside Character Creator but scale it inside iClone for much easier life... but I couldn't scale the character in iClone (scale disabled for some reason, maybe I'm not doing something right).
BTW - It was super easy to add Shoulder Pads, Helmet or anything I could just Parent inside iClone... but cloth with physics... that's a bit more challenging for this huge character, I'm still doing tests in order to get it work.
So... what do you suggest me to do in order to make it work?
I just want to make original cloth and accessories to my characters with 100% success and no errors so I can finally start animating my project.
Thanks ahead and sorry about my bad English.
Some early W.I.P. while I'm working on one of my favorite characters, still lots of things to do...
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Hey sw00000p!
Thanks for helping me in this.
OK, so forget about the scale thing I just used the character as already done in Character Creator.
I'm trying to follow your instructions.
Starting with Exporting from CC without the animation (if I understood that was why I got the errors)
I got the FBX + KEY files.
1 - Nevermind scaling (I skipped this, the character is already big)
2 - Modled the cloth (simple Vest, nothing fancy) perfect for the Character size.
3 - Adjust the skin weight in Blender, Done.
4 - EXPORT the new FBX with the cloth in Blender (with all the needed properties so it should work, I followed the tutorials)
So far so good, Now...
Back to Character Creator, I import the FBX with the cloth from Blender, used the KEY file that CC created originally.
I even tried the original Templates of BaseMale.fbx from Reallusion... so I know it's nothing specific on my character.
I also double checked all my CC, iClone and 3DXchange are updated and have the latest versions.
But...... I get the same CRITICAL errors as I posted on my other thread. 
Did you ran into this? I'm really confused,
I thought it will be simple to bring my clothes back to CC but no luck at all for me, if you have any ideas please guide me step-by-step if possible... I must be doing something wrong.
Thanks ahead!
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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Did the materials get stripped out somewhere in your design process? The base materials must not be removed or have their names changed. Your cloth also must have at least one material.
Double check your materials in Blender.
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Thanks for trying to help in this Rampa!
BTW - I LOVE your tutorials on YouTube, very helpful! 
OK, so I'm afraid it's not the problem I took a screenshot to show maybe I missed something and you can see it.
In all the process I didn't touch the materials of the character at all, the only thing I've added a material to the Vest (cloth) and a simple ugly temporary texture while I made the UV's... maybe that's the mistake?
What's confusing me is that this error happens not only for this specific character, but also for the templates that came from Reallusion so I don't even know what I'm doing wrong but I know that it's NOT the character's fault, or a versions problem as I've mentioned earlier.
Any other solutions will be very helpful and appreciated!
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Yeah, I actually tried it with 3DXchange but then I get the Vest (cloth model) combined with the character, and it's coming to iClone as a Prop and not CC Character anymore... that's a huge problem for me, I can't use the vest as Physics Cloth (that was the idea). and I can't really manipulate, edit, change the character or change it's cloth if I want... it's like using an old limited version.
I'm really trying everything I can so many experiments and tests even with the Factory Preset characters... but this error and the other Fail error are hugging me all the time, it makes me sad that I can't really keep on creating and model my characters and start the part that I'm waiting for: ANIMATING!
I can't just animate simple, boring characters, I have a vision in my head and I want to make it... but these errors stop me.
Yeah, it may sounds like I complain but all I'm looking for is a solution to make it work, I know it works for everybody else.
I was super excited when CC 1.5 released: Finally I could make my very own original character designs!
Sorry about my bad English, if you guys still have any ideas I should try to just make it work normally without going around (I believe that 3DXchange is not even needed in this specific workflow) PLEASE share your ideas and solutions with me!
I appreciate it a lot, thank you all for your time!
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Thank youf or the encouraging kind words Sw00000p! I appreciate it a lot
The thing is that I really want to animate inside iClone, and not in Blender so baking in Blender (I didn't try it yet but I think Alembic is now a new feature in Blender). may works with 3DXchange FBX... (again the all Character Creator dynamic idea will not be available for me which is kind of sad, I love this tool a lot for Humanoid characters.)
But this idea is something I really want to test, especially with anything that is not Humanoid... may be complicated for me right now but when I'll get there, I know that you can guide me since you're already experienced with it! 
So... I wonder if anybody else ran into this issue? and how do they solve it... I'm curious maybe something in my installation is wrong.
Just to be sure I uninstalled everything and Re-Installed fresh most updated downloaded files from Reallusion and tried again so... I don't know what's really the problem and why it works great for everybody else.
I'm not giving up yet... but I'm running out of ideas YAY! :|
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Ban? LOL! My friend, you're honest and I think everyone in the RL community appreciate your AMAZING help!
You are a real TREASURE for this community and a very honest person from what I got, and I like it a lot about you.
I totally agree with the FREEDOM in software such as Blender (I know it's no 3DS or Maya etc.. but I already fall in love with it a few years ago and still learning it whenever possible).
But as an animator (I'm originally 2D Animator as my professional for 10+ years) Animating in Blender is nice, but not yet close to the FUN and FAST animating in iClone, that is why I chose to make my upcoming project in iClone.
Since Blender's "realtime" isn't that fast even with all options and what not, it's not the same... and rendering OpenGL tests every time I want to check the timing is a very time consuming.
Also, I'm very impressed with the upcoming PBR rendering that will probably come to the future version of iClone and that will may even convince me to not import to UE4 at all, but just do even more inside iClone and I'm very excited about what Reallusion cooking for us.
So, what I'm saying is... I agree with you, it seems weird that RL take some freedom from the Import / Export and make it much harder and even in my case... not working at all (for now until I'll find a solution) BUT I do understand their model, they are thinking about the protection of the workflow between all their software connected, that's why the KEY files came with CC 1.5 so it make sense to me and I respect their way. it doesn't make it should be like that, because yeah... it looks like a longer way to make export/import works but if somehow it will work for me, I'll be happy to start animating.
This week I've said to myself... Why won't I just start animating the characters naked... with the factory clothes... but sorry,
I can't give up yet, I actually have a vision in my head how exactly things should look, what clothes they have, accessories etc...
I even modeled a full Temple in Blender for the scene and was excited to start animating on it...... ehhh, unfortunately instead of animating I found myself fighting with errors and fails that I don't even know how to pass.
I still have a hope that one of the official RL members are already familiar with these errors I get and will be able to point on the issue that I just did wrong and tell me how to fix it easily.
I'm pretty sure that there is something I'm doing wrong, but after following all the video tutorials that are there related to CC and Blender... it works PERFECT for everybody but not for me, so I'm getting sad because my freedom of creation is limited by errors.
Again, Sorry about my bad English.
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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Are you able to get a non-clothed character to import properly into CC? Import the FBX base into Blender and re-export it. If it works, your problem is half solved. If it does not work, then we know where to start searching for the problem.
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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rampa (9/29/2016)
Are you able to get a non-clothed character to import properly into CC? Import the FBX base into Blender and re-export it. If it works, your problem is half solved. If it does not work, then we know where to start searching for the problem.
Yes, I can import from CC to Blender and back (without the cloth or any extra model) with no problem.
I've just tested again exporting FBX from CC > Export to Fbx > Clothed Character (creating KEY file) to Blender, and back.
Because my character is already very modified (sculpted and such as seen earlier on the screenshot).
* I've tried with and without the Animation when exporting to Blender, I don't think that matters in my case, same results.
What I do after this step is like in the tutorial of the Pirate by Reallusion, all the skinning works perfect as I follow along.
Then... importing back, well... you already know the errors I get.
So without clothing or extra model it works fine, any other ideas will be very helpful, Thanks ahead Rampa!
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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Something seems to be going wrong with the clothing step.
On a related note, I have found that scaling a character extremely large in CC causes quite a bit of distortion in the clothing. This is also the case if you try and put normal size CC clothing onto a huge imported character. So you are doing the right thing making the clothing huge in Blender.
Have you successfully imported a normal-size avatar with clothing into CC?
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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That's true, the scalling a CC character not only cause weird twisting on the clothes but also on the model textures... that's why I've tried to keep it as simple as possible.
If I only could just make a normal character and scale it inside iClone with the clothes and everything it would be much easier but scalling is always disabled when I try it, not sure if it's a bug or iClone just won't allow it.
Yes, the many other tests I were used the Templates that came with CC 1.5
- Base Male.fbx
- Base Male.fbxkey
And I'm getting the same errors, that is why I'm pretty sure it is something I'm doing wrong in Blender.
As I said I'm following the video tutorial from Reallusion the PIrate one, since it uses Blender and it's easy to follow on the Binding / Weight Maps (I thought it will be complicated but it is very simple).
So my other conclusion was that if it's not the model, it must be something with the cloth model.
So I've modeled something very simple such a simple plan with few faces... but it wasn't the problem, it doesn't matter what kind of cloth model or Accessory I use, the errors keep coming either on the Base Male.fbx or on my own huge character.
Re-Install again from scratch with the most updated versions didn't solve the problem either, that's why I'm very confused, can't really think about how to make it work for me while it works perfectly fine for others...
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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It is not an installation problem AFAIK. I have had my armature get renamed, or duplicated, on occasion. I have not bothered tracking down the cause, as it is pretty un-common. That will break it!
So.... Check your scene tree in Blender to make sure it matches that of the default. If you ended up with "Arature 001" or something, then that would be the problem.
So, start with the default male, regular size, and make your vest on him. Export and test with CC. If it works, go back to Blender and scale your model up. Just select everything and scale it up as big as you want. Now export that. Your humanoid is large, but not that extremely shaped, so just getting the scale right might be all you need for it to work well.
Another thing that is valuable to know, is that you can scale the bones of your character in pose mode, set that pose as the default pose, and then send that to CC. CC will import that distorted character just fine (import it as cloth), and then you can save it as a morph. The reason you might want to do something like that is you can create asymmetrical bodies, like one leg or arm shorter than the other.
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Great tips, I've learned a lot from what you explained, thanks Rampa!
For now I'm in a situation that the all scaling is not even interested me anymore, because even a normal size (default) CC won't work without these weird errors... so once I'll solve this basic import situation I'll try something more complex, since it's already very complicated for me to solve without any luck so far.
I took a Screenshot for the Armature itself after binding (ready for export to FBX back to CC), maybe you can see something weird that I missed?
I don't think there should be a reason for renaming because I never renamed anything beside the Vest model which started from a Plan... Maybe you can see something wrong that I should change / fix.
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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That looks fine.
Did you un-check the leaf-bone box in the export?
Also Make sure you are running Blender 2.77a.
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Yes, it's the very first thing I do before clicking the Export button,
I even have a preset of the FBX from Blender to CC so I won't need to mess with it.
I will do some more tests, I will also restart my machine for any case... I'm starting to think it's a bug or something, I will also try to use the older version of Blender instead of the latest one.
I'm doing any test I can think of LOL! I must solve this somehow it's driving me crazy hehe.
I will keep on update after a few more tests.
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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Which error are you getting now?
Can you post a screenshot of the error you get now?
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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It's that same CRITICAL error again:
I will finish some work here and will try everything again from scratch after restart the computer.
I will update in here, but if anybody else ran into this and can share the solution, please also feel free to let me know.
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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That's the missing materials you showed on your blender model. I wonder why they are going missing?
Try loading that exported FBX file in 3DX, or back into Blender, to double check that the materials are there.
Starting from scratch is a good idea. Test each step of the way to see if you can isolate where the problem occurs.
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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UPDATE:
OK! This is weird... The good news (kind of) is that after restarting the machine:
I've done EXACTLY THE SAME STEPS as I already did zillion times.
Now it finally let me import into CC I can see the Vest (cloth model) in CC and when changing Calibrate poses it works well consider it's a low poly cloth (I should add more faces but it was for the test).
The bad news (also kind of) is that I HAVE NO IDEA what I've done wrong, and I have that strong feeling that it will happen again on the next time I will add another model such as pants, armor or anything else...
So, of course I should ignore it and just go for it and continue working on the character's clothing but I'm sure that it wasn't the reset of the PC that solved it, because I've already done it a few times after I re-installed all the RL software so this is VERY RANDOM to me.
I didn't change ANYTHING this time, that's what bothers me, how come it works now... again, I know that I should just focus on creating but in my experience, if I won't understand and solve something it will pop-up again and I will not have a clue how to deal with it.
This is very weird, I will try to continue working on the character during the next week and see if I ran into more weird errors with no special reason.
I've tried to think so hard if I changed anything, but NOPE! same exact steps I've done... that's very random for me.
What do you guys think? any theories why this happens with no special reason?
Please share you thoughts I'm very curious to solve this mystery not just for me but for the community and for people who may ran into this issue in the future.
Suddenly it works, what's with the random lucky import/export...
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By Rampa - 8 Years Ago
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Super!
Was that the same model that started working? Or did you start from scratch, redoing the entire process?
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By Alon Dan - 8 Years Ago
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Same model (from CC), same Vest (BlendeR), exactly same steps nothing changed.
The only thing I've done was restarting the machine, but as I said... I already done this since the re-installation of RL software a few times and I had the same errors for days.
I'm so confused now, but yeah... I will try make MORE and see if this random issue will attack me again.
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By obi-ozumba - 6 Years Ago
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Hello everyone.
I am having the same challenges also.
I am working with Iclone 7, cc, 3D excahnge pipeline, and B4artists (blender fork)
When I want to import the base model and cloth FBX exported from blender, I get (CC_Base_Hip Bone CRITICAL Missing the specific bone.
I have been going back and fort for seems like forever.
Any assistance is highly appreciated.
Obi
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By Kelleytoons - 6 Years Ago
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There are LOTS of video tutorials on how to do this (including some that I've made). I'll point you to the last crash course one I just did, but essentially the process is you export your base from CC as an FBX, open with Blender, fit the clothing, parent to the rig, select the body and then shift select the item and select weight painting, transfer the weights by name, and export without leaf bones in the armature. Then bring back into CC using the fbx key you just created. You can do all of this in less than five minutes (more or less depending on how fast your computer is and how long it takes to import/export from Blender).
Here's my tutorial:
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