importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

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xxxdutchiexxx
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importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by xxxdutchiexxx »

hello, so my intention is to create 3D models inside maya/blender and then import those models as .obj files into anime studio.

I wish to rig those models inside anime studio so that I can animate them ( I figured out a way to do this, If I chop up each joint/body part into individual pieces inside blender and then import each body part into anime studio as a single object then I am able to bind each body part together while allowing me to freely manipulate each body part independently of each other.)
This makes animation a breeze when comparing it to drawing out each scene frame by frame. the problem is that the model gets imported into anime studio with its base grey mesh and does not import the textures of the model. with blender, when ever I export a obj file, it exports a .mtl with the .obj file, I even manually copy the texture PNG image and manually place the .mtl file, .obj file and the texture image inside the same folder but anime studio refuses to to import any texture with the obj file.

See, the reason why I need the texture is because I draw its strokes inside blender, the model mesh is just a solid grey without any strokes. with the proper settings, I can make the 3D object look nearly just like a hand drawn 2D image. but without those strokes the model does not look right. is there anything I can do to get strokes onto my 3d model in anime studio? Is it possible to simply draw my strokes onto the base mesh itself inside blender so that those strokes will carry over into anime studio?
chucky
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by chucky »

https://www.facebook.com/kurt.w.iverson ... 80679/?t=0

main problem with Moho 3d is you have no control over light direction
xxxdutchiexxx
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by xxxdutchiexxx »

how did you manage to get the texture into moho?

the lighting may be a easy fix for you, im not very experienced in anime studio but I think if you disable the objects shading then you will not have any light shading effect on the model. in the layers settings, go to the 3D tab and under shading select none, you will have to manually draw your shadows over top your 3d objects animation though. I found that adobe after effects does a good job with adding lighting, I remove the shading of an object and then export the animation video, import that video into after effects and add the lighting effect there, you will be impressed at how well it works.

I just uploaded a video showing a quick example of removing the shading. the first part is with the toon shader on in anime studio and the second part is without any
shading. I wish I can figure out how to get stroke lines on my model :(

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 9176315283

(the video came straight from anime studio, no after effects were used)
chucky
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by chucky »

I do understand, the info was for you.
:mrgreen:
I didn't post a question. :mrgreen:
xxxdutchiexxx
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by xxxdutchiexxx »

im confused lol.

you said the issue you have is with the lighting, I thought you meant you were having a issue getting the lighting to not effect your model :shock:

can you explain to me how you managed to get your model and your texture into anime studio?
ruscular3d
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by ruscular3d »

I gotta warn you that Moho Pro FB isn't very friendly to those using other software especially 3D software combining with Moho. Anyone who offers a 3D solution in that group will be deleted. They tend to be Moho purist, the Spanish group tend to be more helpful and encouraging for good tips, plus they do have many English speaking support members that are extremely accommodating, and avoid silly software war drama. That being said Moho tend to get bog down if you import too much 3D object into the program, it slows down render time, takes up so much memory that it tend to crash as well.

I would make sequence images for each render project from your 3D software and import that into Moho. Moho is a fantastic compositor for that, like Adobe After effect. To get the toon look in a 3D software I would use higher setting for luminosity and Diffuse. depending on your 3D software and you probably know that. Even Poser have a pretty good toon option export with their latest version. Even tho you have that option to render toon from poser plugin for Moho, I would still advise not to use it for the same reason of bogging your system down, and very long render time.

I would even recommend trying to export asset from Moho into Blender. Moho has a FBX export option that blender can read. or use sequence image export from Moho into blender.
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Greenlaw
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by Greenlaw »

ruscular3d wrote:I gotta warn you that Moho Pro FB isn't very friendly to those using other software especially 3D software combining with Moho. Anyone who offers a 3D solution in that group will be deleted.
Sigh! I guess they would kick me out then. Multiple programs are involved with pretty much everything I do with Moho, in both personal and professional work. :P
ruscular3d
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by ruscular3d »

I just caught Niel admitting he uses Blender and he's the one that is a stickler that it has to be all Moho, even tho we have Mike Green who made some plugin for Moho to Lightwave3d combo, and just saw Neil deleted another link to a tutorial on using 3D software for solution to Moho. Honestly I see nothing wrong with using whatever you want to use, That is why I appreciate the Spanish facebook group for Moho. You get more info and support and they don't delete anyone for using or offering 3D software solution. I see many here who uses 3D software for background and yet these group whine about getting people to buy their tutorial at the same time alienate those that uses a combination of other software. To be successful, I think you need to consider other option and not limited yourself into a corner. There are more of you using combination than those that are purist.
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Greenlaw
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by Greenlaw »

I think it's up to the artist what tools he uses to tell his stories, at least in personal works. I would find it irritating if somebody dictated what I could or couldn't use in my work unless that was in the rules of a contest I was entering or part of a job requirement I agreed to.

If 'Moho-only' is an official rule in that Facebook group, that's okay. I'm just saying my work wouldn't qualify there, and I'd be breaking their rules if I tried. No biggie...there are other art/animation groups with different rules.
ruscular3d
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by ruscular3d »

I have no problem with that, but if the 2 up above going to recommend going to that facebook page are going to be disappointed for finding solution of mixing 3d and 2d at their site. The Spanish version of Moho Pro is going to be your best bet in finding combo solution, and they are accommodating to using English. Plus there is more talent that are more fully explore in using other option. When I offer a 3D solution I opt to show Blender or any other free sources.

Someone just post recently asking for a 3D solution to Moho specifically stating how to do it in a 3D program, and the solution was deleted, and I saw no policy stating that it had to be Moho only. That is why I jump the gun saying you are going to get more support in here in this forum, with Mike Green and plenty of others that are more diverse and knowledgeable about how to use 3D and 2D with Moho. Also that Moho group that I avoid tried to talk me into boycotting the company to go with a Spine software instead, because of money? I rather steer people who love Moho to go where the love is. Moho Pro is so much more powerful than Spine, and also have a huge diverse option of what style you want to use, plus the Smart Mesh, smart bone, lip syncing, tracking, and plays wells with other software. So many professional use Moho with something else to get the job done. It is irritating to seek solution from someone/website who really just want to sell tutorial and delete the solution to push you into their method as long as it takes to make money, pretending to be a place for shared community. I have been giving them money as donation for being helpful to the community for at least 6 month, because it helps this company and development to grow, but once they start deleting solution, then I withdrew my support. I don't like the feeling of being held hostage for info, after giving free advice to help the community to grow.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1159293 ... 2/members/
these guys are real and faithful, and zero drama
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Greenlaw
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by Greenlaw »

A Moho group that wants to boycott Moho...that's pretty funny. I'm almost never on FB days but I may have to check that out. :)

Will definitely check the link you just posted above too. Thanks for the info!

Re: 3D objects animated inside Moho, I'll post some thoughts this evening.
ruscular3d
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by ruscular3d »

Image
This one drew a lot of flack from the group, but its a poser model fix in Lightwave brought back in Moho with a Moho head on top. Even tho I use the Poser plugin import to mount a triangle object where the neck is and took out the to be track and insert the Moho head over the top of it to match the walk cycle. Now with Poser improve toon shader, I think it could be a very well match solution, but it does take a render time hit. I think with Lightwave new toon cel shader I would render it out there in bring in the sequence images and track that. For the hair I could make it into an obj and use normal to render only front facing normals and then make another render and invert normals to sandwich the hair between the character face.
chucky
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by chucky »

I don't think we're talking about prerenders here.
But really except for non lit or very simple props , prerender and comp is really the best way to go, even if it is not the preferred method for interaction , as I can't testify to.
I've done plenty of that but didn't think it right for the question ( BMX and body hash animation master head tracked to body)
.

There is no control in moho over lighting and it seems to be fixed to the camera to some degree.
ruscular3d
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by ruscular3d »

You can add edge line to the render PNG In Moho, which is what it looks like you did for the BMX and Body
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Greenlaw
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Re: importing 3D objects with textures into anime studio?

Post by Greenlaw »

xxxdutchiexxx wrote:hello, so my intention is to create 3D models inside maya/blender and then import those models as .obj files into anime studio...This makes animation a breeze when comparing it to drawing out each scene frame by frame.
Sorry, it took me a while to get back to this topic. This is just my personal opinion but I don't recommend using ASP's OBJ import for major 3D tasks like rigging and animating an entire character. If you already have Maya or Blender, or really any 3D animation program for that matter, I can't see how importing an OBJ to ASP/Moho could possibly make 3D animation easier. ASP/Moho's 3D rigging and cel-shading tools are kinda primitive compared to what's available in a dedicated 3D program, and, as mentioned by Chucky, 3D lighting tools are non-existent.

I think ASP/Moho's OBJ tools are okay for environments and props and you just want to apply simple transforms or fly around them. I've used them this way in simple and quick setups, which is all I believe ASP/Moho's OBJ tools are meant for. For anything requiring detailed lighting and shading or advanced rigging, I'd definitely keep the model in a dedicated 3D program.

Last year, I did use an OBJ for a piece of a character, a mechanical widget on a costume. Turning the object with the character using an action worked well but I wound up drawing the element as a vector layer anyway because I couldn't shade and light it to look consistent with the rest of the character. It seemed a shame because using the OBJ otherwise worked and might have saved me some time, but in the end the drawn version looked better even before I shaded it.

There have been a number of times where I definitely needed 3D objects/characters integrated with Moho environments or characters. To do this, I'll shade and rig the objects in the 3D app to look like a 2D drawings in Moho, and then combine the 3D renders with 2D renders in a compositing program like Fusion or After Effects. If it makes sense for the task, I might import the renders from the 3D program to Moho for compositing, or bring Moho renders into the 3D program. In any case, when I need real 3D to look integrated with Moho, I'm usually working with renders from the 3D program with Moho.

When I want to simulate the look of 3D with a character inside ASP/Moho, here's a trick I've done a few time:

In the 3D program, render 360-degree turntables of parts (i.e., head, torso, limbs, etc.,) of a 3D character, and then import these elements as 2D images for switch layers inside ASP/Moho. In the 3D program, fix the camera and lights so the lighting is consistent for all frames of the turntable render. If you need interactive lighting, you may want to light the scene somewhat evenly and use ASP/Moho's 2D directional lighting on the layers. After you have the turntable renders for all the body parts, it's easy to rig the characters for turnarounds because you have all the views ready to drop into switch layers that can be controlled by smart bone actions and dials. And because these are 2D images, you can deform them more easily and predictably than imported OBJs. (Especially so in Moho Pro 12, thanks to Smart Mesh.)

So far, I've done this only for 3D hair fibers and a few costume parts, but it's possible to create art layers for an entire character this way. Technically speaking, this is not that different from that time Victor snapped a bunch of turntable photographs of a dismantled felted toy for a Woolbuddies commercial. The only difference is you're using a virtual camera in a 3D program to take the pictures of a 3D character's body parts.

That said, I don't want to discourage anyone imported and rigging OBJ models inside ASP/Moho themselves. It might not have worked out for me but my needs were pretty specific, and there are many things I haven't tried with it. If you do come up with a cool 3D technique in ASP or Moho, definite share the results here.

Hope this info/opinion helps.
Last edited by Greenlaw on Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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