SketchUp Importer for Daz Studio
ModelerMJ
Posts: 41
Hi, everyone. I'm new here, so please bear with me as I try to get my bearings.
I come here from the Trainz Railroad Simulator world, where I am the author of several software tools that community members have found useful over the past several years. One of these is a plugin for SketchUp that allows models to be easily ported into the Trainz environment with just a few mouse clicks. This tool works by creating an XML file that is then passed to a Trainz import utility, which in turn creates the necessary Trainz-format geometry files. My plugin also creates all the other files needed by Trainz (configuration and so on). After exporting from SketchUp, the user switches to Trainz Content Manager and imports the generated files directly, where they become immediately usable in the Trainz world-building application. The models that transfer into Trainz are very high-fidelity and carry all the original textures, transparencies, and so on.
I am interested in doing something similar for Daz. To that end I am considering writing a script in Daz that will read the XML files produced by my SketchUp Ruby plugin, and render the geometry and materials directly in Daz, after which they could be saved in a native Daz format and become useful in that environment. I found the geometry pipeline example, which seems to show most of the functionality needed to do this, but I am having a hard time with what seems to be a lack of comprehensive documentation for Daz scripting. I have consulted the Scripting API web pages, but have also found that many of the functions used in the pipeline example do not appear to be documented at all.
I am a professsional software engineer by trade, 33 years in the business, so writing the code is not the issue. What I would kindly request is some pointers to places where I can find more information related to what I am trying to accomplish, and/or some script examples that might send me in the right direction.
Any help would be appreciated, and of course comments on the idea of a SketchUp-to-Daz pipeline are welcome.
Thanks for your attention. If anyone would like to see what I've been able to accomplish for Trainz, please feel free to visit the relevant page of my web site at http://www.dhobh.net/trainz/GoogleSketchUp/RubyTMIX.htm.
Regards,
Mike
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Comments
I can't help with the scripting, but most of the models I have made and uploaded to ShareCG were made in SketchUp, so I find this interesting.
Don't be discouraged if there does not see to be interest, I think a lot of people base their opinion of SketchUp on bad 3D warehouse models and are not aware of all the plugins available beyond the basic install of SU.
Good Luck.
definitely of interest to me too
I do export sketchup models to iClone 3Dxchange and also via a Sketchucation obj exporter using older versions but not without issues especially in DAZ studio.
It was actually the first 3D modeling app I ever used back in 2009 before I found Carrara 5.
Is it TIG's exporter? If not try that one, it's much better then the older one. Also I find doing DAE to Blender and Blender to OBJ is even better.
And there is ThomThom's Quadface Tools too... That has a pretty good OBJ exporter.
TIG OBJ Exporter: https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=OBJexporter
ThomThom Quadface Tools: https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/quadface-tools
BTW- Have you heard of WrapR?... It's a simple UV mapper based on Roadkill that work from SketchUp... I've tried the beta (it's taking a while) and it's pretty good for simple stuff. WrapR: http://www.wrap-r.com
I'm not a scripting guy so I can't provide any pointers on that but I'm very interested. If you want scripting suggestions from a guru, I suggest reaching out to mCasual. He has several scripts that generate geometry so I imagine he'd be aware of the sorts of functions you'd be workin with. You can find him in the freebies forum where he has many active threads. He's very clever, friendly, and generous. PM him and see if he can help.
Add me to the list of folks eagerly awaiting a script for this!
So curious, how will this be different from exporting the .skp file to ,Obj and then importing into DAZ Studio?
I have the TIG exporter but I also have two others
the later Sketchucation one I mostly use actually lives under file not plugins like ruby scripts
I've had nothing but problems importing Sketchup-generated OBJs into Daz Studio; the meshes and UV mapping look just awful. The best technique I've found is to export .skp to .3ds, then import the .3ds file into Blender, and from there, export to either .dae* or .fbx*, then import that file into Daz. Complicated, yes, but it works - or at least it did work until my Sketchup Pro trial expired. There's no way to export to .3ds without buying Sketchup Pro, hence the need for a Sketchup-to-Daz plugin.
*OBJs are static props, whereas with .dae and .fbx all the components of a mesh are (usually) kept separate, which gives me more control over posing. It's a personal preference; others might find the static-ness of .obj more convenient.
Thanks for the feedback.
It's my impression from research conducted so far that SketchUp-OBJ to Daz is problemeatic in terms of material transfer and other isues. There is also the need to have the Pro version of SketchUp in some cases. It's my hope that the exporter I have in mind will provide a direct path from SketchUp to Daz that transfers a model with everything intact; but of course time will tell.
In Trainz, the SketchUp models came in as scenery items; in this case I envison them coming in as props. At the moment I have no illusions of anything grander than this.
Regards,
Mike
Not a scripter, sorry I cannot help but I have used both and would LOVE to have this available to me as a bridge between the two! :)
UPDATE:
I have posted a progress report at https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/169576/sketchup-importer-early-progress-report
Regards,
Mike
Progress reports and enthusiastic support are being posted over on this thread :) ... Just in case anyone else wants to pass on encouraging words or help to ModelerMJ
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/169576/sketchup-importer-early-progress-report
Hey yes good thread. Kudos:)
I personally for my production flow/pipe just using SU /sketch for rapid archutechtural modelling, and daz for characters.
I amnot looking to get super slick phot real rendered 3d form SU to daz ,but more stylized simple buildings , rooms etc , then use daz tofocus more on the close up of the characters as hey cant be doingf that with SU right. I am actually using it for an after effects mash up as video reel for proof of concept on a VR platform with an avatar AI which allows users to navigate the VR world using a avatar based off daz 3d assets ( people with face transfer plugin ,was fyi using blender b4 but daz easier faster nicer etc ) harnessing the ease in daz to animate walks gestures and basic rigging of person asset ,then well, some camera and looks nice. I was coding lots of ruby plugins also between SU and daz etc ,and well for many other programmers, between unity and unrealand 3d max / maya etc , go thread intrested me alot. The style I was going for for "demo purposes anyways " was as you can see in http://vrv.geosim.co.il/GeosimPhilly/index.aspx - just as there wanted the actual acritechture more stylized and more focus on the human interaction part.
Hence useof daz for ppl , SU for rapid model creation ,SU > export OBJ > boom into daz,simple.
Would be interested in talking to @ModelerMJ / MIke on other areas as we alsways needmore crew and could be right up street
Smiles to all :)
Leigh
ModelerMJ do you think it would be possible toake daz 3dassets aka person ,-hook them up them up as "bot style " avatar ,using lets say well,various methods , I am sure you had 30years of coding, so we on same vibe there, hook that up to client d/base and make aseetaka person in daz ,usable as realtime avatar or lets call it an " AI " avatar right , .
Yes very limted api /sdk doc's- I feeling you there.working on production pipeline for this right now. using concept of controlling the " avatars " aka creation via daz - talking facemorps etc etc and making that dynamic to webgl output <maybe either asproieratiary or plugin >allowing user to control the person asset from daz,to uity or web gl/ html5 canvass output / kinda like blender 4 web style.
Interrsting based on ur thread , yes said u initially were looking at basic interaction to import asset to daz from SU right , but code wise there so much more that could be done...
and all users could benefit from this develoment. I am not to far of this not.kinda working , but hey any hand on deck would be welcomed as colab project maybe.
QtScript, basic daz script etc and the object-oriented scripting language that is tightly integrated with the Daz Studio API, extension of QtScript, which is an extension of ECMAScript as defined in the ECMAScript Language Specification (ECMA-262),with the export of what biovison as example format , etc to others aps.....then could be simle production pipeline between belnder .3dmax,aya , su , and then unity /unreal banging out on web as gl.
interested hit me up leigh@ck22.es
but loving this thread ,2020 now was yes old post /thread yet cant see much major leaps forward yet , correct me if I a wrong ppl:) sorry lol.
love daz- awesome product.
looking at pipeline and crew - so hola peeps if u up for it man !
fyi -just added oadsonj'sto daz,from su - scripted the re layers,the api works sick,forget textures for now as per the geo simphilly exampl b4. work lovely.
so if we took the daz person asset<s> controlled that via codevia userinteraction ,then boom functional avatar usercontrolled- just ran alpha test , not bad, facial rec'nition,with lex /polly via amazon , boom , controllign avatars well.
sorry for bad english ,got finnish keyboardand dont reallyspeak ot typeenglish much these days alogies in advace for grammar .
kudosto all herein thread and those that read it
Smiles:)
Once you get the hang of it Sketchup is a fantastic piece of software for making sets. I import the .obj and then fix up the material manually. The important thing is to make sure the materials are well named in Sketchup, also that the geometry is "clean" in sketchup to avoid artefacts in iRay.
I started with Sketchup for modelling back in 2009 but sadly Trimble has made it impossible to have an executable on your desktop unless willing to buy the pro version and I find the web browser free version too difficult to use, I cannot seem to export any sort of file I can use in another program from it and nothing I have opens the available skp versions, well Twinmotion does but that doesn't export, I cannot even find a Blender python addon that will.
Seems they want to sell the pro version which is why I am unsurprised work on this plugin gone MIA.
I have several builds of sketchup none are supported by Trimble Warehouse files now
aah see... never used the warehouse so I'd not know...
This immediately makes me wonder if the exporter and importer simply reckon vertex order differently, i.e. one wants them clockwise and the other counter clockwise. That was the case for Daz versus Alembic, and was easy enough to fix. The OBJ file format is too simple for there to be something genuinely wrong with either the importer or the exporter.
I would be thrilled to see such a thing. All I really need to know at this point is what the price tag will be and where I need to throw my money ;)