Possible to download Avatar to 3D program?

Hello,

I was wondering if it is possible to somehow download your avatar in a 3D file-format and open it in one of the 3D authoring softwares like Blender.

Also, would this be violating the ToS?

Anyone have any ideas?

You can download the default avatar meshes from the Second Life site:
http://secondlife.com/community/avatar.php

You can also get more variations from the Avatar Databank:
http://www.ccccybernetics.com/avatar_databank/

Or these ones that are in zBrush format:
http://www.secondskinlabs.com/Downloads/downloads2.html

Hey Vlad, thanks for the response.

Is there no way to download your avatar as it appears on screen at any given moment?

I guess that's a "no"?

No, you can't download to any 3D application your entire avatar, including all appearanace settings, the skin you are wearing, or the clothes and accessories you are wearing. Most skins, clothes, avatar shapes, prim avatar parts, and other accessories are not licensed for use anywhere but within SL. And even if they were, there is simply no mechanism for doing that export.

Here's a few links related to exporting SL avatars:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-17-Tall-Cardboard-Papercraft-Gandhi/

http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/tag/Rapid+Prototyping/

Someone at Fabjectory should know about how to do this, see http://www.fabjectory.com/. Whether they want to take time explaining things to non-customers I have no idea.

http://mindies.org probably has some information on the subject.

I'll wager someone in the libsecondlife group has some ideas. (Someone other than me, that is.)

I remember there was a way to do the 3D capture with a software widget. I have to search for it, but basically it captured the 3D information sent to the display driver if I remember right. You can then use regular 3D program with the resulting file, but you cannot reload the files back into the system.

OK found the link: http://ogle.eyebeamresearch.org/
Here is their little spill on what they do:
OGLE (i.e. OpenGLExtractor) is an open source software package by the Eyebeam OpenLab that allows for the capture and re-use of 3D geometry data from 3D graphics applications running on Microsoft Windows. It works by observing the data flowing between 3D applications and the system's OpenGL library, and recording that data in a standard 3D file format. In other words, a 'screen grab' or 'view source' operation for 3D data.

The primary motivation for developing OGLE is to make available for re-use the 3D forms we see and interact with in our favorite 3D applications. Video gamers have a certain love affair with characters from their favorite games; animators may wish to reuse environments or objects from other applications or animations which don't provide data-level access; architects could use this to bring 3D forms into their proposals and renderings; and digital fabrication technologies make it possible to automatically instantiate 3D objects in the real world.