Sculpty creation in Blender: queries

Hi people.
A glimmer of light at the end of the self imposed 'mastering sculpty modelling' tunnel - I'm just starting to get my head round Sculpties and trying to master the intricacies of Blender, with Domino Murama's impressive add-in scripts for modelling with sculptie meshes. (Wish I could get my head round the complexities of programming but even mastering the fundamentals of Blender have taxed me to the limit!)
Think I'm beginning to get the hang of things but have some queries which I can't find answers to in the various blogs/tutorials/forum threads I've looked through, so if anyone can help me with some answers I'd be most grateful as I'd prefer to understand the basics before I start spending real/SL cash in uploads which turn out wrong.
Ok - queries..........

1) If I use, say, a cylinder sculpty mesh as the basis for modelling instead of the usual sphere, when I import the texture into SL do I need to create the basic prim using the cylinder to apply to or will the texture convert any basic prim building shape into the sculpty? If it has to be the same as the starting shape in Blender I'll have to do some additional organising to ensure I know which shape to use in SL for which sculpty texture.

2) Is there a straightforward way of ensuring the axes orientation of the sculpty transfers correctly to SL? When I tried one on the beta grid it came in on its side. Are things going to go very wrong if I use non-standard axes for the initial sculpty shape to facilitate the sculpty modellling?

3) Similar query on maintaining proportions on the respective axes of the sculpty mesh. My test upload resulted in a squashed object rather than the shape as it appeared in Blender.

4) If I model separate elements of an object as individual sculpties in Blender, is there a way of uploading/creating them in SL so that they are in their correct relative positions to each other, or do I have to do it by eye in SL? I can't quite see how I would create and position the separate prims before applying the sculpty texture to make the object appear as a cohesive entity.
Thanks for any advice/pointers from you experts out there.

Drifter.

No. Sculptie types are separate from the normal prim types. You do need to set the sculptie type, but any prim will do.



The shapes generated by add - mesh - sculpt mesh should have the correct alignment (though you can make it wrong depending on your modelling). The side view in Blender is the front view in SL.



Generally this is the preferred behaviour as it gives the most detail in your sculpties. Check the console after baking the map for sizing information in SL. There is a "keep scale" option in the dev scripts, but these aren't ready for release yet and have quite a few quirks.



A multi prim export and import is on my todo list. It's likely to be included when I rewrite the scripts to support oblong sculpties once they are finalised. https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-9384

Until then you have to do it manually, I'd apply the map and scale the sculpties, then align them. If your root prim in Blender is at 0,0,0 then the Blender locations will be pretty close to the settings you need in SL.

Domino,
Thanks for the comprehensive and speedy reply. VI very much appreciate the assistance and, as I said initially, you have my utmost admiration for having the smarts to get your head around the programming - way beyond mere mortal comprehension!

Apologies if this sounds like labouring my points but I need to get it all straight in my own mind, so can you kindly confirm my understanding of your reply as follows........


By setting the sculptie type you mean in Blender, but I can rez any prim shape in SL build mode to apply the resulting texture to?

So if I add a cyclinder sculptie mesh in Blender then rotate it a specific amount to facilitate the 3D modelling the resulting sculptie will be imported into SL at the same angle or will I have to manually to the equivalent rotation?

Can you please explain where on the console the sizing info appears? I'm still somewhat daunted by the Blender interface!

Still struggling with this one. I can't quite see how to rez the various SL prims relative to their Blender counterparts given that rezzing in SL is very much a case of pointing at an arbitrary spot on the ground and left clicking. Does your reply suggest I need a gridded building box and substantial self discipline as well as keeping note of the respective blender object co-ordinates?

Thanks again, oh great Sculptie Blender guru!

Drifter

In SL you set the prim type to sculptie, then you can set the sculptie type. In SL any prim can be changed to any other type, so the starting prim doesn't matter.



It depends. If you rotate the model in object mode, then the rotation will need setting in SL. If you rotate the verts in edit mode, then the rotation is baked into the sculptie map.



Viewing the console is different for Windows, Linux or Mac. Windows is the easiest as you just click the other Blender window on the taskbar.



Say you have two sculpties in Blender. One at 0,0,0 and one at 1,1,1. After setting up the first prim in SL, look at it's location. Say its 100.25, 25.5, 51.75, you rez another prim and set it's location to 101.25, 26.5, 52.75 which is the result of adding the 2nd prims location in Blender to the SL location of the root prim.

OK Domino, many thanks for clarifications - and your patience with a newbie/learner(slow)/semiskilled computer user.
I'm probably not going to set the world (SL) alight with my sculptie creations but even just the satisfaction of having made something myself will make me happy!


Drifter

Domino - or others with knowledge,
Could someone explain the significance of 4 numerical values for the rotation co-ordinates when baking sculptie meshes in Blender
- example: PRIM_ROTATION, < -0.00000, -0.70711, 0.00000, 0.70711 > ] )
I can cope with 3 (x, y, z) but the fourth one has me really confused.
Thanks for help.

Drifter

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Rotation

It's a quaternion same as LSL uses.

/me pulls hair out - in moderate sized clumps.
I think I understand what the quaternions are about from the wiki but I'm still at a loss at how the four numerical values translate to the x/y/z manipulation of objects in SL build/edit mode.
Being a cheapskate trying to save the vast sum of L$10 by not uploading the associated .lsl file (which presumably fixes the sculptie orientation from the Blender object data), is there a relationship between the quaternions values and the SL edit x/y/z which will let me ensure the correct sculptie object orientation without mega-complex ?
I'm steadily reading my way through the Blender manual but haven't come across anything that helps on this specific matter so far.
Any pointers to an appropriate idiot's guide?
Thanks.


Drifter

Press n in object mode to bring up the transforms window. The euler version of the rotation is displayed there.

PS: You cut and paste the lsl into a new script, so no upload fees are involved.

How many times can I thank you, Domino!
Maybe I'd best go back to mopping floors and watching Eastenders on telly - my brain hurts!


Drifter