Flexi clothing - please help!

Hi everyone. Am just opening up a clothes shop - and like the stuff i have made but would like to start learning about how to make flexi gowns. Could someone point me in the right direction? I have looked at the flexi business in a box on the sl exchange but dont think thats what i want.

I want to make my own stuff from scratch and learn how to do it - not just mod stuff that someone else has made! Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks x

Here is a tutorial http://slnatalia.blogspot.com/2006/12/day-97-making-flexi-prim-skirts-with.html

Thanks for that link - sure i will find it useful! x

Hi!

The best advice I can give is to play with the flexi!

No...seriously. There are so many different ways to make flexi skirts/gowns you really need to just set some time aside and experiment.

Put yourself on that posing stand, make a basic skirt (placing the prims around your av's waist or hips), attach them then change their flexi properties until you've had enough and cannot bear to see another flexi prim for...oh...say 20 minutes

For example: using the cube, cutting it a bit then playing with the different flexi settings will give you a totally different look than if you used the cylinder. Attaching the flexi prims lower on the body vs. higher on the waist will again give you a different style of dress.

You may decide you like the prims to have a very soft, almost ethereal feel to them, or perhaps prefer them to snap back into position quickly after the av has moved.

These are all things that will change the entire feel of your outfit.

Keep in mind that the different lengths of the prims will also change how how they move.

I'm not trying to give you the brush off....honestly! If you have any specific questions i will be more than happy to answer them if you post them here on the forum.

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Best,
~Ari

hi - this is probably really stupid of me but how do u set the flexi settings and texture on the prims etc......

Thanks for your help!

In the prim editing menu, click the more button, then explore the tabs there. (Easy cop out answer)



Ok, really, not in game right now so don't remember exactly what the tabs are called, but in the third one you have the option for flexi, tick the box named, hahaha, flex properties (or some such). As for the texture, click the texture tab (fourth tab) and click the box there for texture. Play with the numbers in the repeats, add shiny, add bumpy, play play play. Then figure out what you like and keep that.

Experiment with everything.

A

Hello again!

Abba pretty much explained it...but here's a bit of the tutorial I'm writing about flexi prims.

Things you need to know about the flexi:
-Only 3 prims can be made flexi: Box, cylinder, & the pyramid
-Flexi=phantom (always, even if you are not wearing it)
-You cannot attach anything to the flexible end of a flexified prim. This means that one end will always be hanging loose.

How to flexify your prims:
-Rez a prim (one of the aforementioned types)
-In the Edit menu to the FEATURES tab
-You will see a box that allows you to check for flexi or un-check..check it.
-There are several options by which you can control the flexi (probably not in the correct order):
Softness (how firm or wobbly your prim will be)
Gravity (how much it will or will not react to the downward force of gravity)
Drag (how quickly it will snap back to its original position after being moved)
Wind (determines if the prim will or will not react to the wind)
Tension (how tense your prim will be... DUH)
Z,X, & Y Force (determines the force placed upon the prim on that axis)
-The size, cut, and length will vary the reaction the settings will have upon your prim, so play around with these until you find the flow you like

Texturing the prim:
-In the EDIT menu click on the Texture tab (if it isn't showing click the MORE button)
-You will see a thumbnail for TEXTURE and one for COLOR
-Click on the TEXTURE window and your inventory will open to your Textures folder
-Click on the texture you want, then click SELECT
-To preview your prim in the texture you are selecting, make sure the APPLY IMMEDIATELY check box is...well checked
-Color is basically the same way
-You can also determine if your prim will be SHINY (the drop down menu), or if it will appear to be lit up in the absence of light (BRIGHT)
-You can also add BUMPINESS to it to give it the appearance of having more depth.

Enjoy!
~Ari

Thanks for all your help guys! Just one more question (sorry!).

When my avatar (and others) are wearing the flexi skirts it makes their bottoms look huge! i realise that this might be a problem solved by playing with the settings, but thought i would get your advice too! The flexi panels on the skirt seem to flare out below the bottom therefore making the bottom stick out - if you see what i mean..... x

I'm not sure I'm understanding you. How far the skirt flares out from the body depends on you and how you design it. You decide if you want it out from the body at a 45 degree angle or if it will follow the lines of the body. This will also determine how the bottoms look.

If you're talking about the mesh skirt..the bottom has to practically be in the negative numbers in order for the skirt to fit without adding about 50 lbs to your av.

~Ari

hi - thanks for the reply. when u are talking about the 45 degree angle isnt that the flare angle when the avatar moves? so when the avatar is standing still u can see a big bottom sticking out of the flexi skirt? am trying out moving each panel to better conceal the bum!

It's come up before. See: http://slged.blogspot.com/2007/01/looprez-and-peoples-posteriors.html

and

http://slged.blogspot.com/2007/01/looprez-and-peoples-posteriors-part-2.html

...for my attempted solution to the problem. But I'm sure most skirt designers just fix it manually, by hand.

If you haven't done so yet, check out a tool called LoopRez. It could save you quite a bit of time. I love it!

Thank you everyone - particuarly to Ged Larsen as wouldnt have gotten anywhere had it not been for his genius script!

Have been editing all the panels manually and that seems to be working - bit time consuming but thats ok!

Actually, please feel free to let me know what parts still typically require significant "hand editing" -- if it's something "systematic enough", I'd be interested in figuring out if there's an automated, scripted solution I could incorporate.

Discussions about what is still problematic / difficult about the process are what best suggest improvements

well, the panels are all too far inside the avatars body - i have to move them out and reposition them. perhaps the circle the skirt forms could be bigger so that it lies just over the body instead of inside?

Hi - trying to make my own skirt panels - am creating the cone but cant see how to cut it in half - can anyone help? x

Rhiannon, are you using the free version or the retail version? While the free version is a very helpful product, the retail version adds many more options to get perfect fit, flare, etc... as well as solving the back end issue you mentioned earlier in the thread. All of this is done through chat commands after you've rezzed your panels and linked them.

I also had a question for you, Ged. Have you considered or would it be possible through notecards to add a side angle much like the back angle? My designs are inspired by historical gowns from different eras. The backangle feature was very helpful in creating a flexi bustle for a Victorian gown, and I was thinking it would be great if there were a side angle option so that I could do an 18th century look with panniers while keeping the front flat. And once more thanks for releasing the LoopRez. If there were a Second Life award for most helpful product, my vote would most definitely go to you!

I can't look at SL right now, but after you create the cone, hollow it, and I believe it is called Path Cut to cut it in half.

hi there - could u tell me where to get the retail version - would like to have a look. thanks x

DISCLAIMER: I'm writing about my own commercial product -- sorry for the product talk, that's not in classifieds

I think you're missing out on some things it can do.

First off, if you are using the free script: at the top, where you can choose the name of the panel to rez, the number of objects, and how much each panel should flare outwards, there is also "xRadius = #" and "yRadius = #". (Sorry it's so geeky named, but when I wrote it, I was thinking of the ellipse math equations.)

Anyway, change the "xRadius" number to change the front to back size of the skirt, and change the "yRadius" number to change the side to side size of the skirt. There you go!

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AND, if you are using the Deluxe edition that adjusts everything in real time with chat commands, rather than by editing a script, you REALLY need to learn more about what it can do, LOL. In that case, you should definitely check out the tutorial at http://slged.blogspot.com/2007/01/looprez-deluxe-tutorial.html as well as the other pages under Helpful Links at the bottom of
http://slged.blogspot.com/2007/01/introducing-looprez-deluxe.html

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Glad you've found LoopRez helpful

Edited to add: oops, should have read the other responses before posting. This is a little redundant now.

Betty -- customized flare adjustment is something I've been planning to add to the skirt programmer for AGES now, along with a request by, I believe, a fellow-Caledonian of yours, to add in absolute position changes. Both _should_ be possible, and would allow changes in rotation and position, customized as you go around the skirt. One reason I haven't gotten to it is because the skirt programmer is so "advanced", that I doubt more than a handful of people actually use it. Still, I'll try to get to it!

Should be the same place you got the free version, Sirena, unless the free version is available in more places now than it used to be. It's on a different wall than the freebie version. There is the Personal version for making things only for yourself (what you make will not be transferable) and the Commercial version which lets you create items with you as the maker and full perms.

Thanks Ged! I'm going to have to read over the skirt programmer information on your blog again and see what I can figure out. Ah yes....I think I know who that would be. Which reminds me I was planning on working on an outfit for her seaside party this weekend...

thanks to everyone for their help. i will most definately check out the commercial retail version and hopefully with the tutorials help will succeed! x

Have gone and got the commercial version of looprez and i have to say that its amazing - ged u are a genius!

However i do have one question - is there a way or command to make the skirt panels longer or shorter or do you just have to make your own? x

Oh, there's much still for you to explore!

There are 2 ways:

1) with an already rezzed and linked skirt-in-progress, use the "Edit Linked Parts" in the Edit Menu, select a single panel, edit it to your heart's content, and then right-click to "Touch" it. All parameters will be propagated from that edited panel, to all the other panels in the skirt-in-progress. (Caveat: with the deluxe "personal" edition, textures won't propagate, but everything else will, because of a SL permissions bug.)

For your question above, about length, this would probably be the easiest way. Edit linked part --> select panel --> change size --> touch the edited panel.


2) use the "DropScript". Have a rezzed and linked skirt-in-progress. Now, separately, rez close-by and edit a separate panel to have all the features you want. When you're done, drop the "DropScript" onto that separate panel, and a pop-up dialog will come up, asking you which specific features of your separate panel you'd like transferred. Pick, and all those features will be transmitted to the skirt-in-progress.

The separate template panel has to be FULL permissions (to prevent people from copying things they don't own). This method will work fine for sending textures, even with the "personal" deluxe edition.

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Make sure you explore the "Helpful Links" section, at the bottom of: http://slged.blogspot.com/2007/01/introducing-looprez-deluxe.html

I still haven't written up real documentation on using the "Skirt Programmer", which I'm still tweaking with. It allows the ability to change skirt panel parameters, depending on position around the waist. I.e., long pleats on one side, short on another; gradients of color. Currrently, I'm working on what Betty asked for, which is variable "flare", not just in the back, as well as variable position.

I think it'll be helpful, but it still it comes at the price of very high complexity, and is rather difficult to use.