How Do you make actual clothes?

Hi. How do you make the actual physical/3D shapes and such for the clothes?

Is it all using Prims, or is it outside of SL?

Anything other than the basic Linden-provided clothing parts - skirt pants, etc., is made of prims. So if you see a clothing item that isn't a standard piece, that is what they did - made it from prims (or flexi-prims).

It is, unfortunately, impossible to import the structure of clothing items created outside of SL. For example, the myriad clothing designs used in Poser or DAZ|Studio all rely on a 3D mesh that can not be imported. Textures for clothes are the only part that can be externally created.

And this is something that needs to be addressed. How many would love a tool that can convert from Obj to SL primative, has poly and prim limits (to prevent saturation and overload) and is linked to one of the major 3d mesh makers.
I am not sure that blender and josh Gomez is prim importer is it, but I know this would be a help. And it would be a great test of the scripting verifier thingy for prevent griefing.

While I would love to import .obj files and to have access to my Poser figures and/or wardrobe for use in SL, I doubt it will ever happen.

First, because SL is using Avatar technology circa Poser 4's male and female figures, and the SL engine won't support tha poly counts in current generation clothes and other poser stuff, which are a couple orders of magnitude more complex.

Second, that would open a HUGE can of worms for copyright violation. Virtually all the Poser-style clothes that you can get an .obj file for are licensed with a usage agreemant that make their use to create rendered art just fine, but which prohibits other uses. I could just see some major Poser clothing designer having fits over seeing their creations impotred into SL and sold without them getting royalties, at the very least.

Actually, I was refering to wavefront obj only not the poser obj.
With poser you have a valid point. Or maybe release a tool that does offline conversion and put an upload cap like 200. Just trying to make things easier.

It's the same. Poser uses the Wavefront OBJ format as a cross-platform export option.

The SL clothes that can be created with the appearance menu serve most purposes. Using an alpha channel to cut transparent parts out of a texture (uploaded as 32 bit TGA) lets you create almost everything. Only things like hoods, cloaks, hats and realistic looking shoes / boots need prim objects. For skirts, flexi prim skirts are "in" these days, since the standard skirt mesh makes every female posterior look fat.

ROTFLOL! The most horrible thing ever!
I know. Just trying to time manage. I have nice created meshs and I don't really have the time to learn to use blender to spit out the text. Oh well.

The fact that someone could import an obj file (like a Poser clothing item) to which they didn't have the rights is no different from being able to import a bitmap picture to which you don't have rights.

If you disallowed any tool that could be used improperly, you would have nothing.

If someone abuses copyright, then stomp on them, but don't use that as an excuse to stop me importing my own obj files, please.

Daisy, I agree with you. But considering the Linden's abyssmal record this far in taking a firm stance and solid action about copyright and intellectual property violations, I am merely observing that along with the wonderful and valid uses of being able to import .obj files, we would get a huge influx of new copyright violations. Before LL opens that Pandora's Box, they need to be prepared to actually ENFORCE copyright sanctions when someone violates copyright.

Well, I discovered why we don't have a mesh uploader. SL doesn't use meshs. (Yes, I know that is obvious, we use prims. Just hold on a second.)IT turns out that prims are primatives. Maya and 3dmax can make primatives fairly easily so why no uploader?
A primative is a parametric object. And parametric objects have no meshs at all. They are entirely different style of 3d generation. and among the 3d world a Parametric to mesh converter is easy. Doing the reverse is the equivalent of turning lead into Gold or finding the San Graal (the holy grail!)
Which means unless there is a miracle at Google, I must learn Blender! (My Maya 5 cd is in storage at my sister's place but she swares she don't know where so I could have lost it )
So baring Blender and the neat hack there. We are stuck. But you never know.