Non-blender-users

[Ricardo2020]

Howdy, Flute.

Many welcomes, always.

About those expressions and poses...

MakeHuman has a really good expression mixer and there are many pre made assets in the repository.

Blender has a really good pose mixer inside the MPFB extension, but it cannot do expressions as presets.

I need both programs to do different things. It would be nice to do both with one application. Something powerful like Blender. Something easy like MakeHuman. We are close with a plugin for Blender and the PySide6 project. I currently do my work in Blender/MPFB, but there are things I still do in MakeHuman. All my renders are done in Blender using Cycles. This is slow but beautiful, and it can ray trace. Things look real.

I can get facial movement in Blender, but it is very difficult and fiddly. I can save the face moves within the pose. I have been able to export single frame BVH files and load them into MakeHuman. I cannot get the Make Human expressions into Blender. Not yet. I am looking at the FACS targeting system and trying to figure out how to get that into MPFB. So far, I have not learned enough to know how that is done, and the face bone mechanics are not the same for the two programs with the underlying code beyond my grasp.

The crew is hard at work getting the features we need up and running, but this is no easy task and it involves a lot of hard working folks. Thanks to Punkduck and Elvaerwyn, Joe and Tomcat, Rob Bear and many others I should mention, things are moving right along. The PySide6 stuff is very interesting...

On my to do list is learning how to make particle hair. I want the hair to move with wind, motion and gravity. I want to see the strands spreading out or curling up, and looking real when rendered up close. So far, I have learned that this kind of stuff wants a really powerful computer. I have these. Now to school myself on Blender hair...

I have a feeling that learning hair will also teach me how fluid dynamics work. Imagine a figure standing under a waterfall with the spray of drops flowing and splashing. I even see me making clothes that move. They cling if tight, but wave around when loose. Hair, water and cloth that obey the laws of physics during animations would be epic. So much to do... So little time...

[flute]

Hello, Ricardo2020,
Thanks for your post. I am always very happy to receive opinions, advice or information on the evolution of makehuman.
For expressions, as I have already written, I have no problem: indeed there are already many assets for this; moreover with the expression mixer utility, it is easy to create the expressions that would be missing.
The problem remains with poses, which include more parameters, but all the news that appears on this forum allows me to hope that this problem will be solved one day. Thanks to the hard work of the team, I am well aware of it and am very grateful to you.
And good luck with making hair in the wind... It's a great idea.

[flute]

Hello,

I continue to offer you a sample of my comic strip series Line and Amande, where I use the language of Europanto in the dialogues (see definition of this "language" in my first post).

In this episode, we are talking about the Pélicot trial, which takes place in France in the fall of 2024: a man is accused of having drugged his wife without her knowledge to rape her and have her raped by men recruited on the internet for almost ten years.

For non-Europeans, I translate the dialogues and give some explanations:

1st image:
In a bar, two women and two men watch television, which announces that 51 defendants are going to be tried.
The brunette woman:
- Despicable!
The blonde woman:
- Bastards!
The gray-haired man:
- It's not that serious... After all, she was sleeping...
The bald man:
- Yes, no one died

2nd image:
Still in the bar, the television shows the accused arriving at the courthouse while hiding their faces. We also see a sketch of the hearing that shows the wives of the accused who claim that their husbands are not rapists. Gisèle Pélicot, the victim interviewed, speaks out: This is the trial of cowardice. It's time to change our view of rape.
The brunette woman:
- The guys are less proud!
The blonde woman:
- And their stunned wives!
The gray-haired man:
- Much ado about...
The bald man:
- ... a news story!

3rd image:
The four people from the bar go out into the street. In fact, they are two couples, each man hugging his partner. They are all four in the middle of a demonstration of women (including Line and Amande), who proclaim their solidarity with Gisèle Pélicot, and reaffirm her words: For shame to change sides.
The brunette woman:
- Do you understand, guys?

I remind you that for the backgrounds and various objects of my comics, I use either personal photos or free and royalty-free images that I download. I then make montages and additions with Photoshop. Concerning the assets, with the material editor, I frequently modify the colors and often make superpositions or montages with Photoshop to obtain the desired clothes or poses.

Acknowledgments for the assets:

For certain decorative elements, thanks to Pixabay and Freepik.

1ST IMAGE:

Brunette woman:
• Skin: darthfurby_caucasian_female: darthfurby
• Hair: Anime m hair2: learning?
• Clothing: fingernails_elegant: grinsegold; short_tail_camo_tee: DredNicolson; elvs_disco_pant1 : Elvaerwyn
• Pose: sitting drinking01 : Punkduck
• Expression: None

Blonde Female :
• Skin: Alana Caucasian Female with Genitals skin : spreadcore
• Hair: elv_mensponyrocker1 : Elvaerwyn
• Clothes: 50s_shirt_and_skirt : Elvaerwyn
• Pose: sittingnatural : callharvey3d

Grey Hair Male :
• Skin: Jartur_mid_old_Slavic_Male_with_Genitals_and_Beard_lsdif_lighter : jartur69
• Hair: mhair02 : culturalibre
• Clothes: Male casualsuit01 : comes with makehuman base software (1.1.1)
• Pose: sitting10 : Anrico

Bald Male :
• Skin: JJartur_old_Slavic_Male_with_Genitals_and_beard_lsdif : jartur69
• Hair : mhair02 : culturalibre
• Clothes : Male casualsuit01 : comes with makehuman base software (1.1.1)
• Pose : sitting04 : Anrico
• Expression : worried01 : Joachip

Lawyer on TV :
• Skin : middleage_caucasian_male_genitals : wolgade
• Hair : mhair02 : culturalibre
• Clothes : abayalast : abumeqbel; white flap made with Photoshop
• Pose: standing04: provided with the basic makehuman software (1.1.1)
• Expression: attention01: provided with the basic makehuman software (1.1.1)

Gisèle Pélicot:
• Skin: Skin Antonia EHS: jimlsmith9999
• Hair and glasses: Photoshop montage
• Clothes: pearl_necklace: MargaretToigo; f_lusekofta : Mindfront
• Pose and expression : None

2ND IMAGE :
Brunette woman :
Same assets as previous image except :
• Pose : sitting03 : Anrico

Blonde woman :
Same assets as previous image except :
• Pose : sitting04 : Anrico
• Expression : bragging01 : joachip

Grey hair man :
Same assets as previous image except :
• Pose : Pray sit : Punkduck
• Expression : bragging01 : joachip

Bald man :
Same assets as previous image except :
• Pose : Clap sitting2 : Punkduck
• Expression : created by me using Expression Mixer

Accused on TV (left) :
• Skin : Jartur_mid_old_Slavic_Male_with_Genitals_and_Beard_lsdif_lighter : jartur69
• Hair: mhair02: culturalibre
• Clothes: munskydd: Joel Palmius; f_coat_duffle: Mindfront; m_trousers_02: Mindfront
• Pose: Walking bent: Punkduck

Accused on TV (right):
• Skin: Jartur_mid_old_Slavic_Male_with_Genitals_and_Beard_lsdif_lighter: jartur69
• Hair: mhair02: culturalibre
• Clothing: elvs_beanie_slouch: Elvaerwyn; denim_jacket: Punkduck; mens_trouser_f_elv1 : Elvaerwyn
• Pose : Protect : Punkduck

Policeman on TV :
• Skin : Kamden skin : Mindfront
• Clothes : MC-SkinSuit_2022 : MatCreator (POLICE inscription made with Photoshop)
• Pose : Elvs snowbd stand bal1 : Elvaerwyn
• Expression : None

Sketch audience: (Photoshop filter used for drawing effect)
Left judge:
• Skin: old_caucasian_male_genitals: Wolgade
• Hair: short02: provided with makehuman base software (1.1.1)
• Clothes: abayalast: abumeqbel; blue_scarf : culturalibre
• Pose : sittingnatural : callharvey3d
• Expression : concentrating : callharvey3d

Right Judge :
Same assets as left judge except hair and :
• Expression : attention01 : comes with makehuman base software (1.1.1)

Woman of 'accused:
• Skin: light_skin_makeup: MargaretToigo
• Hair: short02: culturalibre
• Clothes: Worn_out_sweater: janexx
• Pose: Waiter: Punkduck
• Expression: created by me using the Expression Mixer utility

Gisèle Pélicot:
Same assets as in previous image except:
• Clothes: blue_scarf: culturalibre
• Expression: created by me using the Expression Mixer utility

3RD IMAGE:
From left to right, back row:

Line:
Same assets (skin, hairstyle, clothes) as the previous episodes
• Pose: elvs_superhim_stand2 : Elvaerwyn
• Expression: created by me using the Expression Mixer utility

Amande:
Same assets (skin, hair, clothes) as previous episodes
• Pose: pole_hangman_twisted_grip : Punkduck
• Expression: Vocalize03 : Joachip

Bald Man :
Same assets as previous image except:
• Pose: hand_on_shoulder02 : Punkduck
• Expression: worried01 : joachip

Brunette woman :
Same assets as previous image except:
• Pose: Pray stand : Punkduck
• Expression: created by me using the Expression Mixer utility

Grey haired man:
Same assets as the previous image except:
• Pose: hand_on_shoulder01: Punkduck
• Expression: created by me using the Expression Mixer utility

Blonde woman:
Same assets as previous image except:
• Pose: Clapping: Punkduck
• Expression: created by me using Expression Mixer

From left to right, 1st row:

Blonde protester (back view):
• Hair: elvs_adrienne_hair1: Elvaerwyn
• Clothes: denim_jacket : Punkduck
• Pose: train departure : Punkduck

Brunette protester (back view):
• Hair: Braid01: provided with makehuman base software (1.1.1)
• Clothes: shortbodysuit : Punkduck
• Pose: train departure : Punkduck

Grey Hair Protester:
• Skin: darthfurby_caucasian_female: darthfurby
• Hair: Bob02: Comes with makehuman base software (1.1.1)
• Clothes: Supermanshirt: O4saken
• Pose: Waving certificate: Punkduck
• Expression: Singing05: joachip

Black protester:
• Skin: creamy_female : skalldyrssuppe
• Hair: Afro01: provided with makehuman base software (1.1.1)
• Clothes: short_tail_camo_tee : DredNicolson
• Pose: Waving certificate : Punkduck
• Expression: Singing05 : joachip

Brunette protester with tank top :
• Skin:  young_asian_male_genitals: wolgade
• Hair: animehair: learning
• Clothes: ww_bracelet: Punkduck; ladiestank1elv: Elvaerwyn; tightjeans : Punkduck
• Pose: train departure : Punkduck
• Expression: protesting : joachip

Redhead protester :
• Skin: darthfurby_caucasian_female : darthfurby
• Hair: curly2 : Punkduck
• Clothes: knitted_sweater_02 : Mindfront ; ladiestank1elv : Elvaerwyn ; tightjeans : Punkduck
• Pose: train departure : Punkduck
• Expression: bragging01 : joachip

Once again, I hope I didn't forget anyone in the asset acknowledgements, and I also apologize in case I made a mistake in attributing some assets.

[Ricardo2020]

I always enjoy your art, Ma'am. Very well done.

I am reminded of how one can take a limited collection of poses and, by using just the right camera angle, get an infinite number of actions when rendered. It matters not how the capture was done if the results are good enough to use as a layer for more post editing where the humans are placed inside a scene.

I have used the camera trickery to make a pose look like another one, the one I wanted verses the one I got. I have all of the MH pose assets, and the camera lets me fake many times that number, just as you have done here. It is epic to see somebody really get in there like that. This takes skill, indeed.

You manage to get very good results since you know where to put the camera and which poses work best with the story line. Also, the credit list is incredible and the ones who are featured in your art need to take a gander and be honored that you took the time and effort to document your work with such detail.

[flute]

Thanks again for your kind remarks Ricardo2020 !

[Ricardo2020]

Many welcomes, Flute.