[Tutorial]Creating Custom Rigging Templates

This will not have a video.  It is intended for advanced users of DAZ Studio.  You need to know how to use your modeling software and how to rig a clothing item in DS before you even think about trying this.

I get asked about this occasionally, but usually I place it with reverse projection morphs in the category of "things that are too hard for the average user," so I just answer the question one on one.  The purpose of this tutorial is to create a reference for future vendors, and to remind myself if I forget in future.

You can turn any item into a rigging template in DAZ Studio.  You shouldn't, because a lot of items will work very poorly for that.  Some things will also never produce good results with a template, because rigging them properly is based on doing an unusual procedure correctly (high-heeled shoes) or because their geometry is too complex for projection to be sufficient (things with detailed hanging sleeves, hoods, or other special surface features, or loincloths with a crotch section where precise rigging is needed in border areas).

Also remember that a template cannot convey joint-controlled morphs or rigidity maps, so you will still need to do those on any item you're rigging for commercial use.  It's more of a shortcut to not have to keep manually adding the same bones to different items, which is why they're popular for AutoFit conversion.

With those important caveats, you create a template using these steps:

1. Create or load a rigged clothing item in DAZ Studio.  It has to be in DS, and it has to be in TriAx or General Weight Mapping, not a .cr2.  If creating a new one, its geometry from your modeling software should be simple, a single sheet of dense polygons.  Remember, you're doing this for smooth transfer, not for looks.  It can have custom bones, and mine always do; but it needs to be completely finalized, figure rigging memorized, etc., before you proceed to step 2.  Make no mistake, this is the hard part; the rest is easy.

This item can have morphs that you want copied too, but they have to be simple enough to transfer well; "breast bridge fix" works, "skirt movement for an underlayer" does not (in fact, nothing involved with layered geometry works well with templates).

2. File--Save As--Scene Assets-- Figure/Prop Asset.

3. Choose a location for your .duf anywhere in the library.  It won't matter because you're going to copy it to a new location.  Give it the name you want to appear in the AutoFit and Transfer Utility, though, such as Short Dress 1 or Cape With Collar.

4.  After you click Accept on that, a popup appears asking for the Vendor Name and Product Name.  Choose the Product Name you want to use, but under Vendor Name put the full path to the template instead of your vendor name.

For Genesis 3 Female and a dress, a typical example is:

DAZ 3D/Genesis 3/Female/Tools/Projection Templates/Dresses

If it was Genesis 2 Male and pants it would be:

DAZ 3D/Genesis 2/Male/Tools/Projection Templates/Pants

Click Accept.

5.  Copy the .duf you saved to the library (or cut it).  You probably put it somewhere in People/Genesis or Genesis 2 or Genesis 3/Clothes.

In each DAZ figure's data files (which are always in data/DAZ 3D) there is a Tools/Projection templates and a Projection Templates folder.  For this step, we want the one that is NOT under Tools.  For Genesis 3 Female the path is:

data/DAZ 3D/Genesis 3/Female/Projection Templates

Here you will see Footwear.duf, Full-Body.duf, and the other default projection templates for the figure listed.  If you see a lot of folders with those names instead, you are in the wrong place.

Paste your .duf from the library into this folder.  If you wish, you may create a subfolder for your new category of templates; there are already folders called "Dresses" and "Hair."  My own product for Genesis 3 Female adds one called "Cape."



Now if you load your figure (G1, G2, G3) from the library and load a clothing item from another generation, the AutoFit popup should show your new template in its list.  Congratulations!  You have created a new template for rigging in DAZ Studio!