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Mimic for Carrara

gaffer2gaffer2 Posts: 67
edited December 1969 in Carrara Discussion

I am unable to find more DMC files. and I am not sure if they can be made.by me. I read the pdf and yes you can create a NLA for a audio file but without a DMC don't you have to build each file to the audio ? any info is good info!

Comments

  • 3DAGE3DAGE Posts: 3,311
    edited December 1969

    Hi Gaffer :)

    With Mimic for Carrara, you can create your own NLA poses for the facial / vocal expressions and associate those with Vocal sounds, so that mimic analyses the sound and creates the lipsync according to how you set up the NLA poses to the sounds.

    You'd normally only need to create the NLA poses once for your character, and then save the file,. and the NLA clips/poses will be saved with it,... the NLA poses can also be saved separately to your clips folder in the browser (or a folder for that character),.

    old pic...

    Hope it helps :)

    Mimic_for_Carrara.jpg
    1280 x 1024 - 280K
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,570
    edited December 2012

    No way! That's too freakin' cool! Thanks 3dage!
    So, if I'm reading this right, it's an NLA Master Pose that you save, or a clip - which is it?
    Then you only save info for the head?
    Where did you come to learn this?

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • 3DAGE3DAGE Posts: 3,311
    edited December 1969

    Hi Dartanbeck :)

    yes,. you save an NLA Pose,. for each vocal shape, like OOh,. Ch, Aah, etc..
    then get mimic to analyse the sound, and it adds your NLA poses to the time-line to make the lip-sync.

    As with any automated processes, there will be some refinement and adjustment needed to get things right. but it's a Big, time-saver.

    It's all in the Mimic for Carrara manual (PDF)

    :)

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Dartanbeck just got a step closer to finishing his epic! ;-)

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,570
    edited December 1969

    Right. I was planning to be in the studio with two other voice actors by now, but I got busy with masonry work. Now I haven't had nearly as much time with Carrara as I wanted - but soon I'm taking the time to get some of this done. I'll have to search for that manual. Didn't even know I had one! lol

    Thanks, Big Time!

  • wcwilcoxwcwilcox Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    After creating voice expressions, is there a way of saving them as DMC files?

    I have Mimic Pro, which appears to save DMC files, but for the live of me I can figure out how to use it.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,570
    edited December 1969

    I believe that the Mimic Pro (stand alone version) pdf manual has good instructions on how this is done - If I remember correctly, you use Mimic to go through each sound and expression and set it up in there. When you've finished (at least for the day), you can export or save the DMC file from the Mimic menu. It's been forever since I've read it. I downloaded the manual years ago to see what you do with it. Impressive software, that!

  • 3DAGE3DAGE Posts: 3,311
    edited December 1969

    In Mimic Pro (stand alone) you should have an option on the FILE menu, to "Save configuration file" (DMC) (see pic)

    This allows you to add or change the morphs used in the Phonemes and visemes to suit your customised Daz3D figure.

    In Mimic for Carrara,. once you set up the poses to be used for vocal sounds, your Carrara Character and it's Mimic settings can be saved as a Scene or as an Object (animated group) and will load with all the mimic settings and NLA poses.

    Hope it helps :)

    mimic_pro.jpg
    819 x 683 - 113K
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,570
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for that, 3dage!

  • wcwilcoxwcwilcox Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Thanks 3DAge.

  • gaffer2gaffer2 Posts: 67
    edited December 1969

    thanks 3Dage and every body else I found it easier to make the DMC on mimic and use it in carrara! anyone want a DMC file for Sledge? from Sixus1 ?

  • magaremotomagaremoto Posts: 1,227
    edited December 1969

    Mimic, that's the question
    when I approached seriously carrara since 2008, I intended to use it for professional animation because I had understood the potential, well after three years I am more than ever convinced that I am right: the only reason holding me back is the facial animation of daz characters plus mimic as well that are far from being usable (hope I'm wrong): everything that is still to be improved in carrara does not scare me, not the bags nor weight maps or hair or dinamic clothes or some animation lacks or anything like that, but the facial animation is an obstacle too difficult to overcome because it inheres a part of the reality we know too well, the human face and its expressions. my hope for daz and carrara is to seriously address this issue because it is essential for those who want to use them professionally.
    about the rest professionals are ready to work on it imo, but facial animation need to have additional basic starting points from which they can move forward

  • gaffer2gaffer2 Posts: 67
    edited December 1969

    magnito? wharever, if you have carrara and mimic
    you can create morphs in carrara save the file open it in mimic pro ajust the morphs to the Phonems ( happy new year Im smashed) and the n apply the DMC file to the charitor in carrara trust me it works! don't be pesomistic!!

  • gaffer2gaffer2 Posts: 67
    edited December 1969

    I'm not under the infuence of alchol as some thikle peep i am!!

  • 3DPixLA3DPixLA Posts: 0
    edited January 2013

    I was astonished that a saved Poser talk designer (animation) file actually renders in Carrara with proper lip sync. Wish I thought of testing this earlier... So if you don't own Mimic for Carrara or have the DMC file for characters like Miki and company, here is another workaround.

    Post edited by 3DPixLA on
  • magaremotomagaremoto Posts: 1,227
    edited December 1969

    thanks to both of you,
    the issue I was talking about is mainly related to muscle contraction and microdisplacement for facial wrinkles that make the difference between a real and a robotic conversation. actually you can export your character to another app and act on it (i.e. zbrush) but the coming back to carrara (via goz) looses some data, so I hope that kinect and microdisplacement for wrinkles may be part of carrara development in the near future

    http://vimeo.com/23548524
    http://www.cimerr.net/conference/board/data/conference/1285833205/A5_2.pdf

  • gaffer2gaffer2 Posts: 67
    edited December 1969

    I am working on the Idea that if you create the morph in another program and save the modified cr2 that mimic pro will let you animate it.

  • wetcircuitwetcircuit Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    It's rather shocking that Disney made any animations at all without microdisplacement and relaistic fibrosity under the skin tissue... What could they have been thinking?

    :smirk:

  • magaremotomagaremoto Posts: 1,227
    edited January 2013

    I'd like to animate mr. Scrooge face without these tools, so actually I know what I could have been thinking:

    TUTORIAL TUTORIAL

    Post edited by magaremoto on
  • tsaristtsarist Posts: 1,614
    edited December 1969

    holly wetcircuit said:
    It's rather shocking that Disney made any animations at all without microdisplacement and relaistic fibrosity under the skin tissue... What could they have been thinking?

    :smirk:


    Holly, there's Disney
    and then there's everyone else.
  • magaremotomagaremoto Posts: 1,227
    edited December 1969

    in carrara it would be enough for me to use the mocap and microdisplacement of 'a christmas carol' and I would be the happiest man in the world. for microd I mean the ability to create small furrows but also small bumps as in a frowning forehead, all the rest, including facial fibrosity can be done in carrara imo with decent outcomes

  • wetcircuitwetcircuit Posts: 0
    edited January 2013

    magaremoto said:
    in carrara it would be enough for me to use the mocap and microdisplacement of 'a christmas carol' and I would be the happiest man in the world. for microd I mean the ability to create small furrows but also small bumps as in a frowning forehead, all the rest, including facial fibrosity can be done in carrara imo with decent outcomes

    Carrara's bumb channel is pretty strong... certainly strong enough for "small furrows and bumps" on the forehead...

    Try putting an ADD operator in the bump channel and combining your bump and micro-displacement maps there.

    If you turn up your overall bumpstrength, you can turn down the brightness of your regular bumpmap. It may take a bit of tweaking, but you should be able to find satisfying settings without too much effort.

    ...and of course shaders can be animated, so these "furrow" lines might need to go to zero brightness to hide them from your shader...

    Post edited by wetcircuit on
  • magaremotomagaremoto Posts: 1,227
    edited December 1969

    thanks Holly,
    I suspected a way like this, you substantiate what I have been thinking about. the only way to prove if it works is giving it a try on daz models; for some reasons it's difficult to make wrinkles of your own on image textured items without acting over maps in Ps especially if they are going to be animated

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