Breakable Props

OrionPax09

We have all kinds of action-oriented props and characters available in DAZ/Poser, and just the sort of set up that would result in all kinds of things being utterly and completely destroyed. However, we have no means of really doing so aside from special textures. And while I am aware of the Live Architecture Bundle...that still isn't much. But wouldn't it be something to have props and so on that can be destroyed or broken or whatever? Chairs, tables, desks that can be smashed? Walls and even buildings that can be destroyed? And yes, I've learned enough about 3D sculpting to know that this would be far more difficult than to create simple, standard props. But I do think it's something to be considered.

Steven-V

There is a 'Shattered' product that does just this sort of thing with glass.  I've used it to fairly good effect.  One would think that if this can be done with panes of glass, it could be done with other flat objects, at least (walls, floors, ceilings, roofs). 

maclean

This topic comes up from time to time, and it's a great concept, but no one ever really does it on a large scale. I can think of several reasons why not. Firstly, it's difficult - not just to model, but to decide which of the many possible ways to break the props, and how many breakages are needed. Secondly, the poly count and the number of pieces increases dramatically. Take a chair. Rather than a single prop, you might end up with 7-8 pieces, depending on how it breaks. Now that may not be an issue for customers who are looking for broken props, but you're not going to sell it to someone who just wants a chair. To be fair, there are plenty standard prop sets out there, so that's not too big a deal. But the fact remains that each prop will have multiple parented pieces and a higher poly count. Not to mention an increased product cost with the extra work.

Thirdly, (and this is an important point), where do you start? If I make a set of broken furniture, I'm willing to bet people will want broken rooms, or walls or something I didn't do. There's a whole universe of 3d stuff out there, so anyone who attempts this needs to find a starting point, and it's not easy to know what would sell. An important point, if your livelihood depends on your next paycheck from DAZ.

As I say, it's a great idea, but not one I see myself ever tackling. Apart from anything else, I get the feeling that the market for any such product would be fairly limited, and sales might not justify the effort involved. Sadly, as with almost everything these days, in the end it comes down to dollars and cents. That's a real shame, but it's one of the curses of making 3d content full time.

mac

Steven-V

As a note... Blender does have options to break things. So you could theoretically import your object into Blender and have it do the break for you.

However, just keep in mind that you need the object to be fully 3-dimensional if you break it in blender -- i.e., it needs ot have thickness. Not all models have that, depending on how the person went about creating them. So it's possible that the chair could look hollow after you break it. You can fix that in Blender too but now you are talking some real work.

Richard Haseltine

Also bear in mind that breaking things will expose new surfaces, which need UVs (at least for a store product) and texturing.

sriesch

Brick in the wall: http://www.daz3d.com/brick-in-the-wall

Here's the link to the previously mentioned Shattered product: http://www.daz3d.com/shattered

If you search around elsewhere, there are at least a few other shattered objects, I think things like a plate, Christmas ornament, etc.