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(Roblox) Layered Clothing Cage Creation for Avatars

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(Roblox) Layered Clothing Cage Creation for Avatars

Overview

This document gives step by step instructions on how to create a cage around a character for use with Layered Clothing using our Forest Ninja Moth Guy as an example.

The cage will define how clothing will drape over the avatar, so each avatar will have their own unique cage.

Instructions | Part A

Open the fbx file of the avatar.

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Hide all the accessories (*Acc), attachment points (*Att), and joints

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Open:

Body_Cage_Template.blend⁠

Body_Cage_Template.ma⁠

Rig_and_Attachments_Template.fbx⁠

This will bring in the generic cage which you will fit around the character.

You'll pick up a single mesh cage [std_cage_deformable], as well as a multi-part cage [BodyPart:Cage]. Each color represents one part of the body, so the borders between the two colors will be where the joints are.

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If you have name spaces in the imported file, please use the Windows → General → Namespace Editor to delete the name spaces

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You will do your work on the single mesh cage [std_cage_deformable], which in turn will automatically drive the multi-part cage [BodyPart:OuterCage]. Ignore [std_cage_deformableBase]. Manipulate the geometry until you get a cage that encompasses the entire body

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A few rules to follow:

Do not delete any construction history. That will break the relationship between the single mesh and the multi-mesh cage.

Do not add or remove any edges or vertices.

Try to keep the edge loops even and smooth. Avoid any sudden changes in direction in the flow.

Try to minimize the amount of intersection between the sleeve and the upper torso in the armpit area.

Do not change the UV layout. It should always look exactly like this. If UVs are moved or inverted, this will result in incorrect placement.

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Save your Maya scene with all your work using the following naming convention: LC_[AvatarName]_Cage.ma Example: LC_ForestNinjaMothGuy_Cage.ma

Instructions | Part B

At this point, we will now want to bring the cage even closer to the body, so that our clothing will look as form fitting as possible. There are a few methods you can use. There's no set way to get there. You can even do it by hand if you like. But here are two in Maya you can use:

Use "Make Live"

1. Select all the *Geos (body parts).

2. Duplicate them and unparent them from the hierarchy.

3. While the geometry is still selected, combine them so they become a single object.

4. Delete the history ONLY on that object. Be careful not to delete all history in your scene.

5. Go to Modify -> Make live in the menu. Your object should turn green.

6. Select std_cage_deformable now and select the vertices you want to wrap closer to the body. I usually select all the vertices except for the hands and feet.

7. Make sure your Move tool is set to World axis.

8. Nudge your vertices ever so slightly in Y or Z axis. The vertices should now snap to the live surface

9. Turn off live surface using magnet button in tool bar. You can always turn it back on later if you need to make adjustments.

10. Keeping those vertices selected, change your move tool to use Normal as your axis.

11. Pull outwards on "N" on the manipulator and adjust the vertices so they just sit barely outside of the original body.

12. Clean up the vertices that may have been pushed out of whack, and smooth out what you can.

Left (Original) Right (After make live and 15 minutes of tweaking)

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Use "ShrinkWrap"

1. Select all the *Geos (body parts).

2. Duplicate them and unparent them from the hierarchy.

3. While the geometry is still selected, combine them so they become a single object. This is your shrinkwrap target.

4. Delete the history ONLY on that object. Be careful not to delete all history in your scene.

5. Select std_cage_deformable now and select the vertices you want to wrap closer to the body. I usually select all the vertices except for the hands and feet.

6. Select your new ShrinkWrap target.

7. In your menu, go to Deform → ShrinkWrap and open the options. Select the following options:

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8. Hit apply. You should now get a tight fitting cage.

9. Clean up the vertices that may have been pushed out of whack, and smooth out what you can.

Left (Original) Right (After ShrinkWrap and 15 minutes of tweaking)

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A Note on Make Live and Shrink Wrap

Both methods have their pros and cons. Symmetry will be off on both methods.

Make Live gives you more control over your cage editing, because you are able to select the exact vertices you want to snap onto your surface, and you can do so as many times as you like, without a history stack. However, the resulting cage from Make Live will be a little less clean.

ShrinkWrap will give a cleaner cage, and a much more even fit, but because we cannot delete deformer history, shrink wrap will always be there once applied. If you ShrinkWrap more than once, you'll start building up a history stack that might be difficult to manage, as the cage already has a bunch of wrap deformers applied.

The fit feels much nicer and even all over, but it's a little more difficult to manipulate the vertices manually because the vertices will only slide along the target.

Tips

Work in symmetry. Turn on Symmetry in Object X so you can work on either the left or right side, and the opposite side will follow.

Fit the cage the avatar around so that it drapes over wider areas like if you drape cloth over it. You don't want it to look like saran wrap.

Encompass as much of the main silhouette as you can. Some built in parts like shoulder pads can sit on top of the cage.

Check the smoothness of your cage periodically by hiding the avatar.

Some avatars have huge pieces that will make it difficult for the cage to drape over. In these cases, it will be OK for the cage to go under.

Some penetration is OK. See below.

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Examples

Here are some examples. On the left is the avatar without any accessories. In the middle is the cage over the avatar in front view, and on the right is the cage over the avatar in rear view.

Note how we:

Went under the larger pieces such as the neck fur and plungers

Let the collars and pouches peek through.

Let the sleeves and pant legs run straight, instead of following the silhouette of the arms and legs

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