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Avatar Design

kevinmdavis2010

kevinmdavis2010

Messages
173
Country
unitedstates
Good morning,
I've been trying out the Avatar feature in P3D4 with the default characters. However, I'd like to design my own Avatar, as the default "Man in blue jeans" one is pretty basic. Is this possible? If so, what software do I need to make it work? I've used human modeling tools like MakeHuman before, so I'm sort of familiar with the general layout. Any help that anyone can provide is appreciated.
Regards,
Kevin Davis
 
Hi.

If you work with 3dsm, the following 2 characters might be interesting for you: Source files for P3D Avatars

two_avatars_source_code.jpg



These two already animated people could be a good start for P3D avatars.
 
Christian Bahr said:
Hi.

If you work with 3dsm, the following 2 characters might be interesting for you: Source files for P3D Avatars

two_avatars_source_code.jpg



These two already animated people could be a good start for P3D avatars.
Click to expand...

Hi Christian

I am using 3ds (trial)

I want to create new uniform for the default avatar (blue pants white shirt man)

I have tried to load your model into 3ds 2021 but it wont load. but any way, it doesnt matter

could you tell us what are the main parts of making a new avatar with different clothes?

is it possible to use existing .mdl files? help!
 
Boeing707 said:
Hi Christian

I am using 3ds (trial)

I want to create new uniform for the default avatar (blue pants white shirt man)

I have tried to load your model into 3ds 2021 but it wont load. but any way, it doesnt matter

could you tell us what are the main parts of making a new avatar with different clothes?

is it possible to use existing .mdl files? help!
Click to expand...
Hi.

In my version of 3ds Max 2020.3 (2,0 - 22.3.0.3165) there are no issues with opening the file. Can you briefly tell us which error messages are displayed?

avatar_3dsm.jpg


If the avatar is to be for MSFS, then the 3-D model must be in MSFS glTF format. As far as I can tell, MSFS doesn't support MDL files.
To give the avatar "new clothes" (another repaint), it is sufficient to open the attached Photoshop file and edit the corresponding layer:

avatar_photoshop.jpg


Creating such characters is not easy to learn, there are several disciplines that have to be brought together. It would go beyond the scope of this forum if you wanted to go into the details :)
 
Christian Bahr said:
Hi.

In my version of 3ds Max 2020.3 (2,0 - 22.3.0.3165) there are no issues with opening the file. Can you briefly tell us which error messages are displayed?

View attachment 69364


If the avatar is to be for MSFS, then the 3-D model must be in MSFS glTF format. As far as I can tell, MSFS doesn't support MDL files.
To give the avatar "new clothes" (another repaint), it is sufficient to open the attached Photoshop file and edit the corresponding layer:

View attachment 69365


Creating such characters is not easy to learn, there are several disciplines that have to be brought together. It would go beyond the scope of this forum if you wanted to go into the details :)
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the reply

Its for P3D... and im trying to put my company's pilot uniform on the model (wings and pilot hat etc etc) and texture it with company colors

here is a picture of the faults im getting in 2021

i cant really make out whats whats coz theres so many issues, but in essence the model is struggling to link all the files together. please refer images.

so just to clarify - if i wanted to say, put a pilot hat on bluepants and white shirt man, it would be extremely hard to do for a beginner?
 

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The first message is just an indication that the Max file was saved in an earlier Max version. It is sufficient to confirm the message by clicking OK. The message never comes back after saving.

The 2nd message can be ignored, then please close the window. It's not an error message.
The Gamma & LUT settings can be applied by clicking OK. This is also not an error message.
The "Missing DLL's" message indicates a wrong SDK. The source files of the avatars were prepared with the P3D v4 SDK.

Which version of the P3D SDK are you using?
 
Prepar3D v4 SDK 4.5.14.34698. I have just downloaded v3 SDK and tried to read the stuff on BIPEDS etc but the link is dead... sigh

i havent actually tried them in the sim... im sure they'd work.

the above is what i get when opening in 3ds. you can see im left with a black model, as you can see in one of those pics, even when i do push through all the barriers

i was just trying to, for lack of better wording 'reverse engineer', everything, to learn how to model my own avatar

i mean, the SDK is helpful in this regard, im just wanting to do my model (for personal use) with as much reference material as possible
 
Last edited:
Modeling your own avatar from scratch can be very nerve-wracking for a beginner. I had to make many attempts to get anywhere near a presentable result. After I had modeled myself, friends, relatives, and acquaintances came along.

It was pure pleasure to give the now "digital girlfriend copy" funny animations - the little sport-loving girlfriend was suddenly able to do 100 "virtual" push-ups on the side. She jumped rope, suddenly could dance tango etc. :)

Today everything is much easier and, above all, much faster. You know these 3-D miniatures, i.e. those 10cm high figures that come from a 3-D printer? The studios that offer this have the hardware and software to create a digital image of everyone. The resulting 3-D model of your person does not cost that much, I think. Here in the region there is a Company called 3D Generation. They even offer the 3D scan service free of charge, you only have to pay for the 3-D printing of your person. Another option might be a men's outfitter. Some of these companies also work with a body scanner :)
 
thanks Christian.
3d scanning of myself, though extremely fun and exciting, probably isnt what i want to be spending my money on lol

i would be happy to buy a pre-made Biped and manipulate the mesh and skin/textures to suit what i want the pilot to look like

the thing is im not sure if thats even possible? and even if it is, im fairly confident they would be so high fidelity that the polygon and bone count would probably need significant reducing/cleaning.

i am just trying to create my own avatar/pilot, like yours that does the walkaround on the lufthansa dc3. thats so cool and thats what im trying to achieve with my avatar, if its doable.

i have been reading this thread, and many many others and they have been extremely helpful! thank you so much for your help of both me, and everyone else

www.fsdeveloper.com

P3D v4 - Trying to do Bones and Skinning on a Pilot

That could be a weighting problem. You must be careful to set the vertices at the transition from the forearm/upper arm to the elbow correctly. That's a critical point in weighting. Or it could also have gone a bit wrong during the rigging. The left arm is obviously right geriggt? In the Skin...
www.fsdeveloper.com www.fsdeveloper.com
 
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