mcjTracer
for DS4.5
mcjTracer lets you display objects edges as curves and object vertices as discs, balls or blobbys
Those lines are visible in the 3D viewport and can be rendered in Daz Studio's Hardware / OpenGL render modes
Contrary to the 2010 version, they can also be software-rendered ( 3Delight and other Renderman compatible renderers )
mcjTracePath the companion script that creates paths for mcjTracer
http://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcgtracepath-for-mcjtracer
also, to make your animation life easier get the setInterpolation script
http://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/setinterpolation-for-ds2-3
Installation
you will find the plugin at the bottom of this web page in the "attachments" section
mcjTracerDS45x32.dll for Daz Studio 4.5 32 bits
mcjTracerDS45x64.dll for Daz Studio 4.5 64 bits
this dll must be placed it in your Daz Studio 4.5 plugins folder
typically
the 32-bit version of the plugin ( mcjTracerDS45x32.dll ) goes in C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins
and the 64 bit version of the plugin ( mcjTracerDS45x64.dll ) goes in C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins
First Example: A Simple Object
We have a sphere in our scene
Select the sphere;
in Daz Studio's "Create" menus, do a "Create New mcjTracer"
a mcjTracer object should appear in your scene
the mcjTracer can only be selected using the Scene Tab which can be made visible using Daz Studio's menu : View / Tabs / Scene
You can move , scale and rotate the mcjTracer object as you wish.
Any change made to the object that was used to create the mcjTracer
( in this case the gray sphere )
will be replicated on the mcjTracer.
here i created two mcjTracers based on the sphere,
i moved them away from the sphere, and i scaled one to make it smaller.
Then i applied and animated a D-Form on the sphere,
and as you can see the mcjTracers mimic the sphere.
Second example : a Figure
If you select a figure ( by double-left-clicking on the figure )
and create a mcjTracer, a ''ghost'' is created for the whole figure
( software-rendered )
That's 75000 faces being ''ghosted'' ! :)
mcjTracer's Parameters
Node being traced
This lets you select which object is being traced. Avoid selecting nodes like cameras.
Spline
If this is turned On, the edges will be software-rendered as Splines ( smooth curves )
Edges illuminated
turning this on is similar to making a surface 100% ambient,
lighting and gloss effects are ignored
left : Edges Illuminated : Off
right : Edges Illuminated : On
Colorize curves with ...
this lets you select which material will provide the image map that will colorize the edges
if "object material diffuse map" is chosen, the image comes from the "Diffuse Color" channel of the object's surface(s)
if "tracer material colorize map" is chosen, the image comes from the "Colorize Map" channel of the "Edges" surface of the the mcjTracer node
if "None" is chosen, no map will colorize the edges
Note that in Software renders you can have an image map which is used to paint the edges/discs/spheres/blobbys
and another image used to colorize them.
Show Edges
to show or hide the edges
Edges Width ( animatable )
note that the width is animatable,
if you want a stable edge width, set the edge width only once, usually at frame zero
the edges are the same width even if seen from a great distance
Rendered Edges Width ( animatable ) / 10 mm
Same as "Edges width" but for software renders".
note that in this case the width of the edges is "real" so lines that are far look smaller than the close ones.
Edges Closed
For cases where the 'polygons' to trace are long curves, we turn this to OFF
Edges Use Source Materials
By default the edges are the same color as the edges in the object that is being ghosted,
but the mcjTracer also has its own material named "edges".
You can turn "edges use source material" OFF then adjust the color of the whole ghost
Show Vertices and Vertices Diameter ( animatable )
By default the vertices ( extremities of edges ) are visible but tiny. Here you can show or hide them.
In the image below i changed the Vertices diameter to 4
Display Vertices as
points - discs facing the camera ( without image maps )
disc - disc facing the camera ( accepts image maps )
sphere - balls ( accepts image maps )
blobby - organic looking balls ( accepts image maps )
warning : a large number of blobbys covering high definition screens may crash software renders due to memory consumption
Vertices Use Source Materials
By default the vertices are the same color as the edges in the object that is being ghosted,
but the mcjTracer also has its own material named "vertices".
You can turn "vertices use source material" OFF then adjust the color of the whole ghost..
Here we see Aiko's hand with "vertices use source material" = ON
Treat Vertices As One Long Line
Sometimes the base object is a specially constructed object that defines a long curve, possibly hundreds of points
( A script named mcjTracePath found elsewhere on this site can produce those special objects )
turning Treat Vertices As One Long Line to ON lets us display those special objects correctly.
example, a 384 vertices long line
Treat As N-vertices Curves
Lines passing through groups of N-Vertices will be traced
N Vertices per Curve
lets you specify 'N'
example, nine 32-vertices-long curves
Percent Drawn, Start ( animatable ) and Percent Drawn, End ( animatable )
This effect is only implemented for hardware renders
Sometimes the base object is a specially constructed object that defines a long curve,
possibly hundreds of points
those 2 parameters let us create animate how much of the curves are drawn
here we see the "Jacques" long line, displayed from Start=25% to End=75%
and here is an animation created with this method
Sparse preview % drawn
if the object being traced contains a great number of vertices, the preview may become very sluggish
This lets you reduce the number of traces being drawn.
and here is an animation created with this method
Important warnings:
Keeping in mind that this is a free plugin ...
As new versions of daz studio are issued, this plugin may cease to function. And updates may not be forthcoming. Wireframes / lines created by mcjTracer in old scene files will disappear.
If, following the installation of mcjTracer, your daz studio crashes, then you should remove it from your plugins folder