CloneCloth Individual Packs

Reallusion have announced that they plan to release the contents of CloneCloth For Essential Human Volume 1 in individual packs. This will mean 10 clothing packs will be available plus a shoe pack. This will be sure to please a lot of people who were unable or unwilling to shell out $99.95 ($129.95 from 1st June 2007) for the complete pack. The best value will still be made from buying the whole pack in one purchase but now a choice will be available, and ideal if you are only after a certain style.

No details of when the individul packs will be released but it shouldn't be too long after the special offer for the complete pack ceases. Keep a check here for updates to the content store.

New CCD Developer Guides

Reallusion have an excellent developer program which offers numerous resources for iClone users who want to create new content for the software. Many white papers, sample models, accessories and templates have been available for iClone 1.x for some time.

Now for CCD members three updated developer guides are available from the Developer Center.They are Working with materials and shaders in iClone, Creating Accessories and Scene Props for iClone and Creating 3D Scenery for iClone. These really are an excellent and essential read for anyone interested in creating new content for iClone.

If you are a CCD member you can get them here:

RealityCheck May Freebie

This months RealityCheck Newsletter Freebie is a small Hair Pack. Actually that's a slightly misleading name because it's really a hat pack with hair attached but who's arguing. There are two hats included with the pack, a baseball cap and a cowboy type hat which includes shoulder length hair (See picture above which also includes last months freebie glasses)

This pack is an excellent addition to your library, plus it's free so grab it while you can. To get the pack you need to sign up to the free RealityCheck Newsletter. You can do that simply here:

LivePlants - World Wilderness Vol. 2

Reallusion have quietly released a second LivePlants pack entitled LivePlants 3D Scenes - World Wilderness Volume 2. The incredible LivePlants were introduced with iClone 2.0 and Volume 1 has been available since then. This new pack offers 10 new LivePlant scenes, these being, Devine Tree, Blossom Season, Scorching Desert, Dry Season, Grassland on Slope, Savanna Green, Hollow Valley, Flower Garden, Bamboo Forest and Haunted Woods. The pack is available now priced $29.95. You can find full details and purchase options here:

What's next for CloneCloth?

So now we have Jane and Jack all kitted out in new attire I've been wondering what's next for CloneCloth. The release of iClone 2.0 was the unveiling of 9 standardised G2 figure shapes. Along with iClone 2.0 itself came Jane and Jack, or the essential humans as they are otherwise known. The rest of the family is made up of Xaria and Xor who are the very muscular superhero characters. Then there is May and Moe, the overweight, stout members and Slade and Sarah who are the teenagers of the family. The last place is held by Junior who is the child size figure.

After iClone 2.0 was released it was hinted that the first CloneCloth pack would be for Xaria and Xor but as we all know that wasn't the case and Jane and Jack were the first to be given the CloneCloth treatment and very happy I was too.

So where does that leave us now? If Xaria and Xor are to be next, what kind of content pack will we get? Will it be an identical pack to the one we have for J & J or will X & X get different outfit templates. Now to me this is a tricky decision to make because sure I want to be able to clothe Xaria in a dress or Xor in a sporty outfit etc, but how many iCloners will be willing to pay another $99 for an almost identical pack to the one we already have for Jane and Jack.

I think it will be a tough decision for Reallusion and one I'm sure we will hear something about soon. In the meantime what are your thoughts? Why not let me know what type of CloneCloth pack you would like to see next and for which characters.

Overstretching

Overstretching myself has always been a problem of mine. No nothing do with exercise, I mean overstretching myself time wise. With the release of the CloneCloth pack I have found it all too easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too many things at once. With 10 CC templates available, I have found myself flitting between each one trying to see what kind of outfits I can create and it's been a fun ride for sure but not great for productivity. The thing is being a bit of a perfectionist I've found myself with lots of test outfits but very few I'm completely happy with.

So now I have decided to calm things (me) down and start creating some new high quality output that meets my (sometimes too) high standards. I have plenty of great ideas so if I can juggle work and personal projects I'm determined to get some of my creations finished and passed the quality control standards I set myself. Of course all I have to do is make a decision on which project I'm going to begin first and then stop myself from drifting onto others, because the bottom line is, there is just so much to do in iClone 2.0.

Now if only I could increase the hours in a day to 36 or learn to survive on 2 hours sleep I'd be all set.

On The Horizon

Although the new CloneCloth For Essential Human Vol 1 is just fresh out of the doors at Reallusion, there is still plenty on the horizon to keep iCloners happy. The full release of 3DXchange isn't far away from release, as are the G2 Templates for 3DS Max. In the way of content for iClone there has been mention of a new Hair Pack to be released soon and some kind of Animal Pack which will feature the most realistic horses I have seen for iClone. Check out some screenshots here: and I'm sure you'll be amazed at the realism.

Also due in June is the Vista Patch which I really can't wait for as I 'am itching to get iClone running on my Vista setup, but the next big program release I 'am really looking forward to is Crazytalk 5 (Vista ready hopefully) which is penciled in for September 2007. Knowing Reallusion they may well spring some other goodies on us in between times so there is much to look forward to in the coming months.

3DXchange Beta Expires

The 3DXchange Beta program has expired so it is no longer possible to use the software in it's current beta form. Over the last few weeks I have imported numerous 3D models to my iClone library and it really has proven to be an invaluable tool. There has been no official date given for the full version release but it is hoped that it should be available sometime this month.

G2 Templates For 3DS Max

The release of iClone 2.0 unveiled 9 new G2 standardised figures which are now available for use in iClone projects. Now for Reallusion CCD members the upcoming release of the G2 Templates for 3DS Max will make it possible to create even more new characters. With a good knowledge of 3DS Max it will be possible to create almost any 2 legged figure and bring them to life in iClone. Humans, monsters, robots could all be made as standard (interchangeable) or non-standard characters.

Now this isn't anything new you might be saying to yourself as templates are already available for the G1 figures but it has to be said that a lot of people found these hard to get to work, and complained of crashes when trying to export from Max to iClone. Now I must have been doing something different or were very lucky, because I found the templates very usable, and it was possible to turn out several different figures with only a few problems, and these were normally down to user error rather than the templates or the Max plug-in.

So the question really is will the soon to be released G2 templates bring forth more developers into creating new characters for iClone 2.0? I really hope so and look forward to the months ahead as I think the CCD will really begin to grow in the same way as it has for software like Poser. Personally I have found the G2 templates very stable and really look forward to their release proper in the coming weeks. There are already excellent developer tutorials and videos available from the Reallusion Developer Center by 3DS Max expert Chris Murray and I would advise everybody who is interested in becoming a developer to read these as they really are an essential read.

The exact release date of the G2 Templates is not yet known but one piece of information that is important to know is that the minimum version of 3DS Max required to use the templates is now r8 rather than r6 as it was for the G1 figures. For information on the CCD click here:

Mix and Match CloneCloth

Shock news. Big sister wears little sisters clothes and nobody freaks out. A little trial of mixing and matching Jane and Jack's clothes to the other members of the G2 family has turned out some pretty pleasing results as can be seen from the image above. It is possible to apply Jane's nice new summer dress to big sister Xaria, and after a little bit of stretching here and there, it doesn't look too bad at all.

The results are not perfect of course but the dress does scale appropriately to fit Xaria so it is possible to get the other G2 characters in on the CloneCloth fun while they wait for their own luggage to arrive. Xaria was even able to fit her rather large feet into Jane's shoes without crippling herself in the process.

It's like Christmas came early

It's like Christmas came early for me. 48 hours on from getting the CloneCloth pack and I still haven't had chance to try out everything. It really is a case of being spoiled for choice. The 10 different types of CloneCloth templates have really got my creative juices flowing and ideas are coming into my head faster than dollars into Bill Gates pocket.

One thing that I, and maybe others have overlooked is that this pack is not all about clothes designing but shoes too. Prior to G2 and CloneCloth, different types of shoes were in fairly short supply but now, that is no longer the case. Now Jane and Jack have 3 different CloneCloth shoe templates to work with, these being Athletic, Casual and Classic for Jack and High Heel, Casual and Wedge Heel for Jane.

It is now possible to make virtually any type of footwear from high heel boots, ankle boots, sandals, trainers (sneakers), formal shoes, you name it, you can probably make it. Just one more reason why CloneCloth For Essential Human Vol 1 is a must have purchase.

CloneCloth For Essential Human Vol 1

Joy of joys, the iClone CloneCloth pack, now renamed as CloneCloth For Essential Human Vol 1 has been released. This much anticipated content pack is now available for purchase from the Reallusion website for $99.95 till 31st May 2007 (normally $129.95).

This pack has surpassed my expectations as not only does it contain the CloneCloth templates mentioned in my earlier post but also comes with pre-designed textures for all the CloneCloth templates and the quality of these textures is truly outstanding.

Some people may think this pack is a little expensive, but just take a look at what you get for your money. 10 design bases, 20 fashion textures and 6 pairs of shoes make this excellent value for money, although of course $99.95 is understandably a large outlay in one go. Overall I have to say though, this is one pack that I think every iClone user should have. To sum it up in one word. Outstanding.

Full information and help pages are available here:

3DXchange Beta

The 3DXchange Beta is still open, and for anyone who hasn't joined the Beta program then I would urge them to do so quick before it's too late. 3DXchange is a great new utility that enables you to convert 3DS and OBJ format models into the VNS format of iClone. This provides an easy way to build up your library of props, accessories and 3D Scenes etc and will be a must have tool for any iCloner. Even in beta form 3DXchange is very stable and I have been getting about an 90% success rate on the models I have tried converting which is pretty darn good in my book.

Check out all the details here: http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/3dx_beta.asp and also check the 3DXchange forum for lots of links to free tools and resources.

CloneCloth Samples

With the CloneCloth Garment Pack's release being put back a couple of days I thought I would show an example of some different styles I created for the "Casual" top that comes with iClone 2.0.

What I love about CloneCloth is that if you want, you can create ultra realistic outfits spending a lot of time getting a perfect texture or if you like you can create some quick outfits in virtually no time at all. The example picture above shows a selection of tops that I created in one sitting using simple patterns and textures that I had close to hand. While not perfect they do show that good results can be achieved in a short time whereas before CloneCloth, these would have taken much much longer.

iClone 2 Default Content

When iClone 2.0 was released recently there were some people who were confused about what content actually came with the base version of iClone 2.0 (I was one of them). Well for anyone who wants to know exactly what they will be getting if they purchase iClone, then Reallusion have a great page over at their website that details everything that comes with the software and includes pictures of all the content as well. It is well worth checking it out even if you are an existing purchaser because you may find things you didn't know you had.

You can find the page here:

http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/ic_gallery.asp

iClone Demo Reel

Reallusion have made an excellent demo reel that really showcases what can be achieved in iClone. As always the low quality video from Youtube doesn't do iClone justice but this really is a video worth watching. Check it out below.

Vista Compatibility

The lack of Vista compatibility for iClone and Crazytalk is becoming a bit of a pain for me and one I can't wait to be resolved. The problem is that I have made a complete switch to Vista now on my main and test computers, keeping just my laptop with XP. I held out for a while until the majority of my essential software would run under Vista and apart from iClone and Crazytalk I'm pretty much there.

Now I'm sure that there will be those who will say iClone and Crazytalk will run on Vista just fine but I've tested them and while they will work to a certain degree there are just too many issues to convince me to make the switch just yet. For one I just can't get sound in Crazytalk at all on my main computer and only partial sound on the test machine. With iClone it will work but wants me to change the compatibility to XP each and every time I run it and even then sometimes just plain refuses to start. Stubborn or what.

Reallusion have stated that a free Vista patch will be available in June for iClone but it looks like we will need Crazytalk 5 before Vista compatibility is available for that product and that is several months away at least. Those dates can't come quick enough for me as I'm beginning to get a sore neck from all the computer switching lately.

Clone Cloth Garment Pack

The long awaited CloneCloth Garment Pack for iClone 2.0 is nearing release. All being well it should be released early next week. The pack includes 8 new CloneCloth templates for the Jane and Jack characters, making a total of 5 for each (2 were included with iClone 2.0 base). The new templates are Gown, Sexy, Dress and Bodysuit for Jane and Overcoat, Baggy, Sporty and Bodysuit for Jack. This is going to be a must have pack for iClone and I can't wait for its release. No details on price yet. More information about CloneCloth can be found here:

iClone Daily

Today see's the launch of iClone Daily my blog about the fantastic 3D Real Time Filmmaking software from Reallusion. I have been an iClone user since day one ,and most recently Reallusion released iClone 2.0, an incredible update to an already feature packed program.

Some of the highlights of iClone are:

• Actor Creation and customization.
• Clone Cloth to create custom clothing.
• Build scenes with Liveplants and Building Blocks.
• Real time special effects.
• HD Video Resolution output.

For anyone who has yet to come across iClone you can find full information here:

http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/

Over the coming weeks I plan to blog about my use of iClone and also its sister product Crazytalk and feature latest news, product updates, hints and tips and anything else relevant in the world of iClone. I hope you'll find something of interest along the way.