DAZ on Blender | Cloth Simulation (Skirt Edition) - DAZ.Ble Laboratory
I will introduce a method for high-speed cloth simulation of a pleated skirt on a DAZ sailor uniform imported into Blender (Chromebook - WINE) using the DAZ Importer.
★ The ShareCG site where I downloaded the sailor uniform used here has shut down, and the content that was available for free can no longer be downloaded, but I am leaving the following information as a memo.
When performing a dForce simulation on the entire DAZ G8F sailor uniform model using a cloud virtual Windows Paperspace Core GPU+ (which supports OpenCL with an NVIDIA GPU), it took about 15 minutes.
In this case, with a standard local PC, although it is only for the skirt, a very high-speed cloth simulation is possible in about 10 seconds.
It takes a bit more effort than dForce simulation in DAZ Studio, and the results are harder to predict, but please enjoy cloth simulation through trial and error.
Importing the sailor uniform beautiful girl model
DAZ Studio side
Open the sailor uniform beautiful girl "Lei-G8-Salor-Pose-Light-Non-Sim" scene, which is available for free download in the article below, in DAZ Studio.
I changed the lighting and camera angle to make it easier to see.
The model and the scene itself can be downloaded for free from within the article, but please download the two types of JK uniforms used in the scene from the ShareCG site yourself, following the instructions in the article.
Following the article below, install the Diffeomorphic DAZ Importer and export the scene to Blender.
Blender side
Following the article above, click the "DAZ Setup" tab and then the "Easy Import DAZ" button to import the scene into Blender.
Correcting hair position
The hair position was off, so I corrected it. By the way, this phenomenon did not occur on the cloud virtual Windows Paperspace, so I think it is a phenomenon specific to Chromebook WINE.
I selected "Toulouse Hair" and moved "Transform" "Y (front/back)" by -0.07m and "Z (up/down)" by about -0.09m . It's quite rough, though...
Simulation settings for the human body and skirt
This time, we will perform a cloth simulation on a skirt, which has a simpler structure than a blouse.
Collision detection is set for the human body, and when the skirt hits the body, it deforms along its surface; however, the friction values set for both also affect the simulation.
After performing basic dForce settings with the DAZ Importer, we will manually configure the Blender cloth simulation settings.
Setting collision detection for the human body
Select "Genesis 8 Female Mesh" and click the DAZ Importer's "Make Simulation" button.
An error will be displayed, but click "OK" anyway.
I tried clicking the "Make Collision" button in the DAZ Importer, but since collision was not added to the modifier screen, I will add it manually on the Blender side.
Click "Add Modifier" and click "Collision" (collision detection).
In my case, I click the "✕" at the far right of the top "Armature SkinBinding" to delete it.
I have left only the "Collision" modifier on the human body.
Switch to the "Physics Properties" tab (rotation icon).
Changing the "Friction" value at the very bottom (from about 1.000 to 100.000) affects the state of the skirt's surface, the simulation speed, or the skirt's falling (downward slippage).
Set cloth physics for the skirt
Select "Skirt4a", and click the "Make Deflection" button in the DAZ Importer.
Click "OK".
An error will be displayed, but ignore it and click "OK".
Similarly, click the "Make Cloth" button.
Click "OK".
Open the "Modifier" (wrench icon) tab.
Click the "Armature..." modifier's "✕" to delete it.
Add a "Solidify" modifier to give the skirt fabric thickness.
Change the "Offset" to 0.001. Changing this value (to around 0.001 to 0.005) affects the state of the skirt surface, but you usually do not need to change it.
In my case, I uncheck "Fill". This has some effect on the state of the skirt.
Click the "Physics" tab.
Changing the value of "Quality Steps" affects the simulation speed and the state of the skirt's surface. I have it set to "4", but changing it to 1 or 2 will increase the simulation speed.
Scroll down and expand "Collision".
In my case, I set "Quality" to "2". Changing this value affects the simulation speed and the state of the skirt's surface.
Check "Self Collision" and changing the "Friction" value (from about 1.000 to 100.000) affects the state of the skirt's surface and the skirt's fall (downward displacement).
In my case, I check it and set it to "5.000".
Cloth Presets
Open the "Physics" tab and click the "Cloth" top right "Cloth Presets" (list icon) to choose from several presets. (The default is "Cotton")
Running the cloth simulation
Starting and stopping the simulation
Press the "Spacebar" to start the simulation, and press it again to stop. Please return to frame 1 (top) every time before starting.
You can run the simulation for any number of frames (time), but depending on the settings, it may take 10 seconds to 1 minute. In my case, I usually stop it at 20-30 frames and use around frame 15 for rendering.
I think it is a good idea to stop at about "10 frames" at first, return to the first frame, and play it back. You can move to any frame by clicking on the frame bar or dragging the frame cursor with your mouse.
Simulation results
I will try rendering frame 15.
In this case, it would take about 30 minutes based on the remaining time, so I stopped it midway at about 3 minutes (progress is about 10%) and saved the image.
You can stop it midway by clicking the "✕" at the right end of the progress bar that appears at the bottom of the screen. If you cannot see the progress bar, you can click the main window to see it, but the rendering screen will be hidden behind it.
Select "Image" menu and then "Save As...", specify the location, and save it with a name.
The rendered image for this example is as follows.
Comparison with rendered images
By the way, the DAZ full simulation took about 15 minutes, and the Blender skirt simulation took about 10 seconds (about 0.5 fps). All rendering times were stopped and saved after about 3 minutes.
Summary
Since dForce physics simulation cannot be used in DAZ Studio in a Chromebook - WINE environment, I have been using cloud virtual Windows Paperspace Core GPU+ until now.
This time, I introduced an attempt at cloth simulation using a pleated skirt of a sailor suit worn by Genesis 8 Female by loading a DAZ scene into the Blender Windows version in a WINE environment using DAZ Importer.
It takes some effort and it is difficult to predict the results until you get used to it, but on the other hand, it can be used in the process of trial and error, such as being able to perform simulations limited to only the skirt, and being fast at about 10 seconds even on a general PC.
From the next time onwards, I would like to challenge dynamic simulations by applying poses and animations to DAZ models in A-pose loaded into Blender, as well as applications to blouses and the like.