I’m doing this tutorial to help anyone that wants to learn how to make poses in Second Life. I am using DAZ Studio, but you can use QAvimator, Poser, and a few other programs too. There are tutorials out there for those already, so I’ll just focus on DAZ.
Download and Install:
DAZ Studio 4.5 (free)
Second Life avatar meshes in .obj and .cr2 format
To make poses for Second Life, you have to use the SL .obj and .cr2 avatar files, not the default DAZ avatar. This is the most important step in the pose-making process for DAZ, but it’s similar in other programs too. In some cases, you can export your own shape to use, but I couldn’t get it to work right in DAZ so we’ll skip that for now.
1. Importing the Second Life .obj and .cr2 files into DAZ
File -> New (to clear your scene) then,
File -> Import
Select SL_Female.cr2, then Open it in DAZ
Locate the SL_Female.obj file, then Open it in DAZ
Your screen should now look something like this, with the default SL avatar shown on the screen.
Now you’re ready to start making poses for Second Life!
If you’re making group or couple poses and need to import more avatars, just repeat Step 1.
2. Posing your avatar in DAZ
What I love about DAZ, is that it’s free and easy to use. You can select a body part and use your mouse to move it around and pose it, or use the Parameters tab, and control each joint with the sliders. If you mess up a joint, just type CTRL+Z, to undo.
Rotate that 3D box icon move your avatar around, or use the View Tools to change the view on your screen or zoom into specific areas.
My final step, is to always check to make sure my feet are parallel to the ground, especially when I’m making standing poses. I don’t like it when my feet sinks into the SL floor… so be sure to check that!
If you’re happy with your pose, then export the .bvh file from DAZ into your computer.
3. Exporting your .bvh (pose/animation) file
File -> Export then name your file, and the next screen should pop up:
Be sure to have “Second Life Compatibility” checked, then click Accept to export.
I named mine tutorial1.bvh, now it’s time to Upload your new pose file into SL!
4. Uploading your .bvh (pose/animation) file into Second Life
Me -> Upload -> Animation (the cost is $10L)
To save some money, you can test your pose on the Beta Grid, or use a Third Party Viewer with temporary uploads or previews.
Change your priority to 4. I use 4 for standing poses, cos it will lock all of your joints to make sure they don’t move randomly. For AO poses, I use priority 2.
Check Loop, this keeps the avatar posed otherwise it stops after a few seconds.
Choose Hand Pose, Facial Expression, Preview while Standing/or Sitting.
You can change Ease in/Ease out, but I usually keep it default at 0.300.
If everything looks correct, upload your shiny new pose into SL! :)
This is what my pose looks like in SL. Basic standing poses are simple to make, and probably the easiest to start with. I made this pose while writing the tutorial, so it’s not too complex, and only took a couple of minutes. As your pose gets more complex, it will take more time to them, so that’s why I prefer to buy most of my poses.
If you follow my tutorial, leave a comment and let me know if it’s helpful to you. This is not the only way to make poses for SL (and probably not the best), but it an easy to follow tutorial to get you started.
I’ll follow-up this tutorial with part II, which will include:
- How to mirror poses
- How to make couple poses
- Scripting your pose in SL
- and include any other questions you have
Happy pose making!
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Sachiko November 16, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Thank you for this! I often stumble across poses on the fly that I’d like to use right away, and I find QVanimator lacking a bit, but thanks for the tut and for shining a light on a new program for me. MUCH appreciated!
Five Latte November 16, 2012 at 3:14 pm
LOVE that the program you chose is for Macs and PC’s!!! YAY
Sedge Weyland November 16, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Thanks so much for this! I always wanted to try making my own poses, but it always seemed like a huge step from point a to point g.
Charolotte Caxton November 16, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Thank you so much for this!
Mila November 16, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Wondefull tip.
I still using this ugly qavimator but i will try to use your program.
Btw.
Is anybody know how I can use a Kinnect to create animation?
Or is that not possible yet?
Ziki Questi November 16, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Thanks, Gogo! I never really knew what the process was. :)
Sansarya November 17, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Thanks, this is very useful and easy to understand!
Luisa November 17, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Grazie
Raya November 17, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Great tutorial, but I am more interested in knowing where you got that adorable outfit l0l
Gogo November 17, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Ok! coming up next :)
Raya November 17, 2012 at 10:40 pm
yay u rawk!
Leann November 17, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Perhaps some tips and suggestions on adjusting group/couple poses to match avatars heights? <3
( Did that make sense? XD )
Thanks so very much for this tutorial. No idea that poses could be made so easily.
Shiloh Selene November 18, 2012 at 1:12 am
I’m so excited to try this, thanks so much Gogo! <3
Crys Lexenstar November 24, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Trying my hand at DAZ and while its amazing to make poses and even upload them, I’m having an issue when it comes to editing/reuploading…. they end up jumping around when looping and when I reopen it in DAZ, it doesn’t look anything how I saved it :\
Alyx November 29, 2012 at 4:02 am
Thank you so much for this, I have been trying to make poses for months using Daz and couldn’t get it to work, the poses were fine but wouldn’t upload. Thanks to your tutorial I found that I was actually doing things correctly, but there must have been a viewer glitch! Because of that glitch, which I just thought was me doing something wrong, things got way more complicated than they needed to be as I tried various different programs. I was so close to buying Poser and then I saw your tutorial, tried Daz again and it worked! So thanks for sharing your knowledge and for saving me rather a lot of money! I can’t wait to see the next tutorial! :)
JJ December 2, 2012 at 4:11 am
Great post, thank you so much, this is very useful.
Shiloh Selene December 17, 2012 at 10:32 pm
Just tried this tutorial and YAY! It’s fun! Looking forward to your next pose tutorial.
Danielle Mannequin December 22, 2012 at 4:45 am
For some reason the link doesnt take me to a download page, it says that the page cannot be found.
Maia Corvus Monedula March 18, 2013 at 9:27 am
ty
!!!
i just looove it when people share their tips and knowledge!
I ABSOLUTELY wouldn’t have figured this out without your tutorial.
Respect.
Gogo March 18, 2013 at 9:57 am
You’re welcome :)
Narjisa April 10, 2013 at 8:10 pm
Thank you so much for telling us about Daz it is easy and that’s what I love. I just have to figure out how to “crouch” the avatar now :)
Skyler April 14, 2013 at 4:13 pm
for some reason when i import the avatar it is one piece and i cant select the different joints to pose them.. any idea what im doing wrong LOL totally new at this.