Next Step in Garments (Patreon)

As you can see, the next Susan scene is almost done and ready for full quality rendering. I took this weekend to try and stay ahead of schedule because of the uncertainties of my new schedule. But mainly because I took the time to learn a new program, specifically meant to design and create garments, Marvelous Designer.

The program is miles better than what 3ds Max's native option provides. It streamlines the progress by such a significant amount, it's absolutely crazy. If I change the size of a piece in Max, I have to restart the simulation from scratch, which could take 30 seconds to several minutes (depending on the quality and the polycount of the model). MD? Just casually tweak it on the fly without any of that nonsense. The process to make something and test it out right away... it makes the whole experience a lot more smoother and enjoyable.


I already knew about this program several years ago, actually. But the main reason I held off was the inability to add animations (which probably was there to begin with, I just didn't search deep enough). Animations are pretty much required, as it allows me to pose the characters and have the cloth 'follow along'. The method in MD is a bit dodgy and convoluted, but the benefits far outweigh the extra effort.

What's also very fortunate is that the two programs, in terms of designing garments, are fundamentally the same. So after familiarizing myself with the program (by making a basic garment), I was able to make Susan's jacket in around 4 hours by just looking at a reference. Which might seem like a lot for just a jacket, but I'll only get faster from here on out. Most likely.

Of course, in the context of the majority of the audience, it doesn't really matter whether the jackets, or any garment, are of better quality or not. I managed to go without for these years, right?

While that certainly has a point, I believe it can be dangerous to cater too much to your audience. I don't have enough experience nor knowledge to really have a say in the matter, but I do know that this week, I've been really enjoying myself. Exploring the possibilities, figuring how I can apply it to my renders, and so on. Self-development for this part of my life has always been super exciting. And I definitely needed this breath of fresh air. As with the audience... that's probably a topic for another day.