OpenSimulator Avatar

This page is dedicated for creating a proposal that can act as a starting point for OpenSimulator avatars. The idea is to create one or more base models with blender which can be used as basis for Avatar modeling.

Avatar is one of the most important immersion factors. To help the community to start creating high quality avatars we need your help to get the effort started. If you have any improvement ideas or corrections please fix this page. You can join the project by registering to the following discussion group and requesting for content repository commit rights: [Open Content for Metaverse]

Nice tutorials about using Blender to do avatar poses and animations. The biped model used in these tutorials is available as basis for further work at the model repository:

• [Posing]
• [Animating]
• [Creating an Animation Library from BVH files]

Oh and we want to figure out how to play these with our avies: [CMU Graphics Lab Motion Capture Database]

More bvh animations can be made with [Qavimator].

Model Repository

Model repository is available as google project:

http://code.google.com/p/open-content-for-metaverse/source/browse/#svn/trunk/Models/Avatars/Biped/

• I added Nathan Vegdahl's public domain biped.blend as starting point for Avatar Modeling. - Tommi

Best Practices

• Use blender to create the avatar.
• [Edge loops] based topology.
• Rational polygon count.
• Use the default bone structure or update the default bone structure.

Default Bone Structure

If you need more bones to achieve good result feel free to insert them here. Not all bones are necessarily needed and custom bones may be added to models. Viewers are more likely to support steering default bones.

Root
 Pelvis
  Spine
   Spine1
    Spine2
     Spine3
      Neck-Neck1-Neck2-Neck3-Head
       LeftClavicle-LeftUpperArm-LeftForearm-LeftHand
        LeftFinger0-LeftFinger01-LeftFinger02-LeftFinger0Nub
        LeftFinger1-LeftFinger11-LeftFinger12-LeftFinger1Nub
        LeftFinger2-LeftFinger21-LeftFinger22-LeftFinger2Nub
        LeftFinger3-LeftFinger31-LeftFinger32-LeftFinger3Nub
        LeftFinger4-LeftFinger41-LeftFinger42-LeftFinger4Nub
       RightClavicle-RightUpperArm-RightForearm-RightHand
        RightFinger0-RightFinger01-RightFinger02-RightFinger0Nub
        RightFinger1-RightFinger11-RightFinger12-RightFinger1Nub
        RightFinger2-RightFinger21-RightFinger22-RightFinger2Nub
        RightFinger3-RightFinger31-RightFinger32-RightFinger3Nub
        RightFinger4-RightFinger41-RightFinger42-RightFinger4Nub
   LeftThigh-LeftCalf-LeftFoot-LeftToe0-LeftToe0Nub (Connected to Spine)
   RightThigh-RightCalf-RightFoot-RightToe0-RightToe0Nub (Connected to Spine)

TODO

This task list contains tasks which need doing. Please add more tasks and claim tasks for yourself. If this list gets actively used we will probably move it to the google project issue tracking.

• Edit the biped.blend to follow the bone structure naming convention and possibly add missing bones. It is also possible to edit the default bone structure to better reflect the biped.blend if it is more reasonable. (Task not claimed.)

Exporting from Blender to OpenSimulator

Current plan is that Blender files (.blend) will be exported to Collada format and stored as binary assets to OpenSimulator. Collada files can then be converted by client views or Viewers to browser specific formats.