First, the official tutorial is short, but really good, because it has all answers to questions about the buttons of the plug-in (in Blender). But when you start to create your own target, it's not easy as it looks. The example shown is making a horn. It's good, because the shape is simple, and whatever height you have (with the cursor), result is good. But if you want to have a shape with more than one vertex, you'll certainly have weird effects, especially in zones where you don't have a lot of vertex.
I won't explain how MakeTarget works, the official documentation is really good about this. But I'll explain why making a complex shape in one step (shape made with just one cursor) will not work :
- Keep in mind that Makehuman allows creating whatever person you want. So, if you want to create a good target, it must suit to all models you can imagine.
- You can make a target that is good when cursor is in the position "1". But what about the positions between 0 and 1 ? The morphing looks good or not ?
Consider this post : http://forum.makehuman.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11047
I'll take the targets about nipple as an example, to explain how I created them.
Basically, how to create a good target ?
1°) Make a model to import in Blender that suits the most to your target. For example, to make a nipple, export a model (in .mhx) that has the biggest breast you can have with Makehuman. Because when the target will be good with this model, it will be good with all other models with smaller breast. Thanks Captain Obvious.
2°) Official documentation insists on that, but me too : Don't change anything in your base model, except the location/orientation of the vertex
. Don't add vertex, don't rename them, and so on. So for creating your target, you'll just use the widget to move/rotate/resize vertex. You can use sculpt mode too, but I never had good results with this tool.3°) If you want to have control on different dimensions of your target, split it, make a target for each dimension. For example, about the nipple, I wanted 3 things : diameter, height and taper. That's means 3 cursors for each function.
4°) If you have multiple functions, start with the base model for each function
. For the nipple, after creating the height, I saved the target, and discarded all targets (button "discard all targets" in Blender) to start with the base model. It's important, because if you create a new target upon an other one, you'll have weird effects in Makehuman when you'll use the second target without the first. Even if the first is used, but not at the same position, you'll have spooky effects (really 
).5°) When your target is finished, try on many different shapes in Makehuman. The most models you can use it, the most useful it will be.
6°) Avoid using rotation widget on vertex/polygons. I never succeeded to have good results. I always used resize/move tools.
Other thing, about workflow. Developing a target forces to go back and forth between Blender and Makehuman. Makehuman is unable to know if your target file has changed, and doesn't have a button to "reload" the function in memory. So, if you don't want to close MH each time you want to test your target, always save the modifications of the target with a new name (in Blender, "save target as" button, then function-01.target, function-02.target, and so on), and recheck the directory in MH, the modified function will appear.
For the record, I never used "load second target" in Maketarget, and all buttons related. I think that if you don't exactly how the morphing in MH works, you won't use the function correctly.
I'll expand this tutorial, but I need screenshots to explain about the "sculpt" techniques I used to make the nipple.
Feel free to comment.
