How can I mark the body part in makehuman?

[makehuman987]

I have been studying makehuman these days。 Now I would like to mark the body parts in makehuman, such as foot, hand and so on, and I also want these markers shown in makehuman interface, furthermore, these markers should be able to be exported with the model simultaneously. How could I make it? Thanks a lot.

[makehuman987]

I have been studying makehuman these days。 Now I would like to mark the body parts in makehuman, such as foot, hand and so on, and I also want these markers shown in makehuman interface, furthermore, these markers should be able to be exported with the model simultaneously. How could I make it? Thanks a lot.

I think this problem is not that hard in theory, can anybody give some tips or advice?

[loki1950]

Not hard ? Yes is would be hard it needs a complete rewrite of the GUI code for marginal benefit as in why do you need those labels.

Enjoy the Choice

[punkduck]

I am pretty sure there are some problems
For example: where do "hands" stop or begin ... Everybody would have a different opinion. Then we need to do it for all proxies etc. etc. etc.

But depending on the application used after export there would be simpler ways to do it. Given the fact that some formats keep the vertex order it would work for the body at least. Because it is a standard no matter which targets are used.

It can be done for proxies as well.

Technically it would be a simple table, which can be connected e.g. in Blender. Simply a name + all vertex numbers for the "feature" hand.

In a way it is already existent in Blender. There it would be a vertex group which can be transferred from one mesh to the other. For other applications I cannot speak. I use exactly this method for a new weighting (e.g. if bone deformation will work more with no volume or with volume), where I can copy the group from one character to the next one.

[makehuman987]

Not hard ? Yes is would be hard it needs a complete rewrite of the GUI code for marginal benefit as in why do you need those labels.

Enjoy the Choice

I am not that familiar with the implementation of makehuman, but in my humble opinion, since we have built a body using makehuman, it means we know every detail about the body. So if I need to mark on some parts of the body, it's supposed to be a additional but not complicated function. Actually, I think this would be of practical use in some fields for example, in medical, doctors need to know where the hands, feet of the body are. In this situation, animation might not be a great concern while the body parts would be.

[makehuman987]

I am pretty sure there are some problems
For example: where do "hands" stop or begin ... Everybody would have a different opinion. Then we need to do it for all proxies etc. etc. etc.

But depending on the application used after export there would be simpler ways to do it. Given the fact that some formats keep the vertex order it would work for the body at least. Because it is a standard no matter which targets are used.

It can be done for proxies as well.

Technically it would be a simple table, which can be connected e.g. in Blender. Simply a name + all vertex numbers for the "feature" hand.

In a way it is already existent in Blender. There it would be a vertex group which can be transferred from one mesh to the other. For other applications I cannot speak. I use exactly this method for a new weighting (e.g. if bone deformation will work more with no volume or with volume), where I can copy the group from one character to the next one.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, a table for vertices would be helpful. Actually, I was considering using makehuman in some medical situation where markers are of great concern. We need to know when a patient walks or runs, whether his/her foot can move normally, thus markers on the body would be a explicit demonstration. Could you give some advice for this medical situation or do you think it is feasible for makehuman to complete this task?

[punkduck]

Hi

What software is the destination in the end? How do you import it? An object created in MakeHuman will of course not get an additional table. What are you doing, do you use this in a simulator then? I don't know an export format that supports additional tables. And you must add this table in the destination software as well.

If I would only need the vertex numbers, I would use Blender. It is possible to mark one hand by selecting the vertices there, then mirror it to the other side and one can assign these to a vertex-group lefthand or righthand or simply hands for both.

Same one can do with the feet. If you only need these groups there is no pre-defined exportable table format unfortunately except you are able to write your own exporter.

But there is a trick. The skeleton weighting we have, uses a JSON file (.mhw file). There we export vertex-group names with vertex number and weights between 0 and 1.
Since bones work with vertex groups and you need the same for your marking you can do it with the same tool. But it demands at least some knowledge of Blender.

I am still not sure, if that helps. But if you understand the JSON format and understood what I wrote, I can link the tool and will explain how to create the file.

greetings
punkduck

[makehuman987]

Hi, dear punkduck:
I think you've understood what I am going to do. Yes, you are right I don't need a real table. I need to know the corresponding relationship between the markers and the vertices indices. Furthermore, I would like to show the markers in a software or any other tools, just like the Blender you mentioned. The destination for showing these markers is to help further development. In other words, I do not have an exporter written on my own, I just need to assure the fbx or obj files can retain the relationship.
And yes I am new to Blender or software like Maya.
You mentioned it's possible to mark one hand by selecting the vertices there, So these markers can be shown in Blender? I think I need to spend some time on studying Blender.
You also mentioned a trick and a json file with weights of bones for vertices, I think this is very useful for what I am doing, Could you kindly give me a link?
Another question is that can the relationship between markers and body remain after animation? i.e. after animation, relative position of markers on body will not be destroyed.
Finally, thanks for your insightful answer, it really helps a lot.

[loki1950]

The relationships remain part of how motion capture works

Enjoy the Choice

[makehuman987]

Hi, dear loki1950:
you said "remain part of how motion capture works" could you explained more specifically on "part" ? I am worried that if I mark parts of the body in Blender or other software, the markers remain static and don't follow the motion of body after animation.