Are there any fast techniques to have one Object morph into another? By morph, I mean like the T-1000 in Terminator 2 changing from the security guard into the cop, for example.
Somebody appears to be doing it through Blender in the first 30 seconds of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOEtCdP4hQ8
(Along those lines, if anybody can refer me to good threads comparing DazStudio to MakeHuman regarding which is better for Blender usage, I would appreciate it.)
Thanks as always.
Apparently, there’s no automated technique of doing this in Blender. So I submitted this request to BlenderStorm:
http://www.blenderstorm.org/blenderstorm/idea/442/
Please vote it up if you think that it’s a viable and good idea.
We talked a bit on IRC about this, but for posterity here is one method:
Also, instead you can use “project individual elements” snapping to create the 2nd Shapekey, but it only goes along one axis (but you have total control—all it is is Edit Mode).
-rking
Use shape keys.
Look at the werewolf tutorial at blendercookie
This doesn’t address the morphing of the Materials at all, nor is it possible to use Shape Keys between different Objects, or changing the number of Vertices. Please read the BlenderStorm request.
Please see my response to Richard Marklew.
What you want is not possibe in blender and to be honest you’ve got zero chance of getting it. Look at other software options. The video you linked to looks exactly like using shape keys with one mesh, not morphing between different meshes.
Why is it impossible and why should people not even try something?
If YOU don’t want it or YOU think it’s impossible, speak for yourself.
multiple uv maps would solve the problem
Yeah, but if there were many Materials on an Object - like a high-quality character or automobile - then this would be too time-intensive.
Yeah, unfortunately most of us don’t have 3DS Max, though!
I’ll put this in my post at BlenderStorm, and maybe it will prove the potential of the concept. Thanks for sharing.
Becaues Blender developers and the BF most likely will not spend their time to implement a one button magic for your convinence for something that’s already managable but needs some work from the artist other than selecting two meshes and apply a modifier.
There are items with an higher priority on the todo list.
With the shrinkwrap method it’s trivial to morph between meshes with a different vertex count.
And Blending between two materials is trivial anyways, got even easier with the new animation system.
If you want an exotic feature it’s one answer for Blender:
Raise funds, get a developer start a branch and make it good enough to merge with trunk.
So happened with a lot of features already like the ocean simulation.
I’m sorry, but nobody here mentioned anything about “one button magic”, so you might’ve meant for this post to go into another thread.
That’s exactly what your Blenderstorm proposal is, and my post was meant for this thread.
there is currently no rapid way to “morph” one into the other (none that I’m aware of)
There is, was already explained to you. Not oneclick, not flawless but easy enough to achive.
With the new RNA and animation system in combination with the dopesheet it’s easy, I had to do it plenty of times, especially blending multiple materials to transparent and back for product visualizations.
arexma,
Okay, so you’re in favor of the status quo and don’t want this to be an addition to Blender. Good for you.
I don’t think it’s very useful to go prancing around trying to tell everybody that change is bad and that the status quo is great. I think encouraging ideas, innovation, and development is very good, even when the new features are of little use to me. If you don’t want such a feature, then just don’t talk about it. Nobody’s asking you to like it. I don’t run around telling other people to like and dislike the same features as me.
gmendieta,
Thanks again for sharing a link to the 3DS morph feature in action. It looks very cool and I updated my post at BlenderStorm to show that video as some proof of concept:
http://www.blenderstorm.org/blenderstorm/idea/442/
You’d have much better luck getting this developed as a Python addon.
This process is entirely doable. There have existed tools like this in the Poser community for quite some time.
Morph Magic, Morphing Clothes, Morph Follower, Cross Dresser, Wardrobe Wizard, The Tailor… they all do pretty much what you’re looking for. Granted, they’re very clothing-centric, but the principles are exact: Correlate dissimilar mesh volumes and transpose verticies. Try posting under the Python topics and see if anyone salutes.
PS: you’re gonna have to Google the various programs I mentioned yourself. Blenderartist doesn’t like it when one attaches too many links in the one post.
Aomeoni,
Thanks a lot for further demonstrating the viability of the concept. I’ve never used Poser (still just trying to get a good handle on MakeHuman, actually) but I trust that you know that the concept would transfer over to Blender.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any ability to code or program at all (someday, hopefully). So I’m just kinda asking others to consider it. Do you think that I should still post in the Python thread here at BlenderArtists, or is the post at BlenderStorm enough?
The are more Python Developers than BF Commiters. Don’t need to be able to code to do the math on that one 
Yeah, sure, but where are you saying this should be posted? At some Python message board?