Model outfits in Marvelous Designer
Learn how to use basic tools to model a full outfit from a simple 2D sketch
Translate a stylised 2D concept to 3D with Maya and Zbrush
Here we are going to learn how to use Marvelous Designer to drape and craft an outfit from a simple drawn sketch. Some basic fashion knowledge is needed here – knowing the shapes of the patterns we are going to work with. Marvelous Designer is more of a draping simulator than a fashion program, which eases the barriers between a 3D modeller and a product designer.
This program will help create realistic fabric wrinkles and drapes
that will also be applicable in real life, to some extent. You can explore many fabric draping options, from soft silk to hard leather. By the end of this tutorial you will have a ready draped and sectioned object file to render and colour as you please.
01 START WITH A SKETCH
You can go as wild as you can with sketching, but remember that Marvelous Designer is based on physics, so anything floating or defying gravity will not be ideal for your modelling process. Try to find realistic ways to be creative in your design. It helps to have your character sketched in at least two views, front and back (unless you want to live dangerously and wing it!).
02 TOOLS
After loading in your posed avatar, you will need two simple tools to start drawing your first pattern. This is a simple posed avatar exported from DAZ Studio and saved as an OBJ file. If you are familiar with drawing vectors, then these tools will be easy to use since they mimic the classic pen tool. Start by drawing a rectangle using the silhouette for scale with the polygon tool (shortcut ‘H’). Use the Edit Curvature tool to curve your straight edges and form the neckline and armhole; simply click on the line and drag.
03 DUPLICATE AND STITCH
Copy and paste the shape you drew. In the 3D window grab the new piece and use the arrows to position your new shape; this will serve as your back piece. In Marvelous we work on only one side of the model, since this is a symmetric outfit. Right-click on the back piece in the 3D window and select Flip Normal. Once the piece is in place, use the Free Sewing tool to start stitching. You need to go into the same flow while stitching, so if the first line is formed from left to right then the line it’s attached to needs to as well.
04 SYMMETRY
Select the two patterns using the Transform Pattern tool (shortcut ‘A’) and press Cmd/ctrl+d to form symmetrical copies of the two pieces. This will not only paste and reflect the patterns, but it will copy the stitch lines and mimic any form of change you do to the original patterns by having them linked – this is what we also call ‘linked editing’.
05 SIMULATION
The best but also trickiest part of Marvelous is simulation. This command will give the program a chance to calculate your fabric fall and translate it to a fully draped outfit. With the press of the arrow button at the top-left corner of the 3D window or the spacebar, magic happens! You now have an accurately rendered crop-top. After pausing the simulation, now will be your chance to edit your anchors and curves to how you see fit. While the simulation is on, you can click and drag on the garment to fix its position.
06 DRAW, STITCH, REPEAT!
Divide your outfit into basic shapes or sections and build it by repeating the first steps to create your first base. Now is your chance to fix the fit according to your sketch. Here the top is loose and the bottom of the coat is flared. Elongating a line that is already stitched to another piece will help create gatherings and wrinkles to exaggerate the joining of the two.
07 ASSIGN FABRICS
On the top right, in the fabric section, you can create a copy of your existing fabric and change the colours and physical properties. We will be giving the bottom a leather fabric to stand up and flare, while keeping the top as default. You can assign the fabric to your pieces by selecting them with the Transform Pattern tool and pressing the arrow near the fabric you created.
08 INTERNAL CUTS
Now that we have basic shapes, we can begin to draw the internal cuts using the Internal Polygon/line tool. Lines formed need to be within a pattern. After drawing your line, double-click to confirm that this is the shape you are happy with. As for the main patterns, we can curve and edit these lines with the Edit Pattern and Edit Curvature tools. When working with Marvelous, we start from the outer shapes then shift to the inside gradually, a.k.a. from patterns, to cuts, to pockets, and other small details accordingly.
09 DRAPE OVER BENT LIMBS
For a bent limb like this, it will be difficult to draw the full sleeve in one go. So you need to divide it into two plane sections and drape according to its section, then stitch them together at the elbow. Use pins by pressing ‘W’ and clicking on the piece in the 3D window, to help hold the fabric in place or stop it from sliding off and falling. Pins can be moved and displaced with the arrows.
10 A PIECE WITHIN A PIECE
Using the wrist cuff we already have, we can create the strap stitched on to it, without having to draw a new shape. Draw an internal shape of the strap on the cuff, then copy-paste that piece. Select that shape with the Transform Pattern tool, right-click and press Cut. Delete the bigger, now hollow, piece and we now have a small strap. Stitch the strap onto the internal line on the cuff and in the physical property section on the left, assign the layer it is on (in this case it is 1). This will help avoid unwanted collisions during simulation.
11 SNIP! SNIP!
We are now ready to form our cuts using the internal lines we drew. Make sure all internal lines have snapped to the edges of the patterns. If you are unsure, you can select the internal line, right-click and press Extend Line to Pattern Outline. With the internal lines selected, rightclick and select Cut & Sew. This saves you from sewing all pieces together after cutting.
12 ORGANISING CHAOS
Now that we have a lot of pieces, it will be a good idea to start naming and assigning the fabrics and colours of each similar piece in the right fabrics tab. We can also control the thickness of our fabric to create exaggerated volumes. To prevent the file from crashing, we will create each piece in its own file (coat, pants, vest, etc) which will later on conjoin in one file to form the final rendered look. Make sure that you use the same posed avatar for all of the garments.
13 ASYMMETRICAL DETAILS
Asymmetrical details are left until the end i.e when the garment’s details are done. This is because you will need to select the asymmetric pieces and click Remove Linked Editing in the right-click option. The two pieces will be free to hold any future edits or stitches solely. You can extend the anchor and merge/cut pieces, but know that there is no way to link them back together again.
14 GIVE ‘EM STITCHES!
To add decorative topstitches, we are going to need internal lines as well. If the stitches are on the edges, you can select that line and right-click on it to select the Offset as Internal Line option, saving the trouble of manually estimating the internal line’s position. On the top left you will find the topstitch tab. Just like the fabric tab, you can control the shape, thickness and spacing of your stitches to create all sorts of designs and embroideries. Use the Segment Topstitch tool and click on the lines to assign them a topstitch.
15 JOIN THE FULL OUTFIT
Be sure to import your garments in order, starting with the bottom ones as you would normally dress up in real life. Our order will be pants, coat then vest. If collisions happen after simulation, simply undo and increase the number in the layer box for the problematic garments and re-simulate. Remember pins are your best friends here to help hold pieces in place.
16 QUADRANGULATE
Once you are finally happy with the shape of your full layered garment, select the piece all together. In the 3D window, right-click then press Quadrangulate and lower your particle distance to 3. Press Cmd/ctrl+w to remove all your pins, since they will later on create dents in your render’s surface, and simulate it for a final time. It will take some loading time to do so. Don’t be afraid for the garment to collapse after removing the pins, since the simulation at this point is slow and will easily be manoeuvred by pausing.
17 SAVE AND EXPORT
Select all the pieces and go to File>export>obj (Selected). Tick the details you would like to export. Make sure it is exported as multiple objects. Fabrics of the same fabric type will be linked when applying textures to it later on, so keep that in mind before exporting. If you would like the entire outfit to be one solid shape, then you can go ahead and select Single Object. Make sure the Thick surface is ticked and units are assigned according to your current model. And you are done!
18 RENDER
Using any rendering program of your preference, you can now add your textures, place it on the avatar and pimp it up! Keyshot is the program used in this case. It helps simulate not only great textures to go with the wrinkled mesh of the clothing, but also creates a good lighting environment for the final render preview of the full look! •