How to use MakeClothes from Makehuman in Blender
For a supposedly time-saving 3D modeling tool, this handy little MakeHuman app for creating shirts, dresses, skirts, pants etc. in Blender can be a $#@! to operate correctly. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this blog post.) Anyway, here’s the workflow I sorted out, in the hopes that a no-frills tutorial might save folks several hours of experimentation. Good luck and great modeling!
Step 1: Set up MakeClothes
- Open Blender
- Press N then select MakeClothes
- Select body Type
- Press Load Human Mesh (which is automatically given the name Human)
- (don’t alter pivot point or small square at bottom of mesh)
Step 2: Prep your material
- Go to Edit mode
- Go to Material Properties Window
- Select the material for any body or clothing part that is getting in the way of your modeling
- Press S to scale down that part
- Deselect that material
Step 3: Create your clothing mesh
- Select the material for the part that you want to use to create an article of clothing
- Press SHIFT+D to create a duplicate part (which is automatically given the name Human.001)
- Right Click to set in in place
- Press P then separate by selection
- Go to Object mode
- Select Human then move it to a different layer
- Select Human.001
- In N / Item rename it to identify it as a piece of clothing (for the purposes of this tutorial we’ll call it “New Shirt”)
- In N / MakeClothes change the Mesh Type to Clothing
Step 4: Create your mannequin
- Select Human
- Go to Edit mode
- Go to Material Properties Window
- Select the Body material
- Press SHIFT+D to create a duplicate body (which is automatically given the name Human.001)
- Right Click to set in in place
- Press P then separate by selection
- Move it to a new layer
- In N / Item rename it as “Mannequin”
- Select both New Shirt and Mannequin layers
Step 5: Model your clothing
- Select New Shirt
- Go to Edit mode (if not there already)
- Model the clothing until it looks the way you want it to (and delete or fix any non-quad faces, because MakeClothes only uses quads)
- Go to Material Properties Window
- Create new material slot and new material and name is New Shirt
- Assign New Shirt mesh to New Shirt material
- Delete all other material slots (for the New Shirt mesh only; leave meshes for other meshes intact)
Step 6: Unwrap your clothing
- Select various edges of the model, such as down the middle of the back or along the top of the arms to the neck, to create seams
- Select Mesh / Edges / Mark Seam
- Go to Object Data / UV Maps
- Create new window for UV Image Editor
- Press U / Unwrap
- Press UVs / Export UV Layout to save it as an image (in case want to work on it in GIMP etc.)
Step 7: Create vertex groups
- Go to Object Mode
- Select New Shirt
- Go to Object Data / Vertex Groups
- In N / MakeClothes, press Create Vertex Groups (the Delete vertex group will then disappear)
Step 8: Generate your new piece of clothing
- Go into Object Mode (if not there already)
- Select Mannequin then delete it (because it’s no longer needed for this article of clothing)
- Select Human
- SHIFT + select New Shirt
- In N / MakeClothes, press Make Clothes
- Wait. Grab some coffee. Go for a walk. Make love. Swim in the sea.
- When complete, an “OK” dialogue box will appear.
- (Any error or warning messages may or may not mean anything, so try out your new clothing anyway.)
Now that you’re an expert, let’s set the world on fire! I’m a business consultant specializing in creative content and marketing. I work with clients nationwide, often on a confidential basis. Have a problem, a project, or just a great idea? Get in touch and we’ll talk. (For the contact form, if you’re on a phone scroll down, if you’re on a computer scroll up). – David Arv Bragi, Bellingham WA USA
Copyright © 2018 by David Arv Bragi. All Rights Reserved.