why should I use this?

[f1-outsourcing]

I am a bit new to the 3d model scene. I want to start using for an avatar different body types but realistic ones eg this fat one[1] looks nice to use.

But I am lacking any experience to judge what a good standard is to choose, I am also lacking knowledge about anatomy to decide what is a proper and realistic model.

So my question is why should I use yours and not eg something like[1] It looks like they really researched body types there, also differences between male and female.

[1]
https://github.com/wonderunit/shot-generator-models/

[Vidyut]

You should use what meets your needs. Different softwares do different things. You need to research a LOT more though. Right now you're comparing apples and tables.

This is not to sound dismissive, but Blender has a pretty steep learning curve. Both MPFB2 and the link you shared are based on Blender, but they have different purposes. That one visualizes scenes and has provided basic models so that you can customise them. MPFB2 creates models that you could probably use there and it would be easier than customizing theirs, I think. But neither are offering avatars. If that is your exact requirement, you could probably try sketchfab or something to download a ready free model that you can plug into wherever you're planning to use it. Or you'll end up on a pretty steep curve learning Blender, etc - both softwares will need it - and by the time you can make an avatar, you'll be hooked to other things. lol.

[Vidyut]

Also, I just checked. That software hasn't been updated in 2 years and is based on Blender, like this one. Blender has been through several versions with breaking changes since then. You can try it and see, but that's one reason to choose this one, I guess. This one usually works with upcoming betas and is updated regularly. At least you can be pretty sure it will work.

[f1-outsourcing]

Not updated in 5 years, indeed. I just need something that looks real and from which I can build my model. I was hoping that eg these body types are also available in mpfb2

[Vidyut]

The body types are available in MPFB2. You'll also be able to download and add clothing and such very easily. The issue will be making it look good - you'll have to learn that. Also, you'll probably need to set up shapekeys and such for an avatar. I assume you want it to talk and such. That's not beginner level stuff. If you download a free avatar from somewhere, it will likely come with shapekeys.

Also whether the model is useful will probably depend on what you're using it in. Most of this YouTube video type stuff I see seems to have 2D avatars - this is 3D. Honestly i don't know that much about using avatars. If you want a fat man, MPFB can do that.

[joepal1976]

@f1-outsourcing : The short answer here is if MPFB fits your particular use case, then use it. If something else fits your use case better, then use that. If all what you want or need is something quick and simple for getting a humanoid mesh, then there might be better options. Human Primitives comes to mind too. If you want something photorealistic that integrates with Unreal Engine, then maybe Meta Human is a good fit.

The slightly longer answer is that the following might be reasons to use MPFB over something else:

• If you like Blender and want a fully integrated intermediate to advanced tool with a lot of abilities, MPFB will offer that to you. There's a one-click-create-mesh solution too, but there's a lot you can do after having added the basic human.
• You might be interested in using the large library of third-part assets such as clothes and skins. They're a few clicks away, and they are for free.
• You might want to play around with different materials, which range from PBR texture based to fully procedural
• MPFB offers humanoid solution fully integrated with rigify
• MPFB supports Mixamo animations
• MPFB is true open source project, not a marketing gimmick. There is no hidden premium tier and no-one here is going to try to sell you anything
• The MPFB license is as permissive as it gets. If you want to use assets without any fear or license problems, then you won't find a more permissive project. The core assets are CC0, and you don't need to read and accept a 64-page long EULA to use them.
• The MakeHuman community has been at it for something akin to 20 years now (I joined around 2008). Maybe longevity in a project might be appealing.

I'm sure there are other reasons why people use MPFB, but these are the ones that comes to mind right now.

[f1-outsourcing]

Thanks for all the detailed explanations, I really appreciate it. I will discuss this all with 3d modeller soon.

[f1-outsourcing]

I have installed today the plugin of mpfb and I am really impressed. I played a bit with creating these models. In my install the presets were not active.

But I was wondering why for instance with age one has to select child or young, why not put just and age? Same for height? Why tall or average, why not just enter a number?

What I also wondered about is how is this model generated. Is this calculated from scientific research data or is this just someone's impression? Eg if I would generate a model from scratch with average everywhere, would I get a model very close to a model that would be used in anatomy books of medical studies?

[joepal1976]

@f1-outsourcing :

The presets are your presets, ie characters you have created and saved using the manage presets panel. If you have not created any presets, then the drop-down is empty.

As this has led to some confusion, I'm planning to rename this. Maybe to "saved characters" or something. I have yet to decide on a better terminology.

Regarding targets, there is no short answer here, so bear with me.

First: All targets are artist impressions, not meshes produced from, say, 3d-scanning a living human. The phenotype morphs were designed thus: "this is how I think an elderly thin asian woman looks like" or "this is how I think an obese adolecent male looks like". This is the case for all phenotype parameters, such as weight, muscularity, age and so forth.

These phenotype targets are then morphed together. You pick the morph data from one target and combine a fraction of that with a fraction of a second target and yet another fraction of a third target.

All target morphs are thus on a continuum from "not applied at all" (0.0) to "fully applied" (1.0). While one could conceptually think of 50% young mixed with 50% old as something looking a bit like a 40 year old, terms such as years do not have any easily translatable relation to the mixing of different morphs. You could for example mix 30% caucasian young with 30% african old and 40% asian old. Then what would be the age?

Then, to complicate things, there are also "modifiers". Most sliders on the model panel are either a single target (for example "head diamond shape") which goes from 0.0 to 1.0, or dichotomies with two targets where one is in the range -1.0 to 0.0 and the other is in the range 0.0 to +1.0. If the slider is beneath 0.0 one target is used. If it is above, the other target is used (an example is "head fat")

Such combinations of targets are called "modifiers".

The phenotype modifiers are even more complex. Age is a combination of four different targets, where 0.0 on the scale is "baby", 0.2 is "child", "0.5" is "young" and 1.0 is "old". A setting of 0.1 is thus a 50% mix of baby and child.

Which brings us to the "from scratch" panel. The drop down settings are just points on a scale of a modifier. You can see this by creating a character and then going to the model->phenotype panel. For example age will have "young" which is 100% of the young target and 0% of baby, child and old. "Old" is 100% of the old target, and 0% of baby, child and young.

I hope this explains a bit about the reasons for why things look the way they do.

[f1-outsourcing]

@joepal1976 Hi Joel thanks again for such detailed explanation, quite a lot of work must have gone into this, looks very nice.