Puppet Master: Biped
Figure Set Up Tutorial

Open Poser and load in the P4 nude female figure followed by the figure you wish to set up. The figures in the image below are set side by side for clarity.

Select the P4 Female figure then click the "Set Source Figure"

Select the figure to be set up then click the "Set Target Figure". You will get a Python message, "Setup file not found for figure 'YourFigure.obj'! Please click click 'Set Up New Figure' for best results". This is quite correct, your figures will have been zeroed and prepared for the next step. Proceed to the next stage.

Since one figure will be superimposed on the other I found it best to work with the display set to outline.

Click on the Set Up New Figure button. You will be using the Move buttons to align the new figure to the Poser 4 Female.

Start with the hip and work along each hierarchy chain aligning the figure to the P4 Female. For this figure the sequence would be:-

hip -- abdomen -- chest -- neck -- head
rShldr -- rForeArm -- r Hand
rThigh -- rShin -- rFoot

It does not matter that body parts are different lengths. Your aim is to get each body part parallel to the corresponding part in the P4 Female.

Use the "Move" buttons to align the body parts. DO NOT USE THE PARAMETER DIALS. Remember to use both front and side views, the body parts need to be aligned in each direction. Ignore any twist alignment, this is addressed later when using the "Repose" button.

After moving the first body part you will be presented with the message:-

"New figure joint order template saved to C:\Program Files\Curious Labs\Poser 6\Runtime\Python\poserScripts\PhilC\Puppet Master\Biped\data\YourFigure.txt Please modify if it is wrong"

Open this TXT file in notepad and you will see a list of body parts followed by their joint rotation order. Poser Python does not have the ability to check these automatically, you will need to check and edit manually. If you are not sure what the joint order should be, select the body part in the Poser scene, open the Joint Parameter window and the joint rotation order will be indicated at the bottom.

When you have completed one side click the appropriate symmetry button to copy the information to the other side. YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY CHANGE TO THE FIGURE. This operation copies the Puppet Master information only. It does not copy the visual pose. To test the results click the Copy Pose button.

The last stage is to click the "Save Figure Tweaks" button. This saves the figure's Puppet Master data to a file which will be used when subsequently copying poses using the plug in. You do not need to save the figure. You do not need to save the pose. In fact its best to clear the scene and start fresh now that your new figure has been set up.

The image on the right shows the difference that Puppet Master can make. A pose file was applied to the P4 Female and the figure on the left. Notice how the figure's limbs are different because its zero pose is not the same as the P4 Female's. The figure on the right however has had the pose copied to it using Puppet Master.

Other notes:-

Boxes.
Puppet Master places a small boxes at the origin and end points of each body part. For the most part they can be ignored. You will only need to drag them into a new location if they are considerably out of position. This is very rare with humanoid figures.

Align Body Parts.
As the title states this will align one body part to another. Its only real benefit is in aligning the hand prior to adjusting the fingers. If you find that you have set up the figure with out using it then don't worry about it.

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