Maya 2017 Xgen Export / Preset Between Characters

[Anonymous]

Hi there! I've only just started using the xgen fur option, and I'm not sure how to do this last step.

I've put xgen fur on a character I've made, and went through tutorials to figure out how to set it up correctly. I've already groomed it and got it looking the way I want. However, the thick fur slows my computer down. I wanted to animate my character, but with the fur loaded it would have been to slow, so I opened and animated a version of the character that did not have the fur attached. I have everything else working the way I want, and now I want to bring the fur over from my first character onto the character I have animated. Note: the mesh on the characters is exactly the same.

I've heard that I could export the xgen fur and grooming, and then just import it onto my new character. However, I can't find any up-to-date resources online that detail how to go about doing this, and those that touch on it usually skip steps assuming I know what they are talking about.

I've tried to follow along, but I'm worried I don't understand the process or that I'm just clicking on the wrong thing. 

So far, I've tried the following processes:

• I selected the "Fur Shape" which I assume is the xgen fur, and in the xgen editor I selected File>Export Collections or Descriptions and under the Descriptions tab I hit Export. I don't get any errors, and it seems to export fine. However, when I open my animated scene, select my character mesh, go to the xgen editor, select import collections or descriptions, and under the descriptions tab find the file in the folder I exported to, my fur only appears as a kind of stubble. The first time I tried this I received a message saying something that the visual representation could not be created, but when I tried again later I received the same result but no message. I'm not sure how to fix the fur. I checked to make sure the xgen toolbox and the "Fur" was loaded in the Plug-in Manager. I also don't see anything in the Xgen interactive groom editor, which is empty even though I can see short yellow guide curves. (I've attached two snapshots for reference)
• Originally, in the version with the fur, the xgen editor was blank with a "Create Descriptions" box, which I clicked and made a folder for. After that, I saw that another xgen-like thing had been created in my outliner, whose name ended with "Description". I went to the bottom of that chain and selected the thing with "groom" in its name, as this term has popped up a lot. I tried exporting it through the same process described above, but when I went to select the folder I am unable to select the save option. I then tried to go to File>Export as Grooming instead, and under the Attribute Maps tab selected the folder icon and selected the folder I wanted to save my groom to. I hit export and there were no error messages, but the groom folder is empty (This also happens when I try doing it with the "Fur Shape"). I then tried to go to File>Export as Preset, selected my destination and hit export, but received the error "File contains unknown nodes or data. To preserve this information, the current file type cannot be changed.", which I don't understand the meaning of (This also happens when I had the "Fur Shape" selected instead) .
• Just for good measure, I selected the mesh of my character (which is what I had selected when I originally pressed the "Create Descriptions" box) I try to do the Export Collections or Descriptions as explained above, and it works, but when I try to import it into my animated scene in the same way as described above, I get the same issue as I had when I tried it before. (I've attached a screenshot of the import, with the imported object shown in the outliner). I also tried this with the Export Grooming and Export as Preset options, but ran into the same problems and errors as earlier described.

This is really frustration me and I'm not sure of where else to go for answers. If anyone can give me some advice, insight, or (what I'm looking for) a run-through about how to go through this process, I would greatly appreciate it. I have a feeling that this is an ID10T error and is because I have no background and only a rudimentary understanding of xgen, but again I'm not sure where else to go for information.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! 

[Anonymous]

Hi there, 

I think it might be somewhat less frustrating if you exported the animation from your model that doesn't have hair and import it onto the mesh that does have XGen rather than trying to export the XGen descriptions. To do this, select the mesh in your animation file and go to Cache > Alembic Cache > Export Selection to Alembic. Then in your fur file, select the mesh and repeat the earlier steps, instead choosing Import Alembic. Then attach the .abc file where you saved your export.