Blender/Marvellous Designer Plugin for 3D model

Carrots Blog

Hello,

I would like to begin by thanking you for all the hard work you have put into this and making it a free software for all to use.

In one of your tutorials you mentioned working on a Blender plugin to turn the patterns into a 3d model. I'm wondering if that is still something you are working on and if it's available to use.

I am a developer myself and would like to help with that if it's still work in progress.

Thank you

Lori

You are very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Over these many years of pattern drafting for 3D and using Marvelous Designer I've learned that 3D artists aren't really interested in real cloth simulation. The game engines don't handle it well and neither does most 3D software, like Blender.

3D people are much more interested in conforming clothing. They like to sculpt in wrinkles, I like to drape them with proper fit. We are worlds apart.

After this realization, I pretty much stopped teaching MD and trying to integrate with Blender. The patterns in PNG format still work great in MD, but that's about all I'm willing to invest at this time.

My total, over-the-top dream is to port MD functionality (basically real-world sewing) into Blender. I'd love to say goodbye to MD for good. There are a few add-ons that sew, but they just aren't there yet. There are a ton of designers and people who sew that could use Blender and I'd love to teach them how, if I could make this work.

What is your experience with this? Are you interested in real-world sim or just game assets?

Carrots Blog

I am interested in real-world sim, I am not experienced in this space. I am working on a marketplace that aggregates fabric vendors, tailors and pattern makers. User flow is choose a sewing pattern, visualize it in 3D with available fabrics. Buy the pattern and fabric to either sew yourself or hire a verified tailor/sewing enthusiast in your area to sew it for you.

The goal is to allow sewing enthusiasts who love the craft to be able to do more of what they love without the hassle of finding clients or all the busywork involved. Pattern makers also get to sell patterns and fabric vendors get to sell their products as well. I have an MVP iOS app ready to be release next week. I have like 10 patterns that I purchased and converted into 3D models using MD to get a grasp of the flow.

The missing piece for me is automating the process of turning 2D patterns into 3D models. I intend to make the app free to use and monetize in other ways that doesn't affect the makers.

Lori

I had this same concept, less the app, about 15 years ago. Here are some of the challenges you'll encounter:

Getting an accurate representation of the fabric on the rendered garment. You have to have a tile-able image of the fabric, which isn't always easy to get. You also have to have the scale so that any fabric designs are the correct size on the garment.
Moderating the people who will sew. This is very difficult. How will you create quality control? How can you stop sweat shops from participating? Someone has to guarantee the quality and time to deliver. I doubt you want that responsibility.
Pattern sizing to user issues. Nearly all patterns, except Patternmaker Pro, are sized to standards. Those standards are not set by the industry and vary wildly. Sewing pattern sizing also does not correspond to ready-to-wear sizing at all. Who will determine the size of pattern that is needed? What happens when that size does not fit properly, even if sewn correctly?
Returns are a big problem. Who gets paid when something is returned? How could you determine fault? What happens to the garment on return?

These are only some of the many challenges to this business concept. Virtual try-on is something that every retail store and fashion house is currently trying to figure out. Going from a pattern to a 3d garment is very difficult and time consuming.

I was never able to solve these issues and still come out with a profitable business. Perhaps you can.

Carrots Blog

Thank you for the feedback. Here are some of the things we intend to do.

We intend to partner with manufacturers who have digital twins of their fabrics. Long terms would be for partners to digitize their fabrics themselves and upload it. Retailers and wholesalers then only need to search the database and add it to their product offering.
Moderating the tailors will be challenging and trying to figure it which is why I intend to start small. Work with local tailors/sewers in the community and then go build from there.
Exactly the reason why I want to use Patternmaker Pro for this project. After my research, it is the best product out there for my use case.

Are you open to having a more formal conversation about this?

Regards

Lori

I am currently very busy with Patternmaker Pro and I don't have time to spare. I'm afraid I'm just not available right now. It sounds like you have a solid plan and I wish you the best in making it a reality.

Carrots Blog

Thank you.

What work flow would you recommend for exporting pattern from PatternMaker Pro into Clo3D to create a 3D model just like you have in the Catalog? I keep running into problems where it won't load the DXF or PDF properly and even when that work then adding PBR materials to the exported OBJ doesn't work. Any advice you can give and if there's anything I can help with coding a Blender plugin then I'd love with help with that.

Lori

I have not used Clo3D, so I have no idea about that interface. We are going to add DXF output to PMP, so that might help in the future.

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