Step 2: Extract your avatar...
I won't go into too much detail here as the various programs all have their own idiosyncracies - you will need to learn how to use each one separately in order to successfully extract your avatar. I will instead offer a few pointers for each one that might help you avoid some of the pratfalls we discovered on the way...
-OGLEOGLE and Second Life - the OGLE program will only extract your avatar at rest, it works as soon as you log into SL - follow the directions on the Eyebeam Openlab page, follow the directions to the "T" and you should be ok. Keep in mind that OGLE extracts the ENTIRE square region you are in within SL, when we first used this we couldn't figure out where Gandhi was as he was so tiny, once the file went into Blender it was a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Some others have used OGLE in SL by creating a floating island in the sky in order to simplify the process of extraction for this very reason.
-In BlenderBlender you will need to delete all extraneous data and get down solely to your avatar model. You will then need to lessen the number of polygons for export to Pepakura. I chose to work on separate body parts individually for export to Pepakura - this greatly simplified the process but added some problems that I will go into later. Anyway, you will use the following to reduce the polygon count - "Edit Mode" - select "Mesh" - select "Scripts" - select "Poly Reducer" then change the poly count from the 0.500 to anywhere between 200-250 - I varied this according to the body parts - the head and hands were done at a higher count for greater detail, for instance. Save your files as Wavefront Obj files as I recall...
-In PepakuraPepakura you will import your files from Blender. Blender will automatically optimize the polygon count a bit further. You will then use this software to prepare the pages for print on the overhead transparency film. To get a monumental form out of this software, I increased the scale of the figure to 46 if I remember correctly, which spread the Pepakura diagrams across numerous pages - use the program to arrange the shapes for the best possible fit so you are not wasting either transparency film or eventually cardboard ;-) Be mindful of the mirroring or flip button in Pepakura as it does not necessarily reflect the orientation of your three dimensional model! At one point in the Gandhi production I hit this by accident or forgot I hit this button and traced out the entire torso portion in reverse (which would have meant his left hand would have been holding the walking stick). Avoid this by noting a unique polygon shape on the diagram and compare this to the 3-D figure window to be sure. Also, be sure and make the numbering visible and lower the size of the tabs on the diagram as this will make the overall job easier to do (defaults to triangles which can be confusing, make these smaller and they look more like tabs and you can fit more on one page).
-OGLEOGLE and Second Life - the OGLE program will only extract your avatar at rest, it works as soon as you log into SL - follow the directions on the Eyebeam Openlab page, follow the directions to the "T" and you should be ok. Keep in mind that OGLE extracts the ENTIRE square region you are in within SL, when we first used this we couldn't figure out where Gandhi was as he was so tiny, once the file went into Blender it was a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Some others have used OGLE in SL by creating a floating island in the sky in order to simplify the process of extraction for this very reason.
-In BlenderBlender you will need to delete all extraneous data and get down solely to your avatar model. You will then need to lessen the number of polygons for export to Pepakura. I chose to work on separate body parts individually for export to Pepakura - this greatly simplified the process but added some problems that I will go into later. Anyway, you will use the following to reduce the polygon count - "Edit Mode" - select "Mesh" - select "Scripts" - select "Poly Reducer" then change the poly count from the 0.500 to anywhere between 200-250 - I varied this according to the body parts - the head and hands were done at a higher count for greater detail, for instance. Save your files as Wavefront Obj files as I recall...
-In PepakuraPepakura you will import your files from Blender. Blender will automatically optimize the polygon count a bit further. You will then use this software to prepare the pages for print on the overhead transparency film. To get a monumental form out of this software, I increased the scale of the figure to 46 if I remember correctly, which spread the Pepakura diagrams across numerous pages - use the program to arrange the shapes for the best possible fit so you are not wasting either transparency film or eventually cardboard ;-) Be mindful of the mirroring or flip button in Pepakura as it does not necessarily reflect the orientation of your three dimensional model! At one point in the Gandhi production I hit this by accident or forgot I hit this button and traced out the entire torso portion in reverse (which would have meant his left hand would have been holding the walking stick). Avoid this by noting a unique polygon shape on the diagram and compare this to the 3-D figure window to be sure. Also, be sure and make the numbering visible and lower the size of the tabs on the diagram as this will make the overall job easier to do (defaults to triangles which can be confusing, make these smaller and they look more like tabs and you can fit more on one page).
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