Tutorial [ILLUSION] HS2 Studio Neo|Chara Maker - (Help & guides Thread)

[Herbmetaru]

Backgrounds and CardFrames. MetaruGuide .
A small tip for those, that still doesn't know:

You can add your own backgrounds for maker-screenshot and also for cardbacks and cardframes. Just add the pictures in these folders:
userdata/bg
userdata/cardframe/Back
userdata/cardframe/Front

If you want to get rid of some buildin BGs and frames, because you don't like them anyway, you can also check
<gamefolder>/DefaultData/...
and remove theme there or place them in a subfolder.

MetaruGuide
Examples:

 

[Mr-Fox]

I'm sure this question has been asked before but it's a tough one to search for so apologies for that. I'm wondering if there's a way to load two characters into Studio and have them synced up in position to pose them for animations, essentially similar to what happens when you load into a sex scene in HS2. Or is it mandatory to pose each character manually and individually?

As far as I remember you can very easily pose two characters by first choosing the pose and then specify wich two characters is going to be used in the pose, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Mr-Fox]

Try these:

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And in addition you can simply check out the links in my signature for cubemaps.

 

[Mr-Fox]

That screenshot and your character look great. Where did you get that locker room background and how did you add it in? I have now idea how to do that...lol.

I search for good backdrops with google search and in wallpaper sites in the interior category. Place it in UserData/bg.
It needs to be in png, it's easy to open a jpg in paint or gimp or photoshop and then save it as png. Inside maker you can find your backgrounds in the image selector in the right low corner.
A tip for making a preview like this is to instead of using an image to use "solid" and then use "magic eraser tool" in Photoshop thus you can remove the background with a few clicks from a screen cap.
Then open the background you want and simply place the screen caps over it in the composition you envision. Merge layers and ad some vignette with either "camera raw filter" or "lens correction" in Photoshop.
A vignette ads a bit more depth to a photo without too much manipulation, so no trickery in other words to make it look better than it is.




I can go into more details if there is an interest.

Here's the locker room and some more:

Spoiler:

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[Sepheyer]

I search for good backdrops with google search and in wallpaper sites in the interior category. Place it in UserData/bg.
It needs to be in png, it's easy to open a jpg in paint or gimp or photoshop and then save it as png. Inside maker you can find your backgrounds in the image selector in the right low corner.
A tip for making a preview like this is to instead of using an image to use "solid" and then use "magic eraser tool" in Photoshop thus you can remove the background with a few clicks from a screen cap.
Then open the background you want and simply place the screen caps over it in the composition you envision. Merge layers and ad some vignette with either "camera raw filter" or "lens correction" in Photoshop.
A vignette ads a bit more depth to a photo without too much manipulation, so no trickery in other words to make it look better than it is.

View attachment 2221243 View attachment 2221244
View attachment 2221245 View attachment 2221247

I can go into more details if there is an interest.

Here's the locker room and some more:

Spoiler:

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About: "then use "magic eraser tool" in Photoshop thus you can remove the background with a few clicks from a screen cap. "

You probably have good reasons for this workflow. But juuust in case - if you use rendered screenshots via F11 (I noticed you rather use regular screenshots, which might suggest you hate F11) then you can opt for disabling all background, and you get only the chara:

Spoiler: Illustration

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PS Also, a quick re-run about Ansel:
https://f95zone.to/threads/illusion...-help-guides-thread.66252/page-6#post-8706969

 

[drowsy]

PS Also, a quick re-run about Ansel:
https://f95zone.to/threads/illusion...-help-guides-thread.66252/page-6#post-8706969

I have two problems with Ansel, maybe some others have the same or know some solutions to these issues.

One problem is that when I use Ansel to upscale a render (which is the main reason for using it, going beyond the 4K that Screenshot Manager allows me to do (as 8K usually causes a Studio crash)), the resulting image looks like several layers are pasted on top of each other and smudged together randomly. Basically, it looks like a mess. When I don't activate the upscale setting, the Ansel render turns out fine, except for some reason the image is flipped both vertically and horizontally.

That leads me to the next problem. When I open Ansel in Studio (IIRC it's by pressing alt+F2), the "Keyboard Shortcuts" window opens of course. So, I click that away. But now the characters are in like 'free-look' mode or whatever. Their necks and gaze are no longer fixed the way I had positioned them, and some other issues like that. I think it's the "Keyboard Shortcuts" window which causes them to go into this mode. So, I basically can't pose my characters for Ansel, because they more or less drop the pose as soon as I press F2.

Anyone know some workarounds or solutions?

 

[Kaseijin]

Backgrounds and cardframes
A small tip for those, that still doesn't know:

You can add your own backgrounds for maker-screenshot and also for cardbacks and cardframes. Just add the pictures in these folders:
userdata/bg
userdata/cardframe/Back
userdata/cardframe/Front

If you want to get rid of some buildin BGs and frames, because you don't like them anyway, you can also check
<gamefolder>/DefaultData/...
and remove theme there or place them in a subfolder.

Examples:

Thank you!

Just for the record: In a VNGE scene, if you use an image of your own in a "Image board" props. and you want to share it, you have to share it among with the *.png scene file as well, and should put it in the "userdata/bg" folder, otherwise it will be a solid white image instead. I learned that in the hard way :/

 

[Sepheyer]

I have two problems with Ansel, maybe some others have the same or know some solutions to these issues.

One problem is that when I use Ansel to upscale a render (which is the main reason for using it, going beyond the 4K that Screenshot Manager allows me to do (as 8K usually causes a Studio crash)), the resulting image looks like several layers are pasted on top of each other and smudged together randomly. Basically, it looks like a mess. When I don't activate the upscale setting, the Ansel render turns out fine, except for some reason the image is flipped both vertically and horizontally.

That leads me to the next problem. When I open Ansel in Studio (IIRC it's by pressing alt+F2), the "Keyboard Shortcuts" window opens of course. So, I click that away. But now the characters are in like 'free-look' mode or whatever. Their necks and gaze are no longer fixed the way I had positioned them, and some other issues like that. I think it's the "Keyboard Shortcuts" window which causes them to go into this mode. So, I basically can't pose my characters for Ansel, because they more or less drop the pose as soon as I press F2.

Anyone know some workarounds or solutions?

Can you put a test scene here? We can start diagnosing only if we figure out whether it is the scene's setup or your studio setup.

I do have issues with ansel from time to time, but mine are different.

 

[drowsy]

Can you put a test scene here? We can start diagnosing only if we figure out whether it is the scene's setup or your studio setup.

I do have issues with ansel from time to time, but mine are different.

Okay, I've made a new scene, default stuff except for choosing a cubemap and placing a character.

To start with the posing problem first. I gave her a pose, then rotated her neck by having it "Follow" the camera and then enabling "Fixed" on the neck. Then, I first took a normal rendered screenshot (F12). Note her correct neck rotation:


And here is Ansel making a render with default settings:


So the problem that the neck returns to its initial "normal" position/rotation is clear here. As I mentioned, the "Keyboard Shortcut" window seems to cause this.

Now to show the second problem. Here is the result of what happens when I select the Super Resolution option in Ansel and try to render the image in 7680x4320 (it saves the file as an .exr, I just converted it to .jpg and downsized it to post it here):

Lul wut? So this should look like the first pic I posted above, only in 8k, but instead it looks like this.

I doubt the problem is scene-specific (since I've always had these same two issues), but here's the scene:

 

[Mr-Fox]

About: "then use "magic eraser tool" in Photoshop thus you can remove the background with a few clicks from a screen cap. "

You probably have good reasons for this workflow. But juuust in case - if you use rendered screenshots via F11 (I noticed you rather use regular screenshots, which might suggest you hate F11) then you can opt for disabling all background, and you get only the chara:

Spoiler: Illustration

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

PS Also, a quick re-run about Ansel:
https://f95zone.to/threads/illusion...-help-guides-thread.66252/page-6#post-8706969

I knew of this, had just forgot.. Thanks for the reminder. One reason I use normal screenshot is that it is fast, and also I get complaints almost every time I post a character that it doesn't look the same on people's rustbucket potatoe computers..
Who would have tunk it?...
So I can then say that it's only a screenshot and no trickery or manipulation to the preview etc.

 

[Mr-Fox]

Okay, I've made a new scene, default stuff except for choosing a cubemap and placing a character.

To start with the posing problem first. I gave her a pose, then rotated her neck by having it "Follow" the camera and then enabling "Fixed" on the neck. Then, I first took a normal rendered screenshot (F12). Note her correct neck rotation:
View attachment 2221670

And here is Ansel making a render with default settings:
View attachment 2221671

So the problem that the neck returns to its initial "normal" position/rotation is clear here. As I mentioned, the "Keyboard Shortcut" window seems to cause this.

Now to show the second problem. Here is the result of what happens when I select the Super Resolution option in Ansel and try to render the image in 7680x4320 (it saves the file as an .exr, I just converted it to .jpg and downsized it to post it here):
View attachment 2221675
Lul wut? So this should look like the first pic I posted above, only in 8k, but instead it looks like this.

I doubt the problem is scene-specific (since I've always had these same two issues), but here's the scene:
View attachment 2221679

Make sure that you have unselected "enhanced" and "hdr" etc. You probably already know this but just in case you had missed it.

 

[drowsy]

Make sure that you have unselected "enhanced" and "hdr" etc. You probably already know this but just in case you had missed it.

Good thinking, but I've tried disabling one/the other etc., and while it does have an effect (on the render, not on the posing problem), all it does is create some variety of Eldritch Horror-looking screenshot. Like, the character's material repeats on her body, and there are ghost-versions of the model appearing next to her. Something funky going on, or maybe my computer is haunted.

 

[Sepheyer]

Okay, I've made a new scene, default stuff except for choosing a cubemap and placing a character.

To start with the posing problem first. I gave her a pose, then rotated her neck by having it "Follow" the camera and then enabling "Fixed" on the neck. Then, I first took a normal rendered screenshot (F12). Note her correct neck rotation:
View attachment 2221670

And here is Ansel making a render with default settings:
View attachment 2221671

So the problem that the neck returns to its initial "normal" position/rotation is clear here. As I mentioned, the "Keyboard Shortcut" window seems to cause this.

Now to show the second problem. Here is the result of what happens when I select the Super Resolution option in Ansel and try to render the image in 7680x4320 (it saves the file as an .exr, I just converted it to .jpg and downsized it to post it here):
View attachment 2221675
Lul wut? So this should look like the first pic I posted above, only in 8k, but instead it looks like this.

I doubt the problem is scene-specific (since I've always had these same two issues), but here's the scene:
View attachment 2221679

Thanks! Will be looking into this.

For what it is worth, I have a bunch of 11520 x 6480 screenshots, and the only artifact are girl's hair. I didn't really notice it on the first go, so never troubleshot it.

46% of the original:

On the other hand I love the moire on the left girl's jacket. So life-like, I never picked it up on the screenshots. Makes me wonder if crops of hi-res images can be specifically used for such effects.

Native crop:

Spoiler: Illustration

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[ninetofive]

As far as I remember you can very easily pose two characters by first choosing the pose and then specify wich two characters is going to be used in the pose, if I'm not mistaken.

Choose the pose from where?

 

[Mr-Fox]

Choose the pose from where?

Sorry it was a very long time since I messed around in studio so I can only go from memory. In the animation menu or something similar where you can find poses both static and animated, there are poses for one single individual but also for couples. Such as a simple fellatio scene. What I remember is that you could pick one of these animations pick the characters and then loop it. For research...

 

[Mr-Fox]

When I had a look an Ansel again I was reminded that it has stereo capability, I decided to play a bit with this and then adjust in a stereo 3d viewing software and then make a screen cap. You need a set of old school stereo3d type glasses red and cyan for this.
Does anyone know if there is a plugin or similar to add stereo 3d to HS2? I got the inspiration for messing around a bit with this. Invidia 3d vision is abandoned, but there might be a standalone or in one of the optional plugins.

 

[ninetofive]

Sorry it was a very long time since I messed around in studio so I can only go from memory. In the animation menu or something similar where you can find poses both static and animated, there are poses for one single individual but also for couples. Such as a simple fellatio scene. What I remember is that you could pick one of these animations pick the characters and then loop it. For research...

Okay, in my Studio I can't use the animation menu at all when there are no characters already loaded into the scene. The only way I've been able to mess with animations is to load the two characters individually, select the animation on each chara separately, then move each of them manually to make the characters line up, then stop and start the animation on one of the characters to try and get the movements syncronized. That's a lot of hassle.

When I watched a video of someone doing a VNGE tutorial at one point he just loads two characters straight into the scene already synced together in an animation, so I was wondering how he did that and if it's only a function of VNGE.

 

[Albertant]

help dudes i don't know why but my F5 settings is missing.... i don't know why but now when i press f5 nothing appears in the scene how can i fix it?

 

[HardcoreCuddler]

help dudes i don't know why but my F5 settings is missing.... i don't know why but now when i press f5 nothing appears in the scene how can i fix it?

F5? don't you mean F1? that's where my settings are

 

[drowsy]

Okay, in my Studio I can't use the animation menu at all when there are no characters already loaded into the scene. The only way I've been able to mess with animations is to load the two characters individually, select the animation on each chara separately, then move each of them manually to make the characters line up, then stop and start the animation on one of the characters to try and get the movements syncronized. That's a lot of hassle.

When I watched a video of someone doing a VNGE tutorial at one point he just loads two characters straight into the scene already synced together in an animation, so I was wondering how he did that and if it's only a function of VNGE.

Here's how you do it: In Studio, you load two characters into your scene. Make sure they are placed in the exact same location, so f.ex. both have XYZ coordinates 0,0,0. Then, in the Workspace menu on the top right, while holding the Ctrl button, select the name of one of your characters, then the name of the other. So, now you have both characters selected. Then, on the top left, go into the Animation menu. You are now technically selecting the animation for the last character you selected, but since you have two selected, whatever you choose will apply to both. Now, if you select a couple's animation, it should automatically place both characters in the right position relative to each other. If one character is male, it should be in the "male" position, vice versa for female.

It just works. There is a mod that's responsible, but I can't remember which one exactly. It's certainly included in BetterRepack though.