Is that an unrealistic goal?
It totally depend of you. It's not because you just start learning how to use Daz3D, that you don't have what it need for that.
If I can, please explain how...
There's four way to do, but all share a common point, it need that you know how to create textures. Either by applying already existing textures and giving them the right form, or by drawing them by yourself. Obviously, the better you'll be at this, the better will be the result, making a white shirt don't limit to coloring something in plain white. You'll have to give a structure, I would say a "texture", to your texture. The bump map and/or normal map (that you'll also have to create) are what give it's effective relief to the texture, but it's more a feeling of relief, therefore it also need to be seen in the texture itself.
This said, the four ways are, from the simplest to the hardest :
- You change the texture of an existing meshes.
Whatever is fully transparent in the texture will be fully transparent in the image, what mean that you can perfectly, by example, use a one piece swimsuit and transform it into a bra, just by changing the texture. It give approximate result, but most clothing having finally a structure relatively similar, it can be enough sometimes.
- You create a morph for an existing meshes.
There's already something that look close to what you want, but just "close to". You edit it with the software of your choice (Blender, Maya, etc.) and you move/adapt the vertexes for the meshes to looks like what you want. It's already better, but you must be aware that by adapting the vertexes, you'll alter the way the texture will look. Globally speaking, to each vertex is assigned a small part of the texture, so unless you also edit the UV map (what will change the way the texture apply to the meshes), a vertex made bigger will still be applied the same small part of the texture, what will imply a deformation. Therefore you'll perhaps have to also works on the texture.
- You alter an existing meshes.
It's similar to the previous method, except that you add or remove vertexes. This time you'll have to create the UV map for the new meshes (what is "relatively" easy and generally need just few clicks), and to make the texture for it.
- You create the meshes from start.
The way to do depend of the software you'll use for that, so I'll not goes really further. Basically speaking, you sculpt the clothes you want, starting from absolutely nothing. Either like a sculptor would do starting from a marble bloc, and removing pieces until he reach the form he want, or like a sculptor would do starting with nothing, and adding clay until he reach the form he want.
Obviously, once again you'll have to create the UV map, and the texture.
This being said, I recommend you to simply start by the first method. While it's the one that give the most approximate result, it's also the easiest and the common point to all method. If you can't create a texture, you're stuck anyway. But at least you know it before having lost time trying to works on the meshes itself.
Then, if it's something you can do, then start creating morphs for existing meshes, and if you still achieve to do it, try to adapt meshes. This to, if it's still among your capacities, trying to create something from scratch.
As for the software to use, this also totally depend of you. While having many common points, they all have their own way to do it. Just for the sculpture, either you add or remove, it's two radically different approach and sucking at one don't mean that you'll suck at the other. Therefore, you'll have to test them all until you find the one with which you're the most at ease. But, once again, do this
only if you achieve to create a new piece of clothing just by creating a texture on your own. Else it will be a waste of time, unless you achieve to find someone good at texturing that accept to works with you.
