Want to know more about Daz3d 3d Printing? Daz Studio has a huge collection of high-quality figures, clothing, accessories and other 3D assets. Because of this it is totally normal, when people want to get these models in real life. To look at and feel their characters. To put your beloved creation on the shelf near you.
And the best way to bring this dream to life is 3D printing. So we created this article that will look into 3D printing Daz Studio characters in different ways.
Source GamePrint: 3D Print Plugin
Daz3D 3D Printing On Your Own
Of course you can try to Daz3D 3D print everything on your own. But there is a big problem here. Daz3D models are not made for 3D printing in any way. So a lot of optimization is needed to be done.
Though there is one exception to this. Daz3D has a page where it is said that Genesis 2 provides characters that are 3D print-ready. This means that no or almost none of the optimizations needs to be done.
But any newer generations of Genesis figures are not print-ready. And to work on them we most definitely will need to use some other software besides Daz Studio. Because Daz Studio simply does not have tools that can do what we need.
Source GamePrint: 3D Print Plugin
There is a Daz3D tool that can fit our needs, it is called Hexagon. It is free and proposes modeling tools. But I would totally recommend using something else instead, as Hexagon is a bit outdated. Especially as there is another fully free 3D modeling software – Blender. And since not so long ago Daz3D introduced Daz to Blender Bridge tool that allows for the fast and easy transfer between the programs. We have a Daz to Blender Bridge Tutorial and even Blender 2.8 Basics Tutorial if you are interested in Blender.
After you imported your model into 3D modeling software you can begin to optimize. It is a big and not an easy process that requires both knowledge and experience. So I will not explain in detail about optimizing. Besides, the process can be different for different models.That is why I will just go about the process in short:
- Check that everything is imported correctly. Nothing is missing, there are no problems and the character looks fine.
- Join everything into one object. When you print – you should only have one object.
- Better to not just join them, but to properly connect objects including their geometry. For example make that clothing would be embedded into the skin. Otherwise there could be problems later.
There is space between clothes and skin. This will definitely cause problems in printing
- Work with Daz3D hair for 3D printing. Usually hair is done like a lot of two-dimensional straps. And this means that it would be printed poorly. Also you can’t print out transparency, which can make some hairstyles not work at all.
Source ZBrush 2020
- Check for the non-manifolds. Non-manifold models basically can’t exist in the real world. For example if you have some holes in your geometry like this:
Non-manifold mesh
- Export the model in desired format.
- Finish last preparations in the 3D printing software. Such as adding supports (you can’t print a good character model without supports). Fortunately most of the 3D printing software should be able to do this automatically.
- Print.
One thing that needs to be mentioned is that you can not sell your printed Daz3D models. They intended for personal use only.
Daz3D GamePrint: 3D Print Plugin
GamePrint: 3D Print Plugin is a free plugin from the Mixed Dimensions. This tool allows you to upload your models directly from the Daz Studio to the GamePrint. Which is a 3D manufacturing company that brings your virtual characters and designs into the physical world.
The trick here is that when you upload a model you can choose one of the four styles of print. You can also choose whether the model should be colored and if yes, then how exactly the print would be colored, what would be the size of the product and other options.
Source GamePrint: 3D Print Plugin
To use this plugin you will need to visit its store page and “buy” it from there. Even though it is free, you still need to add it to cart and checkout. In the checkout you will also need to specify your billing information. After that just open DAZ Install Manager and install the plugin.
But we can’t yet use the plugin as it requires a serial number. Find it in your account information on the Daz3D website and copy it from here:
After that open Daz Studio and from the top bar go “Help > About Installed Plugins”. In the appeared window find GamePrint and in the “Registration” part paste your serial number. Then press OK and restart Daz Studio.
Now you can open this plugin in the “Window > Panes(Tabs)”, where it would be called “GamePrint 3D Print”.
With it open you can select any character on the scene and proceed to order its 3D print. In the new tab, that will open in your web browser, you can change settings for the model. That is to say that you can choose material finish, size of the figure and quantity. After that you can proceed to checkout.
You may have noticed that there is another button in the plugin – “Download STL”. If you choose it you will be greeted with a really similar tab as previously. But this time there are different options.
This tab allows you to create an .STL file of your character. It should be print-ready and fully optimized. And this only costs 2$ at the moment. Though you can order a custom fix, that will bring a much better quality file and costs 50$.
This means that instead of trying to optimize everything yourself, fiddling with different softwares, recreating hair, joining everything – you can just pay 2$ and receive a decent result.
Conclusion
Daz3D 3D printing is not an easy task as it might seem. You either need to have skills and experience to optimize and repair models for 3D printing yourself. Or you need to entrust this task to others for money. In the end – there are ways to Daz3D 3D print your characters. So you just need to find one that suits you.