# EP08 — Clothing Dummy Mesh (DCC Preparation)

https://youtu.be/xgG_UfgP48A?si=X7VVlQdNtuHhP3_s

## 1. Why Do We Need a Clothing Dummy?

- When a dress is split into **top + skirt**, having to skin each piece separately is tedious.
- Like the **body dummy** in ep05, create a **unified clothing dummy** to handle weights all at once, then distribute to the individual meshes.

**What you can leave as-is (examples):**
- Sleeve mesh (can be worked separately)
- **Stockings** — just follow the body
- **Shoes** — standalone or linked to body

**What needs to be merged (examples):**
- **Dress** top + skirt mesh → one dummy

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## 2. DCC Work (3ds Max Example)

### 2-1. Copy and Edit
1. **Copy** the top mesh (e.g., inner clothes).
2. **Move edges / Extrude** to match the skirt length — adjust to your rig.

### 2-2. Naming and Isolate
- Example name: `Dummy_Clothes`.
- Use **Isolate** during work to show only the dummy.

### 2-3. Check for Duplicate Vertices
- Make sure there are no **accidentally doubled vertices** at the same position.

### 2-4. Match the Silhouette
- Align the seam between top and skirt, and **Relax** if needed.
- **Perfection isn't required** — Transfer Weights works well as long as the silhouette is **roughly the same** as the real clothing mesh.

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## 3. Connecting to SkinLayer Studio (Preview — ep09)

| Step | Tool |
|------|------|
| Register all clothing meshes | **Get All from DCC** (Pick All) |
| Copy body weights to clothing | **Transfer Weights** |
| Sync split meshes | **View → Sync Map** → **Sync Now** |

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## 4. Checklist

- [ ] Identify clothing meshes to merge (dress vs. independent parts)
- [ ] Finish Dummy_Clothes shape in DCC + Weld/Seam
- [ ] Confirm no duplicate vertices
- [ ] (Next episode) Add Skin + assign bones to each clothing mesh → ep09

> This episode covers DCC preprocessing — SLS UI work continues from ep09.