Yeah, I said I’d given up… but I’m very stubborn, and I just had to keep trying, and I found out what the problem is. The problem is Poser and the way it exports OBJ files. The trick is NOT to export the figure from Poser and then import it into ZBrush, but rather, to import it directly into ZBrush from the Poser “Geometry” folder. (To find out whether the problem was with ZBrush or Poser, I tried creating morphs in Carrara and had the same problem with the figures exported from Poser.)
So, here are full instructions for doing full-body morphs for Poser figures, and many, many thanks to Aurick for his help in getting me headed in the right direction!
Step 1: (not necessary but useful) Create a new folder for your OBJ files, both the altered figure OBJ and the morph target OBJs. You can put it anywhere, but the logical place to put it is under the “Geometries” folder.
Step 2: DO NOT use Poser to export an OBJ file of the figure; this is what causes the problem. Poser apparently does something weird during export. Instead, import the figure’s OBJ file into ZBrush directly from the Geometries folder or subfolder.
Step 3: Make changes to the figure in ZBrush, then export the figure as an OBJ using the “flip-script”-- or, if you don’t have the flip-script, export the figure, then import it and export it again. BE SURE TO SAVE IT UNDER ANOTHER FILE NAME so that you don’t overwrite your original Poser OBJ file!
Step 4: Start Poser, create a new file, and import the figure OBJ file you just created. You will get a dialogue box with a bunch of selections such as “Centered,” “Place on Floor,” etc. Make sure NOTHING is checked; everything should be de-selected.
Step 5: For each body part that you want to create a morph target for, do this: click on the “group” tool (the last one to the right in the group of editing tools). The imported figure will turn dark grey, and you will get a dialogue box saying “Group Edit.” On the pull-down menu just below that, select the body part. The selected part will turn red. Then click on “Spawn Props.” The spawning process may take awhile if you’re using one of the DAZ figures, even on a fast computer. When the spawn is done, the body part will turn dark-grey again. Select the next part, spawn it, and so on, until you’ve spawned all the props for the body parts you want.
Step 6: Go to “File” and “Export” and “Wavefront OBJ.” You will get a dialogue box saying “Select Range of Frames to Be Exported.” Just click “OK.” You will then get a dialogue gox entitled “Hierarchy Selection.” De-select “Universe” and then select one of the body parts for which you spawned props in Step 5, and click OK. You will then get an export dialogue box asking what you want to name the OBJ file and where to save it. Name it whatever you want to and click “Save.” You will then get a dialogue box with save options such as “Include body part names in polygon groups” and so on. Make sure that everything is DE-selected EXCEPT “Weld body part seams” and “As morph target (no world transformations).” Then click OK. Repeat this process for every body part you want to export. (Aurick was right-- it is somewhat tedious.)
Step 7: Create a new file (don’t save the one with the imported figure) and insrt the Poser figure. Then, for each body part you want to include in your full-body morph, do the following: Select the body part. Then, on the menu bar, go to “Object” and “Load Morph Target.” You will get a dialogue box saying “Add Shape Interpolation Target.” There are two fill-in fields, one called “Label” and one called “Geomoetry File.” The “Label” field is for what you want to name the morph-- this is the name that will appear on the morphing dial, so it should be fairly short. Type in the morph name, then click on “Locate” next to the “Add Shape” field, locate your OBJ file, and click OK. The dial for the morph will then appear in the dial set for that body part. Test the dial to see if the morph works correctly.
Step 8: When you are finished loading the morph targets, set the dials for all your new morphs to “1.” Then on the menu bar, go to “Figure” and “Create Full Body Morph.” You will get a dialogue box asking what you want to name the morph. Again, it should be something fairly short, since it is name that will appear on the dial. Then click OK.
Step 9: Reset all the individual morph dials that you created to “0.” Then in the body part selection pull-down, select “Body.” Your new body morph dial should appear in the dials for the body. Test it to see that it works properly.
Step 10: Congratulations! You’ve just created a new character. Rest the full-body morph dial to “0,” and add the new character to whichever library you want.
Step 11: Treat yourself to a martini, a beer, or whatever other restorative treat you prefer. After all that, you deserve it!