Digital editing software not only pursues the task of outputting cuts ready for production, but also of supporting the design process – this is particularly ensured by an immediate visual representation. 3D simulation has been making its way into the work processes of designers and cut designers for several years now.
In this article, we want to give a brief overview of the currently most commonly used software products with which we have gained experience.
1. Simulation of textiles
At elyum we could gain extensive experience with the software products such as CLO3D, Style3D, Vidya and VStitcher (Browzwear). All products have in common that they are specialized in the simulation of soft, organic materials – i.e. textiles. The reference point is usually a human body in the form of an avatar.
The simulation of movement, flexibility and interaction with a solid body is thus at the heart of the applications. This makes it possible to realistically represent the material of the textiles. The range of possible implementations extends from a visually appealing representation to realistic implementations that are as physically exact as possible. This can be influenced by many different setting options and enables the testing of different designs and materials and can thus significantly influence the development process.
2. Individual avatar creation
Matching the target group and its own type of customer, each company can develop its own avatars to ensure the best possible fit of the developed textiles.
Each company in the textile and apparel industry must select the appropriate software based on the benefits for production and individual requirements. There are various usage scenarios for the use of digital product development:
- Digitization, acceleration and support of the design process.
- Control of the cut design for transfer to production
- Digitization and acceleration of internal coordination
- Image content creation for internal coordination processes, for B2B coordination systems or order platforms, for the B2B/B2C online shop
- For social media or other marketing purposes
In the design process, garment simulation can facilitate and speed up the process because changes are easy to track visually and can be implemented quickly – this can also increase creativity.
At the same time, the fit, cut, and behavior of fabrics on the body can be realistically represented. This means that potential problems can be identified early in the product development process, which also saves trial cuts.
3. Editing a cut with direct visual feedback
Visual representation facilitates the coordination process across disciplines. A pattern designer usually has the necessary knowledge of how a 2D cut will look on a three-dimensional body – but with simulation, changes can also be easily communicated across disciplines.
A great benefit besides the actual product development can also be the creation of image content. As shown above, the simulation of clothing helps in the product development process, but the 3D objects created can also help in the further marketing and presentation of the clothing. On the one hand, this can be helpful in internal coordination, but can also be used in external communication, e.g. with B2B customers; it can also be used in the online store and on the various social media channels.
Here, the display quality can range from an obvious simulation to a photo-realistic representation. Here, too, it is important to define what form of image content is to be created; the decisive factor here is, above all, the target group addressed.
4. Materials can be easily adapted and tested
If image content creation is defined as an essential part within digital product development, an interface to professional 3D visualization systems is also of great importance. This is because, as a rule, design and cut design software products have a built-in option for creating image renderings, but usually they do not exploit the full potential of the possibilities. Especially in the area of material rendering, realistic lighting conditions and the integration of clothing into environments, much higher quality and more realistic results can be achieved with “classic” 3D software.
At elyum, for example, we want to exploit the full possibilities and have therefore created an interface between the various design software products and professional 3D visualization software. This allows us to respond very individually to customer wishes and achieve qualities that cannot be distinguished from conventional photographs by the end customer.
An interesting use case here is also the combination of photographed models with 3D simulated and visualized clothing, because this can be implemented photorealistically in this way and used excellently as e-commerce/online store image content, for example.
5. Rendering in external software adapted to lighting conditions
In summary, digital cut design with 3D simulation can significantly simplify the design, development and coordination processes. In addition, the 3D data can not only be used in the production process, but can also be used for early image content creation. When selecting suitable software, it is therefore important to define the individual goals and also to analyze one’s own work process in this regard.
Common 3D design software products for clothing simulation are CLO3D, Style3D, Vidya and VStitcher (Browzwear), all of which have different strengths and focus areas. These must be considered in the selection process and fit the workflow as well as the desired output.
With our broad application know-how, we and our elyum consultants are also happy to advise your company on the selection of a suitable software with regard to image content creation.
Rendering integrated into a photo from professional 3D software.
