How to Mix Poses in Daz Studio

In this tutorial, we’re going to explore a powerful technique in Daz Studio that allows you to mix and match poses, enabling you to create unique and captivating character poses. With Daz 3D, you can take full advantage of your character’s flexibility by combining different pose elements for creative results. We’ll use an example with the Genesis 9 Starter Essentials character, “Ty,” and show you how to merge two distinct poses to craft something entirely new. Check out the short video here if you’d like to follow along further!

Step 1: Choose Your Character

Before we dive into mixing poses, select your character and the initial pose you want. In this example, we’ve chosen the character “Ty” from the Genesis 9 Starters Essentials pack.

Remember that you can do this with any character and any pose you prefer.

Step 2: Choose Your Initial Pose

Select your character (in this case, “Ty”) in your “Scene” tab.

Open the “Smart Content” tab in Daz Studio, browse for your desired pose and load it. In this example, we’re using an “Exquisite Technique Ballet Pose” to make the changes evident.

Often, you’ll find that you want to keep some parts of the initial pose and change others. In this tutorial, we’ll adjust everything above “Ty’s” chest. Here’s how you can isolate these elements:

Step 3: Isolate the bones you want changed

Make sure your character (“Ty”) is still selected in the “Scene” tab.

Identify the ‘root’ bone that you want to use for posing everything under it. In this case we selected “Spine 4” since we only wanted to change the pose from the chest and above.

Step 4: Apply the New Pose

Once the root bone has been selected you can hold down the “Ctrl” key (Control key) and double-click on the new pose in your “Smart Content” tab that you want applied to the chest and up.

This action will bring up a pop-up dialog called “Pose Preset Load Options”.

Step 5: Change your Nodes selection

In the “Pose Preset Load Options” dialog, find the “Nodes” option and change it from ‘Root’ to ‘Selected’ then click Accept to apply the new pose to the isolated elements.

Step 6: Observe the Result

After applying the new pose to the isolated elements, you’ll notice that the character now combines the two different poses you’ve selected. In our example, we merged a ballet technique pose with another from the same product with a different upper body pose to create a unique and dynamic final pose.

And that’s it!

Mixing and matching poses in Daz Studio is a straightforward but incredibly powerful technique for creating customized character poses. Whether you want to adjust hands, shoulders, or create entirely new poses, this method allows for endless creative possibilities. Experiment with various poses, and don’t hesitate to mix and match to achieve the perfect look for your 3D characters. So go ahead, give it a try, and let your imagination run wild with pose mixing in Daz 3D!