Bryce High Def Terrains
n.jmurov
Posts: 87
I've been eyeing this product for a while now but based on my (very small) experience with Bryce, there's no way this beauty can be exported to DAZ? as it won't look good at all even with some tweaking?
Comments
@n.jmurov - welcome to Bryce ind these forums. There is a possibility to export a terrain as an object, but honestly, it won't come over to DS very good. You also lose much of the material (shader) settings and the HDRI lighting. What can always be done is to render a scene, export it as image and use it as billboard background in DS.
Daz Studio can utilize HDRI Lighting, but that in and of itself is a question for the DS discussion forums, it is a lot more tricky to get right than it is in Bryce.
@Rareth - true, Studio has Uber Light 2 for that. However, it works completely different. I had spent weeks with UE2 experiments last year - and in the Studio forums.
EDIT to add the forum link: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/28358/P15.
Note that the default resolution that is used when you transfer a terrain from Bryce to DAZ Studio is unuseably low, so you'll have to adjust the slider upwards when you transfer it over so it doesn't loose detail.
If I use the hi def terrains as billboards, then, if I need to move the camera in DAZ, I'd need to also move the camera in Bryce, re-render the scene there and then re-upload it to DAZ - is it correct?
@n.jmurov - yes, if you want the objects in front of a different part of the backdrop, you need to adjust for that. If the backdrop behind the objects can be the same, you just have to move the backdrop.
A good idea is to render the backdrop in Bryce large and with a wide angle of view (FOV around 120%). Next step is to render a 360° panorama in Bryce (can be set in the render options) and map that one around a cylinder. You could also render a spherical (360°/180°) panorama in Bryce and map it on a sphere in DS with camera and objects within the sphere. This gives you the full freedom. Note that Bryce cannot render a spherical panorama directly. It can be done in steps and assembled in an external program. There are tutorials that come with Bryce 7.1 pro that explain 4 different methods. With the Lenses and Filters product, a spherical panorama can be rendered directly in Bryce in one go.
Please also consider the size of the backdrop - be it a billboard, a cylindrical or spherical panorama. The narrower the camera angle of view and the larger the final render in DS, the larger the backdrop image has to be to not appear blurred.
@Horo - Thank for the tips. Shame that you can't have the best of both worlds in one software package.
You're more than welcome. But we do have the best of both worlds with Bryce ;-)
Are you saying that it may be a better idea to export DAZ figures to Bryce than the other way around?
Very much so. I have been doing it that way since I first started playing with Bryce and Poser. That was back on version 3.
I actually only bought Poser to use it to get figures and stuff into Bryce, and DS it is a bit easier still I understand, , because of the bridge
Absolutely. I have Studio only as an object supplier, they have beautiful props, characters, animals, plants, etc. Some need a bit of attention to make them look good in Bryce, though. I prefer Bryce because the best program is the one you know how to use.
Are you saying that it may be a better idea to export DAZ figures to Bryce than the other way around?
I do this too. I set up the figure with the clothes, hair, weapons, if any, and pose it. I send it to Bryce and after making sure everything is there, sometimes it doesn't all come over and then you have to go back and make sure everything is selected by opening everything up in the scene pain and selecting it all, I save it to the Bryce library in the Create Menu. I then go back to DAZ and set the figure to a new pose and add or remove something to make it look different then save it in Bryce. I do this until I have a set for whatever I am going to do. Once they are all in Bryce I load them, group them and save the group in the library and delete the individual posed figures to save space. Loading them all in as a group is quicker and then it is simple to ungroup them and move them around the scene as needed.
Interesting. I'll export a couple of figures to Bryce and see what I get.
Can DAZ figures' poses be adjusted at all in Bryce or would I need to re-import them?
@s.volchkov - no, posing has to be done in Studio. This is, of course, a big disadvantage. A bit of posing can be done sometimes on simpler shapes in Bryce but it is very difficult and tedious. Pose in Studio, send to Bryce, if it doesn't fit, return to Studio ... At least I haven't found a simpler way.
That's what was meant by 'you can't have the best of both worlds' :lol:
... and I ignored on purpose :) But you're right, of course.
I always make a habit of saving the posed figure as a DAZ Studio scene even if I THINK I'm done, just in case I have to go back and adjust the pose later.
@Sean: I good habit, which I have still to learn ;-)