New! Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 14

NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
edited December 2022 in Art Studio

Welcome to Thread 14!  I know we're all DELIGHTED to leave 2020 behind. For me, it was a raging wildfire which came 1.4 miles from the barn (Stetson and all the horses had been safely evacuated), two hurricanes impacting the area, and my Mom getting Covid at age 93. (She's doing great!) Many of you have lost jobs, been homebound, gotten "the virus", had to homeschool, and the list goes on. So here's to 2021 and a third, new vaccination which came out this week, things may be looking up!

One positive thing which can always be counted on, is your fantastic participation to help with questions, showcase products, and provide useful tips. We also stray off into fun articles we find on the web (still tracking that huge Great White Shark which visits us in the spring and summer.)  So let's see how the threads are doing, as usual.  As always, remember when you show others the products, those renders get seen and you help a lot of people. The plug-in will show the forum links, so others can easily find your posts and get your opinion on the products.

One reminder- please put your images in the POST, not just as an attachment, and not just as a link to your gallery image. The image MUST BE IN THE POST.  This guideline has been in existance since the threads started eight years ago, and now you can see why?  The galleries just got a makeover and now ALL those threads with gallery links have annoying blank squares.  If you'd like to do a gallery link IN ADDITION TO the render in the post, feel free. We'll try to give it some "love." 

The previous threads are still being surfed (and this is strictly without any posts, as the threads are closed) as we have 55,175 NEW VIEWS in the 1-12 threads, which go all the way back to page 83 in the Art Studio threads. Views starting at Thread 1 and going forward are 87,793...71,667...82,949...62,546...55,902...88,102...71,135...65,681...69,160...65,250...61,863...53,926

Total views and posts on the threads- 883,939

Bottom line- when you help showcase products, answer questions, or provide tips- you are helping a lot of people. Thank you! 

Here's those thread links: (they open in new windows)

Thread 1   Started March 2013!) 
Thread 2  
Thread 3   
Thread 4   
Thread 5   
Thread 6   
Thread 7   
Thread 8   
Thread 9  
Thread 10   
Thread 11  
Thread 12
Thread 13


 

 

Post edited by Novica on
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Comments

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited December 2022

    I want to start this thread by thanking all the Daz forum community members who share their experiences with the products and ask for opinions or assistance when needed. We're all here to help, so if there's a product you haven't tried yet and need questions answered, feel free to ask!

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited March 2021

     

    "I don't have to outrun him. I only have to outrun YOU!" 

     

    My "Because I Said So!" Contests / Other Contests

    October Discussion Thread  (2015)

    October Entry Thread  

    October Winners  

    November Discussion Thread

    November Entry Thread

    November Winners

    December 2015 Discussion Thread

    December / Jan Entry Thread

    December/Jan Winners  (2015/2016)

    Jan / Feb 2016 Discussion Thread

    Jan / Feb 2016 Entry Thread

    Jan / Feb Winners  (2016)

    The interactive "Not So Fast" gameplay where forum members stole products, switched products, and decided what the other players would render! 

    Half A Million Views Celebration Contest

    Dec 2019 / Jan 2020  OOPS! Because I Said So  Entries (Links to discussion thread and winners)

    A few good links from previous threads:

    *Boss Lights- I show you settings and how to get some nice portrait lights    New Link
    *XYZ Dome Orientation Lighting   I showed the lighting when I tweaked the dome   New Link
    *
    Boo Presets for Ghost Light    I did some light setups for Kindred Arts Ghost Lights
    *If you want to back up your content, SereneNight gives you a step by step. It's in the second half of the post.
    *RGcincy is the creator of Shape Magic, a very neat program and if you want to try modeling, take a look!

    *To post your images in a thread and avoid attaching them below your post, here's where you can post them!

    *Some threads I started which will help you:
    ZBrush     Silo Modeling       Infinito       How To Use GenX2       Applying Material Presets (Skin) for GenX2        Material Zones ~ Geometry Tool Tutorial

    Free Portrait Backgrounds 

    Wanna Render? Iray Tutorial  (one of my favorites, very detailed and goes step by step on setting up an Iray rendered scene.) 

    Some fun and useful threads:
    Photoshop Playtime!    Where we showed you some really neat plug-ins to get cartoon, oil, watercolor effects.

    Scripts:   A one click solution to put things on your ground plane, under things, etc

    The References links have to be expanded to several pages, believe it or not there is a limit to a post size, and we passed it. I had to trim down descriptions of existing links to add new ones, so I am scattering the References to several pages because they are alphabetical and I can't just stick new ones at the end. Whenever I add a new Reference, I always mention it in the thread. 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    REFERENCES

    **********References / Of Interest**********

    Books, Digital:     RScotJohns (Author) helped us with ebook (did a chat one evening) 

    Characters:   I showcased Odelle, an older character from Rendo (that Daz rejected!):

    Computer Research: What all those specifications mean, and what to look for in a computer

    Expressions:  Here's some with sliders that are really fluid and usable. And Poses (scroll for both of these, numerous posts)  

    Hair:  One of the funniest things showcased-  vendor's names in hair! 

    HDRIs:   Fishtales  showing you some HRDI's

    Free  Infinity Cove 3 sets

    Mountain Valley:  Take a tour of this product as we drive around town! 

    See Nath's Elegant Swan- the ACTUAL PHOTOS from the museum, and the render. This car spewed steam and pooped yogurt, and was banned from the streets due to being a nuisance. (Ya think?)  Now at HiveWire.

    Special Honor: Rabbicus fun with RGcincy.  It all started with a cactus on a shelf and I said it looked like a rabbit. 

    ********** Programs **********

    Camtasia tip

    dForce  Start Here Thread

    Special note: Script:  David GB's G3 To G8 Pose Fixer  To correct G3 Poses and get them to work with G8

    Infinito:     Infinito Experiments:  If you have questions about Infinito, ask them here

    iClone:  iClone6   (I'll have to get back to it)   Here's a nice video by Bigh and Bigh's thread on Iclone  and Reallusions Thread The Path To iClone

    Livebrush Pro (FREE)    Livebrush Pro-  link, it's now free

    Mixamo  How To Use  (by Firewarden)  

    Motion Capture in general:  Motion Capture products/ discussion linked from the Octane FaceShift question

    Pattern Cooler (.com) for free seamless tiles

    Senosoft:  Convert .rsr file types to pngs (P3DO Explorer)  

    ShapeMagic 2    ShapeMagic 2  By our very own RGcincy

    Silo:    Silo Modeling

    Zbrush For Beginners: Zbrush for Beginners

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited September 2022

    ********** TIPS   A-H **********

    TIP: 360 degree Renders (RGcincy)

    TIP: Adria    How to do makeup, and see "Ears" for how to get rid of the fantasy ears. (Barbult) 

    TIP:  Alexei Mouth Material fix  (VWrangler)  

    Tip: Bloom Filter- Settings

    Tip: Camera Lens  How To Distort  (Fishtales)  

    Tip: Categories / Products Options Missing From Content Library  If you don't have these showing up at all, here's how to fix it. 

    Tip: Characters- Where To Load From     Loading Characters- does it matter if you load it from icons, the Genesis figure + Character List, or the Figure (Aiko 7, Girl 7, etc) + the Character List? YES IT DOES.

    Tip: Charlotte Hair Tweaks- Turn fluffy into sleek and modern!  

    Tip: Crashing / Clear Cache  (Note: It will also show you where your temporary files are, slightly above that. Go to that folder and remove those also.)   

    Tip:  Cursor- Turn Off Yellow Highlighting  Default has it on, here's how to turn it off!  EDIT: Here's how, it isn't explained in great detail in that post. Go up to top left in studio to Window>Panes>Draw Settings>Editor Tab>All>then Highlight Style will show up and you select Bounding Box Only. 

    Tip: Custom Categories for Sets  Here's some suggestions and additions    

    Tip: DA Big Ocean   How To Use     

    Tip: Daz Connect and DIM: How to fix double installations (by barbult)  

    Tip: Delete Items in Scene: Grouped items giving you fits? How to delete those polygons! 

    Tip: Depth Canvas   Adding Atmosphere (Such as a smoky room) (Tutorial by Chris-2599934)  

    Tip:  dForce settings guide  

    Tip:  DIM download problems? Try this.  This works too.  (when products will NOT install and stay in the "to be installed")

    Tip:  DIM downloading product to use with products from other sites

    Tip:  DIM Ready To Download nothing there- If you've checked and all paths are correct, it could be Google Chrome corruption or Chrome updates!  Reinstall Chrome / updates and see if it shows up. 

    Tip: Dreamland Models in DS  Learn how to work with Dreamland Models (Poser) in DS

    Tip: Doors and windows that open, flat roof to add, pane of glass, good kit bashing items

    Tip: Dome Orientation Results  My experiments/settings for rotating the dome by changing the XYZ Dome Orientation. All settings given/ shown.

    Tip:  Downloading/Organizing Products    With 23,000 products, here's how I downloaded and organized my products when I lost all my files. Yep ,starting all over again (and enjoying it!)  It is easy and organized and you'll never have to sort through your content again because you'll categorize it IN YOUR FILE SYSTEM. 

    Tip: Ears:  How To Remove Fantasy Ears  Characters with fantasy ears may have them "built in." Here's how to dial them out. (Barbult) 
     

    Tip: FaceGen  Tweaks   

    Tip: Fern Lake Instances and Water    Instances in Fern Lake and Through The Woods And clearer water tip for it. My example.

    Tip: Finding products in these threads, using Google   

    Tip: Finding Morphs/Products in a Scene  Script    

    Tip:  Focal Length

    Tip: Free Fonts- Showing you those from Font Squirrel  

    Tip: Furries:  How To Find Files and Pose (Llynara)  And Capsces posted this for a few tips.

    Tip: Gemology Shaders for Iray: Settings for best results, by vendor  

    Tip: Generation Tools: List of products which help you cross generations

    Tip: Genesis 8.0 and 8.1  How to use 8.0 for 8.1 items (Richard Haseltine)

    Tip: GenX2    My tutorial (and the post after that tells you how to do the materials)

    Tip: Greek Houses: Fixing the water, landscape, and stone edge materials. All settings provided! 

    Tip: Ground:  How to soften / blend where feet interact with the HDRI background

    Tip: Growing Up: Making Chest look good    

    Tip: Grungy Threads  How To Make Neat Tears   (Hylas)   

    Tip: Hair: Different Settings To Increase Shine  Also here

    Tip: Hair Transparency:  How to thicken hair when it's too transparent:  Go to number 2        

    Tip: Hair: Using Genesis 3 Hair On Genesis 8    Easy!  (By L'Adair)  

    Tip: Harpsburg Night Lights   Best way to apply them  

    Tip: Hiding Forums     Don't worry, I tell you how to get them back!  Read that post, and the one following it in the thread. :)  

    Tip: Hierarchial Poses   L'Adair tests what hiding things in Scene Tab does and other options. Click here.  

    Tip: Hierarchial Presets for Materials- Applying Materials Only To One Item (By Aave Nainen)     

     

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited January 2023

    *******TIPS   I-W  *********

    Tip: Images, Gallery  How to hide them to use in threads   

    Tip: Iray Organized References  This thread links to the threads, but also categorized some of the topics within the thread so you can look things up quicker.

    Tip: Iray Section Plane       TabascoJack shows you how to use the Iray Section Plane

    Tip: Lighting: When you have the end of the room open, and stuck with three walls, how to get even lighting with HDRI and avoid that obvious light pouring in from one end of the room.  

    Tip: Lighting: Lampshades  TobascoJack shows you how to prevent losing detail when lighting lampshades   

    Tip: Madelyn Ears- How to remove those elf ears.

    Tip: Manual Downloads in Product Library  How to find them ultra-quick

    Tip:/Info:  Materials and Shaders:  Difference in Materials and Shaders (from Commons)   

    Tip:  Mermaid Top    Family friendly suggestion.

    Tip: Metallicity and Metallic Flakes  Add More Sheen to your characters    

    Tip: Millenium Cat- Free Persian Head 

    Tip:  Mocap Animations  FREE  Here  (Mixamo)

    Tip: MT5 to PZ2 Converter Script

    Tip: Multiplane Cyclorama    Use Modern Museum Lighting for realistic results!

    Tip:  Nobiax Free Iray Daz Textures

    Tip:  OOT Hair  Steps  

    Tip: PBR Shader thread in Commons

    Tip: Photoshop Postwork    Postwork Photoshop Tips (Laticis) and my example

    Tip: Photoshop Plugins From Thread 6:  Examples

    Tip: Photoshop Quick Fill Ins (Good for Plug Ins)

    Tip:  Portrait Lighting    Novica's XYZ Dome Orientation Quick Guide (Portrait Tweaks) 

    Tip: Pose Converter (Genesis 2 to Genesis 3)  Where to find files (Scroll for discussion)

    Tip: Combining Poses by locking body parts   

    TIP: Poser CF and Studio CF Explained  (Richard Haseltine)   

    Tip:  Postwork   The Postwork thread has a lot of good information!

    Tip: Putting Prop On Top Of Prop  (Align Pane)  

    Tip: Checking your available RAM  

    Tip:/FYI   Rarestone Characters and Products: No longer in store /now Daz Originals       List 1   (memcneil70)      List 2   (NorthOf45)     

    Tip:  RDNA   How to find your purchases

    Tip: Render Settings In Script Menu at top of Studio  (L'Adair) 

    Tip: Rigging    How to import OBJ and rig in Daz Studio   

    Tip: Rigging  Basic Rigging Preparation  then Adding Bones for Rigging 

    Tip: Section Planes   How To Use  (by TabascoJack)

    Tip: Signatures- how to put a banner and do a clickable link    

    Tip: Skies of iRadiance  Which are for high / low altitudes? Answer

    Tip: So Wet Bundle   Examples

    Tip: Spectural Rendering tests for the studio    

    Tip:  Spotlights: (Iray) How to Hide Them and Still Emit Light  

    Tip: Studio Crashing:  Script by Taoz to save last render

    Tip: SubD:   How To Add It  (Darwins Mishap)

    Tip: Texturing With DestinysGarden    (DestinysGarden)  

    Tip: The Briefing Room    Lighting with Iray  (V3Digitimes)

    Tip:  Ultragenesis: Faces of G  has a variety of older faces.

    Tip:  Weight Maps:  How To Remove or Change  (Thomas Windar)

    Tip:  White Point  Changing it- Examples

    Tip: Walls- Sets Which Are Easier To Use- or Not.   Sets that don't have separate walls and handy notes on a few sets

    Tip:  X Fashion Style For Fall  Fix For Mesh Poke-Through  (Thank you Barbult!)  
     

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

     ********** TUTORIALS**********

    Tutorial:  Bus, Noggins- Converting from Bryce to Daz Studio   (RGcincy)   Here

    Tutorial:  Breast Gone-  In Hexagon  (Smoothing Zev0s Grow Up product even more)  

    Tutorial: Clothing, Making in Blender SickleYield's tutorial on Deviant Art.

    Tutorial:  Content Package Assist   

    Tutorial: Converting G3 and G8 Clothing by SickleYield on Deviant Art  

    Tutorial: Create Categories     Using Gen2F, I showed how to Create Categories and Export to save your custom categories. (Here's WHY you may want to do that with your characters.) 

    Tutorial: Custom Actions In Toolbar     How to Create Custom Actions In Toolbar

    Tutorial: Customizing Morphs Using Morph Loader Pro  

    Tutorial: D Former     D Former Tutorial           D Former tutorial and links 

    Tutorial: Depth of Field         Flipmode provides a good depth of field tutorial for you.

    Tutorial: Expressions:  How To Make Them As A Dial     

    Tutorial:  Face Control  (Knittingmommy)  Use on cartoon characters    

    Tutorial: Fisty's Shaders & Getting Rid of Gooey Lips     This one shows you Fisty's shaders. Get rid of the overly gooey lips. 

    Tutorial: Fur Brushes Download and Video (Kathryn Loch)

    Tutorial: Garibaldi Hair     Doing a cat with Garibaldi Hair- Tutorial

    Tutorial:  GenX links on "how to use." 

    Tutorial: Generation 4 Materials on Genesis 2     This one put Generation 4 materials on Genesis 2 using Victoria 4 for Genesis 2 Female.

    Tutorial: Geometry Shells     How to do Geometry Shells  (video tutorial the3dwizard) and doing makeup for different characters

    Tutorial: Hair Shaders (Slosh, his product)   explaining how to use them.

    Tutorial: Hay Bales   Take a freebie and make the hay straws thicker. Here's what you get.

    Tutorial: Iclone   Iclone videos

    Tutorial: Images- How To Put Them In Forum Posts     Here's  Putting Images in Posts

    Tutorial:  Instances: Using Ultrascatter 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    ***** Tutorials  Iray- S  *******

    Iray Canvases- How To Do Lighting   

    Iray Ghost Lights 2:  Portrait Setup in 13 Steps, All Settings Given

    Tutorial: Iray Light Manager Pro  Step by step screenshots

    Tutorial: Iray For Beginners- Do A Scene Step By Step     The Wanna Render? Iray tutorial walks you through Iray lighting for total newbies- including Crush Blacks, Burn Highlights, how the sliders work together and why in Tone Mapping, and Environment Intensity.

    Tutorial: Iray Lighting- A Night Lantern     Doing a night time  lantern with Emissive Lighting.

    Tutorial: Iray- Portrait Light Setup With Point Lights     Portrait Lights: 3 Point Lights and a Spotlight- Settings Provided

    Tutorial: Iray Skydome Super Pak     The Explanation  to use   (magix101)

    Tutorial: Iray Worlds Skydome   Explanation on using it    (rgcincy)

    Tutorial: Maps for Iray and 3DL / Albedo Explanation       Texture Maps:  (Saba Taru)   ALBEDO explanation, and where to put the maps for Iray and 3DL

    Tutorial:  Material Zones  

    Tutorial: Metadata- How To Make It   Video Here (Slosh)  and Here  (3D Almanc)    

    Tutorial:  Rigging and Weight Mapping- Beginners Through Advanced   

    Tutorial: Rigging Static Doors So They Open  (RGcincy)  How To Rig A Prop

    Tutorial: Shaders- Mec4D's PBR Shaders       Mec4D's PBR shaders: How to use

     

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    *****  Tutorials T  through W ******

    Tutorial: Tears by SereneNight   

    Tutorial: Teeth, Getting Realistic Shapes      Getting realistic teeth shapes was here and slight tweaks here.

    Tutorial: Texturing      Texturing With DestinysGarden  is a good thread- let a pro show you how!

    Tutorial: UltraScatter Advanced Instancing       UltraScatter Advanced Instancing:   RGcincy's handy notes, how-to.

    Tutorial: UltraScenery Experiments (barbult)

    Victoria 4 for Genesis 2 Female:  How to use the product.

    Tutorial: Weight Mapping:  How To Smooth All Face Groups At Once  (By SickleYield)

    Tutorial: Weight Mapping: Creating One  by Chris-2599934

    Tutorial: Windows, Making Them From Planes And Cubes Realistically       Making Windows using planes and cubes, with glass panes and images!

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited March 2021

    So here's the challenge to start this thread- render a combination of your choice, of things you've recently purchased. Recent is relative to you, it may be 30 days, or you may be shopping a lot during March Madness :)  Try to get recently bought things from a variety of categories. So I've got a character, hair, outfit, different sets, critters,  and props. How about an SUV on another planet? Sure, why not?  Here's a nod to a "red planet" since we just had another great explorer vehicle land on Mars last week. Wow, the photos coming back! 

    Zhi for Kayo 8           Nirv Sweet Pie Hair (G8F)        dForce Buccaneeress Pirate Outfit  (G8F)       Land Adventurer SUV   

    Paths Between the Cliffs         Rocky Place        Red Salt Planet         Xenotype Specimen Alpha Original Creature

    FIrst, note I didn't use the headscarf from the outfit and it does come with one. 

    I used Dumor's lights again (the Apocalyptic Plant Outdoors)  and I like the reflection in the lights of the SUV, as it shows more cliffs and goes well with the Red Salt Planet background.  I used Luminar to put godrays over the mountain, and a "sun" in that brightest part of the sky, for the first render. The sky is also an AI (Artificial Intelligence) sky, Galaxy 1, in Luminar.

    TIP:  For the sets, Paths Between the Cliffs provided that wonderful ground, and I added a red color to it from Surfaces. I think it works well for other planets.
    TIP: Add some rocks to that  (which are gray and easily colored) using Rocky Place boulders. I really like the texture on those, they go well in a "Red Planet" setting.
    TIP: You can darken the Red Salt Planet cliffs (the background mountains) so they aren't so bright.

    And welcome to Thread 14!  :) 

    Click to enlarge, very large renders.

     

    Zhi SweetPieHair LandAdventurer Critter.png
    1280 x 1400 - 3M
    Zhi SweetPieHair LandAdventurer Luminar.png
    1280 x 1400 - 3M
    Post edited by Novica on
  • Robert FreiseRobert Freise Posts: 4,439

    Just checking in as bookmarking alone doesn't always kickstart notifications

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823

    Nice pics Novica! And yay *offers champagne* here's to a new thread :)

  • NathNath Posts: 2,798

    Wow, DAZ got money out of me today (PC+ and the 65% extra off coupon) laugh

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited March 2021

    It's linked in the posts above, but for newbies, remember you can get free portrait backgrounds made by members here.   Here's a few more by me, feel free to use for commercial or non-commercial renders. I had fun doodling with pencil brushes on a couple of them. I simply kept adding effects for two and three. Giving you the base too, so you can change as you see fit without my effects. If you have some cool free backgrounds, remember that thread and post them there :) 

    These are all 1000 x 1000. To use backgrounds, you go in the Environment pane and select Type: backdrop then load the image. :)     Enjoy!

    3.jpg
    1000 x 1000 - 30K
    3brush 1571.jpg
    1000 x 1000 - 122K
    3brush80.jpg
    1000 x 1000 - 149K
    3brush174.jpg
    1000 x 1000 - 148K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240
    edited March 2021

    This is for Novica's recent purchase render challenge. This is what I recently purchased and used.

    This is what I rendered. The poor guy had to wear a dress, so i could use the purchased dress textures. On top of that, he had to have shamrocks in the skirt.

    Novica New Stuff challenge-Newest.jpg
    2000 x 1500 - 1M
    Newest purchases.jpg
    341 x 607 - 76K
    Post edited by barbult on
  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,753

    Hi Novica. I am so glad to read on the last thread that your mom and husband have both gotten through covid. Sorry, I have not been visiting this forum regularily. 

    ***********

    Barbult, a wonderfully silly render, reminds me of RRRR. What is the program or utility creating the the grid with thumbnails? 

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240

    luci45 said:

    Hi Novica. I am so glad to read on the last thread that your mom and husband have both gotten through covid. Sorry, I have not been visiting this forum regularily. 

    ***********

    Barbult, a wonderfully silly render, reminds me of RRRR. What is the program or utility creating the the grid with thumbnails? 

    I just took a screenshot of the Smart Content pane. 

  • memcneil70memcneil70 Posts: 4,111

    @Novica, today I came across two tutorials that I thought I would bring to your attention. 

    The one I found this morning on The Commons, on how to fix G8 expressions so the will work with G8.1 has totally disappeared. So I can only refer you to the one below!

    I am catching up on the UltraScenary threads and @barbult was helping someone with a DazConnect and DIM install conflict and she wrote a great tut that is applicable to other issues that folks might run across, I know I could have used it years ago. And this information was no explained so well to me before.
    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/466351/ultrascenery-new-territory-commercial/p3 called 'barbult's longwinded instructions for fixing double installation problems'

    Mary


     

  • SeraSera Posts: 1,675

    memcneil70 said:

    @Novica, today I came across two tutorials that I thought I would bring to your attention. 

    The one I found this morning on The Commons, on how to fix G8 expressions so the will work with G8.1 has totally disappeared...

    Mary

     It wasn't this one by any chance, was it? https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/477386/how-to-get-genesis-8-expressions-working-on-genesis-8-1

    Just wondering! 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    barbult said:

    This is for Novica's recent purchase render challenge. This is what I recently purchased and used.

     

    This is what I rendered. The poor guy had to wear a dress, so i could use the purchased dress textures. On top of that, he had to have shamrocks in the skirt.

    LOL, isn't he lovely! And ready for St Patrick's Day early!

    BTW, thanks for posting a screenshot of the recent purchases, but it's not required. Ya'll use your own judgment as to what "recent" means to you. Since I have bought a lot for MM so far, that's pretty much this past week or two for "recent."  :)  Want to see more renders! 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited March 2021

    memcneil70 said:

    I am catching up on the UltraScenary threads and @barbult was helping someone with a DazConnect and DIM install conflict and she wrote a great tut that is applicable to other issues that folks might run across, I know I could have used it years ago. And this information was no explained so well to me before.
    Mary


     

    I put it in the tips under the D's in the beginning posts of this thread under the tips. Tips: Daz Connect and DIM Double Installation  and credited barbult :) 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • SeraSera Posts: 1,675
    edited March 2021

    Here's a quickie for the recent purchase render challenge

     

     

    Newly Purchased Items Used: 

    From the last week:

    Erika HD plus Morphs and Expressions for Genesis 8 Female

    Summer Mood Bedroom

    Specs Appeal

    dForce Alika Candy Dress Outfit for Genesis 8 Female(s)

    From the last month: 

    Ruo Xi Collection for Genesis 8 Female(s)

    Render Studio 3 - HDRI

    Other products used:

    Iray Stand Kit

    Naturally Poses for Genesis 8.1 Female

    Ringlight for Daz Studio iRay freebie from second-circle over at Deviant Art (the ringlight didn't add the ring effect to her eyes in this case, but before I added the ring light, you couldn't see her eyes at all from the darkness of the shadows, so it helped a lot.)

    *Edited to add image to body of post. Edited again to replace the first image with a less blurry/fully rendered version of the same scene (I didn't use post denoiser this time and it rendered much more quickly!).

     

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    Post edited by Sera on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    certaintree38 said:

    Here's a quickie for the recent purchase render challenge

     

     

    Very nice! That pose is relaxed and I like the lighting coming from the side/top onto her shoulder. The jewelry really shows up well with it too. The dress folds look very natural. 

  • memcneil70memcneil70 Posts: 4,111

    certaintree38 said:

    memcneil70 said:

    @Novica, today I came across two tutorials that I thought I would bring to your attention. 

    The one I found this morning on The Commons, on how to fix G8 expressions so the will work with G8.1 has totally disappeared...

    Mary

     It wasn't this one by any chance, was it? https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/477386/how-to-get-genesis-8-expressions-working-on-genesis-8-1

    Just wondering! 

    Yes that was it! 

  • SeraSera Posts: 1,675
    edited March 2021

    Another render for the "recent purchases render challenge."

    Recently Purchased Items Used:

    (these were all purchased in the last seven days)

    Martina HD for Genesis 8 Female- I really like her. She comes with some regular makeups as well as some fantasy makeups. I feel like her face would be good for a lot of different genres. 

    Asuka- Space Buns Hair for Genesis 3 and 8 Females I have been wanting this hair for a while, and I think it renders very nicely (though you can't really tell here). Comes with lovely ombre materials as well as regular and bright colors. 

    Arcane Enchantress Geoshell Makeups for Genesis 3 and 8 Females Pretty nice. Loads quickly and parts can be used for cyberpunk or horror. They seemed to overwhelm Martina's eyebrows though. 

    Elegant Skinny Jumpsuit for Genesis 8 Female - I like it. I will probably use it for some sci-fi stuff at some point. I just wish it came with shoes. Finding shoes to match unusual clothing isn't always easy. 

    Luminosity Black: Iray Mesh Lighting System for Low Light Settings- A single preset from this product isn't really enough to light a render. So I ended up loading several. It was hard to get enough light on my figure's face with these, and it was also sometimes difficult to hide the mesh lights because of the positions they loaded in. I think, with some finessing, these could be very nice, but they didn't seem like a one-click lighting solution. I ended up adding a colored spotlight to highlight my character's face. I also reduced crush blacks, raised burn highlights, and adjusted the brightness and contrast in post. 

    IBL Skies - Thunderhead Pretty nice! These HDRIs have a warm, overcast feel. There are different HDRIs for different times of the day, and you can rotate them to either show the thunderhead or to hide it.  My only complaint is that I wish there were more clouds that looked stormy. There's really just the one spot with a thunderhead on each HDRI.

    SBibb Wonder and Curiosity Poses and Expressions for Genesis 8 Not too happy with the clawed hand in this pose. But the other poses look better. A lot of the poses in this set look like they could make for nice renders. I didn't use any of the expressions from this item as I forgot they came with it. 

    My Little Forest- Not bad. Not the most realistic landscape, but if you aren't stressing realism, it's got some charm. I like that it looks good in a variety of lighting. You can add more trees outside of the terrain to give the forest a more wooded feel. Has a painterly feel. 

    Overall, I am not very happy with the lighting in this image. I'm sure that's also my fault, but I do wish the Luminosity Black lights had been a little easier to use. Hopefully, it's just a matter of getting used to them. 

    *Edited to add image to body of comment.

     

     

     

     

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    Post edited by Sera on
  • Tim82Tim82 Posts: 859

    I just noticed there is a new thread.....bookmarked!!! :D

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited March 2021

    @certaintree38  Not sure about your experience with lighting so I'll err on the side of caution- do you know if you create a light (say a spotlight) and select it in Scene, then in the viewport dropdown for the views (where it says Perspective) if you select the light, you "become" the light and where you point it in the viewport, that's where it shines? Great for rim lighting, aka going behind and above the person to get that glowy outline on the shoulders. BTW, I got that hair too, it will be really cute for doll figures. 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • SeraSera Posts: 1,675

    Novica said:

    @certaintree38  Not sure about your experience with lighting so I'll err on the side of caution- do you know if you create a light (say a spotlight) and select it in Scene, then in the viewport dropdown for the views (where it says Perspective) if you select the light, you "become" the light and where you point it in the viewport, that's where it shines? Great for rim lighting, aka going behind and above the person to get that glowy outline on the shoulders. BTW, I got that hair too, it will be really cute for doll figures. 

    I do know how to do that, but I was being lazy today and hoping the lighting set would do some fancy stuff for me. blush  Yes, the hair is adorable. I really like the ombre colors that it comes with, as well as the cutsie accessories. What do you use for doll figures?! surprise

  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,977
    edited March 2021

    Some stuff I bought recently...

    Rayne by Pixeluna
    She has a gorgeous, slightly darker (possibly Arab?) complexion with cool undertones. (Then again, you don´t really see her undertones in my render because of all the warm lights I used... *facepalm*)
    I think the horizontal width of her eyes is too small, making her eyes look a little beady. But when I add a little in the width she becomes a really beautiful woman.
    I find her body morph unremarkable but she comes with an HD morph than can be dialled in separately. My render shows the body of V8 and the HD morphs of Rayne, plus some minor tweaks.

    Beloved Poses 2 by Mattymanx
    Yes, the area around her left thigh/stomach is "clippy". Don´t feel like dealing with it :p

    Awerie Outfit by 4blueyes & bucketload3d
    Bought it mostly for those Glamazon boots. The top is nice, too. Don´t care for the skirt so I replaced it.

    Tactical Pants by Smay
    A little trickier than expected regarding pokethrough, smoothing modifier, and such. But you can make it work.

    Tenebroso Lighting by Marshian
    One of those emissive "eggs" is hovering between them, I clone-stamped it out in post. A 2nd one is somewhere off panel.

    Mystical Wisps by Orestes Graphics
    Only provides ambient and rim light here but those HDRIs are top notch and can bring the drama.

     

     

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    Post edited by Hylas on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    For doll figures, the Growing Up to make them more child-like, then scale them down, then a porcelain shader. Would have to go look (I don't have everything loaded in the studio, when my external crashed I started over. By crashing, I mean when dummy me knocked it off the counter where I had temporarily moved it.)  There are a few jointed doll figures, IIRC. And there are doll stands. Vyktorhia comes to mind for interesting materials for dolls, she has a few painted faces I think.

    I had a render going all night, will post in a few minutes. I just got up, am on a good sleep schedule, pretty normal. (Up at 8am, but only 7 hours sleep.)  It's going to be a gorgeous 75 here today, so going to be outside part of the day. 

    @hylas  Thanks for sharing!  I don't think the tummy is clippy, I think that's how it would be with the thigh coming up so high. Looks like a natural smoosh to me. I have Mystical Wisps and haven't tried it yet, glad you showed it. :)  I don't remember the name of them at the moment, but I bought a pair of boots from the 2.99 section because they went all the way up to mid-thigh. But they're solid. These criss-cross boots look interesting and versatile.

  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,977

    Novica said:

      I don't remember the name of them at the moment, but I bought a pair of boots from the 2.99 section because they went all the way up to mid-thigh. But they're solid. These criss-cross boots look interesting and versatile.

    You´re probably talking about these, I grabed them, too! Maybe I´ll cook up a render with them later.

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