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

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    There are several videos showing how to do the cartoon effect in Photoshop and I really like this one. Even if you don't do the entire effect, it really shows what some of those filters can do to fine tune your images. 

  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,940

    Wonderland said:

     

    I published a pinup art book directly through Amazon’s on demand service and it looked fantastic! Very high quality. And buying copies for myself was only around $5.00 each and I resold them at conventions for $25 signed. Amazon keeps changing the price on it for some reason and other retailers are trying to sell it sometimes for exorbitant amounts. Retailers can buy the book cheap too and you make less money from them.. The best way to make money is to buy your own copies and sell them in person directly to customers or some local bookstores if you bring it in person will buy a few copies at a discount and I signed them so they can bump up the price up to whatever they want.

    Got a link to your pinup art book?  I've always wondered how well different stuff made with DS sold, yours must be good if you can charge $25 or even "exorbitant amounts" for it.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240
    edited July 2021

    Have any of you tried Runway Animations for Genesis 8 with dForce clothing simulation? None of the high heel animations work, because the clothing ALWAYS explodes at a point on the timeline where the hip Y rotation suddenly flips between large positive and negative numbers. The one male animation won't work either, because the legs come too close together and pant legs stick to each other and then explode. Has anyone found tricks to make this work? I've tried lowering friction, lowering bend stiffness, and many combinations of simulation settings. It just does not work. If you bought this product, try it before your return period expires.

    Edited to add: The SQ 02_Runway HighHeels animation does not even match what is shown in the video on the product page. I wonder whether that video animation was even done in Daz Studio.

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  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,834

    I don't have the product but you may try to select all the timeline keys and set Interpolation Type to linear. That usually gets rid of those odd flips. But it may also destroy the smoothness of the animation movement.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240

    RGcincy said:

    I don't have the product but you may try to select all the timeline keys and set Interpolation Type to linear. That usually gets rid of those odd flips. But it may also destroy the smoothness of the animation movement.

    Thanks, I'll give it a try and report back.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,120

    Novica said:

    There are several videos showing how to do the cartoon effect in Photoshop and I really like this one. Even if you don't do the entire effect, it really shows what some of those filters can do to fine tune your images. 

    It looks good but I consider that dithered to EGA standards, not cartoon.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240

    barbult said:

    RGcincy said:

    I don't have the product but you may try to select all the timeline keys and set Interpolation Type to linear. That usually gets rid of those odd flips. But it may also destroy the smoothness of the animation movement.

    Thanks, I'll give it a try and report back.

    No, that didn't help at all. I think it is because there is a hip Y rotation keyframe on every frame, so there really is no interpolation going on. sad

  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,982
    edited July 2021


    before & after

     

    Quick review of Sun-Kissed Facial Freckles

    I´m a big fan of freckles and other skin "imperfections". Sun-Kissed Freckles is a great product that I would recommend! But I have some quibbles with it that I think are worth pointing out.

    The principle here is to layer several geoshells on your characters face and lips, each with their own freckles and birthmarks.

    In my example I´m using one of 8 presets. It uses 3 geoshells. The original skin is Rocco, which already has a few birthmarks and is a little ruddy to start with.

    I´m really happy with the results! The freckles look natural and "baked into" the skin. By combining the various maps and colours and playing with the opacity one has basically endless possibilities.

    It would help to have better (as in: any) documentation. There are folders, sub-folders, and sub-sub-folders full of files with somewhat abstract names and thumbnails that all look quite similar. There is a method to the madness and I figured everything out in the end (I think), but it just would be nice to have some signposts to help.

    Each layer has its own 4k diffuse, translucency, specular, normal, bump, and opacity map. It makes for fantastic results that hold up in close-up renders. But it also means it´s quite the resource hog. The idea is to layer several geoshells so that´s quite a lot of extra 4k maps! I wish there was a way to "bake" everything down to one layer. Although I have to admit I´m not sure how that would work in practice.

    Also, because we´re talking geoshells, the freckles and birthmarks will lay over any LIE or overlay makeup. This might look awkward if combined with some of the more extreme makeups.

    Not sure why this isn´t sold as unisex. If you have UV Swap there is no problem at all. Even if you don´t have UV Swap the product works fine on male skins, it just means the freckles are slightly shifted. Which really doesn´t matter, we´re not talking about eyeliner here.

    Summary: Great results, endless variations! More resource heavy than expected. Better documentation would have been nice.

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2021

    @hylas  Thanks for the review!   I can imagine with all those options it would be a challenge to figure things out and yep, some instructions would be valuable.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,120

    Personally, I feel those freckles look as if they are on the surface of the skin but in real life they are below the surface of the skin.

  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,982
    edited July 2021

    Maybe you have a better eye for these things, or just different. To my eyes it looks like it´s properly part of the skin.

    I tried a dark skin (Twylite by Pixeluna) and I do like the results, but I´m noticing a strange white line across the tip of her nose and along her nostrils that I don´t love and can´t explain.

    For makeup I used Aniyah´s geoshell makeup (by SR3) to layer it on top of the freckles.

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  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,872
    edited July 2021

    Taoz said:

    Wonderland said:

     

    I published a pinup art book directly through Amazon’s on demand service and it looked fantastic! Very high quality. And buying copies for myself was only around $5.00 each and I resold them at conventions for $25 signed. Amazon keeps changing the price on it for some reason and other retailers are trying to sell it sometimes for exorbitant amounts. Retailers can buy the book cheap too and you make less money from them.. The best way to make money is to buy your own copies and sell them in person directly to customers or some local bookstores if you bring it in person will buy a few copies at a discount and I signed them so they can bump up the price up to whatever they want.

    Got a link to your pinup art book?  I've always wondered how well different stuff made with DS sold, yours must be good if you can charge $25 or even "exorbitant amounts" for it.

    It looks like prices have stabilized but at one point some outside retailers listed it for for over $100! It’s always been a lot cheaper to get it directly from Amazon. These were actually all Poser not DS with LOTS of postwork! https://www.amazon.com/Alicias-Pin-Ups-Fantasy-Girlicious-Hollinger/dp/0615871143. Also I did not put that image of a t-shirt up. I have no idea how that got there! I never sold t-shirts with that image. 

    Post edited by Wonderland on
  • memcneil70memcneil70 Posts: 4,112

    So is someone useing your image to make money @Wonderland? Wouldn't the book and the images be copyright? Can you get with Amazon to have it pulled?

  • memcneil70memcneil70 Posts: 4,112

    @Hylas, I found your testing fascinating. I have the product, but haven't got around to using it. You saved me some aggravation. If the geoshell isn't a full face, could one of the layers be that line and be an edge reflecting light? (I am totally at a loss as to what a geoshell can and cannot do. Half the time it blows up in my face and I give up.)

  • Robert FreiseRobert Freise Posts: 4,439

    Wonderland said:

    Taoz said:

    Wonderland said:

     

    I published a pinup art book directly through Amazon’s on demand service and it looked fantastic! Very high quality. And buying copies for myself was only around $5.00 each and I resold them at conventions for $25 signed. Amazon keeps changing the price on it for some reason and other retailers are trying to sell it sometimes for exorbitant amounts. Retailers can buy the book cheap too and you make less money from them.. The best way to make money is to buy your own copies and sell them in person directly to customers or some local bookstores if you bring it in person will buy a few copies at a discount and I signed them so they can bump up the price up to whatever they want.

    Got a link to your pinup art book?  I've always wondered how well different stuff made with DS sold, yours must be good if you can charge $25 or even "exorbitant amounts" for it.

    It looks like prices have stabilized but at one point some outside retailers listed it for for over $100! It’s always been a lot cheaper to get it directly from Amazon. These were actually all Poser not DS with LOTS of postwork! https://www.amazon.com/Alicias-Pin-Ups-Fantasy-Girlicious-Hollinger/dp/0615871143. Also I did not put that image of a t-shirt up. I have no idea how that got there! I never sold t-shirts with that image. 

    Thanks for the link 

    Just purchased it 

  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,940
    edited July 2021

    Wonderland said:

    Taoz said:

    Wonderland said:

     

    I published a pinup art book directly through Amazon’s on demand service and it looked fantastic! Very high quality. And buying copies for myself was only around $5.00 each and I resold them at conventions for $25 signed. Amazon keeps changing the price on it for some reason and other retailers are trying to sell it sometimes for exorbitant amounts. Retailers can buy the book cheap too and you make less money from them.. The best way to make money is to buy your own copies and sell them in person directly to customers or some local bookstores if you bring it in person will buy a few copies at a discount and I signed them so they can bump up the price up to whatever they want.

    Got a link to your pinup art book?  I've always wondered how well different stuff made with DS sold, yours must be good if you can charge $25 or even "exorbitant amounts" for it.

    It looks like prices have stabilized but at one point some outside retailers listed it for for over $100! It’s always been a lot cheaper to get it directly from Amazon. These were actually all Poser not DS with LOTS of postwork! https://www.amazon.com/Alicias-Pin-Ups-Fantasy-Girlicious-Hollinger/dp/0615871143. Also I did not put that image of a t-shirt up. I have no idea how that got there! I never sold t-shirts with that image. 

    Thanks!  OK, it's printed, didn't know that, that does increase the price of course.  But also good copyright protection.  The samples look great, I can see you've used a lot of postwork yes.

    Post edited by Taoz on
  • TugpsxTugpsx Posts: 738

    Wonderland said:

    Taoz said:

    Wonderland said:

     

    I published a pinup art book directly through Amazon’s on demand service and it looked fantastic! Very high quality. And buying copies for myself was only around $5.00 each and I resold them at conventions for $25 signed. Amazon keeps changing the price on it for some reason and other retailers are trying to sell it sometimes for exorbitant amounts. Retailers can buy the book cheap too and you make less money from them.. The best way to make money is to buy your own copies and sell them in person directly to customers or some local bookstores if you bring it in person will buy a few copies at a discount and I signed them so they can bump up the price up to whatever they want.

    Got a link to your pinup art book?  I've always wondered how well different stuff made with DS sold, yours must be good if you can charge $25 or even "exorbitant amounts" for it.

    It looks like prices have stabilized but at one point some outside retailers listed it for for over $100! It’s always been a lot cheaper to get it directly from Amazon. These were actually all Poser not DS with LOTS of postwork! https://www.amazon.com/Alicias-Pin-Ups-Fantasy-Girlicious-Hollinger/dp/0615871143. Also I did not put that image of a t-shirt up. I have no idea how that got there! I never sold t-shirts with that image. 

    It's not a T-Shirt someone decided to be cheeky, it's a marketing gimick which is actually showing a comparison for the book size, Notice the dimensions with a grayed out background of a T-shirt. They may have sparked ideas for the buyers and help to drum up sales.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2021

    I've made the decision to only purchase 1.99 items and deeply discounted items, as the store isn't behaving for me for several weeks. The PC+ new items do not show up on the main store page, when I go to the PC+ newsletter and click on one of the featured items, THEN go to SHOP from the top menu, it's a different main store page than if I originally use SHOP from the top menu. And none of the new PC+ items are showing.   I try it with and without Only Show PC+, and they aren't there. Yes, I am signed in. I am using Chrome, and have for years. It is not my browser.

    It really bugs me main pages are different depending where you enter from, and this is not something new, we also pointed out how the artist dropdown is different depending on what page you came from, years ago. (So you weren't shown the same options, and could be missing out on some great deals. We went through specific pages, and examples.)  Also, if you don't open a new window, and use your back button, the previous page may have changed, and often does.

     This is not acceptable to me anymore to deal with, so I am just not shopping unless it's a great promo and in a promo rotating banner. I'm not using the main shop page anymore, so my purchases are going to be very restricted. 

    I'm letting you know because in the past, I've tried to be helpful pointing out new things or nice features of other products, but shopping here just isn't working for me anymore except for easy to find items. So appreciate your help as always, but even more, in pointing out wonderful features of the new products. I won't have them in all likelihood (and I have enough already, and had already started cutting way back and using them for the book(s) and you folks who render and folks who test things really are the backbone of the thread. Keep it up :)  yes

    Post edited by Novica on
  • LeanaLeana Posts: 11,689

    Novica said:

    The PC+ new items do not show up on the main store page, when I go to the PC+ newsletter and click on one of the featured items, THEN go to SHOP from the top menu, it's a different main store page than if I originally use SHOP from the top menu. And none of the new PC+ items are showing.   I try it with and without Only Show PC+, and they aren't there. Yes, I am signed in. I am using Chrome, and have for years. It is not my browser.

    That's weird, they show up fine for me.

    Do you have filters enabled in the browser add-on which could be hiding them for whatever reason maybe?

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    Haven't changed a thing. Nothing influencing PC+ at all. I have things like show wishlist option, hide items I own. 

  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,982

    I can't recreate the same issue but the store display has been funky for me since yesterday. Sort "low-to-high" in particular doesn't seem to be working correctly for me. Sort by % seems fine. Sometimes It shows items I already own when it shouldn't. 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    Ati solved it, it's an Add-On issue with that Daz Deals. I had to enable ALL the software (such as Bryce, Poser, etc) instead of just selecting Daz Studio. You might want to consider checking all those so you don't suddenly have pages misbehaving and not showing everything. You may not even know it's happening unless you are looking for a particular new thing and it's not there.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2021

    Don't blame me if your sides hurt from laughing so much. My favs are 8 (kitchen) and 24 (attack from behind.)   Cats

    Post edited by Novica on
  • TugpsxTugpsx Posts: 738
    edited July 2021

    Dante 7 gets the bad news that his bundle is on Clearance for $1.99

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  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,982

    Tugpsx said:

    Dante 7 gets the bad news that his bundle is on Clearance for $1.99

    Kalea: Cry me a river, they gave me away for free!

     

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    Hey folks, don't forget to use your PC+ coupons as we're in the last days of the month :) 

    Hope you are staying cool. The sidewalk temperatures today were 143 degrees in Pensacola. Real feel got up to 108 degrees and temps were slightly under 100. Rinse repeat tomorrow except high may go to 115. Stetson is being brought in by 11am (or sooner.)  Stay cool! 

  • Charlie JudgeCharlie Judge Posts: 12,725

    Novica said:

    Hey folks, don't forget to use your PC+ coupons as we're in the last days of the month :) 

    Hope you are staying cool. The sidewalk temperatures today were 143 degrees in Pensacola. Real feel got up to 108 degrees and temps were slightly under 100. Rinse repeat tomorrow except high may go to 115. Stetson is being brought in by 11am (or sooner.)  Stay cool! 

    Reminder to all you folks with doggies. With pavement temperatures  that high only walk the dog on the grass.  

  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,940
    edited August 2021

    If you missed this weeks freebies, they're all back again...


     

     

     

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  • DaventakiDaventaki Posts: 1,624
    edited August 2021

    Georgina HD for G8F            Ethel Hair for G8F and G8.1F      Clothing, pose, background and lighting all from Rendo.

    Ethel hair in this image is modified, with tips from Mousso.  See this tread here

    I wanted to give this character a review because I think she is cute.  She has several makeup options, seperate lips and also nail colors. The way the PA has set up the materials it pretty much washes out the freckles this happens I think because the texture thats plugged into the Translucency Color channel. I tried to get them to show with adjusting the settings but was not successful, so I made some changes in Photoshop because I really wanted those freckles to show. In Photoshop duplicated the base texture then turned the opacity of the duplicated to 50% then plugged  that texture into the Translucency Color channel on the face. This allowed those beautiful freckles to show in the skin.  After this I set to render and decided that the hands and body was to different in color so I twiddled with settings again, that didn't work so I decided to darken them a little in Photoshop.  I used the Camera Raw Filter and adjusted Exposure and Contrast, darking both the arms and the torso texture. 

    This is an edited image, I always adjust toning and things in Photoshop because its faster and easier to me than trying to get the lighting completely right.

    Unmodified textures image:   (I also attached the original render if anyone is interested in a completely unedited version)

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    @daventaki   I like that character, I have her but I hadn't rendered. I personally like the more subdued freckles but it's good to know how to tackle getting them to show up more. That's a nice background and goes well with her. Black and red, you can't go wrong.

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