Is Daz studio useful in any way?

FirstBastion

I think DS is a super useful tool.  It helps turn ideas into artwork, and visual novels, and video games, and animation, and the list goes on.   

Calliope23

kyoto kid said:

Calliope23 said:

I've taken a break from spending on DAZ assets. I realized it became more about the shopping for me than creating art. Also, my main render machine gave up the ghost after 6 years, and I don't have the money to replace it. I've found that making little pictures on my laptop is soothing, and for some reason when I did a completely new install of DAZ on my laptop, which is a newer machine, DAZ Install Manager works great for me, which it never did on my desktop. I'm not tech savvy, so I have no idea why. I am on a fixed income, and DAZ has always been a hobby. Not spending so much and having a rather small SSD on my laptop has forced me to choose which content I really want to work with, and which to uninstall to save hard drive space. I was stunned when I looked at the amount I had spent on DAZ assets. And I had kind of a sad feeling too, like is what I've spent really worth what I am getting out of it? So yes, I am taking a break from spending for now. I did try going without DAZ completely for a couple months and I missed making my princess and fairy pictures so much that I put DAZ on my laptop. We'll see. I enjoy this thread because it shows me how others are dealing with their "buyer's remorse." Oh, I also stopped my subscription to DAZ DEALS because while it is incredibly useful, even necessary, for shopping on the DAZ website, it was only encouraging my shopping habit. I wish the OP the best of luck, and hope you can find emotional peace and still enjoy a wonderful art form while staying within budget. 

...in a similar boat here regarding a fixed pension and hardware, This is what makes it difficult to adopt a whole new generation of characters so I stopped at G8.  Oh I have a few G9 characters, all of which creatures and monsters, as that is where it really shines.  For humans (and elves, dwarfs, etc) G3/G8 are more than sufficient as between the two there is 7 years worth of content which often gets deeply discounted these days (even ending up in Lightning Deals at ridiculously low prices).   So yes, my purchasing of new items has dropped measurably, save for props, vehicles, and architecture as I have all the character development content I need (a good portion of which is merchant resource and utility based)..

I am still working on a system I built13 years ago (yeah real old school as it still uses DDR3 memory) which has reached the limit of how far it can be updated.  It is so old that the RTX 3060 I picked up a couple years ago isn't compatible with the MB's ancient BIOS.  It is also still on Win 7 so am stuck at Daz release 4.21.0.5 as it is the last version which uses an Nvidia driver that supports the old OS for rendering. I have an upgrade planned to make it Win 11 and RTX 3060 compatible but basically need a small "windfall" to do it (and some components for that are already heading towards "legacy" status).

Even with these limitations I manage, it may not be as fast as the newest tech but it does get the job done (though sometimes dForce crashes the display driver).  I do hold my breath every morning when I start it up and breathe a sigh of relief when I see the Windows start up screen appear.

Indeed this not a hobby for the financially limited unless one is resourceful and patient.

I totally get where you're coming from, Kyoto Kid. I admire that you are so resourceful in keeping your render machine going and using the assets you have to their best advantage.

 I'm going to take some time to think about how or if I want to go about getting a newer desktop. In the meantime I will try not to melt my laptop rendering stuff.

I basically stick to a figure with hair, an outfit, and possibly some jewelry and do portraits using a 2D background and different light sets. I know using a 2D background is somewhat frowned on because it's not "real" 3D art, but it uses less resources and is what I like to do, so meh. The other store has a ton of 2D backgrounds to choose from. I have figures from Victoria 3 on all the way up to Genesis 9, but I don't have a lot of Genesis 9 content because it's so expensive. I found I have a ton of G8 content, and I like to use that. It works great and looks good still.

And I have to agree with FirstBastion that DAZ Studio is useful, for artistic expression etc, but I guess like anything else, in my case moderation is best.

wolf359

Daz Models can also be use in conjuction with AI, to "direct" AI generations

Pitmatic

lou_harper said:

This is how I make money using DAZ. On the left is the book cover I made. On the right is the full scene–I do them wide to be be able to use it as wraparound print cover, and for banners. The sky with the mountains, the guy's cape, and the woman's head are stock photos. Everything else is DAZ. I used to use stock photos only when I started in this business, and it was pretty limiting. You find a model that your client likes but he/she isn't wearing the right clothes, holding the right props, etc. Environments can be challenging too for various reasons.

DAZ allows me create scenes I couldn't before. All I need is a few figures, a bunch of different environments, clothing, props, and poses. I definitely buy too much, but they are tax deductible.

Brilliant @Lou_harper 

lou_harper

Judging from the huge amount of skimpware in the store, I have a feeling that DAZ is also "useful" for people creating let's say erotica, either for personal use or distribution.

TBH, I've been buying way less lately, because there have been very few new releases I have any use for.

Masterstroke

lou_harper said:

Judging from the huge amount of skimpware in the store, I have a feeling that DAZ is also "useful" for people creating let's say erotica, either for personal use or distribution.
[...]

Nothing wrong with that 
However, I do understand the annoyance, when one topic is overrepresented.

Taoz

kyoto kid said:

....not just hostility, but generative AI still has an issue with accuracy.  I still see quite a few "polydactyl" hands and feet, objects intersecting other objects (or people), items not lining up properly with what they are suppose to be attached to, and bad proportions.

I've played around with it for a wile found it great for goofing around with, but when I have a specific idea in mind and set up the best most detailed prompt I can. it still often misses the mark

Seems it still has a bit of a way to go.

A very long way if it has to compete with DS in accuracy, details, and specific choices.      

Calliope23

lou_harper said:

Judging from the huge amount of skimpware in the store, I have a feeling that DAZ is also "useful" for people creating let's say erotica, either for personal use or distribution.

TBH, I've been buying way less lately, because there have been very few new releases I have any use for.

One way to save money is to buy only modest outfits, lol, if one is not into skimpware. Because there seems to be fewer demure and modest outfits, but they do exist. Not casting judgement on anyone's preferences though.

almahiedra

wolf359 said:

You can make some passive income as Daz content  creator

here( as a  Daz PA), or at the two "other" major Daz content outlets.
 

 I actually felt like I had a viable career because I knew they always had more stuff coming up. But then AI came about, Synthesia in particular, and I haven't worked since December and am now in the process of figuring out my fourth career change due to circumstances beyond my control in each instance since '08. I'm tired. I spent all these years in Daz, and to be fair the first couple of years I was having fun and playing around as a hobby until I landed that first job. I still use it for my own animated films on my own time, but I should have been focusing more on the programs that studios actually use like Maya or UnReal to try and get a job that way, or tried to really learn how to sculpt in ZBrush. I just don't trust jobs will be readily available anymore because of AI at this point to even bother trying to focus on UnReal or Maya to get a job in this industry anymore.

Check the job listings over at Artstation
there are still many companies looking for people create content for games and films as AI is still limited in that area (so far)
but as far as finished animations/talking heads for corporate traing etc yeah AI has taken over nearly completely.

so it does not matter if you are using DAZ Genesis ,UE metahuman, Iclone /CC4 or some Maya Advanced rig.
Unless you are an EMPLOYEE of a Game or film studio there is no money to be had just offering to “make animations” for someone
( outside of the NSFW stuff)

 

I have basically migrated over to 2D animation and am working on a new graphic novel that I will sell directly from my Patreon
I m also looking at platforms like the storiaverse app.
and planning to start an animated series using MOHO and or Cartoon animator.
I was a graphic designer for 19 years before getting into 3D/CG
I am leveraging AI as an addition tool to my existing suite of skills
wether it is a voiceover or a character style sheets and Art files that I will use to build my 2D Puppets and background scenes in MOHO & Cartoon animator .

Here are some of my Character styles I will be using in the Graphic novel and the animates series.

I really like the way this looks. The second guy really catches my eye. 

CASINC

Masterstroke said:

lou_harper said:

Judging from the huge amount of skimpware in the store, I have a feeling that DAZ is also "useful" for people creating let's say erotica, either for personal use or distribution.
[...]

Nothing wrong with that 
However, I do understand the annoyance, when one topic is overrepresented.

Sorry, I posted this thread under the assumption everybody already knew porn and other NSFW was the #1 way to make money, so I didn't think it needed to be mentioned. Lol. Actually surprised nobody has claimed that as their reason yet though.

CASINC

Calliope23 said:

lou_harper said:

Judging from the huge amount of skimpware in the store, I have a feeling that DAZ is also "useful" for people creating let's say erotica, either for personal use or distribution.

TBH, I've been buying way less lately, because there have been very few new releases I have any use for.

One way to save money is to buy only modest outfits, lol, if one is not into skimpware. Because there seems to be fewer demure and modest outfits, but they do exist. Not casting judgement on anyone's preferences though.

Clothes and hair can kill render times. Bald and naked is the best option.

kyoto kid

...as to using photo backdrops I've done so in a number of scenes. 

In the one below I made a mask of the city skyline so I could use an HDR sky to give it more realism and depth  

The reflection in the glass was provided by gepometry I placed behind the camera.

BTW this was rendered in 3DL with IBL Master and bounce light simulated by a distant light beneath the ground plane with shadows turned off..  

 

Calliope23

That's an amazing render, Kyoto Kid. I really like that. The fact that you used a photo background is barely noticable. It just looks like part of the scene. Love how happy the girls look and how detailed the render is.

This is an example of what I usually do. I guess I'm more interested in portraying the figure than anything else; DAZ people are so cool. The background is by Sveva. I got the Genesis 8 character for free during the recent DAZ DAY thing. She is Neiva HD for Victoria 8  by Emrys and Fred Winkler Art. I like how she's got a snowflake geoshell to add to her sort of strange beauty. The lights are the PTF Very Cool Lights that were a Christmas gift freebie last year.

background

CASINC said:

Calliope23 said:

lou_harper said:

Judging from the huge amount of skimpware in the store, I have a feeling that DAZ is also "useful" for people creating let's say erotica, either for personal use or distribution.

TBH, I've been buying way less lately, because there have been very few new releases I have any use for.

One way to save money is to buy only modest outfits, lol, if one is not into skimpware. Because there seems to be fewer demure and modest outfits, but they do exist. Not casting judgement on anyone's preferences though.

Clothes and hair can kill render times. Bald and naked is the best option.

So you just need to find people who will pay lots for renders of an old peoples nudist colony! lol. 

kyoto kid

Calliope23 said:

That's an amazing render, Kyoto Kid. I really like that. The fact that you used a photo background is barely noticable. It just looks like part of the scene. Love how happy the girls look and how detailed the render is.

This is an example of what I usually do. I guess I'm more interested in portraying the figure than anything else; DAZ people are so cool. The background is by Sveva. I got the Genesis 8 character for free during the recent DAZ DAY thing. She is Neiva HD for Victoria 8  by Emrys and Fred Winkler Art. I like how she's got a snowflake geoshell to add to her sort of strange beauty. The lights are the PTF Very Cool Lights that were a Christmas gift freebie last year.

...thank you.  Everything in the foreground is geometry including the trees where the street turns and the helicopter above. .

The real; trick with photos is matching the lighting angle and brightness to that in the photo so it all fits together seamlessly.

BTW that is a vvery nice, it would make  nice book cover..

Artini

kyoto kid said:

Calliope23 said:

That's an amazing render, Kyoto Kid. I really like that. The fact that you used a photo background is barely noticable. It just looks like part of the scene. Love how happy the girls look and how detailed the render is.

This is an example of what I usually do. I guess I'm more interested in portraying the figure than anything else; DAZ people are so cool. The background is by Sveva. I got the Genesis 8 character for free during the recent DAZ DAY thing. She is Neiva HD for Victoria 8  by Emrys and Fred Winkler Art. I like how she's got a snowflake geoshell to add to her sort of strange beauty. The lights are the PTF Very Cool Lights that were a Christmas gift freebie last year.

...thank you.  Everything in the foreground is geometry including the trees where the street turns and the helicopter above. .

The real; trick with photos is matching the lighting angle and brightness to that in the photo so it all fits together seamlessly.

BTW that is a vvery nice, it would make  nice book cover..

Great render and composition.

You have mastered matching photos in the render very well.

 

Calliope23

kyoto kid said:

Calliope23 said:

That's an amazing render, Kyoto Kid. I really like that. The fact that you used a photo background is barely noticable. It just looks like part of the scene. Love how happy the girls look and how detailed the render is.

This is an example of what I usually do. I guess I'm more interested in portraying the figure than anything else; DAZ people are so cool. The background is by Sveva. I got the Genesis 8 character for free during the recent DAZ DAY thing. She is Neiva HD for Victoria 8  by Emrys and Fred Winkler Art. I like how she's got a snowflake geoshell to add to her sort of strange beauty. The lights are the PTF Very Cool Lights that were a Christmas gift freebie last year.

...thank you.  Everything in the foreground is geometry including the trees where the street turns and the helicopter above. .

The real; trick with photos is matching the lighting angle and brightness to that in the photo so it all fits together seamlessly.

BTW that is a vvery nice, it would make  nice book cover..

Thanks a lot! Someone told me the figure looked like a character in a sci-fi or fantasy novel, so book cover would work.

I agree you've done a wonderful job blending the photo in seamlessly in your render, and that's a good tip about matching the lighting angle and brightness to that of the photo.