Ds creative 09

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holds for DAZ StudioWe ask DAZ what the futureDAZ3D Q&A

The magazine for DAZ Studio usersDS creativeThe magazine for DAZ Studio users

Issue 09 March 2015

ROMEO AND JULIETMARY KARISMA

TUTORIALS

REGULARS

FEATURES

32 • Forgotten LightWe take a look at the UberareaLight and see how clever this light really is.

50 • Light ConesThiThis quick step by step guide explains how to add a volumetric light cone onto a standard spotlight, no special cameras required.

62 • DAZ on a Diet wwe disect a few images to highlight some simple techniques that let you create bigger scenes.

06 • General Gallery All the best artwork from the DAZ community.

22 • Competition WinnersSo our warriors have done battle, but who comes out as champion.

34 • 34 • Reality GallerySome more amazing artwork this time created with Reality/luxrender.

60 • Competition TimeWe are returning to basic, it’s time for portraiture.

14 • VENDOR SPOTLIGHTIn the first of this month's vendor spotlights we talk to Silver.

20 • DAZ Q&AWe ask DAZ what the future holds.

38 • ARTIST SPOTLIGHTThiThis months artist spotlight features friend of DS Creative Mary VanAssche.

44 • VENDOR SPOTLIGHTIn the second of this month's vendor spotlights we talk to Cakeone.

Volume 2 • Issue 9

creativeds

creativeEDITOR

Camilla [email protected]

PRODUCTION DESIGNERPhil Thompson

[email protected]

NEWS EDINEWS EDITORMatt Allgood

[email protected]

PROOF READERSanyel Jackson

[email protected]

TUTORIALS CO-ORDINATORSamir Rouabhi DeleuzeSamir Rouabhi Deleuze

Contents

DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE • March 2015 • 03

Matt Allgood • NEWSDESK EDITOR

Notes from a messy desk - March 2015

Another month down, a new season starting in each hemisphere, and the 9th issue of DS Creative Magazine. Yes, nine issues! I know, we can’t believe it either. So from all of us here, we want to thank you for your support, your submissions, and your continued desire to see this little venture succeed just as we do.

It never ceases to amaze me how the 3D art scene has developed and changed over the last decade or so. It’s been about It never ceases to amaze me how the 3D art scene has developed and changed over the last decade or so. It’s been about 9 years since I first loaded up Aiko 3 into my copy of Daz Studio, and since then I’ve seen a huge amount of change, not only in the software, but also the content available and the sites where we can display our work. The growth in the 3D hobby scene has been explosive to say the least, and that is only going to continue into the future as far as I can see.

With the availability of things like Reality and Pixar’s Renderman becoming available in the near future, the line between With the availability of things like Reality and Pixar’s Renderman becoming available in the near future, the line between the hobbyist and the professional is certainly becoming more blurred. But it is the accessibility of the software and content that helps to bring more and more people in, and with the number of vendors and sites selling their products, the content library to choose from is enormous, and just keeps getting bigger all the time. If you can’t find that certain thing you are looking for, then it’s a pretty safe bet that it won’t be long before someone makes one, or something just like it.

Of course, once you’ve finished your new render, you want to be able to show people, and the proliferation of sites avail-Of course, once you’ve finished your new render, you want to be able to show people, and the proliferation of sites avail-able to do this is staggering. From general art sites like Deviant Art and Redbubble, through vendor sponsored sites like the galleries at DAZ 3D, Renderosity, and YUR Digital, to the more niche spaces like The Pinup Artists Network, and of course social media sites like Facebook and its groups. There are a plethora of places, and markets, to display your talents and either sell your work or pick up commissions from the public.

Where does all this lead, I hear you ask? Well, it can lead you to continuing to be a hobbyist, creating something for yourself Where does all this lead, I hear you ask? Well, it can lead you to continuing to be a hobbyist, creating something for yourself in your own time. It could be that you may pickup commission work, creating pieces for book covers or taking characters done in a traditional medium and bring them into 3 dimensions. You might decide to tread the path I’ve taken, to throw in a perfectly good job and take on tertiary education in a field that fits in with this creative process (in my case, Game Design).

Regardless of what you choose, there are opportunities available to you. So sit back, put your virtual feet up and wander Regardless of what you choose, there are opportunities available to you. So sit back, put your virtual feet up and wander through this issue of DS Creative Magazine. Who knows, you might just realize where you want to go next.

DS CreativeIssue Nine of

ToWELCOME

Finally, DAZ3D are also going to release collections of figures as well. As of going to print, there hasn't been any word on what these collections will contain, but I am hopeful that they will find a way to be able to cover not only the current Genesis2 mesh, but also perhaps utilize some of the older figures (Aiko 3 for example) with some of their iconic outfits.

RegardlesRegardless of which way they go on this, I think DAZ3D have hit on a winner here. 3D printing is becoming cheaper and better every year, and if you can provide a service in house for this, then it's going to be easier for people to get something printed than to have to go through the hassle of ensuring things are in the right format etc, in order to have it printed elsewhere. I know because I looked into it a few yearyears ago and the hoops you had to jump through were made way more difficult that it was worth.

Some big news in the DAZ world recently, with DAZ3D announcing the introduction of 3D printing.

YYes, you read that right! DAZ3D have introduced a 3D printing service. Currently, there are 4 figures available; Keiko 6, Lee 6, Mei Lin 6, and the DAZ Dragon. All figures are printed in Full Colour Sandstone with a coarse finish. It is also mentioned that many of the other assets within the DAZ3D store will also work with 3D printing, though this is dependant on the technologies or services you are using to to print them. Prices for the available pieces are pretty reasonable in my opinion, and the shipping cost of the items is lower than I expected (around $7.00).

DAZ3D are also going to be offering a custom 3D printing service in the future which to me sounds like a great idea. There have been a number of pieces I've done over the years that I'd love to have as a figurine. No information has been released yet on how this is going to work and what limitations there will be (i.e can you use products from vendors outside DAZ3D for instance), but I'm sure that will be made apparent as soon as the service is available.as soon as the service is available.

NEW SDESKDS Creative


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DAZ-MAN

DAZ-MANHexekatiUSA

NOUVEAU WITCHEAshley Denton-ClarkUSA

HURRY BACK FLYBOYHURRY BACK FLYBOYCharlie Mc DonaldUSA

Gallery

06 • March 2015 • DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE

HURRY BACK FLYBOY

NOUVEAU WITCHE


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VILLAINY IN THE VAULTS

VILLAINY IN THE VAULTSBowskiUK

PROJECT B.A.R.B.I.ESkyDaddyD

FAE FOLK KEIKOAmaranthAmaranth

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FAE FOLK KEIKO

PROJECT B.A.R.B.I.E


BIOBABE 4.0

BIOBABE 4.0R.p.CallahanUSA

RUBICONAlex LedanteUSAFAE FOLK KEIKOFAE FOLK KEIKOAmaranth creative

dscreative

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RUBICON

YOU CAN BE IT

YOU CAN BE ITEsapesaNew Zealand

LIQUID SURFERMaria Lourdes

008Jean Morneau Jean Morneau Canada

creativeds

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LIQUID SURFER


HOW DID YOU GET INTO 3D & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT?I actually first got into 3D because of Myspace. I started creating tags and websets and I actually first got into 3D because of Myspace. I started creating tags and websets and layouts and subscribed to 3D Tube sites to create my artwork from. Eventually I got curious about how people weremaking these images in the first place and discovered DAZ Studio. I downloaded it, attempted to learn it and I just couldn’t getit to click with me. I then moved onto Poser 7 and fell in love. My first few products were hair expan-sions, but I was mostly interestedin character creation and after my first girl I was hooked. I still enjoy creating hair textures and dabblingwith clothing textures but my biggest love is still creating characters for both Victoria 4 and Genesis 2. Funny thing is biggest love is still creating characters for both Victoria 4 and Genesis 2. Funny thing is all these years later I actually love DS more than ever and prefer it over Poser but really can appreciate what both have to offer.

Silver

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT


WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHAL-LENGE FOR YOU WHEN CREATING A NEW PRODUCT?Time management,between the various partners who I love to work with and the never ending stream of ideas we all come up with. I just am really bad at managing my time lol. It is my biggest downfall; I take forever to get things finished up completely.completely.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?Everywhere honestly; Every movie I watch, video game I play, art piece I see, or song I listen to gives meideas for what I want to do. Surprisingly, my daughter and fiancé are now huge influences in my work, with an opinion on everything and constant suggestions lol. I have even been teaching my fiancé to create products with me; you will see him as my partner onitems at DAZ listed with me as Raziel.

WHICH PROGRAMWHICH PROGRAM(S) DO YOU CREATE YOUR CHARACTERS IN?I use Zbrush, Blacksmith3D, Photoshop CC, Poser 2014, and DAZ Studio 4.7.

TYPICALLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED CHARAC-TER?Depends on a few things honestly. Some products seem to take on a life of their own and can be complete in two weeks;others drag on for months while I change to other products since I lost steam.

WHATWHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT CREATING FOR DAZ STUDIO?Be true to yourself. Be creative. Never settle for 'good enough'. Always be open to learning new things and trying new things. It’s amazing how you cansurprise yourself with an idea if you step outside of your comfort zone. In a marketplace where there is SO much talent these days,it’s important thatyou always are honing your skill set and ideas and trying new things.

IFIF YOU COULD ADD ONE NEW FEATURE TO DAZ STUDIO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?Better render engine. It really is my least favourite part. People can get some amazing results but I still feel something is missing from my own.


http://www.daz3d.com/silverVisit Silver at DAZ3D:http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/?vendor=569372Visit Silver at Renderosity:

The outfit was beautifully made by WildDesigns and was so fun to texture. The jewellery designed by Demonica was one of the prettiest feminine sets I thinkwe have done and Adiene was amazing with her fantasy options for Odonata as always. It’s so much fun being able to collab on a variety of products.3 - Lady Frostwhisper with Countess is still one of my biggest favourites todate I think. She was made during a time when we were hugely obsessed with World of Warcraft and it was ourattempt at doing a female Death Knight and just turned out amazing from the start. It was also attempt at doing a female Death Knight and just turned out amazing from the start. It was also the first time we had ever collaborated with a modeler to do a matching character and outfit.From her morph to her makeup, her tattoos and her shimmery skin, I just love her every time I see her.

WHICH ARE YOUR 3 PERSONAL FAVOURITE VENDORS?Oh man this is hard! There are so many vendors whose products I find invaluable, not to mention Oh man this is hard! There are so many vendors whose products I find invaluable, not to mention so many whose work I just adore. Hair, clothing, poses, props, andshaders, oh man there are so many products I really rely on to get my work finished. If I had to pick a really important one, I would say the one vendor whose products I can’t function without is Age of Armour and their Advanced Ambient Light set. No matter what items I haveI absolutely rely on them to get good renders in DS.

HOW HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLES ARTWORK MADE WITH YOUR PRODUCTS?I love it more then I can express. This job consumes my life a bit more then I like to admit so it’s really humbling to see so many people enjoymy work in ways that I can’t. I love the positive feedback I get and seeing some of the amazing images that people come up with. It’s really quite an surreal feeling seeing such beautiful and creative images using items I created as part of that.

CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME? I have been working on a project with one of my partners and good friends Demonica for the I have been working on a project with one of my partners and good friends Demonica for the last 3 weeks.Assuming we can wrap it up in 2 more will be available sometime in April we hope lol. It has been a huge learning experience for sure!

WHICH 3 ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVOURITES OF YOUR OWN PRODUCTS? Hard to pick three; I really love all my girls, guys and in-betweens lol. If I had to pick 3 they would be -1 - Rawr! & Monsterina Bundle with 1 - Rawr! & Monsterina Bundle with Demonica at DAZ. It was such a fun idea and something a bitoutside the norm for us with a huge cuteness factor. It was loads of fun to make and it was hard not to get carried away with the textures for the outfit and the makeup for the the outfit and the makeup for the character. It’s still one of the cutest things we’ve ever done lol2 - The Gossamer, Odonata & Drag-onfly Jewellerycollab at Rendo that I did with Adiene, WildDesigns and Demonica.


http://4eyes.code66.se/DSC_SR_LenoreG2F.zip

DS Creative exclusivefrom Silver & Raziel

SEPIA EYESANDREAS KÜNTZER

DAZ 3D QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

4: What do you personally think of people who are are bashing artwork based on premade 3D content ("no real 3D artwork"... "playing with dolls for adults"... comments and prejudices like this, you get the idea...) and how do you react?

FirstFirst, with the extreme diversity of morphs, poses, and combination of elements, each piece of work can be absolutely unique. If people think there is no skill involved, just have a look at pose by someone who is not skilled. De differences are very stark. A second point, is that to claim that using pre-built elements removes the artistic skill involved is the same as stating that directors and photographerphotographers have no skills… That things already looked beautiful, and the photographer simply was lucky enough to be there at the time.

5: At the moment you produce several different software programs such as DAZ Studio, Carrara, Bryce, hexagon etc, is the plan for them to remain as separate entities or will we see in the future a bigger single program combining multiple features?

TherThere is no question that DAZ Studio is our main focus. We still have plans for some of our other titles as well but you will see Studio continue to advance and incorporate more functionality as time goes on.

6: What kind of system specs do your computers have that you work on Daz with?

Depends on what you want to do and how fast :)Depends on what you want to do and how fast :)I would definitely recommend a 64 bit computer, and a 4 gig NVIDIA card would be a good investment.

1: How did DAZ come to be?

DAZDAZ Started out roughly 15 years ago as “Digital Art Zone”. Initially, DAZ was focused on developing 3D content for the POSER application. As POSER went through different hands, and different states over the years, there were some points when its future was questionable. DAZ wanted to make sure that, if the worst should happen with POSER, that the market and fan based for this type of application and content wasn’t leftleft without a solution. Thus DAZ developed DAZ Studio. We have continued to advance DAZ studio, as well as our content for many years now.

2: How many people work at DAZ?

DAZ currently has a team of around 50 people. Most of those are in headquarters in Salt Lake City, but we have a large number of remote people as well.

3: If someone would like to become a vendor for DAZ how should they go about it?

WheWhen we look at those artists that are the most successful wit DAZ, it always starts with a passion. So the first step is to be passionate about art, and what you want to do (and help others do) with it. The next step is to submit a product for review. You can find more information on how to become a vendor at: http://www.daz3d.com/community/community-publishing. FinallyFinally, watch the numbers, and tune your products. Look at what sells and what doesn’t. Find what you are the best at and fine tune even further.

“Faster. Easier to use. Better quality renders.”

A while ago we asked if any of our readers had any questions they would like us to put to DAZ3D and we chose several questions from the ones you posted, now we have the answers from Steve Spencer, Vice President of Marketing at Daz3d


13: Many think Hexagon is an awesome program with lots of potential, will there be an update for Hexagon in the future?

LikelLikely not. Although we do recognize the need for modeling tools. We realize that we will either need to advance it, or bring functionality in another way.

14: WWill the future of DAZ Studio remain as a core program with advanced features being provided by 3rd party developers as plugins or will we see more advanced features such as Physics and particle generators coming in to the core DAZ Studio program?

Trust me… Studio will be making changes that will shock you.

15: 15: Will there be a landscape/rock/tree generator inside of DAZ in the future?

It’s on the roadmap, but not concretely planned or scheduled at this time.

16: WherWhere do you see the long term future of DAZ Studio heading?

Faster. Easier to use. Better quality renders.

17: When will Jack Tomlin get a raise?!

LOL. what do you mean? I work for him. Ask him when I get a raise!!

12: A quick read on the Internet produces many, many suggestions for improvements and new features that people would like to see, where do you get your ideas for new features?

WWe try to focus on what will positively affect the largest number of people. Everyone has things they would like to see changed, but we look to do the most good we can with the changes we put in.

7: What do you suggest in a computer to effectively utilize Daz? (The biggest and best is of course always a hit but many can't afford that and need to know what is truly in our grasp that we can use)

AAs I said above, 64 bit, and a good NVIDIA GPU. You will see more functionality leveraging such things in the future.

8: As personal computers become more and more powerful especially with GPU power can we expect to see DAZ Studio in the future include GPU rendering?

<wink> I’m afraid I can’t answer that yet.<wink> I’m afraid I can’t answer that yet.

9: Every evolution of the base figures has brought greater and greater detail and now with HD versions the detail is staggering, just how much further can we go?

WWe continue to have some really exciting advancements planned in the future. I wish I could tell you more, but it’s not yet public information. This will be an exciting year though.

10: With the high definition becoming popular, can we expect to see HD versions of things such as animals anytime soon?

YYes. The Dragon, Minotaur and Reptile are examples. Watch for more.

11: DecisionDecisions over current trends in say clothing items for content do you leave it up to your vendors to develop the trends or do you define the areas that you feel require attention for example, pirate clothing or oriental?

WWe work closely with the vendors as a partnership. We accept their creative visions, explicit commission some things from our own vision, and brainstorm a variety of things as well.

So it looks like 2015 is going to be a very interesting year for DAZ Studio users.


WARRIORWARRIORWARRIORTHE WAY OF THE

TODD KOGUTT1st


MANIACMAYO3rd

JOERG KI2nd


WARRIORTHE WAY OF THE

LIZ SCHROEDER

BELLATRYX NOIRDON VANAUSDOLL


DANIEL WRIGHT

JEAN MORNEAUDS CREATIVE MAGAZINE • March 2015 • 25


MITHORON

FANTAIL451

R.P. CALLAHAN26 • March 2015 • DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE

ESAPESA

HEXEKATI



ALEX LEDANTE

JANET WILLIAMS

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN SOME FABULOUS DAZ GOODIES SEE OUR PORTRAITURE COMPETITION ON PAGE 60

WIN


LAMUSERIE

KENDA


ARMAGEDDONMARCIUS HESS

SETUP

8 Samples

32 SamplesFantom On

64 Samples

Now that there are so many readymade light sets available, its very easy to forget about the lights built into DAZ Studio, so in this article I am going to champion a light that ships with DAZ Studio and is possibly the most under used light in our lighting armoury.

ThThe UberAreaLight is possibly the softest light we have, which can be likened to a photographer’s softbox light and canalso be considered similar to a meshlight in reality, but there is more to this light than just its softness.

SSo if we look in the Light Presets/Omnifreaker/UberAreaLight we will see several different shaped versions of the light; Planes, Discs, Neon, Spheres, Tubes and also the UberAreaLight Base.We will start by looking at the plane.NowNow once we load the UberAreaLightPlane we will be greeted with a bright white plane sat on the floor, and for a quick demo I am going to rotate the plane -90 degrees on the Z axis and I am going to move it up slightly so it won’t intersect with the floor when I add one later. Now add two primitive spheres with a diameter of 0.7. You can increase the segments and sides if you want to improve the smoothness ofof your spheres but it’s not really important to us. Next, I am going to move one sphere -90 on X translate and the second one -90 on X translate, what that gives us is our light plane with a sphere either side of it. Now I just want to add a primitive plane with a size of just 10m, as this is our floor.

The important thing to know about the UberAreaLight is that light is only emitted from one side of the plane. If we hit render now, we will see the plane and the sphere on the left.So how do we know which side is emitting? When you select your UberAreaLight with the Universal tool, the side of the light that has the objects manipulator handles on is the NON Emitting side.

Where are the parameters?Where are the parameters?Unlike a normal light, the parameters for the UberAreaLight are hidden in the surfaces tab.Now, on our test scene we could see the plane.Can we make it invisible? Yes we can! Go in the lights parameters.(Surfaces Tab) We want to switch Fantom to on, as this will stop the light being visible.

AnotheAnother very important setting is Samples. If we look at our test image you will notice that there is quite a bit of noise in the image. That’s because our samples are down at 8 so let’sincrease them up to 64. This will lessen the noise but will alsoincrease the render time.

THE FORGOTTEN LIGHT THE UBERAREALIGHT


For all the information you could ever want on UberAreaLights, there is a very good forum post over at DAZ that was put together by DS Creative regular Szark, which I really suggest reading.http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/14536/

The High Key portrait was created with 2 UberAreaLight planes, both of which are visible and are doubling up as the background. The front one was rotated slightly to ensure that the face was well lit.

So, as you have now seen the UberAreaLight gives us a beautiful soft light, but there is a another very important thing it can do unlike any other light.

To demonstrate this I have built a small scene and if you look in front of the droid, there is a light on the buttress.so I am going to make it a lightFirstly, I am going to select the surface of the light on the buttress. With the surface selected, I hold down control and double click the UberAreaLight Base from the down control and double click the UberAreaLight Base from the Light Presets/Omnifreaker/UberAreaLight group. By holding down control, this will present me with a load options box,and in this box I will set the images to Ignore, as I still want to see the original textures. And now I have added the UberAreaLight to that surface.Now it’s emitting, but our light is dark. We turn Ambient Active to on, increase the samples and hit render. For the final render, I have changed the light colour to pale blue, increased the intensity to 150 and also added Uberenvironment2 Base with the intensity 150 and also added Uberenvironment2 Base with the intensity set to 20%, to ensure that there is some detail in the shadows.


LAMUSERIE

G A LLER Y


EST MORTE

RICHARD VAN HEERDE


ASHLEY WALLACE

DANIEL WRIGHT


Do you have a masterpiece

that you have created using

Reality and Luxrender if so

then we would love to display

it here, all you have to do is

to email your artwork to us at:

[email protected]

andand mark it Reality

MICHAEL RICKS

CHRISTOPHER MARSON


“I chose Studio since it really is easier for me to use.”

HOW DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?II just get an image in my head that I have to do or it drives me nuts. It's usually a specific character, or scene I want to use for a character. Once I start, I'm constantly changing things, finding mistakes, getting frustrated when it just won't coop-erate with the idea I had. Then eventually something finally clicks into place and it's done! And Lord help me if I try to re-do an old one with new lights or textures! That's why I usuallyusually do very little to no postwork! I should, but I don't have the patience I used to have.

WHICH ARTISTS INSPIRE YOU THE MOST?Truthfully, everyone else! Especially the artists like Camilla Drakenborg, who do such fantastic postwork! I see such amazing talent here in this magazine and in the groups, people that are just beginners that do work so much better than I ever did at that stage. And the more experienced artists trying Studio after using Poser, Vue, etc., for years because they see that it has evolved to much over the years. I see artistsartists that are relatively new to Studio becoming Promo Artists! That says so much about the caliber of talent here!

HOW DID YOU FIRST GET STARTED INTO 3D ART?II started 2D graphics with PaintshopPro in about 1995 and noticed more and more tubes looking so real! I asked around and most of the artists were using Poser which I couldn't afford then and someone mentioned a new program called DAZ Studio and that it was free! Unfortunately, I had to wait a couple of years until I got a computer that would run these programs, but once I did, I never looked back. I now own Studio,Studio, Poser, Bryce, Carrara, Hexagon and Vue, but my new computer only really has space for one at a time, so I chose Studio since it really is easier for me to use.

Mary VanAssche

Artist SPOTLIGHT


WHAT ARE YOUR THREE FAVORITEVENDORS?StonemasonStonemason (DAZ) needless to say, perfection! Even his oldest sets in the Platinum Club are still wonderful; Predatron (DAZ) for his sets, and now plants and lights! I seem to be using his items more and more often!; BadKittehCo. (RDNA) for clothing that has so many morphs I don't know how she does it! Even morphs for wrinkles for more realistic looks! I remember when she was learning modeling and doing freebiesfreebies over at Renderosity and I jumped to acquire her first "Stormchaser"!

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE PRODUCTS YOUUSE CURRENTLY?Multiplane Cyclorama, since there are so many fabulous textures for it (perfect for portraits or smaller scenes). Gen4 figures, although I am starting to work a little more with Genesis and G2, I have way too much content for them to stop using them. Predatron's Light Sets; his Essential Lights set has Occlusion and IDL choices and the IDL hasn't crashed my computer yet!

WHWHAT GOES INTO A PIECE OF ART FOR YOU?First an idea! A central theme or character, then everything else is detail icing on the cake! Really, I have to have a "feeling" or mood to even start! Experimentation with different ideas is really necessary. I don't do enough of that, so I put that on my list for this year.


Posing hands is a tricky job. You can ruin a good render with a bad hand posing. Using the « power pose » is quite intuitive and fast. You can find it in Windows – Panes – Power PoseSelect your character, click on both hands on top left of the window and you will land on the hands templates. Using your mouse and clicking on the green dots, you ll be able to move Using your mouse and clicking on the green dots, you ll be able to move each finger precisely, saving you time twisting, bending and « side-siding » in the parameter tab. Just follow the white mouse diagram.

POSING HANDS

If you need also the full arm to be posed the same way, select the right collar (rCollar) and instead of Selected in the Nodes selec-tion, change to Root : you have symmetrised your arm !NB : When animating, the swap command is a fast way to make a walk-cycle.

Symmetry is a very valuable command when you want/need both arms, hands or legs to be in the same pose. Saving you the time needed to redo exactly the same pose.You have several choices in the symmetry window tab:Nodes : selected or root, giving you the ability to choose if you want only the part you selected (selected) or all the sub hierarchy (root)Propagation : none or recursive ; means it will apply only to your selection Propagation : none or recursive ; means it will apply only to your selection or to all the sub hierarchyDirection : Left to Right, Right to Left or Swap Left and Right ; you will select from where you want the symetry to apply from OR if you want to swap the poseTrunk Nodes : Leave alone, Zero Parameters, mirror Y/Z Rotations ; I let the Leave Alone parameterYYou have also a wide array of possibilities through checking and uncheking boxes (rotation, translation, scale)Fast example : You pose the right hand of your character to handle a weapon and you want the left hand to handle a second weapon of the same kind. a) Select your right hand and Type in Shift + Y, b) Make the selection as belowc) Accept and you are donec) Accept and you are done

SYMMETRY - SHIFT + Y

Two ways to make your workflow easierDAZ TIMESAVERS

NATALIE OF THE BADLANDSMANIACMAYO MAY

Artist: Agr1on http://agr1on.deviantart.com

HOW DID YOU GET INTO 3D MODELLING/TEXTURING & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT?First let me introduce myself: I’m a French 40yo female and I used to be an art editor in magazines. I think I started early in 1998 or 1999 with Poser. I started using Poser 1 as a helper for drawing: trying to understand how the light works I started using Poser 1 as a helper for drawing: trying to understand how the light works on portraits. It was really not like it is now, it was very simple. The characters offered by Poser were not very well done and quickly we were offered alternative content with Zygote’s Victoria and Michael, who were much more realistic. I started my content creation by creating freebies for them, available at Renderosity. After that I created tutorials to help people make texture for them. Then I created my own texture sets and sold them first at Renderosity and then at Daz3d. Since 2001, all my creations are exclu-sively available at Daz3d.sively available at Daz3d.

Cakeone

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT


Artist: Agr1on http://agr1on.deviantart.comAlways listen to feedback and criti-cism. It will help you to get better. Don’t try to create a need, start with your own needs and see if someone had the same and would be interested in what you created.

WHICHWHICH 3 ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES OF YOUR OWN PRODUCTS? Persephone - a texture set for Genesis 2 female.

FangTastic : a morph set to add fangs FangTastic : a morph set to add fangs and to expose them for Genesis 2 males and females.

Fresh Faces : set of face morphs for Genesis 2 females.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?My inspiration comes from what I need (and can do). Sometimes I miss a certain some-My inspiration comes from what I need (and can do). Sometimes I miss a certain some-thing so if I can create it, I do it, and I just think that if I needed it, maybe someone else does too so I distribute it. This is exactly what happened to the smile set for Genesis 2, the ethnicsets for Genesis 2, and the Fangtastic set. I needed them and they were nowhere to be found so I made them. I wish I were more skilled in modeling from scratch as there is A LOT of stuff I still miss but I’m more a modifier than a scratch creator.

WHICH PROGRAM(S) DO YOU CREATE YOUR MODELS IN?Zbrush for morphs, and Adobe Photoshop for textures.Zbrush for morphs, and Adobe Photoshop for textures.

TYPICALLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED MODEL?It depends on what’s on TV… just kidding. It can be from a couple of days to a couple of months. I try not to spend more than 2 weeks, promos included but sometimes it gets longer, way longer. For me quality is the most important thing, meaning as long as I’m not 100% satisfied with something, I keep working on it.

WHATWHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT CREATING FOR DAZ STUDIO?I’ll give you more than one, consider it as a bonus ;)One word should lead you: Quality. I see vendors doing the same texture set over and One word should lead you: Quality. I see vendors doing the same texture set over and over again hoping no one will notice. I have to disagree. Produce less, but produce better. Try to have your name be associated with quality, not quantity. If it takes more time, it’s ok, focus on quality, it is the first respect of your customer. Start with freebies, see how well they are received. When you feel ready, you can try to sell them.


http://www.daz3d.com/cake-oneVisit Cakeone at DAZ3D:http://www.cakeone.comVisit the Cakeone website:

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU WHEN CREATING A NEW PRODUCT?Not to spend too long on it because if I let myself do, I keep adding stuff and modifying stuff etc.

HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLES ARTWORK MADE WITH YOUR PRODUCTS?I love to see my products in use but it’s very rare. Sometimes, you create a product that is a I love to see my products in use but it’s very rare. Sometimes, you create a product that is a "good seller", selling hundred of units over years and still, you see maybe 1 or 2 images using it, so I keep asking myself, What do customer do with the product they bought from me??? Please, let me see them! The image used here for Persephone is made by an artist I found on Deviant Art and frankly, this is the BEST image I have seen with this product, far better than any promo I have ever made for her!

CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME? I have a hair set on the way, something quite new from me. I started it weeks ago and I keep I have a hair set on the way, something quite new from me. I started it weeks ago and I keep on adding morphs and change the shaders so… I will try to release it soon.

WHICH ARE YOUR 3 PERSONAL FAVOURITE VENDORS?There are plenty of vendors that I like, mostly at DAZ3D so I’ll try to give you a shortlist based on my common use:Stonemason; you know you’ll get Stonemason; you know you’ll get quality stuff no matter what. You can buy anything without even knowing what it is.AgeOfArmour never ceases to AgeOfArmour never ceases to impress me by the way he tweaks DAZ studio and improves render drastically.The creator(s) of the textures of The creator(s) of the textures of DAZ's original figures. Like them or not, you know their texture set (tex-/spec/bump etc) will be awesome and sharp.

IIF YOU COULD ADD ONE NEW FEATURE TO DAZ STUDIO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?Real Time unbiased rendering (Octane like) I love Luxrender but I’m not patient.


an exclusiveGenesis 2 FemaleBody Shape

Cakeone Presents

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_Cake-One.zip

http://www.daz3d.com/pandygirl

If you would like to submit your favourite five just follow the format above, 5 items with links plus your reasons they are must haves, also include a short bio and a piece of your artwork and send it to:

[email protected]

TellUs

Your Five

FAVORITE

Where it all started. The very first renders, the first experimentation I did in 3D were with Aiko 3. While the mesh isn’t as flexible as the new generation, there is something about that base that is enjoyable to work with, and because of the lim-itations you have to think how to get the result you want within them. Aiko 3 is a base I still go back to after all these years, because there are some images that she is the only suitable base for.

https://www.daz3d.com/aiko-3-0-baseAIKO 305

A great set with plenty of utility and one I have used either all or part of many many times.

https://www.daz3d.com/v4-rangerV4 RANGER04

So many of the light sets I use make use of this product so I’d be lost without it. And now that it’s bundled with DAZ Studio, that just makes it even better!

http://www.daz3d.com/homeUBERENVIRONMENT03

While I have the Genesis and G2 bases, so much of my runtime is made up of both characters and clothing for V4, I tend to fall back on using her a lot.

http://www.daz3d.com/victoria-4-2-baseVICTORIA 402

PzDB is a program from Rocket Software that I’ve been using for many years. Essentially, it is a CMS (Content Management System) designed specifically for 3D content using a MS Access database. It supports a variety of formats, uses keywords and categories and has drag and drop abilities. Without this, I’d struggle to find anything in my runtimes.

http://rocketship3d.com/html/pzdb.htmlPZDB01 Matt Allgood

Matt started toying with 3D art back in 2006, when he found DAZ Studio and was able to create images using this rather than words. Currently he is studying Games Design full time at univeristy where his experience in navigating a 3D environment has certainly helped.environment has certainly helped.

Five Runtime must havesFAVOURITE FIVE


ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGESCOTT LIVINGSTON

11. You can now either go into the Surfaces tab and adjust the volumes properties to get the look you want, or you can use a preset from the shader presets/Omnifreaker/UberVolume group such as smoke, dust or cloud.

Now hit render to see your wonderful volumetric light cone.

1. Create your scene.

2. Add a spotlight;this one is going to give us our light cone, so position it where you want and in it's properties, turn the shadows to on.

3. Add any additional lights.

4.4. Select the spotlight you want to add your light cone to.

5. Go to shader presets/Omnifreaker/UberVolume

6. Add the UberVolume Base and also select Parent Cone to light.

7.7. With the spotlight selected in the parameters ,adjust the raylength until the light cone intersects with the ground.

8. Adjust the spread angle to get the desired width for your light cone.

9. In the Scene tab, expand the spotlight so that you can select the spotlight volume.

10.10. Increase the Z scale so that it covers the entire length of the light cone.

OK, SO YOU HAVE A SPOTLIGHT IN YOUR SCENE AND YOU WOULD LIKE A NICE VOLUMETRIC CONE ON IT TO HELP GIVE YOUR SCENE SOME ATMOSPHERE. THANKFULLY IT'S ACTUALLY FAIRLY EASY, SO HERE IS A QUICK STEP BY STEP TO GET YOU UP AND RUNNING.

SIMPLE LIGHT CONEUSING UBERVOLUME


creativeds

creative

HERO

HEROMary Karisma

QUIET-STREETShawn NerenbergCanada

THE FRYING NUNTodd KoguttTodd KoguttUSA

Gallery


QUIET-STREET


creativeds

creative

TECHNOPHONE

TECHNOPHONEMithoronUSA

ALIEN SWIMMINGBellatryx NoirItaly

AMETHYSTAMETHYSTHenry PolisUSA

Gallery


AMETHYST

ALIEN SWIMMING


creativeds

creativeAVEN

AVENSandra BauserUSA

ZZZZZZZZZZENAstuce ManFrance

HURRY BACK FLYBOYHURRY BACK FLYBOYCharlie Mc DonaldUSA

Gallery


ZZZZZZZZZZEN

creativeds

creative

HÉROIC AGE

HÉROIC AGELamuserie

WAIT TIL I GET HOMEFantail451New Zealand

SILVERLiz SchroederLiz SchroederUSA

Gallery


SILVER


All competition submissions are to be sent to:[email protected]

All submissions must be new artwork and must not have been displayed online beforeImages can be either portrait or landscape Deadline is 23:59 UTC on the 22nd of March 2015For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook group:HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/DAZCREATIVE/

A portrait is an artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.

+ Portraiture|PerfectCompetition TimeDS Creative


IMAGE 1 – COCKBILL STREET ThisThis image is rendered in the standalone version of 3Delight. When you render while in DAZ Sudio, DAZsits in the back-ground, eating some of your systems precious resources.If we render to RIB and then render the image from the standalone version, there is no DAZ in the background so more resources for our renderer.

The detailed explanation of render to RIB can be found in Issue 1 Page 58 http://issuu.com/philatdsc/docs/ds_cre-ative_01

VIEWPORT LAG

As you add more and more content into your scenes, the viewport response will start to get laggy and as Design Anvil suggested, switch the viewport display mode to smooth shaded. Now you will lose the textures, but it will keep your viewport fairly responsive.

IN LAST MONTH’S ISSUE, DAZ PRO DESIGNANVIL TOUCHED ON THE SUBJECT OF GETTING MORE IN YOUR SCENES WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK AND HAVING TO BUY NEW HARDWARE, SO I DECIDED TO ADD ON TO THIS THEME BY DISSECTING A FEW IMAGES THAT WERE CREATED ON AN OLDER, SLOWER COMPUTER WITH ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF RAM.MOST OF THESE IMAGES USED AT LEAST ONE OF 3 TECHNIQUES I AM GOING TO LOOK AT.

Rendering on a low power computerDAZ ON A DIET

COCKBILL STREET


IMAGE 3 & 4 - DANCE OF THE LIBERATORS & DOVECOTE MARKETBoth of these images were created as layered composites; this means they were rendered in sections and then brought in to Photoshop, where by using layer masks they were merged into a single image.

SoSo the Dance of the Liberators picture this was rendered in 3 main parts;Render 1 - The sky with the spitfires and the tree.Render 2 – All the left hand buildings and characters.Render 3 –All the right hand buildings and vehicles.All the images are then stacked in the layers pallete, layers masks are added and blended using a soft brush.

DovecoteDovecote Market (Overleaf) - This image was created from six renders, one for each character.

SO WHAT IS A LAYER MASK?

AA layer mask is a way to control the opacity of a layer, but unlike the opacity slider which controls the opacity across the entire layer, a layer mask lets us control the opacity of a layer by using black or white on the layer mask so as we add black to a part of the layer mask that part of the layer becomes transparent.

IMAGE 2 - CHECKPOINT In this image you will notice 5 police cars and that they are all the same, each with a driver and his uniform. That’s a lot of content and more alarming, alot of textures all eating up your ram.ButBut if we create 1 car and driver combination, then make it a group and then create 4 node instances of it, DAZ will only loadthe textures for the original and re-uses them for the instances, cutting down on ram usage.So, if you are going to have the same item in your scene more than once then instances will help.NoteNote – if you create an instance of a figure and then alter the pose on the original, the pose on the instance will change as well.

CHECKPOINT

DANCE OF THE LIBERATORS


DOVECOTE MARKETPHIL THOMPSON

WITHOUT THE PEOPLE OPPOSITE DS CREATIVE ISSUE 9 WOULD BE NOTHING MORE THAN BLANK PAGES SO A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE INVOLVED, DS CREATIVE IS A TRUE COM-MUNITY PROJECT AND WE DO NEED PEOPLES INPUT SO IF YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE OR ARTWORK TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD GET IN TOUCH, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.

THE DS CREATIVE TEAM

CONTRIBUTORS


THE TEAM

Camilla DrakenborgPhil ThompsonMatt AllgoodTotte AlmSanyel JacksonBobbie Brundon JeffreyBobbie Brundon JeffreySamir Rouabhi DeleuzeGavin Wynford Jones

IMAGE CONTRIBUTORS

Alex LedanteAmanaranthAndreas KuntzerAshley Denton-ClarkAshley wallaceAstuce ManAstuce ManBellatryx NoirBowskiCamilla DrakenborgCharlie McDonaldChristopher MarsonDaniel WrightDon VanAusdollDon VanAusdollEsaPesaEst MorteFantal451Henry PolisHexekatiJanet WilliamsJean MorneauJean Morneau

IMAGE CONTRIBUTORS

Joerg KiKendaLaMuserieLiz schroederManiacmayoMarcius HessMarcius HessMaria LourdesMary KarismaMary VanAsscheMichael RicksMithoronPhil ThompsonRichard Van HeerdeRichard Van HeerdeR.P. CallahanSandra BauserScott LivingstonShawn F NerenbergSkyDaddyDTodd Kogutt

FREE GIFT CONTRIBUTORS

Cake-oneSilver

TUTORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Mike SmethwickPhil ThompsonSamir Rouabhi Deleuze


Issue 10April 1st 2015

DS Creative

OVERLOAD

DIGITAL ART

Ds creative 09

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