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cgartiste

The Big Jay
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So finally working on my own original product I'm going to try and get it for sale at Daz3D but if that doesn't work I'll go the Renderosity route. It's going to be a series of original character morphs for Genesis 2.  I'll reveal more as it progresses. Got with a great sculptor here on DA who is working out the kinks and once I have a working prototype I will probably beta test it with some of my trusted friends here. Still working out the kinks in props and clothing but for now character morphs seem the way for me to go. We'll see how it turns out.

Will keep you posted!

Adding a poll to my page to see what types of character morphs might be interesting to folks. DOn't need to recreate the wheel so we'll see what sticks.

Cheers!
TBJ

PS. My son is recovering from the severe tongue lashing I gave him yesterday. The issue has been resolved.
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Okay I need to be calm about this. I'm not freaking out because it happens, because I'm a realist and I know that it happens.  Hell when Napster was around I even did it before understanding the full ramifications of it.

Last night I get an email from Daz3D claiming INFRINGEMENT!!! I was shocked, stuck even stunned! It was a threatening letter (as it should be) it scared the bejeezuz out of me. I shot back a reply telling them I had no idea what they were talking about and asking for clarification.

I got back a response this morning saying it was a plugin which required a registration code which could have only come from me. I flew into high gear and spent the last hour raiding my kids computers (both son AND daughter). Care to know what I found???? Well it turns out my son joined a peer to peer 3D sharing site. He's been sharing the products I purchased (and let them use to explore their creativity). I'm freaking out!

Okay now I'm not a naive git, I understand what happens but at the same time MY REPUTATION is on the line! I support avidly the venders and the product that I love dearly! Daz Studio is fundamentally an enormous part of my personal workflow and I attribute it to my continued success as a graphic artist and designer and concept artist.

Part of me wants to go to my kids school and yank him out of class and shake the ever living snot out of him! Another part wants to make him believe that Daz3D is going to send the infringement Nazi's after him and let him stew on that.

He's so grounded for this! Skyrim Online...NOT FOR A VERY LONG TIME!

To all the venders out there I support and follow...I can't apologize enough. I can only promise that I'll help in any way that I can stop this kind of thing from happening. It's heinous and why we lose so many great venders over time.

Regretfully,
Pissed-Off-Dad
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Okay so my recent deviations have been of my own original creations in Sculptris and imported into Daz Studio for use as morphs with Genesis 2 Males, thus far. Found Sculptris recently and learned it was  a simple solution for creating some basic original morphs. Here's my evaluation of the software followed by some simple steps to proceeding with experimentation on your own...

THE GOOD
Sculptris is SUPER SIMPLE to use and requires a modicum of understanding of how 3D sculpting software works. I honestly think anyone could use it and have fun with it. It might not be the most advanced but it's a solution that ANY NEWBIE or NOVICE could use and get some form of base to start from.

What do I mean by "BASE", well BASE for me means a starting point that can then be enhanced using the available morphs out there commercially. Obviously if you want to get the most out of the box bang for you buck and you don't want to spend a fortune on the morphs, Sculptris is the platform from which to experiment and go nuts.

THE BAD
Sculptris is SUPER SIMPLE to use and REQUIRES a modicum of understanding of how 3D sculpting software works. LOL I know it's the same line but the truth is without some fundamental knowledge, not necessarily hands on but more practical, you will have a hard time wrapping your brain around it. Watch the single UI video on the Sculptris download page at Pixologic. Then browse YouTube and watch how Zbrush users use ZBrush, it will give you a simple enough understanding of the concept. That's about all the education and exposure you will need to get the education you need to use Sculptris.

THE UGLY
There are no fine brushes or nuance addons for you. This is down and dirty sculpting that is (at it's most basic) a push and pull method to create the dominant morphs you need. Expect that the fine tuning will happen (or should happen) in Daz Studio using the available morphs that are there for purchase. Literally after much playing with it I realized it is strictly a push and pull method for creating 60% of the character/s I want. The remaining 40% I achieved in Daz Studio using the morphs I own.

SO HOW DO I DO THAT?
Okay it's pretty simple really...took some evaluating and understanding to get the hang of getting the base models from Daz Studio and into Sculptris.

STEP 1 - load the figure you want to use as a base. For me, it was the Genesis 2 Male figure but after some experimentation I found it worked with ANY base model, that's Girl6, Michael 6, Genesis 1, Gia and Olympia. If you choose to use a different figure than the base Genesis 2 or Genesis 1 figures, make sure you load them from the start. DO NOT LOAD THE BASE GENESIS FIGURE AND MORPH IT, that will affect your results. No I don't know why, it just does.

STEP 2 - Under your parameters tab set the mesh resolution to BASE. If you're using Genesis 2 or any of it's base figures you can leave the subdivision at 1. If you want some fine tuning capabilities you can ramp up the subdivision to either 2 or 3. [CAVEAT: when you bring in your sculpted model to Daz make sure you begin with the same base model, at the same subdivision level you exported originally]

STEP 3 - FILE>EXPORT the OBJ to another directory you will be working out of. In the export window you want to CHECK, the last three options in the bottom left:
  • Write UV Coordinates
  • Write Normals
  • Write Object Statements
These are normally UNCHECKED when you first enter the OBJExportOptions panel.

STEP 4 -  Open Sculptris, I'm assuming you have already downloaded it and have watched the videos I recommended.

STEP 5 - Using the OBJ IMPORT icon in the toolbar at the top left of the Sculptris workspace window, find your exported model and bring it into Sculptris. You will be asked if you want to create a NEW SCENE, this is in fact what you want to do. It will also notice that there is some geometrical data and ask if you want to go to PAINT. Say no, this is a single choice option, do it and you're dead before you begin. Once the model is in your workspace, DO NOT TOUCH IT YET!!!

STEP 6 - The first thing I did not realize the first time I tried it out was that Sculptris, much like Zbrush either ADDS or SUBTRACTS vertices, (those little polygons in Wire Frame view) which will automatically KILL your morph when you try to bring it back into Daz. So in Sculptris to the right of the brush size and strength settings is a tiny dial called "Detail [Q]" set this to the far left. This will kill Sculptris' ability to ADD or SUBTRACT vertices. From hereon the only thing you will be able to do is manipulate the vertices that exist.

STEP 6a - You can work with either wireframe ON or wireframe OFF, the tine W icon will do that. I preferred wireframe off so I could sculpt to my own visual cues but some might like knowing what the vertices are doing.

STEP 6b - Another point of interest is you MAY want to turn on the ASYMMETRY function (the little double sided arrow beside the W icon) which makes any changes you do on the right or left mirror on the opposite side.

STEP 7 - Experiment with the different tools. I used mostly, DRAW, SCALE, GRAB (looooved Grab) and SMOOTH a lot. Draw adds to the sculpt, just pulling out the vertices. INFLATE does this too but it thickens the area. Grab worked the best for getting my OVERALL desired shape, then I tweaked it with things like Scale and Draw. Neat little tip: If you choose ALT/OPTION the tools do the opposite or reverse of their normal function.

SCULPTING NOTE #1 - Be wary of the areas near mouth, eyes, eye lashes and fingernails or toenails. If you manipulate these areas too much you will affect the way Daz functions with these. I have murdered fingernails and pulled eyes out of socket and warped eyelashes by not being careful.

SCULPTING NOTE #2 - Take your time. Don't be impatient. I spent upwards of a four hours just working on MadMan#1's torso to achieve the desired look.

SCULPTING NOTE #3 - If you have most of the ancillary morphs that are out there for your base figure, don't get bogged down trying to make your character look precisely right in Sculptris. I knew I wanted MadMan#1 to have certain aspects like flatter fingers than just the Flatten Fingers morph would give me. Also I wanted that curved digit look like in comic books or animated 3D features so the fingers have a life to them. So I worked those areas. MOST of my musculature I worked in Daz using those morph dials but the overall shape I knew would be hard to achieve I worked into my morph in Sculptris.

Some things that would be perfect for this?
  • Klingon or alien foreheads
  • Specific monstrous details like sharp bony elbows or pointed protrusions from skull or other parts of the body. I'm thinking of doing a Doomsday morph for Freak 5 for Genesis with this because it would be perfect for adding those levels of desire morphability.
  • Wolverine type claws would probably not be unrealistic either.
  • Want a specific anime type feature but having trouble finding it in commercial products? Sculpt it yourself.
  • Betazoid noses.
I'm pointing out Star Trek aliens because those are the ones I know best.

STEP 8 - So you got your finished sculpted model? Now what? Hit the tiny OBJ EXPORT button (right beside the OBJ IMPORT button) and save your new file. DO NOT SAVE OVER YOUR EXPORTED DAZ BASE MODEL (you can reuse it again and again).

STEP 9 - Daz Studio 4.6 Pro has Morph Loader pro built into it. Create a new scene in Daz and load up your base model, remembering to set the subdivision and mesh resolution to the settings you used when originally exporting the figure. Now open the Morph Loader panel (EDIT>FIGURE>Morph Loader Pro) and select your OBJ file using Daz Studio size settings, which worked most of the time. Once it didn't and I'm not sure why so I had to use Poser or Lightwave size which worked too.

STEP 10 - In the Parameters tab under MORPH>MORPH LOADER your new morph will appear.

STEP 11 - Your set. Adjust the parameters if you want or go as it is. I made a lot of changes that affected how the rigging looked so I had to do an ERC Freeze to get them, to realign right. Strictly cosmetic changes won't alter that so you won't need them.

ERC FREEZE STEPS:
  1. TOOLS>JOINT EDITOR will reveal the rigging skeleton, a series of blue/purple triangles set up along where the normal figure moves.
  2. WINDOWS>TABS>TOOL SETTINGS will open the tool settings panel, if you don't already have it open.
  3. At the top corner of the tool settings window is DISPLAY ACTIVE PANEL OPTIONS it's a little box with lines and tiny triangle which tells you it can be opened. Open this and select EDIT>ADJUST RIGGING TO SHAPE
  4. This will open up your structure panel revealing ALL of the minute adjustment points within the figure hierarchy. Leave them alone. The only thing to worry about is the check box at the bottom left corner "Adjust Orientation", hit this and choose "Accept"
  5. TABS>PROPERTY HIERARCHY (your version might be called PROPERTY EDITOR) and right click on your figure in the scene list. Select "ERC Freeze" from the drop down.
  6. The ERC FREEZE OPTIONS panel will open. Choose your figure from the first dropdown.
  7. The Property dropdown will change to "XTranslate" by default, open this dropdown and find your morph, the list is alphabetical and typing the first letter will bring you to anything beginning with it. Locate your morph and select it.
  8. Now like a dummy I hit "Accept" which forced me to do this process again later. Don't make my mistakes, instead at the bottom left corner of the ERC FREEZE OPTIONS panel UNCHECK the Restore Figure Rigging and hit "Accept".
Now your new morph is rigged to match the original figure you used and it will move correctly. Make any tweaks using the morphs you have and then either SAVE AS>SCENE if you want to simply have it as a mergable scene in the future OR SAVE AS>SUPPORT ASSET>MORPH ASSET to have it as a dialable morph in the future.

REMEMBER: If you used proprietary purchased morphs in your final character you CANNOT sell those or offer those commercially.

That's the short and skinny version. It took a lot of experimentation and a lot of headaches to get this far. I'm still sure that ZBrush and other full blown sculpting software is probably preferable for a commercial product but I think for what I'm using it for, Sculptris is a FREE solution that made basic morph creation, stupid simple.

I'd love to see what you come up with.

Cheers!
TBJ (aka cgartiste)
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Recently had a discussion on a Daz/Poser forum I'm part of where a new member asked what should they be looking to purchase? To which a senior member replied "Stick to older stuff, there's nothing new coming out that's really any good." what follows was my response:
--
I'm not sure what [screen name withheld] is talking about! There are tons of great items coming out for both [Poser/Daz Studio]! Just look at all the recent Genesis and Genesis 2 products plus the related products for each to say nothing of the sheer number of ancillary products just for the software. Reality 3 for Poser is amazing (I've heard and seen) plus with the advancements Daz Studio is making in subsurface technology and new HD figures and morphs. Stonemason's sets are on par with Hollywood quality production and Dreamlight's tutorials are a MUST HAVE along with Age of Armor's advancements in lighting and cameras.

As for creatures? Well hell RawArt3d makes awesome stuff for Genesis and Midnight Stories costumes and addons along with the likes of creature addons by SickleYield and DarioFish can't be beat. There are plenty of fentastic new stuff coming out everyday! To say otherwise is either ignorance of the facts, an omission of opinion or a flat out lie.
--
The senior member then proceeded to blast me (which I'm fine with really) by pointing out the validity of older products. Among them he sited SanctumArt's Horde products and sets which he claimed outstripes everyones currently. This person also blasted the way venders are breaking up their Daz Studio and Poser content along with the way Daz3D charged for the "upgrades" and "addons" to the new Genesis 2 Male figure (i.e., M4 UV's and shapes, etc). Just giving some context here for my next response, which follows:
--
I'll give you that SanctumArt made some of the best stuff at the time along with many great products in it's era however, to say that nothing compares? Really!? I've recently used SanctumArt's RDL7 which frankly I was given by a friend since it is no longer on sale anywhere and used recently in a deviantArt tutorial: fav.me/d6qgglz

What I found was, while the product itself stands the test of time as being amazing and construction with a lot of quality, the textures at the time were lacking, even the "hi-res" textures are small by today's standards. Truth be told I found myself retexturing most of it. Stonemason in my (none-to-humble) opinion makes superior products on par if not better than this particular set and his textures are vivid and breath a whole new level of life into my renders.
--
The senior member attacked my newness and newbies in general, which I thought was pedestrian to say the least and I refused to address the diatribe but rather addressing the new member I said:
--
[screen name withheld] there are a ton of great products. If you can get older stuff including the Gen 4 figures I say go for it. Then most definitely turn your attention tot he Genesis and Genesis 2 platforms respectively and start your CGI journey there. Find the stuff you like and go with it. My own CGI closet is full of fantasy and science fiction products because those are the things I like. Does old Vicki have a closet full of shoes? Yes I'm afraid she likes her shoes just as much as any lass out there LOL! So start with your interests and then spread out from there.
--
The thread broke up from there with the newb PMing me that they appreciated my comments. I'm not ranting and to be real with you the "senior member" is only "senior" because they've been around a long time. I understand where they are coming from, but it goes into what I mentioned in a previous post responding to a question from a DA follower, I diversify to keep my options open. I install the newest builds of Daz Studio because the environment of CGI and the tools available are ever changing.

Sigh

Old school works but new school does too. I just like to see us all get along.

Cheers mates!
TheBigJay (aka cgartiste)
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Recently I got a question on my blog, they come from deviantArt so I thought I'd answer on deviantArt.

QUESTION: What are your "go to" figures? I've recently gotten into Daz Studio and was wondering out of all the figures out there, which do you find yourself using the most?

ANSWER: Great question and I'm sure there are a lot better artists out there who could tell you specifics. For me it really comes down to a few factors:
  1. What's my scene? Is it fantasy, science fiction or modern?
  2. What's the purpose of the piece? Will it be a pin-up, action shot or am I telling a specific story?
  3. What are my available assets? Based on the first two, what costumes, props and possible environments will I be using?
Some other factors depend on whether you expect to do a lot of postwork (meaning Photoshop, PaintShop or GIMP, etc) or even what render engine you intend to use. For me I do most everything in Daz Studio's native 3Delight render engine. It's one of the most popular renderers in popular culture (i.e., Film and Television). Still if I were using Reality or (soon for me) Octane, I might think twice about which assets overall to use. But we'll get back to that.

For me personally I stick to almost entirely everything Gen 4 and up. That's Victoria 4.2, Michael 4, Freak 4, Girl 4, Aiko 4, Hiro 4, Stephanie 4 Elite, Genesis, Genesis 2 Female and Genesis 2 Male. I own Victoria 3, Michael 3, Aiko 3, Hiro 3, Stephanie 3 Petite and The Freak but only ever use them with seriously good costumes and props like SanctumArt's RDL7 costumes for M3 and V3 and a ton of older Xurge3D costumes and props made for those. [HOWEVER COMMA: This is usually because those items will cover entirely the figure so I don't have to worry too much about skin textures or other distracting items I have to pay too much attention to.] so make of that list what you will.

Also and this is strictly MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION, everything from Gen 4 on up were just built better. As technology and availability of stronger machines came into play the ideas behind the development of these figures improved as did their detail and functionality. Another short caveat is that there are a great number of seriously talented artists out there (many right here on DA that I follow) who still use V3, M3 and the like to produce outstanding work.

Nobody (I believe) could argue about the versatility of the V4/M4 platforms. There are millions of products out there for them. I own a lot of those. I also came in during the launch of DS4 and the Genesis platform so I've kept up on lots of those great products too. Add in plugins like GenX for converting older morphs to Genesis and the currently in development GenX for Genesis 2 figures and I think much of the older characters will be here for a long time.

When it comes to Genesis and it's newest relatives Genesis 2 (Female and Male) plus the integration of "fit to" technology a good portion of V4/M4 products will function fairly well with Genesis.

So why do many artists stick to V4/M4 and their kind, it's mainly because of comfort and expectation. Why advance to something "new" when you can achieve unbelievable levels of success with the existing materials. Well I'm using Adobe Photoshop CC because I've always moved with the times. I upgrade with the industry and learn from the newer tools available to me. It allows me to stay on my game and keep up with the available abilities given to me.

Sorry I get longwinded most times LOL!

So which to choose and when? If I'm doing a Pin-up I tend to lean toward Victoria 4.2 first because she'd got a ton of great morphs and available versatility there. Also her outfits range from the outrageously sexy to the simply demure. If my image requires something monstrous (meaning creatures NOT size) I tend to lean toward Genesis and the new Creature Creator HD stuff for Genesis 2 Female (I assume G2M will have his go soon with creature morphs).

I've also mixed and matched for scenes or pinups as necessary. Perhaps I find a gal I really like in G2F and decided she would look great with someone I had for M4 or even a custom morphed character I did for Genesis.

I tend to lean more toward being a jack of all trades and try to master as much as I can in the process. It allows me to have versatility. Frankly I think the various HFS Races for Genesis from DarioFish are unbeatable for Elves, Dwarves and certainly aliens. I'll go back to those over and over again. I also think mestophales stuff for V4/M4 will keep me using those two for the foreseeable future.

Then you have dedicated venders like SickleYield who relentlessly keep up with the changing tide of figures at Daz3D and produce fantastic products for the newcomers to the figure family. So my options remain wide.

It all comes down to personal preference. These have been my reasons for keeping the family together, others have reasons they find valid to snub the newbies and that's okay too. I'm not indecisive mind you, I'm inclusive ;)

Hope that answers your question somewhat. I'd be interested to know what other artists even venders feel are their "go to" figures either personally for their own artwork or as developers keeping the growing industry, well...growing!

Cheers mates!
TheBigJay (aka cgartiste)

PS. whatever you choose be MORE than "just an artist" strive to be an "artiste"
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