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Novica & Serene Night's Renders, Tips, Tutorials & Product Reviews Part 1

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Yeah...
    I circled the lines I was referring to. There were some comments on a thread (think it was the Gia one but not for sure) about the hair- mentioning that promo shot. If you look at the thumbnails, they have some of the hair smooth, and it looks decent. This however...not to my liking.

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  • Tramp GraphicsTramp Graphics Posts: 2,412
    edited December 1969

    Adding a smoothing modifier of 1 (default is 20, of course) should help.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    I'll try it once a render I'm doing is over (if I saved the hair, which I think I did.) I'll see if I had it on the default also.

  • Tramp GraphicsTramp Graphics Posts: 2,412
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    I'll try it once a render I'm doing is over (if I saved the hair, which I think I did.) I'll see if I had it on the default also.
    What I mean by "Default" is the default setting for a Smoothing modifier once applied to a figure or object. Whenever I apply a smoothing modifier to a piece of clothing, hair, etc. I typically turn it down from 20 to 1 unless more smoothing is absoulutely required, and even then, I go for the smallest amount I can get away with.
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    TG- when you say smoothing modifier, you mean the same thing as smoothing iterations? That was set on 2. Collision iterations on 3. I'll turn the smoothing to 1 and see what it does.

  • Tramp GraphicsTramp Graphics Posts: 2,412
    edited July 2013

    Novica said:
    TG- when you say smoothing modifier, you mean the same thing as smoothing iterations? That was set on 2. Collision iterations on 3. I'll turn the smoothing to 1 and see what it does.
    Yep. That's exactly what I'm talking about. You might need to go up. Try both until you get the desired results. And just call me Tramp.
    Post edited by Tramp Graphics on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited July 2013

    Well, 1 of course looked no better than 2. Am doing 13 to see what that looks like. Will post when it's done. Thanks for you help Tramp! (as usual)

    Pure Hair: Catwalk For Genesis

    Meanwhile, I posted my Gia (Genesis 2) character over in the Gia Render thread. Here's the latest member of the crew! This one won't be the bulked up warrior Gia. I have to ponder on that one awhile. FYI- I ended up using Pure Hair: Catwalk For Genesis on her. May not be her permanent hair, but for now, it's good.

    Meet Seychelle! (Say-shell)

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    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Info on that render:
    That swimsuit (the Hot Cabana Wear) has two different sections you can mess with in Surfaces- if you want the texture, leave the map in place. However, it is yellow, so you have to know your primary and secondary colors- if you have yellow and plop down green in Diffuse, you aren't going to get green, lol! This was fun to make my own two toned swimsuit.

    The scene: Used Willow Spring again- love that fountain- the rim is definitely wide enough to place a figure, without having to scale at all-
    But here's what I did-
    No, it's not the floor behind her, lol- I did use a building WALL and put behind her, placing it between Seychelle and the lion fountain head. From the angle I was shooting, the lion head was too distracting, even with depth of field, and sliding it sideways really didn't do much. So I guess the next tip is:

    TIP: Put walls between your figure and other walls that you don't like! That comes in handy when you're using something that is attached to another piece you don't want!

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Smoothing appears to turn it into that ribbon results, like the promo image that looks (honestly) weird. Some people may like that style though. The first image on the left is with smoothing 2 and collision 3, then the one on the right is smoothing 13 with collision 8. I'll up it one more time just so you can see the results, leaving the collision at 8- nothing is really interfering with anything for poke-through.

    seychelleHair.jpg
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  • Tramp GraphicsTramp Graphics Posts: 2,412
    edited July 2013

    That's why if I can get away without smoothing, or the least amount of smoothing I can get away with, I will. Sometimes what I''l do is reduce the level of Smoothing and bump up the Collision.

    Post edited by Tramp Graphics on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited July 2013

    What collision would you do on this? I took it up to 8 (which doesn't seem like a lot. The first one was 3)
    This last one is smoothing SEVENTY and collision still at 8. This hair just doesn't do it for me, lol.
    EDIT: I did see that strand going through her cheek on the far side, but I didn't want to change anything. The main thing I am working with is that mass of hair in front.

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    Post edited by Novica on
  • Tramp GraphicsTramp Graphics Posts: 2,412
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    What collision would you do on this? I took it up to 8 (which doesn't seem like a lot. The first one was 3)
    This last one is smoothing SEVENTY and collision still at 8. This hair just doesn't do it for me, lol.
    EDIT: I did see that strand going through her cheek on the far side, but I didn't want to change anything. The main thing I am working with is that mass of hair in front.
    My suggestion, reduce the smoothing back down to 1 or 2, bump the collision to about 20 or 30, and, if you're still getting poke through, start adjusting the "Actor" morphs that were transferred to the hair itself from the character, such as the breast morphs. I'll do this with clothes too, particularly when I have to have the "offending" piece of clothing or hair needing collision on two things.
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited July 2013

    Thanks Tramp!

    Here's another render of Seychelle using Willow Springs. Wanted to encourage artists who haven't tried postwork to do so- when you have an image with just a bit of "funky going on" you can save the render with touchups. One section was touched up- where is it? (Don't you feel like you are reading "Highlights For Children" magazine, where they used to hide things and you had to go search for them?)

    If you're ever stuck on postwork that is just plain old drawing (not special effects!) feel free to show me what you're trying and ask me what to do. THAT I am qualified to assist with, lol. (Was freelance artist for a national magazine, many years ago.) As for 3D stuff- well, I'm getting there. No rush, it's a hobby.

    NEXT post, I'll tell you how I did "it." But YOU find it first. See if you can spot the completely redone section before zooming in, and then with zooming in. It only took ten minutes to touch up.

    Have fun!

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    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited July 2013

    Touch Ups: Consider Extremes First
    Pure Hair: Catwalk For Genesis
    http://www.daz3d.com/pure-hair-catwalk

    The hair.
    Touching up hair- I usually put the dark base in first. Then the brightest colors, then mix them with the medium shades. Then I repeat again, putting in less dark (as I always seem to obscure some of my best strands!) Then again, and each time I'm lowering the transparency and the softness. It leads to a really nice dimensional look. Just be sure you don't have everything too uniform- some dark strands need to be asymmetrical, aka, they don't flow all the way down, etc.

    Done in Corel Photo Paint, started with 80% transparency, 100% softness. Second round, 60% transparency, 80% softness. Third round- it varied. I kept the transparency at 60-75% and softness 60-85%.

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    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited July 2013

    Hey! I Have That Hair!
    Gregoria Hair
    http://www.daz3d.com/gregoria-hair

    Let's try something new! It's called "Hey I Have That Hair!"
    If you've got Gregoria hair, join the fun. Love to have your posts! (Even if the thread has gone to different things, as I'm very active posting, post your hair whenever! Just PLEASE put the name of it at the top, bold it, put it in blue. That way we're consistent and it helps people find the samples.)

    I haven't done Gregoria Hair, but Scott-Livingston has- and he forgot to check his settings. Want to see a SEVENTY HOUR render? And check out the rest of Scott-L's art studio thread. :) I have downloaded Gregoria Hair and may play with it shortly. But if you've already got it....(hint hint) Strut your stuff! I would prefer you post the image on this thread instead of giving a link, so people can breeze through and see related images. Feel free to also say what you like about the hair-people are always curious about the morphs.

    You can also let me know where Gregoria Hair exists in other threads if your image isn't handy, and I'll post the link. PREFER A PM on that though to avoid clutter of posts with just links.

    Scott-L's Gregoria Hair
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/9655/P15/#191197

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Hey! I Have That Hair!
    Pure Hair: Catwalk For Genesis

    http://www.daz3d.com/pure-hair-catwalk

    So, do you? Strut your stuff! I shared Seychelle wearing it, and would love to see your Pure Hair: Catwalk For Genesis renders! Doesn't have to be a fancy scene- grab your favorite character and showcase them.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,654
    edited July 2013

    Here are two.

    1. is just a light test, using catwalk hair and priestess character. Never went further with it. I have trouble with catwalk hair. It looks a bit 'helmety' and doesn't have the movements I like. But it is a nice hair.

    2. Gregoria hair has lots of awesome movement. I am surprised I haven't done more with it.

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    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    I love the action AND the lighting on the first one! Did you have to expand the parameter sliders to get the hair blowing like that?

  • mori_mannmori_mann Posts: 1,152
    edited December 1969

    Don't have the catwalk hair. I have a few other Pure Hair models, though. Could never make up my mind about this one, so I left it for now. If it's impressive, I migth be convinced ;)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Catwalk Hair For Genesis

    Well, been playing with Catwalk- here's my observation.
    Keeping in mind that long hair is much harder to place correctly due to the number of strands that can go through the cheek, neck, arm, shoulder- this one has quite a few nice options to swing it forward or to the side. The biggest thing missing to me is the END of the hair in back. It tends to stick out.

    TIP: How To Move The Ends Of The Hair In Back: (to lay against the back)

    Go to Scene tab, open up the Catwalk Hair submenus.
    Click on Abdomen 2.
    Go to Parameters.
    Bend.
    Then go into Style and work with FrontBackL and R, etc.

    I'm fiddling with another render to show you Seychelle in a different pose, and I moved some of the strands just to test how easy it was. Doing the lighting and trying something dramatic, so may take a bit.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Seychelle (My Gen2 Gia) Wearing Catwalk Hair For Genesis

    The hair was easy to move, some parts are a bit thinner than I'd like (the ends fan out and thicken, would like the strand leading down to the ends to volumize out a bit more. There's probably a way to do that which I haven't found yet. Do try all the Scene submenus- many are just the typical xyz but some do move specific parts of the hair and not the entire thing. (Others- WHOOSH- off all of it goes!)

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  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,654
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    I love the action AND the lighting on the first one! Did you have to expand the parameter sliders to get the hair blowing like that?

    The hair came with a number of great poses, so it Is probably straight out of the box for this render with a movement or two, although I have been known to tweak the parameters at points, I don't usually, so the answer is, Most likely not, but, possibly.

    I like the lights. That is part of the 'set the mood' package. http://www.daz3d.com/set-the-mood

    I really like this set- IF it worked correctly. But It tends to render with artifacts some of the time, which can be a problem on shadow areas like the face. I have enough of the hardware requirements to render it properly and it is not all the time, so sometimes it is a problem with the render engine. I do love some of the Smokey looks which can be achieved easily using the mood camera.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Kiddo, you lost me with this-"But It tends to render with artifacts some of the time, which can be a problem on shadow areas like the face."
    What are you referring to? (What are artifacts?)

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,654
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Kiddo, you lost me with this-"But It tends to render with artifacts some of the time, which can be a problem on shadow areas like the face."
    What are you referring to? (What are artifacts?)

    You know the squares that are bright green or blue on your screen? Sometimes caused by the render engine/lights and the type of shadows used. (like in this hair).

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  • mori_mannmori_mann Posts: 1,152
    edited December 1969

    I rarely have artifacts happening, but the times I did, it was because I was beating up my whole system too much by multitasking. It was fixed by reloading DAZ and trying again without expecting my puter to run a movie at the same time.

    A reliable source told me that it tends to happen more often as your library grows. So the more stuff you have (installed), the more likely you are to get artifacts and black pixels and all that fun. It seems a universal truth for all 3d programs.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    I've not had those yet (and am totally surprised, I might add!) Thanks SO much for explaining!

  • scorpioscorpio Posts: 8,429
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Novica said:
    Kiddo, you lost me with this-"But It tends to render with artifacts some of the time, which can be a problem on shadow areas like the face."
    What are you referring to? (What are artifacts?)

    You know the squares that are bright green or blue on your screen? Sometimes caused by the render engine/lights and the type of shadows used. (like in this hair).

    Using Deep Shadow maps on lights rather than raytraced can cause artifacts like those.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,654
    edited December 1969

    I mostly only get them with the 'set the mood lights.' So it really is probably one of the settings in the lights as they are premade and I agree it is probably a shadow thing or a combo of factors.

    I usually just re-render, and the pixel is in another place, and just combine the images to make one without the blue box or photoshop 'em out. But I don't usually get them with other lights so, I know its not normally too much of an issue. Just something with this light sets a. either not playing nicely on my rig or b. something in the settings.

    It is a bummer though. Good set, but I hate it when something doesn't work well for me- (whether it is by a limitation on my end), or a setting I need to adjust), out of the box. This is why I use premade stuff- I don't like to spend a lot of time tweaking product to get it to work, even though I end up doing this a lot. =-)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited December 1969

    Deep Shadow Maps
    I'll also have to look that up- I need to get a grasp of the difference between raytracing and deep shadow maps, so far I've only done raytraced because I remember reading how deep shadow can really increase render time, and I've been focused on where to put lights and practicing that. Also, these posts (in case anyone else is interested.) Anyone who likes using them or knows how to, feel free to post. :)

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/10835/P45/#191722

    I've just wasted a lot of time trying to find forum information and Help links trying to find deep shadow map information. Get it together DAZ! It shouldn't be this hard! (Tired of the lousy search function. ) YouTube took me into programs of who knows what- but it sure wasn't DAZ Studio! (Tip to trainers- identify your software in the title of video- it was pathetic!)

    So anyone who has good links for shadow mapping, please pitch in.

    More new links added in my links section. (Only NEW links shown below):

    Character Creation
    Create Genesis Partial Body Morph (RKane_1 Tutorial) http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/6484/
    Create Genesis Full Body Morph (RKane_1 Tutorial) http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/6483/
    Thread With Tutorials: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/7158/

    Lighting:
    Point Lights: The Basics (Tutorial By Szark): http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/23911/
    3D Delight Surface and Lighting Thread: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/21611/
    Lights Editor and Lights Presets(Documentation Center): http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/userguide/lighting/videos/lighting_editor/start
    http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/userguide/lighting/videos/lighting_presets/start

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,895
    edited September 2013

    Test Volumizing Hair To Change Lighting
    Artistic Tip: Move Thin Strands And Rest Against Neck

    Compare the first image with the second. As I said, I don't like the thin strand leading down to a fluffier end- and still haven't been able to manipulate it so it doesn't look so "gangly" leading down to the full end. (Yes, that's a word.) I played around with trying the fluff, and found something cool...

    If you volumize the hair (increase the fluffy overall) it changes your lights on it. That makes sense, duh- but I never thought about it until I tried to thicken the strand on the backside (hanging down.)

    Compare what that did- and I also moved the strand to minimalize the gangly, placed it closer to the body. I really didn't want to just "shorten" it or put it in back. I was determined to keep it in front. Note the cool dark shadow triangle under her face now- which sets it off even better (IMO. I like it!) I also moved the hair on the breast closest to us. You can compare by comparing the dress pattern. It also has different lighting.

    For best viewing- CLICK TO ENLARGE, THEN CLICK AGAIN.

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