Novica & Serene Night's Renders, Tips, Tutorials & Product Reviews Part 1
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So I rotated around, tried moving the hair, and the good news is the Catwalk Hair easily adjusts to the breasts and the shoulders with the up and downs and front and back movement. I still can not find a way to get the stringy out of some of the strands though. By rotating your image, you can work around it. See the hair on your left as you look at it? That was the "gangly hair" but now looks fine due to the rotation. But now you can see the gangly on the left (as you view it.) Direct shots would solve that.
Lighting: all softness on 60% to 80%. Distant lights placed around perimeter and from all directions. A couple spotlights.
Grecian Goddess
So I tested one of my patterns on the Grecian Goddess outfit. If you like it, the Diffuse color was 97/107/128
Remember, you don't have to have the Diffuse color the same as your photo color (that you insert into Diffuse, Ambient, etc) I used the pink pattern below with the blue Diffuse (given.)
This pattern changes nicely on small items like bikini tops, etc- it loses it's pattern completely, as you can tell. Use it if you'd like, and test on other objects too. It is a PNG so will work.
The Jogger (For Genesis)[
http://www.daz3d.com/the-jogger
Here is Seychelle wearing The Jogger outfit. This is a really good-loading outfit. She was already in the pose when I loaded the clothes, and they went on without ANY adjustment! (and is for GENESIS, not GENESIS 2!!!!)
All I did was lower the hoodie! WOW. The shoes come in several colors, as does the pants and top. Love the textures! Also comes with sports bra and sunglasses.
On sale- and worth it every penny. Easy to use Genesis outfit for Genesis 2 (and Gia- Seychelle is Gia-based, remember?)
UberEnvironment Basics:
SimonJM was kind enough to answer a question about the "basics" so here's the link. (Don't worry, it will be in my links section too, you can always access from the first post, remember?)
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/26122/
You know, I'm really starting to think your not human. You can not sleep and get all you do here done. That's my first clue, the second is just how fast you pick up on all the tips and learn even newer ways to improve on them. I do not think your a Alien or even Super Human, I'm sort of sure that your really an AI in some think tank some place and a bunch of eggheads are giggling at all us users that believe your a Normal Female Human.
Keep up the great work, whatever you are.. %-P ;-P :P :lol:
You clearly haven't spent much time with horses, Jaderail. They give people superhuman energies and focus.
Specially when they are trying to get you off their back cos they don't feel like going walkies.
Specially when they are trying to get you off their back cos they don't feel like going walkies.
That's mostly pain or bad training. And occasionally, epic cheerfulness :D
WOW- you found me out! I was going to enter a SELF PORTRAIT in the creature creation contest....
That's mostly pain or bad training. And occasionally, epic cheerfulness :D
On my part or the horse? :coolsmile:
That's mostly pain or bad training. And occasionally, epic cheerfulness :D
On my part or the horse? :coolsmile:
Both, most likely ;)
On my part or the horse? :coolsmile:
Both, most likely ;)
Oh I am well trained and usually cheerful, Max was just having a bad day. Hired horse and he didn't feel like going out for a hack, preferred to be plodding round the training ring. He just got stubborn and would not leave the stables area to go out on the bridle paths. So Stable owner told me to take him into the big paddock and then she came and cracked a lunge whip behind him to get him going. We did a lovely bucking bronco act and then had a mad dash round the paddock when he found he wasn't getting me off. Then stopped and waited for the whip crack again. Gave all the kiddies in the training ring a show anyway. What made it better is that although I am in the UK, rode with normal British tack I would insist on wearing jeans, cowboy short and low heel cowboy boots. although the hard hat did spoil the overall look.
Aha!
Next product review (just for Jaderail)
3D Universe Toon Chicken
Jaderail gets to name him/her. So be thinkin' about that!
Someone else will have to post a product review of a rabbit here so Jaderail can name that one too. As I said in another thread, I've got company flying in and I have to scoot to the airport. But I'm downloading the 3d Universe Toon Chicken now- got dibbs on that! Anyone else have Noggins chickens, go ahead and post so we can get Jaderail, who is deprived at the moment- stocked up on chickens and rabbits!
3D Universe Toon Chicken
Woodland Realm Playset One
http://www.daz3d.com/3d-universe-toon-chicken
http://www.daz3d.com/woodland-realm-playset-one
"Are you SURE this is the way to Jaderail's party?"
The toon chicken (rooster and hen) have morphs to plump them up, change all types of body parts, and are a joy to manipulate. These characters are easy to click on and move, without having to use the Parameters sliders. You may need to adjust the ambient (the setting was on zero) as the beaks REALLY glow, even with little lighting. I changed the diffuse color to a dark golden olive color, and they were still too bright until the ambient (black) was increased.
Wooded Realm Playset One comes with lights, (what an understatement- I lost track of how many) it says complex Global Lights and there are between 12-15 probably! They were too bright for these critters, I did my own quickie setup with four distant and three spotlights.
The ground is a bit too noticeable with this lighting, be aware if you have a well lit scene you may need to darken the diffuse of the ground. Or bring in another ground plane from another scene. It doesn't help that by fowls weren't touching it, lol, which made it look a bit fake. (Told you I was doing this fast!) I lowered them for the next render (coming up) with Depth of Field.
There is one whacky plant in the background, and I deliberately put it between the two birds so you can see it. It is outlined in white, arching over the yellow flowers, and really stands out in the large version. (Click to enlarge) I didn't use depth of field so you can see the details of the background. A very nice variety of vegetation!
If you belong to the Platinum Club, you can get this for $1.99. There is also a second set (Playset Two.)
This was just a fast, thrown together scene- which tells you how easy the birds are to pose and the set to load. I think you'll have fun with both!
Cluck and Cackel (As Named By Jaderail!)
Look Out For Linear Distractions
It's really hard (if not impossible) to eliminate symmetry in nature- but you have the advantage of turning your camera view to avoid it in your renders. See the line formed by the tilted horizonal branch- and the leaves to your right which somehow managed to all line up and give the illusion of continuing that line? Go back and look at the previous post. This may seem picky, but the viewers eye doesn't need to be diverted to an inadvertent line in the background.
The Depth of Field render will really show you how nicely this set looks when DOF is applied. It's still rendering.
EDIT: Well darn it, it went to a new page so here is the other image so you don't have to flip back and forth. Look for the line.
Depth Of Field- Quick Tutorial
Here's with the depth of field. Solves the problem of linear symmetry in the background, really makes the subject matter stand out. The easiest way to do DOF (depth of field) is to create a camera (I name mineWatchDOF), then create a second camera and name it DOF. Go to the activity tab "Lights And Cameras" with that DOF camera selected, turn depth of field ON.
As a newbie, I thought I'd see the area marked that was going to be in focus, when I was in the DOF Camera view. YOU DO NOT. See the photo- notice I am in the DOF camera view, and the rooster and hen don't have anything marked around them. We need to use a different camera to see what the DOF camera is doing.
Screenshots coming which will show you the two planes. Wanted to share my settings for the render you just saw, to give you a starting point to play around with. Move your camera (using Parameters tab) and get the red arc on your closest subject's head, then tweak these numbers.
With that DOF camera still selected (double check it in the Scene tab) select your WatchDOF camera and you'll be able to see the two planes which show you where the "in-focus" area is. (In between the two planes.) The red arc is where your main focus is.
These two images show you what that looks like with the set visible, then hidden- so you can see that red arc better.
When you do your render, simply use the view from the DOF camera. (It has the depth of field turned on.) Remember- do NOT move things around with the DOF camera- you are changing your depth of field! Have everything tweaked and the view you want BEFORE you go to the WatchDOF camera.
Any questions, just ask. Headed out the door for an hour or so but will be glad to assist, as will the other folks who surf in. DO try depth of field- it's easy when you have help the first time. Szark babysat me, it was funny! I just couldn't "get" it.
Another way to handle seeing what you need to for Depth of Field, is, after placing your camera (using camera view), switch back to Perspective View, and change your viewer angle through Perspective view so you can see both your subject and camera, and then adjust your focus from there. It's a lot easier than setting up two cameras.
This is a great tip. Tried it. Works well.
I sometimes just do depth of field in photoshop. I have been known to pull an image into photoshop, and use blur or guassian blur. Especially if I'm tired of tweaking DAZ's camera to look correct.
Cluck and Cackel (Jaderail's Pets)
Thanks Tramp! I'll have to try that too :)
It dawned on me that I never posted the finished DOF image.
BTW, be sure and check your emails- there is a code that will still work for a bit- get $2 off ANY purchase with 2-HOT (It ends July 25th, DAZ time, so you have to HURRY. I'll post this, then add the image so this message gets out fast. You have another code for the 26th.)
Simple Trick to help with hovering things. Swap to Perspective View Select the Base or Foot and center then Zoom in to see if off the Ground plane. If it is Zoom out Select the Full item and use the Universal tool to lower until fixed. Zoom back in for checking. Often means some Hand posing of feet and lower legs to get just right but is not hard to do.
Yeah, I mentioned they were hovering. I was in a rush and forgot to even spot render, duh. So I'll just pretend they were in the middle of flapping their wings and got a bit of "lift." (scrounging for some excuse...) That is helpful to know though. I normally will go to the side view and pull my scene up so I am literally at ground level, then I lower my character until I see part of the foot disappear, then inch it upwards. Kinda tricky with rolling land (which the floor of the forest is, but I didn't even try it until after the render.)
I AM however, still waiting for you to name the birds!
And the rooster got a friend. Will post later- the toon giraffe is coming to the woods! (Don't tell me you've owned one of THOSE- I'll call the men in the white outfits to come take you away!)
3D Universe Toon Giraffe
http://www.daz3d.com/3d-universe-toon-giraffe
One thing I noticed about the giraffe is you really (and I mean REALLY) have to be careful with using the click and pull method (instead of Parameters) to move this critter. Very light touch of your mouse and the giraffe zips all over the place- so I'd recommend using the sliders instead of the mouse method. And heavens, are there sliders- THE NECK HAS TWENTY THREE! (But what a pain to get to the HEAD part of the submenu. You have to go through TWENTY THREE neck morphs.)
Want to quickly point out the linear distractions again- because they tend to pop up more than you might think.
Keep in mind these are just product reviews, not finished renders (aka, the lighting is just to get you a good idea of the product) but I do occasionally show you what I'm thinking and tweaking for fun if I have time. I did play around for a bit so I'll show you a different version of this. Let's start with the linear problem. We're going to also shed some light on the side of the giraffe, even though it's in the shadows, I want to give SOME detail. Also, they are in the woods, if you don't have dappled light to apply, you can do it with uneven spotlights. I'm going to play with the back hip.
So this is what I'm starting with. Lots of things wrong if I were doing this as a render and not as a product quickie.
SO YOU SPOT THE LINEAR DISTRACTION. What line is really obvious?
Just by moving the head or the angle, we can get rid of that cheek line (that happens to ALSO line up with the line of the horizon. Go back up and look at the unmarked version.)
Simple Trick to help with hovering things. Swap to Perspective View Select the Base or Foot and center then Zoom in to see if off the Ground plane. If it is Zoom out Select the Full item and use the Universal tool to lower until fixed. Zoom back in for checking. Often means some Hand posing of feet and lower legs to get just right but is not hard to do.
I often turn my view under the groundplane, Y-translate my figures until I see a hint on feet/lowest point appear and then ease it back (or leave it, depending on what I'm going for). It's probably the long way around or simply terribly silly, but hey, it works for me!
Okay, so we'll eliminate the linear distraction. Here's what is RIGHT about the starting point for a render, if you were going to proceed with it.
If you are a stickler for rule of thirds, the horizon (as uneven as it is) isn't at the halfway point. Other than that, right away I would change- (and did- compare with previous version)
1. more foreground
2. less crowding at the top- the giraffe's height would appear greater if there were more trees and SKY showing
3. tree on your left is boring. Move over slightly to get the V of the second three, and expose more of the background. Adds a bit more depth to the scene. It's just a personal thing for me- I hate to see trees running straight up the side of an image. Curve them out (which this does, but not because I did it) and make them interesting.
4. experiment with putting a LITTLE space between the faces of the giraffe and the rooster, see what you like.
5. add light to the hip and the side (on your right as you are looking)
6. change the legs, the posture is boring with all legs the same. By having a leg slightly bent, it continues to show the motion of the giraffe going down
7. Keep the chicken touching the giraffe,it shows the mutual curiousity. Touch is a very powerful element
That's actually a rather cool idea!
Okay, so if I were to tweak again, I need space between the legs as they all clunk together in one big group, so now they are separated with the floor plane showing through.
I softened the light on the back hip and side, would continue to tweak that.
I put a spotlight coming from the ground plane, shooting upward, to test lighting the giraffe's nose as it blends too much with the background- but see how it flattens the nostril because it took out the shadow? So I would have to work with that and shoot from a different angle. I could use a spot light or raise a point light by the giraffe's nose, but I have more control with a spotlight so far as targeting a small area and avoiding the surrounding areas. Note it lit the tree on our left- but that's okay, it can be taken out in postwork- but I'd leave it in because again, the forest dapples would have uneven lighting.
Note- the giraffe's hooves really glow- I have increased the ambient (black) every time and they are still too silver for me, so be aware you can really crank up the ambient black if you have good lighting- the hooves shouldn't be that silver. I just looked at images, and they aren't black, but a really dark gray in most the cases I saw on Google.
So this isn't done, but it's a fun start. I would recommend the giraffe highly, there's some fun face morphs, and you can get that neck to go SO many ways! Eyes are large and expressive. Legs (shoulders, legs, ankles, feet) all bend and twist. Easy to manipulate.
Well, this is NOT fun. The neck has 23 sections- which means to put an expression on the giraffe, to get to the head.....you got it! I will post a face shot of the giraffe once I do it and get it rendered.
EDIT: Well, I was curious as to how the lights for Fiery Genesis would do. Interesting! Once you get to the head section, you can do all kinds of facial movements- saying certain letters, smiling, etc.