Novica & Serene Night’s Renders, Tips, Tutorials & Product Reviews PART 2
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Today's review is Ghost Hoodie.
http://www.daz3d.com/ghost-hoodie-for-genesis
I've been curious about Ghost Hoodie for some time. I really like the transparent layer effect, but haven't really been in need of an outfit in this style. Fortunately, the dress portion (which includes the hood) layers well with a bodysuit, so if you aren't keen on the shorts and top combo provided with the outfit, you can layer ghost hoodie over another suit, or a swimsuit. In this case, I reloaded it with Dark Raven Reloaded retextured with Totally Bazaar shaders, and found it looked awesome.
The dress itself is a thing of filmy transparent beauty. It has a nice variety of pastel colors to choose from, and a number of adjustment morphs making it easy to fit v5 or gen2 female. It has a couple of different textures too, so you don't need to use just one.
The big negative for me, was out of the box, the bra top seems to ride... Ahem. A bit low for me on both models I tried it on. I had to adjust the top beyond it's default 100% to 200% to achieve the coverage in picture. Fortunately over-extending the parameter dials was a quick fix, and I liked the look better on V6 (right)..
Ghost Hoodie tweaks really well and layering ghost hoodie is not only possible, it is easy.
Overall, like the product, would love an expansion with a nice bodysuit, and perhaps something nice for the guys.
Image 1
Ghost hoodie on v5 (left), and v6 (right)
Image 2
Ghost hoodie layered over dark raven reloaded.
Yeah, I knew that about shaders due to my work on converting L'Atelier studio, but didn't grasp what exactly this product was so wanted to make sure newbies knew there was no preview. That makes lights in particular very difficult. Having a material is just having a material (shader) but lighting is more difficult when you can't see it. What is shines on is going to make it so different. Thanks for explaining that so concisely though.
Ghost Hoodie is very pretty. I think you got just the right amount of chest coverage on it- again, I'm SO tired of skimpwear. Why don't they make it family friendly with the ability to make it into skimpy, instead of doing skimpy and us struggling to get it decent? Answer of course, sex sells. Newbies: you CAN go beyond the parameter slider limits- what she did is click on the cog and when the popup comes up, you can select to turn off the parameter limits.
You are exactly right Novica. Me too.
You can also make the hood go away by making it entirely transparent. The hood and dress are one piece
I bought Provence. Take a peek at what I got instead! I had just opened the studio, had nothing selected in the scene (aka, Genesis wasn't selected) and from Content Library loaded up the new set featured today. Wow, I got hair color for ZAC apparently. I opened a thread over in Commons to see if anyone else has bought this set. My 4.6 version is screwy, but not THIS screwy.
For some reason, even though I extracted and dragged into MyLibrary, Provence went Default and Unassigned.
Want to show you the top view- if you go through a doorway, you go into another section, so you get the feel of a town instead of just a street.
I then went to the very bottom (as you're looking at it) and shot the street for Photo 3.
Then I zoomed in. See the arched doorways that are like a mini tunnel? I shot straight through so you can see the second walk through that is across the street (you'd come out of the walk through, cross the street, and there's another one) (photo 4) It actually has more props/environment that are hidden from view until you get on that back street.
Thanks for showing that Novica. Provence looks like a vast place! I can't wait to see some renders using that set. Looks like a good environment for a tourist character to unwind and see the sights.
Today's Review:
Killzone's the Bath
http://www.daz3d.com/killzones-the-bath
I love Antfarm's sets, the detail is absolutely amazing, and when I saw this set, on sale I snatched it up. I don't have a really good bathtub, even though, er, given the grime on this tub, I'm not sure I'd actually want to bathe in it. Nevertheless it makes a great setting for your Noir or horror render. The bathroom is in fact a disaster area, full of stained, gritty tub, broken tiles, stained sink, and cracked mirror and bloody razor blade and yes a tooth.
After I bought it, I felt it was a touch macabre for me because of the razors.... (I guess I didn't read the product detail too carefully I was too excited about the bath tub). However the set renders quite well, the water is amazing, and it is easy to add props and recolor the curtains to achieve any look you want.
I would love it if this set had a 'regular' option. A non-gritty, non-dirty shiny bathroom experience. This set is so realistic and easily on par with some of the other bathroom sets for sale in the store and has a nice vintage or post apocalyptic feel. It goes well in the Bunker from that other place... Rendo.
I rendered twice.
1 time, just as is, using the garbage pile lights, roof removed.
2. Second time I put Sarge in the tub (yes, he's wearing speedos in there), and played with the brushes to add some suds. I changed the curtains with the MACH Pack, and added the rubber duck and bag. I also added the rug and would've added a towel, except it makes my computer seize up. He's got some funny banana yellow speedos which match the duck, but just aren't showing here. Lights are garbage pile+jason lights.
One thing I never got to render were the filmy curtains. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but they recolor nicely using shaders. If anyone has done the curtains, would love a few pointers on how to achieve a nice look, I'd appreciate the tip.
As usual antfarm's detail is amazing, and the set renders nicely.
My goodness, Sarge gets around! (And with a rubber ducky, he'll never live this down if the recruits ever hear about this...)
That set still has too much grunge for me- I feel like a roach is lurking in the drain of that sink!
If there were any good tapestries perhaps you could substitute/scale one of them for the curtains. Some may have more curves/waves? Don't know exactly what you're going for.
BTW, how was that pumpkin spice birthday cake? (Yes folks, drool- she was baking one with caramel icing.)
LOL. Sarge is the character who gets to go places no other 3d character gets to touch. Like fighting snakes in the sewers and alien undead in that Sci-fi corridor. The killzone's bath seems like a natural progression in taking toughness to a whole new level. After all, if you can bathe in that tub, you can bathe anywhere!
ROFL about the duck. I suspect the recruits left that there as a practical joke.
Yeah, it is pretty filthy I agree. Honestly It was an impulse buy.
The set has filmy curtains included that are like transparent plastic. But they don't render for me in daz for some reason. If I add a texture they show up. So not sure what I'm doing wrong.
I was going to make the cake, but decided to relax instead. We had a feast the night before on tri-tip that I bought and barbecued at the last minute... I decided to opt out on making it because I kind of feasted so much the evening before.
If you're looking at the poses that are on sale, you might want to scrutinize this one. Because getting characters into place standing up requires less tweaking than getting them sitting or lying down, this set provides exactly that jumpstart. I also found while looking at the bundle for other sets that these poses are very similar (and under $6 right now.) AND THEY ARE FOR V4, V5, and V6 so that's really good. Although that other bundle has 54 poses (http://www.daz3d.com/bwc-victoria-5-poses-bundle) I wouldn't use many of them or they are similar to something I already have. If you don't have many poses, it's a nice price at under $10 right now. (Keep in mind you can use these as a starting point and tweak. In other words, get your character kneeling quickly, reaching, stretching, etc. Click!)
http://www.daz3d.com/bwc-sunbathing-poses-for-v6-v5-and-v4
I did get the skies and sky domes- some of these are just too neat to pass up. I love the bright blue sky with the harder, better defined clouds. With depth of field, that sky will still be dramatic even when fuzzied out. http://www.daz3d.com/bwc-skies
CJ-Studio is currently not working properly, there is a thread in the Commons and DAZ is working on it. Why they can't get their act straight- these come out at 1am in the MORNING- which was 8 hours 45 minutes ago- as this is hurting that vendor. Only PC members get 50% per product, everyone else has to buy 3 things- so this could be hanging up sales.
Love Larsen, but wish listing as I don't need a fancy room with a table anytime soon.
MY PICK: P&L Marsh Ruins
http://www.daz3d.com/p-l-marsh-ruins is one to scoop up. OH THE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THAT CIRCULAR HOLE! Okay, think like me for a minute. (Scary, I know...) Create a circular plane, add a different surface/ photo- or digital effects, insert in the hole... great for closeups and more distant shots. Think of Snow White and that talking mirror- what fun this hole can be! For about $8 right now, you can have a versatile set. And it comes with quite a few things. Did you note this list? Kit bash! (use for other sets.)
Grass02
Grass01
Ground
GroundRuins
Platform
Ruined Arch Way
Ruined Portal
Wall
Water
EDIT: You also get poses for Victoria 4- and they are GOOD poses. Not sexy, sultry stretching poses- leaning against a wall type poses you can actually USE.
26 Poses for Victoria 4 (.PZ2)
8 Standing Poses to Place Anywhere
8 Mirror Poses
6 Exact Placement Poses (.PZ2)
3 Left and Right
4 Positioning Poses
Where Oh Where Is My Product?
I posted this in another thread, but for handy reference to thread subscribers, I do this OFTEN with this (adjective that I won't say) 4.6 version of DAZ Studio. I've had NOTHING but problems with this new version. DO always keep your old version (get the program data and program files, take anything that says daz!) and put in another location. I do have 4.5 and may install it on another computer. Supposedly Genesis 2 works better on 4.6. You do know the old versions will NOT be in your product library!? They're gone when a new version comes out. STUPID. Give us a choice! Okay, back to my subject:
Just in case folks don't know how to test and get a product to show up:
1. The SKU number is on the product page, on the right side toward the top, under the Add To Cart
2. Go to Help at top of page>Documentation Center (Wiki)>then left side menu will say ReadMes. Those will tell you where the product should be located (if there's a Readme)
In your studio, if you are in Smart Content, there is a little menu to the EDIT: RIGHT of the words Daz Store, when you click on it, you'll see the option for Content DB Maintenance. Select Re-import MetaData, Accept. When the popup appears, uncheck everything except the one you are looking for- they are by SKU number, which is why you must know that number from the product page. Many times after re-importing the metadata (if your product has it) then your product WILL appear- and you know where to look because of the ReadMe.
You folks DO know that Every product installed with DIM has the ReadMe in your ReadMe folder in your content library don't you? And they will open and Link to the INFO right in your browser.
Don't use DIM as doing a custom setup- but that's good to know. Also DIM is better for having the most current updates, whereas manually we have to just keep up with checking for newer versions.
Ambrosia- Poses For V4
http://www.daz3d.com/ambrosia-poses-for-v4
I'm busy cataloging and customizing my content so won't be posting many renders for a bit here, but since I go to each product page (yep, what a PAIN) using the Product Library, you can expect me to point out things as I go through each one. Take a look at Ambrosia-Poses For V4 because it is a DAZ co-owned product and you can use your monthly $6 coupon on it. And the poses are nice. Originally $11.95, but 30% if you're a PC member makes it $8.37 and with the PC monthly code discount of $6 off that's...yep, $2.37
They work pretty well on Genesis (shown) You will have to move the hands and legs up or out as they do go through the other limbs, but that takes about two minutes to fix compared to starting from scratch.
Gone all day running errands, will be sharing my thoughts later today as I go through my content. I'm starting with the A's and making categories as I go. I have a couple hundred things loaded up so this should be interesting. I'll point out the DAZ content so you'll know what you can use your $6 codes on.
Shown: one of the Ambrosia poses shown, took a minute to tweak. Then, 19 of the 20 poses you can get for that $2.37 :)
Let me mention quickly WHY I go to the Product Library and look up each one. It has to do with my coding system. If it is for Generation 5, that's fine- but if it was made specifically for Stephanie 5, I note that. Remember, I put A G K S V Ve (Aiko, Girl, Kids,Stephanie, Victoria, VictoriaElite) initials after the products. (For male, D, H, M David, Hiro, Michael, etc)
It doesn't mean they won't work on other characters but I want to know who they were primarily designed for. Aiko is really different than Victoria so I'd need to tweak. And The Girl- what can you say?!
Same with poses. I need to know if they are for Victoria or Genesis, and some titles may or may not say. Poses Gen4 and Poses Genesis are two separate folders in my setup.
I also have a Sexy Kitbash folder. I don't do sexy renders, but I have quite a few products- boots, necklaces, gloves, to kitbash. (Use parts of a scene or outfit.) It's a handy folder.
Okay, now it's doing to me what Kharma had done to her. All the clothing folders are gone, etc.
Well, I noticed the Default folders never go anywhere, so instead of doing it the way SereneNight does it, I take it a step further and put my new folders under DEFAULT. I have shut down and reopened my computer several times and they are still there. So going to try it THAT way. Kharma, if you surf in, let us know if the other way is still working for you.
That's weird. Don't know what to say about that, except reimport user data if you backed it up recently.
Sorry its not working for you...I have made several new categories now and everything is still there, altho I haven't closed and reopened Studio in awhile as I've been working on it all day off and on. I don't know what to advise you do try next. Have you tried the drastic and removed every remnant of DS and CMS and then reinstalled?
I had already done that and it was all there. Then poof. That sexy kitbash folder is gone, the clothing ones are all gone, etc. So I'll just put them under Default and see what happens. I am NOT spending a lot of time on this to have it go poof. :( So will do a little, write it down, then for the next few days see what stays put. Before you do a lot Kharma, back it up, then perhaps shut down, open back up, and see if it's going to stay put. Mine did twice, then bye bye. All content is there, just some of the categories gone.
Went out to the barn to gather stuff up from the tackroom and there was a GIGANTIC rainbow. I have never seen one so huge.I was driving down the road, and it was as thick, WAY off in the distance, as my rear view mirror is tall. (In other words, the end of the rectangle.) It was easily like five normal rainbows stuffed together. The skies were black so that made it SO much prettier.
Sorry for barging in Novica. I'll be quick.
If you have an alternate solution besides rendering to see the effect of your lighting, we would love to hear it. I understand completely your point about wanting to have a real preview of the light in the scene. Indeed it is very helpful as a starting point, especially for new users. As Jaderail points out, it is a limitation of the technology, and we are working with what we have. All of the thumbnails are rendered to give a good idea on what the various light set ups will look like, and what all the presets do. See product pages for examples.
Besides, there is no better teacher than experience. You learn something with every test render you do, for any product.
I would also like to mention that IG and I do our best to help new users, and new to using this type of light, understand how they work and what they can do. We are always available for questions either by PM or in any of our product threads.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
You didn't barge in at all! :)
The point is that for new users, they need to be aware they won't see ANYTHING in the viewport.
And while rendering (and not spot rendering, although that helps) shows the final result, with both spotlights and distant lights, I can, with about 80% certainty or more, tell where the lights are hitting. The shadows, not so much, but with experience such as shooting a light up, you know where the shadow will hit, it won't be the ground! So you have something to see.
As I said, you gave a very detailed explanation with a system to help people along. It's just not going to be something new users should try IMO, and not for me. I can see what the other types of lights do and can estimate the results with respectable accuracy. Rendering and tweaking don't take a lot of time as I can see where the lights are. Many people can work with your product as I read many good things about it- it's just something to get used to.
What if we could steer to you an outdoor set that renders quickly, has a light setup that is a joy to tweak (you might just consider trading a deep shadow map for raytraced to get rid of a pesky artifact) and have a really nice outdoor scene in under five minutes? Oh, and let's throw in an outfit with HIGH HEELS that has a fix thrown in that with one click, those heels are perfect? All I did was close the eye for the toes as there was a small amount of pokethrough- but the heels straightened up when I clicked and posed nicely. What a change!
I left my character EXACTLY where she was, at World Center. Didn't move the set at all. Going to show you the lighting you would have with only that one tweak- I replaced the deep shadow map and put in raytraced, with a softness of 25%. Didn't tweak anything else. You'll see this out of the box is great for a starting point. You'll want to add shadows as there aren't any with the light preset, other than Light 5 with the deep shadowmap. So this is "out of the box" with only that change.
70% off Stephanie Pro Bundle
Stephanie Pro Bundle- LOVE those poses. Every time I look at one of the fun poses, click on it in Smart Content to see the product, it's from Stephanie. http://www.daz3d.com/stephanie-5-pro-bundle It's 70% off right now (37.49 instead of 124.95) and the sundress, Riley and Kiera with those poses would get you your money's worth. As SereneNight and I have both said, we don't like Cool Sports, that zipper doesn't seem like a zipper, but the Luka Hair and Pure Hair Crazy are always an easy fit, and Pure Hair Lovely can be manipulated. (I tried that on Seychelle.) The Lycan Hunter, believe it or not, looks very pretty for closeups if you don't like the skimpy bottom part. This bundle has a nice variety. Hey, if you don't like the bundle, you have 30 days to say "nope, not for me."
So coming up, an outdoor environment with lots of nooks and crannies, a nice lightset, and renders quickly. There is more than one light preset, you can also choose lighter or darker. This is what loaded up in the scene initially. Coming Up!
High Cliff Crossing
Tori For V5
Woodlander For Genesis
Pure Hair: Wild (Giraffe)
http://www.daz3d.com/high-cliff-crossing
http://www.daz3d.com/tori-for-v5 (Also in the Pro Bundle, currently free in promotion. See details)
http://www.daz3d.com/woodlander-for-genesis
http://www.daz3d.com/pure-hair-wild
So this is where Tori (no changes, out of the box) was at World Center, then I loaded the set with the lights.
Tonight- I'll pan around and do some renders for you of the set.
Woodlander For Genesis doesn't have all the parts to it- I wanted to show you just the top, pants, and boots. They are adaptable to a lot of time periods. Click on the link at the top to see the entire outfit. It went on without any adjustments needed, and as mentioned, there is a "Feet Fix" to click and the heels straighten up beautifully. I love these boots.
EDIT: Notes about Tori:
The makeup options are not what I prefer- you don't choose the lips separately from the eye makeup, so you are stuck with the combinations offered- EXCEPT you can choose the lips and go to Surfaces and change the diffuse, specular, etc. Of course it works better on the lighter lips- it's harder to lighten dark lips. Tori has nice makeup options, there is a set that is dark, like Ariadne, so be sure and give this gal a look!
Easy Environments: The Rock + High Cliff Crossing
http://www.daz3d.com/easy-environments-the-rock
What do you get when you cross a body of water / skybox with a rocky bridge? Well, I guess Easy Environments: The Rock + High Cliff Crossing would be a product called "Rock Cliff Crossing" or "High Cliff Rock" or "Easy Cliff Crossing." Who knows. I know this rendered with the High Cliff Crossing light setup and the Easy Environment skybox/ water in (hold your breath and wait for it) TWO MINUTES. EDIT: Shading rate .50
You will have to be careful how you turn these sets- the "water" floods parts of the grass. In other words, these two sets "out of the box" are going to give you some great shots, depending on the angle. But some places are a no go unless you raise or lower the High Cliff set. Haven't done that yet. I was just looking for a skydome and tried this and thought, "OH!" Happy accident so thought I'd share. Get that Easy Environments: The Rock on your wishlist! The water alone renders great every time!
And from all different angles. Remember, you can eliminate that lamp post, and go back in time!
I've been curious about High Cliff Crossing. Thanks for showing that!
Edited to add: I like the shot of the road going by the ocean with the streetlamp. That's very cool.
Today's Review is: Michael 4 Comic Combat (poses) by Daz and :W.H. Whitney
http://www.daz3d.com/michael-4-comic-combat
What can I say? Love it. This pose set is a lot of fun and suits a tank cyborg character like Sarge to a T! Even though Sarge is genesis, and these poses are for M4, they can be easily adjusted with a bit of tweaking to suit larger sized characters.
It was fun to apply them to a modified Daz monstrosity I based on M4 genesis (shown here). I particularly like that a pose set for up ot 3 characters is included with this bundle. I would like to see more group poses for genesis W.H. Whitney does these well. They work fine on female characters too. This set renders easily, and really produces some nice fun combat action.
Here I have the fight in Stonemason's Cryo Environment.
http://www.daz3d.com/cryoenvironment
There are 21 poses in this set, including 1 multi figure scene. Facial expressions are included, but since I'm using genesis not M4, I did not test them out.
Image 1:
Sarge Fighting Daz Monstrostiy with a kick
Image 2:
Sarge up close and personal.
Lights are Lantios Night Lights Number 8, with a low-intensity distant light yellow light added at 33%. For some reason, I find this a good lighting combo for Sarge.
The head snapping back really relays the power of the kick- not that I feel sorry for the recipient, lol. I am always impressed with the materials on that fiend, it looks positively yukky. Like Sarge will have to wipe some spongy goo off his boot when he gets done.
It's nice that you've found poses you can really use! And these combat poses are also by DAZ so they qualify for the $6 discount code for Platinum Club folks, an added bonus!
Other than the designated pose products, I've found I need to read product descriptions in the "What's Included" section every time I surf a page, because so many of these other products do include poses and you wouldn't know that otherwise. (Particularly with sets.)
Hah. Yeah, I'm reminded of that thread where Undead Fiend is portrayed as a powdered donut. I hate to say it, but he looks like a powdered donut to me.