any strategies for acquiring products?
irenedotpeter_0a2b58e243
Posts: 0
Im new ot this and before I spend tons of money buying everything I see and like one buy one, I was wondering if there was a good strategy for acquiring many of the wonderful products we see for sale here etc.
For example I may have different ideas of people and scenes i want to create over time. How best to arm myself for the future. For example buy bundles only ? Maybe there is no answer to this.
Any thoughts or rules you have been using for yourselves are appreciated.
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If you're not going to join Platinum Club, then I say check Fast Grab every day, and wait for big sales. March Madness is not far away...
Welcome! A couple of ideas for you. First, keep a close eye on fast grab. Bundles can be an excellent way to get a lot of content, but bundles with a 70% discount are even better. You might see other things you like in fast grab too, of course.
I also recommend Platinum Club (even though it took me way too long to sign up with it). If you join, you'll have access to all the $1.99 items, and you'll get the weekly freebie without being required to buy another item at the same time. You'll save the membership cost back in no time.
Hope that helps, have fun!
EDIT: Slimer posted while I was typing... :)
Number one most important thing for a new user, in my opinion, is to join the Platinum Club. You will get extra discounts on DAZ original products and many items will be only $1,99. You will get a free product each week (DAZ choice of item, not your choice) and another free item each month. You can build up quite an inventory with these free/inexpensive items to get started. Also be sure to download the free Starter Essentials products to get the free people.
If you've decided that you're going to acquire products, then without question the Platinum Club is worth looking into. Paying $1.99 each of a variety of catalog products plus the monthly freebies makes it well worth the membership fees.
edit: I was typing while they posted. But sure sound like concensus.
Read the product page carefully and be aware of what you're buying.
If you have not already, start playing around with the starter content for G2F and G2M and get a feel for things.
If you do believe you are going to be investing a lot of money over a year, I too would recommend the platinum club as it will help you save a lot.
I'm not "new" at this by any stretch; so my approach is different now than when I was first building my library. With over 2600 packages (so, many more individual items than that) in the library, I can afford to be choosy. However, since you asked, this is how I approach purchasing content...
First, think about how useful it is
1. I only buy stuff I'm pretty sure I'm going to use. I don't do a lot of renders with male figures, or in present day settings. So fantasy/sci-fi and female clothing / characters / etc. are the way to go for me. Your mileage may vary on that one.
2. Think about the utility of the item. In clothing, I look to see if I could easily mix-and-match to get an outfit that I want or am I forced to use their entire set? For props and scenery, I look for things where I could re-use bits and pieces so that you don't look at something I rendered and think "Oh, he used THAT building..." The more versatile something is, the more it is worth to me.
Second, think about pricing
1. Ignore the % off!! It is an arbitrary number. Is something that is marked down at $14 from $20 retail price really more valuable than if it was $14 to begin with? If it isn't worth paying full price for, it probably isn't worth paying a sale price for either. There are a few exceptions. When something gets down to the $2 range, I might buy it "just in case I need it" But mostly if I wouldn't pay the full retail price for it, I'm not going to buy it just because it was arbitrarily marked down 30%.
2. Keep in mind, there will ALWAYS be another sale. Don't know if you're familiar, but around here we have a department store called "Kohls". If you ever pay full price for something at Kohls, you're ripping yourself off. Practice patience and it will be on sale. If you really can't afford it right now, take a breath and remind yourself that it will go on sale again some time.
3. Prepare for the big seasonal sales. March is traditionally a big month for sales @ DAZ. So are the last few months of the year. That's when I will pick up the things that I kind of want, but not badly enough to buy at full price. Other sites have similar cyclical sales. If you learn them, you can pace your spending so that you can splurge when things are cheaper.
Finally, the mechanics
1. Platinum Club - Especially for a new artist, there frankly is no better value than joining. If you can afford the whole year, I'd just go ahead and do that so you don't need to think about it again for a while. :) The PC goes on sale too sometimes; so if you're not planning any big purchases for a while, hold off and see what comes up in the near future.
2. The wishlist is your friend. Rather than going to the sale categories to see what is there, I use my Wishlist to see if anything that I have previously indicated I actually WANT is on sale. That helps with making sure I'm spending on the right stuff.
3. If you have a tight budget for these things and you find yourself compulsively overspending, consider what I've done ... I use a prepaid credit card for purchases. So i load it up at the beginning of each month. When the money is gone for that month, it is gone. Or at least I have to make a conscious decision to reload some money on to it rather than just thinking "Oh, that's cool, and it's only $8!"
As above, first and foremost - the Platinum Club. There is an incredible wealth of PC items that are $1.99 for PC members. Also, a monthly $6.00 coupon good for DAZ Originals that are over 60 days old - and there are a LOT of DAZ-O more than 60 days old and in the $10.00 or less range (the coupon does NOT work for the $1.99 PC items, but they sometimes go on sale for $1.00 and the coupon works for those).
Second - bundles.
And the third thing to keep in mind: At some point in the year, everything in the store will be offered at a 50% discount. Not all at once (usually), but by genre, vendor, or category. Use the wishlist, try to purchase during the sales.
Try to figure out what you need first, before you buy. What are your goals, and what do you need in order to achieve them? The more you know about using the software, you'll be better able to make informed decisions about the products available for sale. There are a number of different figures...decide which ones you wish to use, and learn which products can be used with those figures. If you have questions about a product, you can search the forums for more information, or post a question about it.
I was going to talk about the Platinum Club too, but others beat me to it.
I would give this advice to all newbies
Repeat all the previous- and just as important:
1. Kit Bashing: I love to combine bits and pieces from one scene to use on another. Same with clothing.
2. The supersuits- you can always put these under skimpwear and make a family friendly outfit. Goes along with kit bashing
3. White outfits/shirts/ and light colored pants: Remember you can change the colors easily in the Diffuse Channel in Surfaces- you get a big variety of colors that way. Do not focus on what the outfit IS- think about what it CAN be
4. Fabricator and Totally Bazaar- MUST HAVES. You can easily change the fabric of outfits and get hundreds of outfits from just one product.
5. Look at the freepository and read the feedback from people who have used that person's freebie.
6. Visit this Art Studio thread on a regular basis. That is where the product showcasing occurs- we have a great team of 16 people who review and discuss what products they like. I am cataloging the past threads (we're on number 3, so will be 4,500 posts shortly) so you can easily surf the product reviews. This is the first post of the current thread, you'll also benefit from the top 10 picks of several folks who own a lot of products/ have used many. The third post from the link below has the in-progress list of product photos/discussions.
We also tell you what we like in the current sales (that we've actually tried) or really good deals. (For instance, the swimsuit that came with the swimming pool- was on sale for under $4 at one point.)
If questions come up, I or someone from the team probably has the product. (EDIT- I see two of the team members have posted here- they know what they are talking about!)
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/34269/
Please note the the main Product showcase is the Commercial Products Forum.
Thankyou
A couple of pieces of advice:
1. Get to know the software first. Then you can start focusing on content.
2. Get an idea of the kind of art you want to do. You don't advise someone to buy a pair of loafers when they plan on doing a lot of hiking. You need to form an idea of the kind of art you intend to do, and then base your buying choices on that.
3. Buy things that are versatile, that you can use for various purposes, based upon the kind of art you plan to do.
Unless I need something for a render or it's something from a vendor who rarely goes on sale I've started to wait for sales to pick up stuff. There are frequent deep discount sales. There's a flash sale alert thread for tracking one day sale, glitches etc. http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/21605/
get really good at your art so you can enter contests and then win everything you ever wanted
As someone with an insider's perspective I would echo the sentiments of this crowd, join the Platinum Club.
Other than what's already been said I would suggest you keep an eye on the Sales and Promo Page. It changes several times per week and is focused on the current promotion we are running. You can usually get some pretty steep discounts by buying one or two of the new releases. Not every sale will be to your taste, but when you find one that is you can usually save a bit of money.
Do not fall for the "oooh shiny" and do not tell yourself that you will use it "someday".
i've always had to work on a tight budget, a few things i have learned
get a decent 2D ap, doesn't have to be the most expensive, just one you are comfortable working in
learn to paint your own textures. just changing textures can dramatically change the look of an outfit, prop or figure, a little time in a paint program and one outfit can work for sci-fi, everyday wear, fantasy etc.
learn kitbashing, things can be frankensteined together either in your rendering program, a modeling program or simply in postwork
Don't buy just because something is shiny, new, or looks kool. I have so much content that was bought on impulse. I looked so kool in the promo pics.... but I didn't stop to think that it really didn't fit the type of images I do. Years ago I trained my self to stop impulse buying and I am much happier for it. I spend my money more effectively.
there are 2 ways to solve any problem, you can wash it away with the money hose, or you can get creative, the creative solution is always the best solution
lol you said it quicker than i did
Also with the kit bashing that I mentioned- for both scenes and clothes- get shaders that change up the walls and the look of the clothing (not just the print like the Fabricator can do.) You can go for latex, velvet, linen, etc.)
I also look at versatility. It helps to get things like the Supersuit for layering for family friendly if that's what you'd like to do, and many outfits built in if you get the bundle (wait for a sale.)
http://www.daz3d.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=supersuit&x=0&y=0
Remember, using the editing tools and the surfaces tab, you can turn parts of outfits off (it's easier if they have a materials zone otherwise you can create one with the polygon editing tool and it's not that hard to do.) So I would suggest looking at the "what's included" for each product as many list the material zones. Those are separate sections which can be turned on and off in the Opacity section of Surfaces tab.
(If you need help or get stuck, just PM me.)
If you need any help please post in the New Users Help Forum, it is what it is there for, and has may knowledgeable and helpful people who can answer most any question, between them.
Definitely one of many resources available. Don't rely on the search function- it's terrible.
I really appreciate all of your comments on this question so far. This isn't posted in the newbie forum obviously even though I am one. Also, I can tell that for those of you who are more experienced, you have fine tuned your way of acquiring software such that it is probably second nature to you.
I am only on day two of using daz studio and I have come really far compared to yesterday. that makes me happier today. and I appreciate the feedback here. very professional.
I come from the photoshop world and I had a burning desire to try this because it was another way to express my self creatively.
as you know , photoshop is expensive but, the content can be free. on the other hand daz is free but all the content can be expensive.
thanks for the ideas !
P.S. because I'm new and want to get started right away beyond the basic included characters, I have done some purchasing already and even didn't wait for a sale!!!!!!! I have Victoria 4 except I just realized I need to buy her some hair.
check out the freepository too
There is free content out there - not very much on the DAZ3D website, though, so you'll have to look elsewhere for it (and become comfortable with using the Poser Content pane as well as the Smart Content pane, since most freebies don't have smart content.)
It can be quite the hunt to find something you want for free... but some of us enjoy that hunt, and a few of us are willing to share the URLs of what we've found. There are also some people who are willing to make things for free. These people hang out in the General Freepozitory forum - come on over!
Just a reminder be careful of bundles. Most are good prices but there are a few if you were to click on the individual items and see what each one costs, it's sometimes cheaper to buy them seperately.
seriously though, just win everything, that is the cheapest route to go :D
Also watch out for stuff in a bundle you're about to buy, that might have been in another bundle you already bought. There is a "you already bought this" display on each item's store page, but not in the store category pages that show lots of thumbnails. After some teething trouble, this system now works very well, but it's not quite perfect. As a double-check, if you go to your My Account page, the Product Library page shows every item you've bought (even if you "bought" it for $0.00.)
Definitely join the platinum club, then load up on the $2 items plusa free $6 for DAZ originals (but not everything in the store) every month, plus whatever the freebie of the month is. If you can wait, you might want to hang on for a 2-for-1 sale and get them for a buck. Bundles definiely help the budget. If you think an item is too expensive, wait and see if it goes on sale. Get things that are versatile so you can use them in multiple scenes if possible.
Check out the freebies on various websites. Renderosity has a huge freebie section, ShareCH has a lot, and there are a lot of other sites out there too, either with permanent repositories or temporary offers. Keep in mind checking the freebies is a little bit of work; often you will have to determine what format things are in and decide if you have a path and applications to do conversion and if it will still look nice when done, or just avoid other formats. You have to read the fine print for each product to determine if commercial renders are allowed (Unless you don't care). You will find products that are packaged incorrectly or just plain broken, so unless you have your heart set on it, probably just delete that one and move on to the next. Sometimes quality is fantastic, sometimes it is abysmal. But don't ignore things just because they suck; something that looks horrible up close might be super useful way off in the far back corner of the scene where it's dark and the suckiness is hidden.
Brand new releases might have introductory lower rates that then go up, and over time products get older and fall out of favor and prices might go down again, but also watch out as items can get permanently removed from the store too.
Contests are indeed a way to get products. No guarantees, but if you're chronically unemployed you can spend your money on food and rent instead of 3D without completely giving up purchases, provided of course you at least occasionally win a contest. And even if you don't, you had fun in the contest, so really no reason not to try.
There are some good suggestions here. I find the forums, a useful tool sometimes for finding the answers I need.
Hmm. Suggestions on content to buy? Really depends on what you're into. I happen to favor gen 6 figures myself.
If I were going to have do my runtime over, I'd probably avoid some of the older stuff. I don't like content that looks older and find I haven't used models and props that don't have a certain degree of realism.
I guess when I was new, I didn't notice or it didn't bother me as much as it does now.
One day I'll do a huge mosh-up of everything in one big jumbo render... or rather, do it again since the last time I did it we didn't have Genesis 2 to play with :D
if just starting out, I was beginning to get the impression that it's probably best to buy the most recent versions of the main figure? and go from there? I guess that is the 6 series? and forget about the older ones like genesis and 4 and 5 etc. unless of course there is a particular reason to do so?
thanks