Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
I would suggest to "Shop Smart....Shop RawArt"
Well..ok...maybe that slogan was borrowed....and it may be kinda self serving.......but thats just how I roll ;)
Seriously though....buy whatever catches your eye. If you think you can make a cool render of it, then go for it.
Rawn
I would personally stick with gen 6, and see how you like it. Genesis 2 base female and male are free, so see if they appeal to you.
There are reasons I occasionally buy gen 4 (the skins primarily), and genesis (flexibility), just prefer (personally) the look and realism of gen6.
I know lots of people love the older models, but since I entered the scene late, gen 4 was on its way out, and I never developed an attachment.
What I look for in the pro bundles is value. Do you like the clothing in the pro bundles the character and the hair? I think sometimes they call a bundle 'pro' but actually the content included is somewhat mediocre and consumer grade. I would calculate the value of buying stuff you like ala carte and the base figure vs. pro bundle and see what you like better. Sometimes you will find the clothing is not up to your expectations, and it may be more affordable to buy the base model.
Here are some simple suggestions I haven't seen mentioned yet:
First and foremost, READ the full content description of an item before you buy it. Some items come with tons of elements, others are pretty bare bones. This is especially true on the newer items made expressly for Genesis 1 & 2, where a number of the outfits are essentially one or two pieces. (That aids in autofit, but it makes for less versatility when it comes to mix and matching.) This can make a huge difference in what is really the better buy. A perfect example is the Supersuit bundle, which looks like just another body suit at first glance, but comes with an incredible selection of shaders. Likewise, there are a number of character packs that come with hair and clothing, sets often come with lights and things that look like texture packs may actually contain a number of new props.
RESEARCH any items you're interested in. Just google the product name along with either DAZ3d or Poser. If there's a thread about the product running on the forums here or elsewhere, that'll usually turn it up. As a newer user you'll find that there are products that don't work well (or at all) with the current version of the software you're using. A good percentage of Dreamlight's plugins, for example, haven't been supported since DAZ Studio 3, but they're still in the store.
USE the wish list as your buffer zone. If something looks really awesome, put it on your wish list first unless it's some super-mega sale that's about to end. Anything you add will always be right there on the bottom, And if you opt not to buy it now, it WILL show a red highlighted discount price every time it goes on sale.
DO join the Platinum Club, BUT just use the 3 month Quarterly Membership option. You'll get back a $6 coupon each month, so the effective cost is $6 to try out the program. That's $2 a month. More importantly, with March Madness coming up, the odds of the annual membership going on sale are extremely good, and with the stacking discounts for PC members you can usually get the annual membership at a mega-bargain price. (My last annual membership was less than $25 thanks to a glitch sale.)
And on that subject: be on the lookout for GLITCH sales and DISCOUNT STACKING. Because of the way the store works, the best deals are usually the result of multiple deals running simultaneously. New products and promotions go up at midnight DAZ time, and there are periods where there are unintended double discounts and other anomalies. The same holds true for when Flash sales go up. DAZ 3D's policy so far has been that if you pay for an item and the store takes your money, you own it no matter how outrageous the deal. With that in mind, it pays to check as early in the day as you can to see what kind of zany bargains are available overnight.
Finally, BUDGET yourself. If you're weak of will, it often helps to buy a gift certificate for the amount that you're willing to spend in a given period. It's not just that it's easier to keep track of how much you're spending that way, but committing to a dollar figure up front makes it a lot easier to determine that you really don't need that new Turnip Man morph right now. After all, it just might turn up in a glitch sale tomorrow.
Greetings,
If you can make yourself stick with the latest Genesis (G2F/G2M) then this will do two things. (1) it will save you money, as there is a significant amount of product out there for V4, and it follows Sturgeon’s Revelation quite closely, and (2) it will save you time, because you don't have to worry about items not made for your 'generation' of product.
It will also focus the mind on getting things that are universally useful; props, environments, lighting sets, shaders, etc..., instead of yet another eye-catching outfit.
Be consciously aware of your own level of visual reaction, and be careful that you're not buying an outfit because the underlying character appeals to your eye, but because the outfit itself is something you can see being useful in your own scenes. Early on, I failed this in a big way, and have a significant quantity of lower-quality clothes that I bought because of...well, eye-candy, for lack of a more dignified description. Nowadays I try to be more picky, and I focus more on amazing environments that I can tell lots of stories in. (Shout-out to Stonemason here! :) )
As you're leveling up in purchasing stuff, buy 1-2 items (that are relevant to your interests!) from each vendor as they come out with stuff, or from their back-catalog, and keep track of which ones you find really useful, reusable, general enough, etc., and don't generally worry about buying stuff from folks at the bottom of the list unless it VERY closely matches something you really want to render.
I feel a little dirty doing it, but I'll pimp my site, since it's helpful for buying stuff: http://3dwishlist.com/demo ; it gives you an overview of all the 'basic' sales going on. Basic sales are ones where the discount is 'up front', not based on buying 2 items and waving a dead chicken. :) I'm constantly trying to improve it, but it gives the information in a nice visual manner. The pricing is for Platinum Club members, because honestly PC members get the best prices, and it's SO worth it. If you sign up, it'll even email you when items on your wishlist get discounted(!)...
The most important thing is to not get in over your head. My first March, I spent more than a thousand dollars...and I was unemployed for the first 2/3s of the month. That was a Bad Choice, but thankfully it didn't end up badly, for me or my family. But it can become an addiction, especially because the advertisements and promos are such a visual feast. Like the shiny flashing lights in a gambling hall, the senses (mainly eyes, here) are drenched with input that makes it hard to control the impulse to buy. Use a spotter, if you have problems. Someone to look over your shoulder while you describe what you want to use something for.
But, all that said, enjoy it. It's been an amazing ride for me, and I think it is for most folks. It's astonishing to be able to create these worlds...
-- Morgan
Consider alternate uses for an item if your budget is limited. Obviously buy whatever you need, but if you don't absolutely NEED an item and have to choose between multiple items that you MIGHT use in the future, which will you get the most use out of? Maybe you don't think you'll ever use a frisbee, but that could easily be a frisbee, a flying saucer, a hubcap, instanced in a row to get an electrical insulator, elongated vertically to get a sci-fi rounded building, a storage tank, a pole, etc., wheras a pair of pants perhaps can't be much more than a pair of pants, or perhaps a pair of shorts with a transparency map. (but make sure you do, in fact, have a pair of pants; that's important in certain situations or people will look at you funny. And perhaps I'm overlooking possibilities here.)
Consider the accessories available. I personally still use V3 all the time, and have the morphing fantasy dress. (The V4 morphing fantasy dress also uses the same materials.) There are a truly insane number materials for it, both paid and free; that single dress could easily outfit an entire ballroom full of people (and will, one of these days when I get to that project).
Consider nonstandard alternatives. Instead of spending hours every month trying to stretch your $6 to the max, skip that daily trip to the vending machine, have a glass of water instead of a soda, and POOF you now magically have several hundred extra $ you can spend on content.
those are a lot of very good tips cybersox13. very helpful. thank you.
Another pointer about buying 3D content. when a product description reads, "Something, something FOR something else" the "something else" is a prerequisite, or required product. The Daz store lists the required products, but watch out for web site glitches where it says the same thing 5 times. Flushing the browser cache and reloading the page usually fixes that. If you don't have the required product, don't buy something for it. There are some products that support a wide range of figures, and all of them may be listed as required products, but that doesn't mean you have to have all of them to use that item on the figure you have. Hair pieces tend to be like that. They may have fit poses for several generations of characters. That's good versatility.
Don't overlook freebies! (Thank you, all freebie makers!). Browse ShareCG and Renderosity freebies often. There are hair and clothing items, props, and many, many character morphs. Going back to the point above, if you see a lot of freebies listed as being FOR some item from Daz, well put that Daz item in the wishlist. The Daz Morphing Fantasy Dress, in various incarnations, is a good example. Tons of free textures for that.