New! Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 14

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    Hylas said:

    You´re probably talking about these, I grabed them, too! Maybe I´ll cook up a render with them later.

    Yep, those are the ones! Couldn't beat that price.  

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2021

                                                                                                                Recent Purchases Render Challenge

    South Asian Temple            Heaven (G8F)             Rainbow Ranger  (G8/1)             Ophelie Hair           VYK Judy (Girl 8)               dForce Denim Diva (G8F)    

    dForce Wild Loop Tail Hair (G3/8 F/M)               The Pirate's Cove Scene Kit                 H&C Sleep Shorts Outfits (G8) (top only)     

    Huge render, click to enlarge, click again.

    So now we have the whacky Rainbow Rangers outfit with a South Asian Temple. Sure, why not? And why the heck did I buy a Rainbow Rangers Outfit? I think it was deeply discounted with codes and I needed a new item to discount the rest of my cart. And it's well made, love the materials, and no poke-through issues. :)  

    South Asian Temple by @bitwelder  is simply stunning with details, no surprise. 

    TIP: I used Growing Up and VYK Judy for Girl 8 and she made a delightful child. SHE HAS CHILD EYEBROWS WHICH LOOK NATURAL. Look at the main promo, which shows them well. Those are more difficult to find since the fibermesh sticky brows are so much in use by vendors now. I did find with the extreme expressions she had too much pucker for a child in the skin below the mouth and above the indentation of the chin. (It was easy to Photoshop out, took about ten seconds.)

    TIP: The Pirate's Cove Scene Kit has a nice variety of poses. They aren't over exaggerated and you get a wide variety from which you can start other poses.

    TIP: H&C Sleep Shorts Outfits works great for regular outfits. The top easily goes over other pants.

    I did have to darken Judy's skin with this lighting, because Heaven looked way too dark and Judy was washing out.

    Note Heaven's materials. That blush is VERY pronounced and I would not recommend her at all unless you're looking for an over-the-top makeup. Note her teeth- they look realistic as the bottom row is uneven. Frankly, I just don't like this character with those huge lips, and the skin materials just don't have anything unique or noteable other than that intense blush.  I think she cost me under $3 and I wouldn't buy her again. This is just my opinion- to me, Judy gets a surprising "A" (based on what I was expecting based on the promos) and Heaven just doesn't cut it for me. You may really like her though. She doesn't do well with extreme expressions, as shown. Perhaps she would be best for toon renders, and maybe that is the intent.

    Yes, this is Judy, using Growing Up. Isn't she adorable? 

     

    And in this pose, there was poke-through, and it was a simple pose. 

     Heaven has the short version of Ophelie Hair, which doesn't have too many options but I didn't dForce. I also didn't mess with the long version, it would look silly with a Rainbow Rangers outfit IMO. Too girly. NOTE: I completely filled in the right side (as WE look at it) because it curves waaaay out from the head with a huge gap. Looks cartoony. I also added strands at the tips on both sides as they were very blunt cut. So in summary, a LOT of work on the Ophelie Hair to make the short version look good. (But fast and easy to do.) 

    For outfits, Judy has on Denim Diva but the bare midriff top was replaced with the H&C Sleep Shorts shirt. It easily expanded to go over the pants. That outfit with shaders would give you an astonishing variety of outfits, and I love the shorts being relaxed and not crotch clingy.

    And for backgrounds, shout out to @xmasrose as the blue bokeh-type one is in the Free Backgrounds thread. 

     

    HeavenRainRangerSouthAsianTemple.png
    1280 x 1400 - 3M
    Heaven 2.png
    1280 x 1400 - 3M
    Heaven 3.png
    457 x 800 - 632K
    Heaven 3.png
    457 x 600 - 417K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • Tim82Tim82 Posts: 858

    wow....some really nice renders here :)

  • memcneil70memcneil70 Posts: 3,684

    @Novica, VYK Judy is amazing! When I had looked at her before I never even thought of what Growing Up might do for her. I have put her on my wishlist now. She looks like a real little girl.

    Mary

  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,649

    I bought After Midnight 28 Hdris And Lights this week and wanted to use it with some more new purchases with Kindred Arts' Iray HDRI Toolkit, which I have had for a while. What the toolkit does is provide invisible shadowcatchers, refective planes and occluders so an HDRI can be used with no other props. It was a bit tricky because I had a lot of figures.
    Also used:
    Dforce Cyber Decker Outfit For Genesis 8 Males 
    Street Rat With Dforce Hair For Genesis 8 Male 
    Vyk Marilyn For Genesis 8 Female  
    Dforce Royal Fashion For Genesis 8 Males 
    Poppy Hair For Genesis 3 & 8 Females 

    HDRI background:

    Figures, catchers and occluders:

     

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @luci45 that tool kit is awesome! Somehow that snuck past me. Thanks for showing it, got it wishlisted. I love the difference in the occluders, such as hiding the person behind the pillar. I really didn't quite get what the product does until I took a look at the thumbnail  promos. That's amazing!  Thanks for showing that last one, which really shows how you used the product. 

  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,649

    Novica said:

    @luci45 that tool kit is awesome! Somehow that snuck past me. Thanks for showing it, got it wishlisted. I love the difference in the occluders, such as hiding the person behind the pillar. I really didn't quite get what the product does until I took a look at the thumbnail  promos. That's amazing!  Thanks for showing that last one, which really shows how you used the product. 

    You're welcome. It really is a great product.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2021

    OT: Websites

    I'm going to mention something to webmasters which probably does not apply to 99.9% of you, but there is going to be a big change in Elementor for the number of sites you can do with the Expert plan. What you get today for doing a lot of websites, vs what you get tomorrow, is vastly different. However, if any of you are considering doing a website (I did them for 18 years, jumping back in) then you may be interested in some of this. 

    First, if you already have Wordpress (dot org) and if you have a website,  The Elementor plug in for doing more than 3 sites is changing. It's the Expert plan, and right now you can do 1,000 sites, tomorrow that is lowered to 25 sites. (and costs the same.)   I know I have several to do, plus my husband's and son's site, so I was over the 3 alloted by the next lower plan and have to get the Expert plan anyway. Might as well be able to do unlimited sites (for me, 1,000 is unlimited) instead of just 25 after the change at midnight..

     The Elementor plug-in does have a one website plan and 3 website plan, and those prices aren't changing, so this won't affect most of you. Even doing 25 sites is more than most of us will ever do, including me at the moment LOL. But just in case, thought I'd mention it because some of you may go over 25 sites if you're a reseller or do it for others. If you're a reseller, you already know about this change in all likelihood.

    Also, if you are planning on doing a Wordpress (dot org) site, Elementor looks like a lot of fun with the drag and drop capabilities. TONS of videos with cool tips. A lot of templates right out of the gate. And Envato has gorgeous animated templates which work with Elementor, and Elementor works with most of the free and paid Wordpress templates. Drag and drop,and change 'em up!  

    So this week I'm jumping in to the website stuff, but already having a problem just installing a theme I bought at Envato. Sigh. This is why I work on several things at once, so if I get held up waiting on a support request, I can just keep on working on other things. The theme I bought was Elipsa, look it up :)  It's a new release and I wanted an animated site. Quasar is also really cool!

    Website host- I went with Bluehost again and was reminded immediately why I went with them the first time. I opened a chat request and got a great representative within fifteen seconds. Last night I had to call and instead of being on hold for 45 minutes (pair dot com) I got a representative in under a minute and a half. So if you're thinking about doing a website, I recommend Bluehost as they are a Wordpress provider which means the admin panel is set up for easy work within Wordpress.  CNN, Oprah, and Forbes are only a few of the websites using Wordpress.org  43% of all websites use it.

    DO NOT USE WIX for a website. Right click, hit view source, and you get hundreds of lines of code with Wix promoted- and no meta tags or meta description mentioning YOU at all. The search engines prioritize coding which is efficient, and WIX "ain't it."  And Squarespace won't let you transfer your site or materials, so if they go out of business, your site is TOAST.

    Elementor works within Wordpress to make the changes. (Haven't tried it yet, as I am waiting for the theme to get installed.) I'll be lucky if I have any sanity this week, trying to do technical stuff with Bluehost, Wordpress, Envato, and Elementor. Stay tuned.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805

    I just did a website for myself with Bluehost/Wordpress based on the recommendation of a friend. I've been happy with them so far so agree with your recommendation. 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    RGcincy said:

    I just did a website for myself with Bluehost/Wordpress based on the recommendation of a friend. I've been happy with them so far so agree with your recommendation. 

    Is your website up yet? Love to see it :) 

    Also, reminder for anyone who has an author website, let me know and I'll put you in the author index at the beginning of the thread.  

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805
    edited March 2021

    I just launched it a week ago. Focuses on my non-3D art

    richschafermeyer.com

    Post edited by RGcincy on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @rgcincy  Interesting- vinegar and salt in the enameling video! I know people use vinegar to clean things but never thought about it with salt. 

    Your scratchart is stunning. I did it back in the early 90's and it's addictive :)  You should sell copies, or do you already? Wordpress themes may come with the shopping plugin (IIRC Woo?) 

  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,039

    @Novica

    I hand coded my website way back in the early '90's then moved it to .css and then php. I always felt that with the likes of Wordpress and similar there was no individuality with them and every website gradually looked alike so I never moved to any of those platforms. The one concession I made was to change my Gallery to Piwigo which is an addon and works really well.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @fishtales   That's why I went with an animated one and Elementor, which can change the basic template up any way I want it.  I found with many templates at Envato, you get about six different homepages from which to start (the ones about 60.00 anyway) so there's going to be variety anyway. But I know what you mean about static sites looking pretty cookie cutter. That Piwigo looks good! 

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805
    edited March 2021

    Novica said:

    @rgcincy  Interesting- vinegar and salt in the enameling video! I know people use vinegar to clean things but never thought about it with salt. 

    Your scratchart is stunning. I did it back in the early 90's and it's addictive :)  You should sell copies, or do you already? Wordpress themes may come with the shopping plugin (IIRC Woo?) 

    The acetic acid in the vinegar forms a weak hydrochloric acid from the chlorine in the salt which does a fine job cleaning copper of oxide. Just have to be careful with disposal of the resulting solution as copper salts are harmful to fish (this wouldn't be a problem with one time use but my solution gets to an intense blue before I prepare a fresh solution).

    Thanks about the scratchboard art. I know lots of scratchboard artists and it's growing as a medium now that we have a professional society. I have sold some reproductions in the past but haven't decided whether to sell online or not. There are a number of plugins that make it relatively easy to setup if I do.

    A number of the scratchboards use Daz models and scenes as references. Let's me play around with the light and composition before setting to work.

     

    Fishtales said:

    @Novica

    I hand coded my website way back in the early '90's then moved it to .css and then php. I always felt that with the likes of Wordpress and similar there was no individuality with them and every website gradually looked alike so I never moved to any of those platforms. The one concession I made was to change my Gallery to Piwigo which is an addon and works really well.

    I've hand coded sites using text editors and Dreamweaver in the past but it was much faster using a wordpress theme. There's enough free themes and plugins you can mostly get what you want from them with a little trial and error. I wasn't entirely happy with any but found one that works for what I want it to do.  

    Post edited by RGcincy on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2021

    I want to mention something which may save folks a bit of a headache, and a couple hours time in relationship to Wordpress. If your admin panel isn't working right, get with your host (mine is Bluehost) and ask them to roll the Wordpress version back to the previous. The one everyone is on now who has updated, or if you're like me and just starting back up with a Wordpress site again (or new to it) is using a Beta of a new version. This version wouldn't let me upload all the templates from the one I bought, stalling out at 98%- even though I increased the max time for it to get downloads (not going into detail about  the php coding I had to look up. Yep, you would have been proud of me looking up all that!)  

    The rep and I tried various things for over an hour then we did that and poof! Problem solved. :)  Thought I'd pass it along.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 17,890
    edited March 2021

    Really like the animals and egret RGCincy made. The art I like but only ever see in tourist shops in Florida are sea and beach creatures made by glueing semi-precious rocks (think quartz, amethyst, and so on) and empty shells together. I used to have a pelican made that way but I lost it. Might be in the basement I'll have to look.

    Post edited by nonesuch00 on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2021

    Want a smile? I LOVE THIS. Vintage movie clips of classic dancers (yep, Astaire!) dancing to modern music. It's astounding the amount of editing to get this collaboration of dances together, and a stunning job of the sync with the music.   The part that blew me away comes at 2:25 when they walk the couch down IN PERFECT SYNC with each other. 

    Enjoy and have a great Wednesday! 

    Oh, and here's another challenge for you. Find a feel good video that makes you smile and post it here. :) 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805

    nonesuch00 said:

    Really like the animals and egret RGCincy made. The art I like but only ever see in tourist shops in Florida are sea and beach creatures made by glueing semi-precious rocks (think quartz, amethyst, and so on) and empty shells together. I used to have a pelican made that way but I lost it. Might be in the basement I'll have to look.

    Thanks nonesuchoo 

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805

    Novica said:

    Want a smile? I LOVE THIS. Vintage movie clips of classic dancers (yep, Astaire!) dancing to modern music.

    That's a good one. Old movies had so many dance routines, sometimes they'd break into dance at the weirdest of times. In the 50's tap dancing lessons were popular and my younger sister and I took them together for several years, costumes and all. I remember being a bartender in one and a cowboy in another. I can't dance like that anymore. 

  • Robert FreiseRobert Freise Posts: 4,247

    I remember being taught square and round dance in elementary school and I've not danced since 

  • DaventakiDaventaki Posts: 1,621
    edited March 2021

    My website is built with Wordpress using a Envato theme.  Its still a work in progress and has been a learning curve, I last coded a website in html years and years ago.   For a time I let the site go which I regret now but at the time I just didn't have the time or energy to keep it up.  Now that .com they want over $1000 to get the name back.  Its ridiculous because it means nothing to noone but me.  Got sidetracked there lol the Envato theme I have uses Elementor which has made it easier to modify. 

    Post edited by Daventaki on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    Daventaki said:

    My website is built with Wordpress using a Envato theme.  Its still a work in progress and has been a learning curve, I last coded a website in html years and years ago.   For a time I let the site go which I regret now but at the time I just didn't have the time or energy to keep it up.  Now that .com they want over $1000 to get the name back.  Its ridiculous because it means nothing to noone but me.

    Oh man, that's indeed a ripoff. Sorry to hear that. 

    I am frustrated at the moment because I can't sign in and I have my password right on the sheet of paper in front of me. It's little things like that which drive you crazy. My template comes with six different home pages to choose from, and I had to call to find out how to get ONE stickied. (Settings>Reading)  Then I screwed it up so went to Bluehost and deleted the file (I'm like you, I did websites for over 15 years but it's been forever! I did figure the folder would be in public_html. Anyway, after I reimported the templates back to Wordpress, I forgot to activate it (Appearance>Themes) and it was wonky. DUH. So things like that are making me batty and now I can't sign in. Glad they have responsive phone folks.

  • Tim82Tim82 Posts: 858

    that sounds frustrating!!!

  • sueyasueya Posts: 825

    This image uses some of my latest purchases - Jellybean for genesis 8 female ,Knit st Patricks day and Grand piano and poses for genesis 3 and 8

    I like the variety of poses included with the piano and I think Jellybean is a really attractive female character

    STPatsMusicians.jpg
    826 x 771 - 134K
  • sueyasueya Posts: 825

    This image uses some of my latest purchases - Jellybean for genesis 8 female ,Knit st Patricks day and Grand piano and poses for genesis 3 and 8

    I like the variety of poses included with the piano and I think Jellybean is a really attractive female character

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @sueya  I like your Jellybean better than the promos :)  She looks like a good musician- lost in her own little word of music.

  • NathNath Posts: 2,713
    edited March 2021

    First sort of big purchase this MM: three dresses and one other outfit (with sort of sensible boots!) from the White PriestessEnchantress offers. I'm just a sucker for long drapey dresses...

    Post edited by Nath on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    I just bought The Rocky Island for 2.99 because at that price, I can get some camera views which don't have that horrible grafitti. We talked about that on the thread previously, and I don't think we figured out whether it had a better side without the scribbles. I may try (not anytime soon) to see if I can apply a different rock texture, or add boulders/remove. 

  • memcneil70memcneil70 Posts: 3,684

    Novica, this is off topic, but yesterday I heard that the CDC released guidelines about visiting family in care facilities, if both parties have been vaccinated. I expect you already know about that but wanted to alert you just in case you have missed it. Not sure how long you may have to wait after your husband is well post-Covid. I hope he is doing well now? 

    My second vaccine shot wasn't as bad as the first, but if that was a mild version of full Covid, no way I want to get the full version! Then Sunday I read an article in the New York Times that women seem to react stronger than men, something about our XX chromosomes. We react more to all vaccines. That explains me getting sick after annual flu shots. But I am now able to make appointments after my two week post-vaccine shot and get things done put off for a year.

    I am currently evaluating G8F skins and deleting those that have an air-brushed, or pan makeup look to them, or other issues. I am keeping those with an excellent sculpt, or if an accessory, wardrobe item, hair, or prop that was included with the character. I finished with the 'Ls' and have reduced my load time by two minutes. 

    Mary

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