The first.....

So I started over with the Daz stuff. They either upgraded their software version or I am a hell of a lot smarter. I didn't have near as many problems as I did before.

I did find some fabulous tutorials to help me with figure out what was what and where to put things in the software... now I need to learn the concepts of cameras and lighting and morphing, etc. In case anyone wants the references, they are available at http://cellarstudio3d.com/learning-center/daz-studio/49-daz-studio-for-beginners.html. These were invaluable as I got started.

Here is my first render... which took me.... hours to figure out. Thus, there isn't much postwork. I need a break from this one or I'll toss the computer out the window.

http://www.marou.org/Bathtime.jpg

Any suggestions on ... well just about anything... are appreciated. I'm not thin-skinned either so no worries there. One thing I need to focus on, I believe, is pushing it to blend (i.e., 3d to 2d) so there isn't such a clear distinction.

In any event... yay! Progress!

Nianya 16 years ago
Not bad for first render! :smile It looks like it could be a scene in a Tinkerbell movie! I love those movies. LOL

I can't really give any tips and tricks about Daz ( I use poser), but for 3d in general.. what I tell everyone, practice and experiementing is how I learned. Take your time building a scene and playing with lights. Try different settings, test render, repeat until you get what you want. Textures are another good thing to play with. The better the textures, the better the picture turns out it seems. Heck look at some of Eve's and Roz and Adi's pictures as examples. I highly recomend VAMP girls and PD textures. ;)

Ummm what else...oh yes, if you see something cool in someone else's picture and you want to know how they did it.. don't be shy and ask them. I'm always willing to try and show someone how I did something. Although I can better help with Poser stuff than I can Daz.
Aniyah 16 years ago
I worked on it a bit more --- actually changed the poses, etc. I like this so much better. Putting this one to bed and starting on something else! Thank you for the comments; I appreciated the feedback.

http://www.marou.org/just_hatched_bath.jpg
Lessa 16 years ago
the tabs youll want available will be your preferences tab, your content tab, and your scene tab, those youll mess with the most. Once youre familiar with those tabs and know where everything is youll want to learn your Surface tab and how to adjust things there.

Now if you select a light in your Scene tab, then look at your preferences tab, you can scroll down and make adjustments to your light's intensity, color, and shadows.

Youll want shadows turned on for at least one of your lights, probably starting out with Deep shadow rather than raytrace, at first. Raytraced take longer and have a different appearance, but theyre very crisp and clear. They dont really have the versatility in Daz that poser has.


PD's textures wont work in Daz, sadly :( Its half the reason I got Poser.. that and Evey nagging me hehe.


If you want some really amazing textures in Daz you might want to look into getting the Human Surface Shader and look for items when you buy them that require it. There are also free shaders if you google them made specifically for Daz, Sha's is one of them, and Calida, or something like that. :)
Nianya 16 years ago
I like them both! The first one still reminds me of TInkerbell, but the second one is cute with the baby dragon and the snake watching them. :D

One tip I do have, of course it all depends what look you are going for... If you adjust the specular some - make it a darker color (not white, but maybe a dark gray) - it will give the clothes a less plastic look. Not sure how thats done in Daz though. LOL
Aniyah 16 years ago
I played with the lighting quite a bit on this one and downloaded a pdf document on different types of lighting and am looking forward to learning about what the different adjustments do.

Nianya, it's funny you mention that because one of the comments from the other half was... why does she look plastic? Now I know another item to adjust and/or look at.

Thank you guys for the tips!
ROzbeans 16 years ago
Are you on Deviantart, Aniyah?