Ds creative 17

DS CREATIVE

ISSUE 17 NOVEMBER 2015

The magazine for DAZ Studio users

GENX Multipart

Part 1 of our 3 part series on working with GenX

First Steps

Let’s start our 1st animation

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 •

MUSE Karisma

• November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CONTENTS

Issue 17

FEATURES 18 • Vendor Spotlight Our first featured vendor this month is the unique BadKittehCo 34 • Vendor Spotlight Our second vendor this month is the extremely talented Alexaana 42 • Artist Spotlight This months artist spotlight is comic strip artist Brent Bowers 54 • Vendor Spotlight Our third vendor this month is the wonderful Luthbellina

REGULARS 06 • DAZ Gallery We once again demonstrate that if you want great artwork then look no further than our DAZ gallery.

EDITOR Camilla Drakenborg camilla.dscreative.mag@gmail.com PRODUCTION DESIGNER Phil Thompson phil.dscreative.mag@gmail.com TECHNICAL EDITOR Totte Alm totte.dscreative.mag@gmail.com PROOF READER Jamie Somers THE TEAM Matt Allgood Sanyel Jackson Samir Rouabhi Deleuze

28 • Competition Winners The car was the star in our competion, but just who won.

50 • Fave Five Ginger Lee McKee tells us her fave five items that she must have 52 • Competition Time It’s time for an adventure in this months competition, let’s get rendering

TUTORIALS 22 • First Steps Let’s take our first steps into the world of animation 40 • Wanna Be Todd Kogutt talks about starting out into the world of DAZ Studio 46 • GenX Part 1 Seliah brings us part 1 of 3 showing how to get the most from GenX 60 • Fuzzy Hair Fix Bowski shares his fix for Fuzzy OOT hair when rendered with Reality/ Luxrender

All images are copyright of their respective owner, no images may be reproduced without express permission of either the original artist or DS Creative magazine DS CREATIVE • November 2015 •

w

Welcome to I s s u e 17

Issue 17 here we come! Can you believe it almost

Christmas time, which means DS C is hard at work trying to come up with a few extra goodies for our C-special.

Over the issues released, we now and then get art where background images have been used. Its a common tool for those with perhaps little scenery or you just wanna pump out a quick one or even as just a filler.

And often we buy those from vendors like Sveva on Rendo and other vendors from various sites. Some also use their own photos or stock images where the artist or photographer gives permission to use said background but often with a few conditions such as for commercial or non-commercial usage or link must be given back to the artist etc. There are many places you can get such resources.

Some also like to use free wallpapers as backgrounds for they will sometimes alter the wallpaper. However, a free wallpaper is for your desktop to look at, not to use in your art unless its specifically stated somewhere that is permitted. I myself have given away free wallpaper of the art I’ve done but only to use for your desktop. On some such sites, there is nothing stated, basically its just a page that is collecting images and stating you can use it. Many times the artists has nothing to do with the site or even know that their art/photo is on such site and therefore cannot state any conditions. Now does that mean that you can use it for your art and do what you want with it? No! It means you can use it for your desktop and look at the pretty picture but that’s it.

With or without intentions to sell an art piece of yours with a wallpaper you found on a free site but without any info of use of image or artists name (so you perhaps locate and email the artist to ask) you simply should NOT use that image for anything other then... you guessed it, now say after me D E S K T O P! :) If as artists we want to use other artists pre made backgrounds, buy it, check conditions no matter where you get it.

A true artist, always respect his or hers fellow artists and give credit where credit is due, that is simply common internet artwork courtesy.

Happy Halloween

Camilla Drakenborg Editor

• November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Poseidon Calling Out the Kraken Penne Chaput

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 •

GALLERY

NEXUS 6 Bowski UK

symbol of the year Ktoya

Ukraine Autumn Serenity Mithoron USA

NEXUS 6 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

SYMBOL OF THE YEAR

AUTUMN SERENITY

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 •

GALLERY

APOLLO WONDERS Jennifer Vander Kooi

Dance 6

Brian Sans

UK

Apollo Wonders • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Dance 6 DS CREATIVE • November 2015 •

GALLERY

EARTH MOTHER BronzeDragon

FLASH

Bellatryx Italy

SUNSET LADY Gran22

Earth Mother

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FLASH

Sunset lady DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 11

GALLERY

Gimel Hunting Wabbits Sandra Bauser USA

Ella Kay Shawn Thomas

Gimel Hunting Wabbits 12 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Ella Kay DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 13

GALLERY

Play Nice Boys Daniel Wright UK

CURSED GARDEN Marcius Hess Brazil

sadeki

Márföldi Rita

Play Nice Boys 14 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CURSED GARDEN

sadeki

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 15

GALLERY

Estela

Lucinda Atman USA

Predicament Cliff George

Antique Table and Lamp Mark Kappe

Estela 16 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Predicament

Antique Table and Lamp DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 17

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

BadKittehCo

What made you get into 3D modeling and how long have you been active in the craft?

I feel like I’ve taken a very circuitous path to becoming a 3D modeler. My original schooling is in Civil Engineering and Land Surveying, so when you start working in that field you are immediately plopped in front of AutoCAD. That was back in 1987. The other part of me, the one that never wanted to be an engineer in the first place, always looked for a way to escape from doldrums of number crunching and do something creative. So during work hours I would be working on engineering projects and at lunch and after hours exploring what else can be done.

If memory serves well, I lofted my first lathe surface around 1991, before that you could only do 2D graphics in AutoCAD. It was called something else back then. I think that started the evolution into becoming a 3D modeler of today.

Eventually I discovered Poser on a shelf of a Micro Center store along with Bryce, I spent a few years admiring Bryce’s shinny balls, then eventually graduated top modeling clothing for Poser and DAZ Studio, on a hobby side. For work, I had eventually transitioned towards architectural and product visualizations.

The last 4 years I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from content making, to go to school and study fine art, as I felt my artistic and design side was lacking.

Where would say you draw your inspiration from?

It could be anything. I seem to be easily over stimulated, always have a ton of ideas (not all of them good, mind you). I like to play with turning things, concepts on their head, or as I like to say, throw things out there and see where they fall.

Then I try to edit them down to see what may make sense or what is too far out, or too boring. More specifically there are a lot of things we see in pop culture, advertising, games, toys, television, and internet or just on the street which can be inspiring. I’m always on a lookout for something that may resonate, and often find it.

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Which program(s) do you utilize to create your models in?

My workhorse program for modeling is 3D studio Max, with heavy help of Zbrush, and for texturing I mostly use Photoshop. There are few other smaller programs that can be of help. Recently I’ve become very fond of Allegorithmic’s Substance painter, although I don’t use all of its features yet. There is also a group of smaller apps and utilities I will use because I like them for specific tasks. I’ve been known to grab Hexagon to model - I call it Mini Max, when it comes to sub-d modeling I seem to see a lot of parallels between the two and sometimes I don’t feel like bringing out the heavy guns.

“In recent few years DAZ Studio has grown a lot, and I like the direction it is going in. ” Typically how long does it take from initial idea to finished model?

It varies; sometimes you’re in a mood for a quickie, other times you want a big production!

I do seem to like making big sets, and those can take from one to three months to make. What I like about big sets is building a story around it, but at the same time, finding a way to give it come versatility. Perhaps

even have intertwining stories in there, which can be open ended and allow the end user to fill in their own blanks. Other times you just wake up with a piece in mind, and just have to get it out.

What is your favorite subject to model?

Personally I’m very fond of Steampunk, Dieselpunk and post apocalyptic Genre; however, what I like even more is the challenge of creating something on demand. I love the research and discovery of something I was not already very familiar with, and turning it into a visual story; and cats, anything that has to do with cats ;)

What one piece of advice would you give to someone, who is just starting out creating models for Daz Studio?

One of the things I get asked very often is which program to use. By large, it does not matter a whole lot, ultimately, you are in control, not the program. Whichever program you grab, learn it and learn it well, get past the initial discomforts. It will be well worth it. Don’t be like me and avoid Zbrush for several YEARS because I disliked the interface. Looking at it hindsight, that one goes into a “man that was stupid on my part” bin. At the same time, you also don’t need a big fancy program to start out. I made a lot of models with Hexagon (even though I had 3D studio Max). Initial learning steps are always hard and very far out of our comfort zone, you feel overwhelmed, confused, lost. Its ok, you’re supposed to at first, don’t let that discourage you. The more time and effort you spend outside your comfort zone, the faster you will learn, and the better you will get.

If you could add one new feature to daz studio, what would it be?

In recent few years DAZ Studio has grown a lot, and I like the direction it is going in. Since I spend most of the time making content, rather than making renders, I have to say I am rather happy with the toolset available to a content creator, so much so that I can’t think of something serious I would want to change right now. I’m still on the Iray High. Considering I spend a fair amount of time outside of DS, with programs like 3DS Max and Marmoset renderer and game engines, sure, I’d love to see DS strengthen in that direction. That, however, is more long term planning rather than a specific feature I’d want to see, and from what I read, DS seems to be inching in that direction.

What is the biggest challenge for you when creating a new product?

I wish there was six of me to do everything that goes into making a product. With my elaborate clothing sets, I have to have a project tracking spreadsheet so I don’t lose my marbles. Also controlling what to put into the product and what to edit out so that it appeals to the customer can be tough. At the same time, it’s often a challenge to control how much effort to put into something so that you end up working for $2 per hour. When DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 19

the bills come due, bill collectors don’t care that you worked for free half the month or that your product didn’t sell as expected. Finding the sweet spot can take some trial and error. I’d like to build up a group of vendors to work under a brand name, but that may be a pipe dream, I don’t think I’m good enough at people management to make that happen. But, who knows, the game isn’t over yet.

Which 3 vendors would you say are your personal favorites?

This is the question that always gets me in trouble because there is someone I omitted, or someone didn’t make the list. I am an introverted Nerdy gadget girl who finds other people scary for the most part, which makes me terrible at knowing who is doing. Our extended community is teaming with creative people who are worthy of a spotlight for a number of reasons.

Since I do this full time, I do take a look at other vendors who do this full time as well, so we can learn from each other how to survive better.

How does it make you feel when you see the final artwork created with your products?

It is absolutely delightful. As I said earlier, I tend to get over stimulated with ideas easily, but when I see all the ways people have used my models, and I am in awe with collective creativity in our community. Especially

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when I see someone use a product in a way that even I had no idea can be done. The models start a whole new life of their own, and it can be fascinating to see all the stories people tell with them.

Can you give us a hint of what is to come?

At the moment I am wrapping up a G3 remake of my Enigma set with some new textures. When this set first came out I had to cut it short because school was starting, and it always bothered me to not have it at its full potential. Those who bought the early version will get a free update!!!! Enigma Redux may already be out at the time this is published. After that, I have a super secret 18 piece fantasy set I’m working on. People who follow my BadKitteh Co. Facebook page may have seen an occasional small peek. That’s all my boss will allow me to say - and my boss, she’s a serious slave driving meanie!

Where can we find your content to buy?

Renderosity store is my “Home Base” https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/BadKittehCo I try to keep my facebook page pretty active too, with sneak peeks, technical tips and an occasional freebie: https://www.facebook.com/BadKittehCo?ref=hl

BP adKT ittehCo resents he

AIRPUMP Includes Airpump prop Scene file containing 3 photometric lights and 3 cameras

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/BKCAirpump_DSC.zip

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 21

Best FOOT FORWARD We take a few step on the path of DAZ Studio animation This is a step by step tutorial meant to familiarize you with animation, animate 2 and aniblocks.

1. What is a CG animation movie?

“Computer animation is essentially a digital successor to the art of stop motion animation of 3D models and frame-by-frame animation of 2D illustrations.” WIKIPEDIA In other words it’s a succession of renders in order to create an animation. One second of animation is an assembly of 25 to 60 renders so we can conclude that a 1 hour and 30 minutes movie is somewhere between 135000 and 324000 renders... or more.

c) Load Genesis 2 and put some clothes on them.

3. Aniblocks - animate 2 - Go Figure We are going to set up our character to make him start, then walk and finally stop. We’re going to use the basics aniblocks provided with Daz studio and the animate 2 plug-in. An aniblock is a block of animation; it could be a full animation or a short animation (as short as a blink of an eye). Adding them all together, you obtain a full length animation. The best part is that you can make your own aniblocks and mix them with other. You can also customize them, make them longer or shorter or cut them... and more.

4. He’s alive a) Open the animate 2 panel

2. Let us be technical Since we want to make our own short CG movie, first thing to consider is the format and the frame rate. Let’s say we want to show it on YouTube or to some friends, we will choose the HD format (1280x720 pixels). We could go to 1920x1080 (Full DH) but let’s start with something we can handle. Then, for our example, we will pick 25 frames per second (fps). Remember that 25 frames for a second means 25 renders so if each render is 30 mn... we have 750 minutes of renders: 12 and a half hours!!! FOR A SECOND!!! IT’S INSANE!!! Watch out when you set up your scene, your lights and your materials. For a HD render (1280 x 720 pixels) 10 mn for a render is acceptable.

Translating this into Daz language: a) Turn on the timeline window

b) Set up the frame rate, type in the green zone: 25

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then click on the bottom right button, mine read “dance” b) Select the walk file, you now have access to 5 aniblocks.

You can previsualize all the aniblocks by bringing your cursor above each of them.

- Corner Left, your character is turning left - Corner Right, your character is turning right - Forward (1 cycle), your character will make one walk cycle - Start, your character star to walk - Stop, your character end his walking c) Move the white selector (end of animation) to around 7 seconds d) Drag and drop the following aniblocks - Start - Forward - Forward - Stop If you make a mistake you can remove a block by selecting it and deleting it

a) Select genesis figure in the animate panel b) Click on the +. You now have your subtrack c) Double click on the subtrack and type in: feet d) Right click on the subtrack and select create a new aniblock, when the windows open, just make it of 5 seconds

e) Bring the white cursor to the end of the “stop” aniblock.

Using the playhead, you can see your character walking TIP: If your character seems to react slowly, you can reduce his resolution level and all its clothing. DON’T FORGET TO BRING ALL THE SETTINGS BACK WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR RENDERS

e) Select the left foot of your character then click on the aniblock to select it and double click (or click on the go into keyframe button) to have access to the keyframes.

You can use the zoom selector to have a better view of the empty keyframes.

5. Corrections As you already noticed his feet and his hands have a slight problem (fig I). We will solve that by creating a subtrack.

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 23

f) Be sure to be at frame 0, and then correct the pose of your left feet. Use the virtual floor to get a good pose.

Notice the green keyframe now showing in your panel.

Congratulations, you put create your first keyframe.

7. Rendering If the previsualisation is correct, you can render your animation. You might add lights and background and 2 or 3 props by the way. a) Instead of “movie” in the render type, select “image Series”

When it’s done, do the same for the right foot OR use the symmetry tool (shift + y) and click “accept” Your feet are both correctly posed.

Exit the keyframe mode.

Following the same pattern, you can correct the hands, again, be sure to be at the 0 frame.

Using the playhead you can notice that everything is better now.

6. Previsualisation Now it’s time to set a camera. Make sure the camera can capture all the movement (start-walk-stop). Jump to your render settings then to render type and select “movie” instead of Still Image.

b) Select the file where the renders will be saved c) Give a name in “series base” to your render, something like “walk_.jpg” could be good. d) Hit render e) Wait for the renders :) 8. Editing With software like VirtualDub, you can now edit your renders and turn them into an .avi file. a) Open VirtualDub b) File > Open video file c) Select your first render, VirtualDub will detect it’s a jpeg sequence d) Then go to video > frame rate then change your frame rate to 25 e) File > save as AVI f) Enjoy

Choose a name and a file to render your animation.

Change your render to engine to Basic open GL and reduce your render size (keep the same ratio: 16/9). I choose 900x506.

Hit render.

When you are prompted to, choose Microsoft Video 1

You can get VirtualDub here: http://www.virtualdub.org/ 24 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 25

images from the war room

The F4 Phantom was a good aircraft in it’s time but early versions had a few peculiarities that needed to be sorted out. Here I’ve depicted a pair of Navy F4B’s rolling out of a holding pattern to go “in country” on a raid. The Navy F4B differed from the Air force version in that it had a significantly shortened nose cone to facilitate lifting on Carrier elevators (The Air Force received the F4C which was effectively identical to the F4B but with a longer nose and different electronics).

The early J-79 engines provided for the Phantom were very powerful, but the re-burners generated large smoke trails at mid-throttle/cruise settings making it easy to spot the aircraft in flight. This was later solved by upgrading the engines with a smokeless combustor which cleanly burned 26 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

fuel in the exhaust.

The F4 also had an unusual flight controls set-up, instead of Ailerons to control the roll of the A/C the F4 had a combination of Flaperons (Ailerons that had a down only position and could be combined with the flaps for extra lift with heavy loads) and upper wing surface Spoilers. During certain types of ACM the Spoilers would be rendered ineffective due to angle of attack and it became necessary to do a Rudder Roll instead, how-ever this meant that the aircraft suffered from adverse yaw during hard maneuvering.

Eventually the F4 was re-fitted with leading edge slats to help improve maneuverability and handling at high angles of attack. The Phantom also had one of the first Boundary Air Layer control systems to aid in low speed flight han-

IMAGE, F4B Phantom II and weapons modeled by theschell

dling.

Until the F4E, the Phantom also had no internal gun, and instead had to mount an external gun pod (doctrine at the time had held that in supersonic combat a gun would be unnecessary). When the heat-seeking and radar guided missiles of the day were found to be less than stellar in combat, the Phantom began carrying the SUU-16 and then the SUU-23 20mm Gun Pods. Unfortunately these guns were rendered less than accurate on early aircraft due to the lack of a lead-computing gun sight (this was somewhat improved when the SUU-23 was equipped with the needed gun sights).

Despite early teething problems the Phantom was said to

have been very responsive and easy to fly even at the edge of its flight envelope. It also held numerous world records including the world speed record and a zoom climb record (amongst others). It could carry 18,000lbs of external stores, double the load of a WW2 B-17, and had numerous upgrades and improvements made during it’s service life.

The F4B was accepted by the Navy in 1961, and by the Air Force in 1963. Phantoms remain in service in many countries to this day, but were officially retired from US production in 1979, and from service with US Forces in 1996, after over 30 years of continuous combat service. A number of F4’s have remained in service converted to use as remote target drones...

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COMPetitio

COMPETITION WINNERS

1

st Jean Morneau

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on WINNERS 2

nd Lamuserie

3

rd

Carola Ottosson DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 29

Kismet2012

HONORABLES

Mark Kappe

30 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Ginger Lee McKee Sven Hartmann DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 31

NAME THIS

CHARACTER And win a prize

All you have to do is to send us a great name for the character and a short one or two paragraph biography for her

PRIZES

1st $40 Daz gift certificate 2nd $20 Daz gift certificate 3rd $10 Daz gift certificate Competition sponsored

by Maniacmayo May

All competition submissions are to be sent to: contest.dscreative.mag@gmail.com Subject: Name the Character Deadline is 23:59 UTC on the 22nd of November-15 For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook group: h t t p s : // w w w . fac e b o o k . c o m / groups/dazcreative/

32 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT We asked you to vote between 6 pieces of content to see which one you reckoned should be called a cult classic, these are your final four.

This month A Robots Life

PRACTICAL

WORKER

FEARSOME

FUNCTIONAL

Prototype Stonemason

Dystopian Worker Drone billy home deci6el Moebius87

BEO Ripper midnight stories mighty mestophales

CyberMech 4.1 DzFire

Its creation promised limitless potential that could change the future of mankind. Now that the prototype is here, will it fulfill it’s design or have we given it too much power to control?

The choice is your’s with this new mechanical creature from Stonemason.

Dystopian Worker Drone (DWD) Nickname: Dweed.

These are the Drones you’ve been looking for!

These three figures are built for versatility and hard work.

Put them to work in the Uranium mines on Io or scrubbing carbon off the Warp Nacelles. They’ll work tirelessly just for you.

Batteries not included.

It is the way of all things great and small, to adapt, to evolve, to change. The BEO Ripper is the next evolution of the BEO2K10 series. This is a detailed stand alone figure that would strike fear into the hearts of men.

This is a 3D graphic design software that features a medium to heavy armor mech for a variety of specialized uses. From a worker mech to a full combat mech, the CM801 is the all around mech for your 3D rendering.

This is the complete package, so don’t be fooled by those other aluminum foil knock-offs!

VIEW

VIEW

VIEW

VIEW

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 33

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Alexaana

What made you get into 3D modeling and how long have you been active in the craft?

Art was always my number one passion. As a child I was surrounded by relatives and friends quite skilled when it came to graphics and visual arts. My mother used to draw traditional portraits and my older cousin was passionate about fashion; she graduated from Art & Design University and later on she opened a small women fashion store. I’ve learnt a few things from both of them as well as at school; I loved my art classes. For a long time my best friends were pencils, watercolours and paper sheets. I still enjoy sketching from time to time, but since a few years ago I kind of replaced my old friends with some new ones: my computer, DazStudio/Poser and Photoshop. It took me about a year to get familiar with 3D art and how to use the programs and as I became more and more confident in my art I decided to start posting it online and even opened a store at Renderosity and then later on at Fantasies Realm Market. I could probably say I’m working in 3D for about 3 years now, even though online I’ve been known for a year and a half maybe.

Where would say you draw your inspiration from?

For me, there are so many things that inspire me: different photos, music, sceneries, quotes, dreams and life-experiences. Some of my favourite authors and artists inspire me on a fan-based level. I get a lot of my ideas when I’m out walking because it clears my head which is usually when the random ideas pop on in. I like to always keep a sketchbook or notebook with me to write ideas down. People also inspire me. People I know mostly but sometimes I’ll see a random person and create a story for them. I guess a lot of different things inspire me.

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Which program(s) do you utilize to create your models in?

I really want and hope I can manage at some point, maybe next year, to create my own 3D clothes, based on my own ideas. I’d really enjoy doing that!

Typically how long does it take from initial idea to finished model?

What one piece of advice would you give to someone, who is just starting out creating models for Daz Studio?

The only programs I’m using to create my art and the products I sell are Photoshop, DazStudio and Poser.

Well, it depends. If it’s a product I work on, sometimes I manage to zip it up in a day, other times in a week or more. When it comes to my art images, probably between 30 minutes and 10+hours.The ones that take me longer are usually rendered in Reality or Iray, and since my computer is not a beast, it takes a lot of time

“It motivates me to work harder and offer them better products that they can enjoy while rendering”

to see my finished render. Often I tend to jump from an idea to another following my muse and that’s why quite a few of my works get postponed until a later date when I go back and work on them.

What is your favorite subject to model?

At the moment I could say my favourite thing to do is texturing clothing for women (v4, g2f or g3f). However

Practice, practice and practice! DazStudio is very detailed but in the same time quite easy to use, a great deal of your knowledge will come from trial and error. It’s a fun program to play around with, so don’t be afraid to try new things.

If you could add one new feature to daz studio, what would it be?

Not really sure I’d add another feature to it at the moment. It seems it has everything that’s needed. I’m still exploring version 4.8 so there is always time to come across something I might need and it’s missing.

What is the biggest challenge for you when creating a new product?

Lately my biggest challenge is time. Somehow it feels like there are not enough hours in a day to actually manage to work on something. My art and my store are not my only occupation. I also have a job and over the last couple of months it’s been really hectic trying to keep up with everything, and time doesn’t seem to be on my side right now, so that’s why I see it as a challenge.

Which 3 are your personal favorites of your own products?

The Nail Box G3F https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/the-nail-boxg3f/111272/, Hyeon Gi G2F https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/hyeon-gig2f/110805/ ALXN Wish for Love Potion https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/alxn-wish-forlove-potion/109766/

Which 3 vendors would you say are your personal favorites?

This is a difficult request because I have many favourite vendors. Some of them are: Fabiana, HinkyPunk, SWAM, Lilflame, Sveva, Maddelirium, Silver and the list goes on!

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How does it make you feel when you see the final artwork created with your products?

It’s a really nice feeling seeing my products used in other artist’s creations. It makes me feel good about myself and confident about the products I make. It motivates me to work harder and offer them better products that they can enjoy while rendering. And I’m really thankful that they support me and my art by choosing to buy my products.

Can you give us a hint of what is to come?

After a few weeks of bed rest, spent with my parents and no computer, there isn’t much in progress at the moment, except for some clothing add ons. However I plan to work on a winter character for Genesis 2 or 3 F, or maybe both, and hopefully have it ready before Christmas!

Where can we find your content to buy?

Renderosity https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/ alexaana?uid=alexaana Fantasies Realm Market http://fantasiesrealm.com/market/Designers/alexaana

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Super Five Background Pack

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_alexaana_freebie.zip DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 37

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Hidden Valley Seliah

http://childeoffyre.com/ DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 39

So You Want To Be A 3D Artist.

Todd Kogutt talks about starting out in the world of 3D digital art.

Y

ou’ve seen pictures online. You’ve watched animation in the theatre. You’re reading this very magazine. Yet you’ve never even rendered your first pixel. It’s a common story.

I bought my first 3d program many years ago. It was a bundle of Poser, Bryce, Painter 3D, and Ray Dream Studio. It’s still sitting on my shelf, with a heavy layer of dust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocGqlyOS_fA If videos aren’t your preferred way of learning, there are plenty of free PDFs and web pages out there with great instructions. Just do a little searching.

CAVEAT: There are many great 3D artists out there.

There are many great teachers. There are many people who can write good instructions. There are very few who are all three.

2. Keep your wallet closed.

This can be a very expensive hobby. Besides the programs, there is a ton of content vendors at many sites selling all sorts of great and tempting clothes and characters. These can fuel the imagination and really get you wanting to spend money so you can make pictures as pretty as that promo art.

It’s not that I never tried to use the programs, it’s that I tried, and quickly got discouraged or bored or both, and stopped. That’s a pattern that repeated for well over a decade.

Then, about 9 months ago, I gave it another try. And this time, it worked. I made a 3D picture...then I made another...and another. I’ve entered contests. I’ve won some, I’ve lost some. I’ve learned an awful lot. And I’ve had a lot of fun. So, let me pass along some lessons and some warnings on how to get yourself from “I want to make 3D art.” to “I’m making 3D art!”

1. Find yourself some good instructions.

When I had tried to learn Poser or Daz in the past, I’d try their tutorials. Let’s just say, they didn’t work for me. They pretty much start out with “Here’s a cube.

Here’s how you rotate a cube. Here’s how you move a cube.” to teach the basics. Well, I got into this to do cool pictures, and that is not doing cool pictures. But these days, a quick Google search will find you tutorials about anything... and a couple of them are actually good!

What I found worked for me was a 20-minute “quick start” video on You Tube that a guy made to get his kid started working with Daz. 20 minutes later, I knew the basics of how to do use the program, and I had made a fun picture with a lizard warrior leaping at the viewer!

Now that’s how you teach a program! (It’s well-known in educational circles that adding a lizard warrior to any curriculum improves learning by at least 67 %.)

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Don’t do that.

There’s nothing more disheartening then spending a bunch of money to get material to learn a hobby and then never do it or find you hate it. The dust-covered guitar in the corner can attest to that. As this is a Daz Studio-based magazine, that’s obviously the program you’re interested in. Luckily, Daz Studio is available for free, along with a bunch of content to get your started.

They also regularly offer free models, as does Renderosity, RDNA, and most of the other 3D content sites.

There are also incredible resources like ShareCG.com and DeviantArt, where you can also find some amazing models of professional quality for free. Typing “Daz3d” + “item you’re looking for” into Google will often lead you to them.

After you find out if you like this hobby, then you can shop to your heart’s content. Unlike the real world, 3D stores don’t sell out.

CAVEAT: Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

If there are comments about the models, read them.

Also, there are many different formats of 3D models out there, and ones that are easily compatible with Daz Studio is a very small percentage. Look for ones that actually say “Daz” or “Poser” on them. You can often use the other types, but it’s often complicated, and that’s not really something you should tackle when you first start out.

3. Forums are your friends.

By its nature, 3D art is a solo activity. You’re alone with your computer. Well, there’s a whole community of 3D users out there, and they can be a pretty friendly bunch. There are a number of forums, message boards, Facebook pages, and other communities that you can join. Naturally, Daz3d.com itself hosts what is probably the biggest forum for Daz Studio users. Renderosity also has an active forum, as well as a 24/7 ongoing chat system where you can find people at any time to talk to. And this very magazine has its own Facebook page for discussion of its topics and a companion page for more general 3D art discussions.

CAVEAT: There are many people on forums who

know a lot about Daz Studio. There are a lot of people on forums who think they know a lot about Daz Studio.

You’ll need to spend some time to learn who is who.

And just because they’re a moderator or an admin or have some other title, it doesn’t mean they’re an authority on the topic...just an authority on the forum.

Also, be aware often you’ll ask how to do something and the reply you’ll get is an interrogation of “Why do you want to do that?” The answer to this question is “Because I want to.” The people who ask that question are often know-it-alls who are best ignored. That said, do be open to folks who are offering alternate solutions to what you’re trying to do. It’ll become obvious who is who.

Finally, learn to ask questions correctly. Don’t use a subject like “Help!” or “I have questions!” Instead try “I need help with posing” or “Iray: I have questions about lights”. Giving context in the subject line will get the attention of people knowledgeable about your prob-

lems, as well as being helpful to the next person looking for help on the same problem when they search the forum. (On that note, always search the forum first.) In the body of your message, give as many details as you can about your problem. (Screenshots can be very useful.) Make it as easy as possible for people to help you.

4. Testing yourself.

When you’re starting to learn 3D art, you can have a lot of ideas of pictures to make. Too many ideas. So many ideas you can’t decide what to try next. Contests can help you focus. The Daz3d.com forum has a monthly new user forum that concentrates on teaching a specific skill, like lighting or composition. DSCreative of course has a monthly contest focusing on a theme like holidays or portraits. Look around and you’ll find contests all over. These are a great way to learn new concepts that will improve your art and give you a way to steer your train of thought.

CAVEAT: When you enter a contest, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Contests are decided by ordinary people who decide based on their own likes and dislikes. Don’t let how you do in a contest discourage you.

5. Have fun.

This is a hobby. It can be hair ripingly frustrating. It can make you want to get a baseball bat and hunt down people who wrote a tutorial 5 years ago. It can drive you to grab your computer and hurl it out the nearest window. It can... where was I going with this? Right... fun. Amid the frustrating procedures and crashing programs, if you’re not having fun, then it’s just not worth it.

CAVEAT: Learning how to do 3D art is not easy.

You’ll find a lack of good documentation, poorly written software, archaic terminology, and few points of commonality with previously learned programs (such as Photoshop). But if you stick with it and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed, you’ll find yourself having quite a good time.

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 41

42 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

ARTiST SPOTLIGHT

Brent Bowers

As a kid, comics, especially the cover art, inspired me and fired my imagination. The TV show, “Batman” inspired me a great deal as a young child. As silly as it all looks as an adult, at the time it was a dream world that I took completely seriously. Caesar Romero’s portrayal of The Joker thrilled and terrified me all at the same time. I’d literally hide behind my mother’s chair when he’d come on screen to chastise Batman.

In grade school, I created epic stick figure battles featuring giant cliffs with cave hideout complexes inside. Catapults of men, winged harpies, giant dragons, spaceships and massive explosions were the standard fare. The solid headed stick men were pitted in an everlasting battle of life and death with the hollow headed stick men. I had my notebook taken up more than once, but given half a chance to continue the battle unnoticed, I’d be right back at it. This is the first memory I have of trying to put down a fantasy vision on paper.

Later would come crudely hand drawn comics and flip book animations. Here’s the rub though. My drawings never looked very good.

Though I did attend a semester at The Art Institute, I

“It’s liberating to always have the means to make a peice of art no matter how crazy an idea is. ” simply cannot draw to save my life. I must admit that I was a real flop at art school. We need you to draw this kettle 75 times before class tomorrow, muscle memory and all that. What? I’d rather play my guitar says I. In my early 20’s I ventured into web design thinking that at least I’d be a kind of artist for a living. That actually went pretty well and put me into a position to have a decent amount of left over income. I spent that income on realizing a few of my dream projects.

I’ve been a film maker & songwriter since age 14 and at 45 now both endeavors continue. Using software to make illustrations is just a natural extension of that desire to create, not just stories but universes direct from my own head space.

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 43

In the early 90’s, while I was working on my first album in a recording studio in Charlotte, NC, I ran into my first real 3D artist. I noticed him sitting at a table working on a heavy metal album cover which featured a woman of molten metal springing forth from the water to grasp a sword from the air. He directed me to the software he’d used. That was my introduction to Bryce and Poser 3.

I found Poser very easy to work with and soon amassed thousands of dollars worth of content to create ever more ambitious images.

When Daz Studio came along, I was an early adopter, but did not find myself spending as much time in it as I did using its predecessor. I guess I could chalk that up to just being more familiar with the interface in Poser. Then Genesis happened. Then Autofit happened. Then iRay happened. All these moments in Daz Studios’ development were game changers in my work flow. Now I couldn’t imagine not having DS as part of my toolbox.

First, I used it to create storyboards to help in the early stages of pre-production of my live action short films. I used what real life special effects I could afford but learned to lean heavily on After Effects and rudimentary CGI early on. Being able to visualize the camera shots in a DS generated storyboard was invaluable. It allowed me to do more with less in the real world.

My web series pilot, “Respawner”is a great example of how this synergy allowed me to create a piece of art that came out looking far more expensive than its tiny budget. While you can create useful storyboards with stick figures, those won’t inspire a cast and crew the way that a fully realized Daz Studio scene render will.

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I was lucky enough to live and work in Japan for a few years. Seeing the excess of visual input that’s almost everywhere you go in Tokyo really made an impact on my art. Everything about Tokyo’s aesthetic flies in the face of the old adage, “Less is more.” Sometimes, more is more! This carried through to my stories, short films and of course rendered art works. If a demon rips someone’s arm off in one of my films and a gallon of fake blood looks pretty good, then 5 gallons must look amazing right?

While my works don’t go as far as a Takashi Miike film for instance, I think that there’s something to be said for excess in fantasy art. I try to go slightly further than I think I should with regards to carnage, breast size, the numbers of figures I squeeze in, you name it.

If a script turns into something I simply cannot make happen in reality, I simply turn back to Daz Studio to make a render or comic version of story. It’s liberating to always have the means to make a piece of art no matter how crazy an idea is.

The works of artist neelzonline are particularly inspiring to me because every time I look at one of them, it makes me want to start building a massive composition. Talk about inspiration. I have greatly enjoyed taking part in this community of global artists. Ya’ll keep rendering. I know I will.

DS Creative Inspiring DAZ Studio artists the world over https://www.facebook.com/DSCreativeMagazine DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 45

GENX PART 1 Seliah shows us how to convert from gen4 or gen3 to Genesis/G2’s Introduction A friend of mine from DeviantArt recently expressed difficulty with using the GenX plugin to convert her characters. As I’ve been using the plugin for a while, I offered to put a bit of a tutorial together for her. By the time I had it completed, GenX had recently been in Daz’s FastGrab sale category, so I figured others might benefit from the results of her questions.

This tutorial will cover how to convert your old Gen3 and Gen4 characters for use on Genesis or the G2’s, including the (sometimes needed) .cr2 export. I will be demonstrating by taking my Wulf Twofeathers build from M4 directly over to the Genesis 2 Male, but this process is the same to take a Gen3 or Gen4 to the G2F or Genesis as well.

Alright then. Let’s get started!

Step 1 : Setting Up For Conversion The first thing you need to do, is load your saved Gen3 or Gen4 character into the scene. Go to your Content tab, locate your character, and load it into the scene.

If the morphs are not yet applied to the character, do that now.

Now, the next thing you have to do is to set up and render your thumbnails. Pose your character, and frame it for the render. Use whatever clothing or accessories you want for your thumbnail. Remember, you’ll be looking at these thumbnails from this point out, so make it something you like.

GenX will default to a 91x91 pixel thumbnail size. So, set up and render your thumbnail. Save this to a temporary folder. You’ll need it later. I use a folder on my desktop called “GenX Thumbs.” (I know, boring title, right?)

A note on the thumbnails: This is the point where you want to consider whether you want a full head and body morph, or whether you want to do separate morphs for the head and body. Because I find it helpful to be able to dial in bits and pieces of one character into another to 46 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

show shared family bloodlines in my renders, I always do separate head and body morphs. So in my case, I’ve rendered two thumbnails: one for the head, and one for the body. Save them to your temporary folder. ** If your character is already saved in a .cr2 format, then you can move on to Step 2 at this point.** ** If, however, your character was loaded from a native DazStudio .duf or .dsa file format, then you need to perform a .CR2 Export. Continue with Step 1B. GenX requires .cr2 format to convert Gen3 or Gen4 characters! ** Step 1B : The .CR2 Export Once you have your thumbnails rendered, you need to delete everything except the figure. This includes clothing, hair, and jewelry, anything you have attached, conformed to, or parented to the figure. It all needs to go away now.

Once you have your figure isolated in the scene, it’s time to ZERO the figure’s pose. This is important, because if you have applied any posing morphorms (such as eyes side-to-side, or arms up-and-down), and you run the conversion with these morphs applied, the end product on the new figure will apply with these morphs in place! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to zero the figure’s pose before the .cr2 export, and I’ve ended up with my character’s eyes trying to claw their way out of the side of their sockets! So always, always ZERO the figure’s pose before running the conversion.

The same applies to the .CR2 export.

Step 1C : The .CR2 Export Now, once you have your figure isolated in the scene, AND you’ve zeroed the figure’s pose, you want to go to your Scene tab, and make sure your figure is selected.

Go ahead and do that now.

With the figure selected in the Scene tab, go up to the top of your DS window. Click on File --> Export.

A dialogue window will open up. Under the “Save As Type” field, you want to select “Poser CR2 File (*.cr2).”

Then, type a name for your .cr2 into the “Name” field.

Note : For the purposes of the GenX plug-in your .cr2 MUST be saved into a Poser Runtime structure, such as, for instance : “/Poser4/Runtime/Libraries/Characters/GenX CR2’s/” So, make sure you save your .cr2 to some kind of a Poser Runtime structure.

When you have navigated to the folder you want to

store your cr2 file in, go ahead and click the “Save” button on the dialogue window.

The CR2 Export dialogue window will now appear. I make sure that “Save Binary Morph File (PMD)” is always checked. For some reason, at least with my 4.8 install, if this option is NOT checked, GenX returns an error and cannot do the conversion. So if there’s no checkmark in that option, put one in, and then click the “Accept” button. Let DS run its export. Depending on the figure and how many morphs you have injected into your Gen3 or Gen4 character, this process might take a minute or two.

When this process finishes, the .CR2 export is done. You should have a generic .png thumbnail, a .pmd file, and a .cr2 file in the Poser/Runtime folder that you saved your character to. Check the folder to make sure these files are in it. If they’re not, you need to re-run the .CR2 export.

Step 2 : Setting Up the Conversion Type Now, you want to go and open your GenX pane. For my own workflow, I like to keep my GenX pane on the right side of the interface, but you can put it on whichever side you are most comfortable with.

Click on the “Load Figure” button. Navigate to where you saved your .cr2 character, and load it into the GenX pane. When it’s done loading the .cr2, you should now have “Michael 4” (or whatever figure base you loaded) listed next to the “Source” button.

For All NON-ZERO Values.” The first option makes sure you don’t have any excess morphs selected, and then the second option selects any morph that has a value other than “zero.” (This includes negative values! This is also why it’s so important to have zeroed your figure’s pose before doing this part!)

Now, if you’re just doing a single, full () morph, you’re golden, and you can go on to Step 3.

Step 2C : Selecting Morphs For Transfer -If you are doing a partial (head-only, or body-only) morph, then you need to go up and DE-SELECT the morphs for the part you do NOT want to convert. This part gets a bit fiddly, but it’s unavoidable when doing a partial morph. On the plus side, though, you only ever have to do this once per character, if all goes as it should through the conversion.

If you are going to create a head-only morph, then you need to go into the morph list and expand the “Body” section. DE-SELECT all the morphs in this section. You don’t want any of these morphs selected, or they will become part of the final converted product. Do the same for all other body parts, making sure to ONLY have your figure’s head morphs selected.

Because we are transferring a single character morph from one figure to another, we only want one morph dial available on our G2M. So, find the “Mode” button near the bottom of the GenX pane, and select “Create Single Morph” from the options in that field.

Then, right under that, in the “Target” field, you need to select whatever figure you are transferring to. Since I am converting Wulf over to the G2 male, I am going to select “Genesis 2 Male” in the “Target” field.

Step 2B : Selecting Morphs For Transfer -To the far right of the “Mode” button is a “Select” button.

Click this, and a popup menu appears. It is good practice to first select “Transfer: All Off,” and THEN, click the “Select” button a second time, and choose “Transfer: On

If you are going to create a body-only morph, then you need to go into the morph list, and expand the “Head” section. DE-SELECT all the morphs in the head! Again, if DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 47

any morphs in the “head” section are selected, they will become part of the final product.

Note : When selecting your morphs for conversion, you need to pay attention to the “Morph” column, the “Type” column, AND the “Value” column. The “Morph” column lists the figure’s injected morphs by name. The “Type” column lists what type of morphs each one is. The “Value” column shows what value each active morph is dialed to. I’m not sure why this is, but I’ve noticed that if I have a checkbox in the morph name under the “Morph” column, but NOT one in the box for that same morph under the “Type” column, then when I run the conversion, GenX misses those morphs. They somehow don’t get picked up as part of the transfer and I have to go back in and re-run the transfer. So, if you run a transfer, and it looks like some morphs got missed in the conversion, the “Type” column is the most likely culprit; you’ll need to re-run the conversion if this happens. Make sure that any NON-ZERO value morph (including negative values) have a checkmark under BOTH the “Morph” column AND the “Type” column.

Step 3 : Performing the Transfer -Once you have all of the morphs selected that you want to convert, you are ready to do the transfer. Go back through everything one last time to make sure everything is set up as it should be.

Then, go down to the bottom right corner of the GenX pane, and click the “Transfer” button. It will chew on things for a second, and then open a “Morph Properties” dialogue.

In this window, you want to type a name for your morph dial in the “Name” field. If you are converting only a head or body morph, I would recommend that you name them appropriately. In my case, this is Wulf’s head morph only, so I am going to type in “Wulf-Head” as the name of the morph. This will avoid confusion later on when/if you decide to transfer the other half of the character’s morph!

Then, go to the “File” button, and retrieve the thumbnail that you rendered at the very beginning.

Now, just click the “Accept” button, let DS do its dirty work.

Once the conversion has completed, Exit, and then ReOpen your DazStudio.

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Step 4 : Verifying the Conversion -This is a necessary step in my workflow. I always like to make sure that the transfer was done successfully.

The last thing I want is to load my G2M into a heavy, big scene, and find out in the middle of that, that the transfer went awry! So, I always close DS, then open it back up to make sure that the figures have updated.

Now, once you have DS re-opened, you want to go to your Content tab, and load a stock Genesis 2 Male. (If you converted to Genesis or the G2F, then load that figure instead.)

Once the stock figure is loaded into the scene, go to your Scene tab, and make sure you have your G2M selected.

Now, go and open up your Shaping tab.

Click on Actor --> GenerationX --> People Under people, you should now have a “Michael 4” dial (or whatever Gen3 or Gen4 figure you converted FROM).

If you want the shape to look right, you need to set the base shape. Since Wulf originally came from an M4, I am going to set my M4 dial to 1.0 (If you converted from V4, or M3/V3, you would set the appropriate morph.)

Step 4B : Verifying the Conversion -Now, click on Actor --> GenerationX --> People --> Michael 4 in here, you should now see your M4 morph dial, with the name you assigned it. I’m going to set my “WulfHead” morph to a value of 1.0 Closing That’s really all there is to converting from a Gen3/Gen4 over to Genesis or the G2’s. I’ll cover the Genesis to G2 conversion in the next tutorial.

I would like to make a couple more notes here. The resulting conversion, if all went well, generally comes out looking very, very close to the original, as you can see in the final graphic. There are a few small differences, but these differences can be minimized with the application of some of G2M’s other morphs. Some conversions will come out closer to the original than others. You are never going to get a 100% exact carbon copy shape, even with GenX, but you can get very close to the original with this plugin. Just as two different people have their own unique underlying body shape and proportions, the same can be said of the different figures that we work with in 3D. M4 and the G2 male base figures each have their own unique body shape. When you convert the M4 character over to the G2M, you will still see a little bit of the bleed-through of G2M’s base shape. (Example: you’ll notice the G2M version of Wulf on the left is just a bit thinner, and lacking some of the muscle toning that the original M4 on the right side has. This can be fixed with G2’s morphs, for the most part. All in all, I’m happy with this transfer, and will probably only do some very minor tweaking on the muscle definition later.)

As you do more transfers, you’ll figure out what you can expect or not expect from the resulting morph. It’s all about experimentation and experience. The more you play with it, the more familiar you’ll get, and the easier it will get.

Just to show the final product in action here, this is a quickie render of Wulf’s G2M conversion. The hoodie is from the Wind Chill set, the shirt is the M6 T-shirt from Streetwear, and his jeans are from Luthbel’s G2M/G2F Urban Survivors package. Works like a charm. :) I’ve included an example render using Wulf’s G2M conversion, so you can see how the M4 shape converted over to my G2. I used the Wind Chill hoodie, Luthbel’s jeans from the G2M/G2F Urban Survivors package, and Streetwear’s M6 T-Shirt.

Dials in use are the following: Wulf-Head: 1.0 Wulf-Body: 1.0 Genesis: 1.0 That’s it for this first part of the tutorial. Good luck, and have fun!

NEXT MONTH PART 2

Converting Converting from from Genesis Genesis to to G2F G2F or or G2M G2M Converting Converting from from G2F/G2M G2F/G2M to to Genesis Genesis

There are a lot of figures that can be converted with this plugin. Laura, Luke, Maddie, the Kids4, V3, M3, V4, M4, Genesis, and the G2’s... the list is quite impressive. If you don’t mind finding (or making) new skin textures for some of your older legacy shapes, you can certainly use GenX to breathe some new life into them again here.

Some figures have a few quirks when doing conversions. The Kids4, and Maddie, for instance, will need to have the scale of their eyes adjusted on the new figure after conversion (be it Genesis or the G2’s). Due to the shape of these models, and the proportions of their faces, the resulting Genesis or G2 morphs often end up with eyeballs that are a bit too small for their sockets. You can fix this by scaling the individual eyes up and playing about with the x, y, and z trans dials. I’ve had very good luck converting my Lei from Maddie over to Genesis by doing just that.

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 49

FAVOURITE FIVE Five runtime must haves 01 DAZ Dragon 3

Ginger Lee McKee

http://www.daz3d.com/daz-dragon-3

I love the DAZ dragon 3; it has so many amazing morphs for it that are just great. Not only amazing dragons, but it can be made into some pretty cool dinosaurs as well, this makes it a must have for me.

02 DA Spines & Scales EXP

http://www.daz3d.com/da-spines-scales-exp

I like the Design Anvil Spines and Scales exp because it lets me add a little more character to my dragons.

03 Easy Environments: Oasis http://www.daz3d.com/easy-environments-oasis

Easy Environments Oasis is a great addition to any runtime. I love the detail it has; it makes for some very nice outdoor scenes.

04 Ilsa Hair G2

My name is Ginger Lee McKee and I have my own website where all my art is posted. The name I post under is: Tiger Lee Arts. I am 39 years old and I live in Texas. I love working with art and digital 3D because I can see my visions better.

3D allows me to bring my visions to life, which is why I prefer working with Daz studio.

I find it easy to work with and I do all my post work with Corel Paint shop; it works very similar to Adobe Photoshop. I am self-taught, and have been working with Daz for about 3 years now. I prefer fantasy to most other art styles.

Here is my website. http://tigerleearts.zohosites. com

http://www.runtimedna.com/Ilsa-Hair-G2.html

I like the Ilsa hair for genesis because it is a hair that works well for the warrior or the princess of your runtimes.

05 Werewolf Hunter for Genesis 2 Female(s) http://www.daz3d.com/werewolf-hunter-for-genesis-2-female-s

I love the Werewolf Hunter for genesis2 female outfit, it is so versatile, and you can use it all together or just combine parts of it with other content for versatility.

YOUR

FAVORITE

TELL FIVE US

If you would like to submit your favourite five just follow the format above, 5 items with links plus your reasons they are must haves, also include a short bio and a piece of your artwork and send it to:

articles.dscreative.mag@gmail.com 50 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

The Thirteenth PeeR Camilla Drakenborg

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 51

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It’s time to get adventurous, so let’s take inspiration from modern cultural movie and game adventurers, such as Rick and Evy O’Connell, Lady Lara Croft or even Indiana Jones himself and lets head off in search of a Great Adventure!

The entire world is our adventurers’ playground, be it a lost pyramid, a sacred temple, or a forgotten fortress high up in the frozen Himalayas.

These places are always filled with deadly traps, secret rooms and cursed artefacts, along with all manner of deadly creatures. Also let’s not forget the villains’ always evil mysterious people, with hordes of henchmen plotting and scheming trying to obtain the artefacts at any costs before our heroes.

So let’s ignore all the so called curses and let’s head off on our next GREAT ADVENTURE.

All competition submissions are to be sent to:

contest.dscreative.mag@gmail.com All submissions must be new artwork and must not have been displayed online before Images can be either portrait or landscape Deadline is 23:59 UTC on the 22nd of November-15 For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dazcreative/ DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 53

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Luthbellina

How did you get into 3D texturing and how long have you been executing it?

Having my brother has been instrumental in my learning and the ability to devote to it professionally, but it was a drastic change in my life that motivated me to try my hardest. It was not the first time I tried.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Video games, movies, television, fashion; anything can motivate me to start conceptualizing a design. I often find inspiration in friends or even in my own closet. Still; there are many galleries in Deviantart, ArtStation and other art pages.

It’s amazing the talent you can find browsing these sites and a real privilege to be connected to it all with just a single click.

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Which program(s) do you create your models in?

Mainly I use ZBrush for both organic forms, as for hard surface I use the new brush, Zmodeler. I use Marvellous Designer for more basic garments, with pleats and folds that are more elaborate. For texturing I also use Zbrush, Photoshop and Quixel Suit.

“Video games, movies, television, fashion; anything can motivate me to start conceptualizing a design”

Typically how long does it take from initial idea to finished model?

I could not give an exact answer as it depends on the project. In some projects everything flows and others will stay stagnant or problems will arise. A large majority of times, the concept itself is mutating or has to adapt to the original idea of a version more in line with the knowledge you have available at the time. I would say that one or two months, but if it takes longer than that, it means that I’m having problems with rigging.

What is your favorite subject to model?

The truth is that I could not choose, I feel comfortable with any style and form. As a child when I would enter a comic book store, I liked everything! Everything is related, when you learn a technique to make hair, you’re learning a possible way to make a furry coat lining.

When you learn how to make the engine of a vehicle, you can apply it in developing a gun.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting out creating for Daz Studio?

Effort, dedication and patience, not only are important in Daz, but are important for all. Also, I would never fall in love with a single methodology, geometry or concept, as it is all open to change. Those who have recently arrived in this world, we are fortunate to have done so at a time of expansion of the sector, where technology has allowed the development of amazing programs, allowing streamline processes with realistic results. We must seize this moment and make the most of these applications. Finally, I would say that the key is training, often the ideas are limited to knowledge, and therefore training in this field is essential. It should be a tool and an asset, not an impediment.

Which are your 3 personal favorite Vendors?

I cannot pick just three, I’ll sort by categories. Luthbelr (not just for being my brother), is my favourite artist. He is complete, creative and transgressive; also I am fortunate to work alongside him. So I see the development of each project phase and the care with which he creates each garment. Another of my favourite clothes artists is Shifting Images, whose images are elegant and flawless. If we talk about props or environments; Stonemason and Jack Tomalin for obvious reasons. Dimension Theory and Age of Armour for lights and environments, the truth is that their projects are amazing, and I can’t imagine working without their materials. Godtassel and Aprilysh are my favourite artists for hair. 3D Universe is another of my favourites, versatile and highly original artists. Alessandro_AM and his adorable animals are an inspiration. Finally, Cake one, Digital Ink and Diane Capsces for poses and expressions; I cannot imagine a picture without their poses.

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 55

If you could add one new feature to daz studio, what would it be?

Autosave, no doubt. Daz is doing an amazing job; rigging system of the new generation of characters is amazing.

As is the new renderer, Iray. So the only thing I can think of is autosave.

What is the biggest challenge for you when creating a new product?

When I have completed the latest promotional image, it looks like the original idea and that appeal to artists and other users. It is a pleasure to see a creative and realistic image using any of your projects.

How does it make you feel when you see peoples artwork made with your products?

It is a pleasure; I am excited and it makes me smile to see how someone uses something of mine, often with better results than the original. People have wonderful ideas and I am honoured to have my work to carry out.

It makes me happy.

Can you give us a hint of what is to come?

I want to do everything, especially environments, but I am doing simple things to start. It has been a hard year and I have many ideas that didn’t come to fruition due to knowledge limitations, but I think it’s time to recover it. Above all, I can anticipate upcoming unisex projects, like Diana and Jones.

Where can we find you content to buy?

All my content is available in Daz Store http://www.daz3d.com/luthbellina I recently created a facebook page where I will publish the latest news and the work process www.facebook.com/Luthbellina-695901257177924

56 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Luthbellini

presents

Mr Rabbit

Not your average bunny

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_MrRabbit.zip

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 57

58 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Morning View 2

Michael D. Morrow

https://www.facebook.com/MDMJustMe DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 59

FUZZY HAIR NO MORE Bowski shares his reality tip for fuzzy OOT hair

I

have found that when I use any of the OOT hair products while rendering with Reality 4 / Luxrender it tends to give the results an unpleasant “fuzzy” look.

4) Select the OOT hair on your model in your Daz scene & apply the shader preset “over” the OOT hair.

To do this select all hair surfaces for the OOT hair in the surfaces tab & double-click the shader preset while holding down the “CTRL” key.

When prompted, click “Ignore” under “images” so as not to overwrite the diffuse maps.

So here is my work around to help improve the results.

1) Select a main hair surface of any G2F hair product you own using the surfaces tab in Daz Studio.

2) Remove all bump & displacement maps & set their strength values to 0.

5) In Reality simply click on the hair surfaces under the “materials” tab & make sure the bump & displacement maps are set to 0.

3) Save the selected surface as a shader preset in your Daz library.

60 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT We asked you to vote for a classic cult item, this month was A Robots Life

The Winner Prototype

By Stonemason

http://www.daz3d.com/prototype

Next months category is The master armourer, if you want to cast a vote check out our facebook group from the 5th of November onwards https://www.facebook.com/groups/dazcreative/ DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 61

GALLERY

olivia

Rian Bergwerff Netherlands

Ares

Christopher Franklin

Oblivious

Sister of Darkness UK

olivia

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ARES

Oblivious DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 63

GALLERY

Dangerous Pin-up James O’Rell

The Beach Michael Klink The Fates Kismet2012

Dangerous Pin-up 64 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

The Beach

The Fates DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 65

GALLERY

Sidhe Mary VanAssche USA

Life’s a beach!

Jodie Griffiths UK

Her Favorite Song Nancy Schultz USA

Sidhe

66 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Life’s a beach!

Her Favorite Song DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 67

GALLERY

Christi Jean Morneau Canada

Picnic At The Beach Ginger McKee USA

Dragonfighter Markus Ba Germany

Christi 68 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Picnic At The Beach

Dragonfighter

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 69

GALLERY

Muted Hills I Smell Fear Mario Heyer Germany

Jake, Before the Game Robbie Laliberte

I have you now Charlie Mc Donald USA

Muted Hills I Smell Fear 70 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Jake, Before the Game

I have you now

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 71

GALLERY

i’m siri

Astuce Man France

vampire 2015 R.P. Callahan USA

Sisters

Fantail451 New Zealand

72 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

vampire 2015

Sisters DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 73

DS Creative Competition Terms & Conditions Just recently I recieved a competition email from someone who doesn’t use facebook and they asked if we have the T&C’s posted anywhere else, well sadly at the moment no, so I have included them here All IMAGE submissions are to be sent to contest.dscreative.mag@gmail.com Submitted images should have the dimensions of 150dpi with a maximum of 2480 x 1754 + include one or two lines describing your image! Make sure you include name (aka) & link to webpage if wanted.

Images must be created with Daz Studio & new original artworks are accepted. They should not have appeared online before!

We are looking forward to see what you ALL have to share, so please create away & have fun!

1. BACKGROUND: At specified times as determined by DS Creative Magazine, DS Creative Magazine will select images for inclusion in the DS Creative Magazine. The following rules, regulations, terms and conditions (collectively the �Terms and Conditions�) shall apply.

2. ELIGIBILITY: Entrants are ineligible where the legal requirements or restrictions of any jurisdiction prohibit eligibility of an individual. DS Creative Magazine, in its sole discretion, shall determine the eligibility of Entrants. Entrants that do not comply with the Terms and Conditions are not eligible. Staff of DS Creative magazine are ineligible to enter.

3. HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR IMAGE: In addition to other conditions which may be specified by DS Creative Magazine, to submit your image entry (�Image Entry�), please email contest.dscreative.mag@gmail.com with your image attached and with the title of the contest the image is being submitted for.

The Image Entry MUST NOT: (i) contain any copyrighted works (other than as owned by you, the Entrant); (ii) contain vulgar, pornographic, obscene or indecent behavior or images; (iii) defame or libel any third party; (iv) been licensed or (v) contain any watermarks or other notices, whether digital or otherwise, obstructing the image Entry. image Entries that do not comply with these Terms & Conditions or that otherwise contain prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by DS Creative Magazine, in its sole discretion, will not be shared. Automated entries (including but not limited to entries submitted using any robot, script, macro, or other automated service) are not permitted and will be disqualified.

DS Creative Magazine is not responsible for technical failures of any kind, including without limitation, any failure of Instagram or any other website, any internet connection problems, technical malfunction of any computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination thereof including any injury or damage to an Entrant�s computer or electronic device or any other person’s computer or electronic device (collectively, �Technical Failures�), all of which may affect the Entrant�s ability to participate. DS Creative Magazine reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant and to seek any remedy at law or equity in the event you, in DS Creative Magazine� reasonable opinion: tamper with any website, the entry process; violate the Terms and Conditions herein; or act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Once a image is submitted it cannot be changed, altered or modified. DS Creative Magazine has no obligation to post any images submitted; all sharing or posting of images is done in DS Creative Magazine�s sole discretion.

Image submissions close for all issues on the 22nd on the month before the 1st.

4. IMAGE SELECTION. The images to be featured in the DS Creative Magazine will be selected by DS Creative Magazine based on perceived quality, creativity, artistic merit, and other criteria, which may be identified by DS Creative Magazine. All decisions of DS Creative Magazine regarding submissions are final and binding. If your image Entry is selected, you may be asked to sign a confirmation of eligibility and compliance with these Terms and Conditions, a publicity/liability release (unless prohibited by law), and/or any other documents which you must return within the time period stipulated in such documents. If your image Entry is selected, you may also be asked to provide confirmation of identification either by passport, driver�s license or other documentation that may be required to provide DS Creative Magazine with proof that you are the authorized account holder of the Instagram account associated with the selected image Entry. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in disqualification.

DS Creative Magazine reserves the right, in its absolute discretion to remove any image Entry, at any time, from the DS Creative 74 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Magazine Instagram Page, or any other website, for any reason whatsoever.

5. RIGHT TO USE: By submitting your image Entry, you grant DS Creative Magazine the right and permission (except where prohibited by law) to copy, reproduce, encode, store, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, adapt, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse (without limitation as to when, duration, or the number of times), the image Entry and your: name; image; voice; persona; sobriquet; likeness; statements; and biographical material in the DS Creative Magazine, the DS Creative Magazine Facebook group located at https://www.facebook.com/groups/dazcreative/, the DS Creative Magazine Facebook page located at https:// www.facebook.com/DSCreativeMagazine, the DS Creative Magazine Tumblr page located at http://dscreativemagazine.tumblr. com/ and the DSCreative Magazine twitter account located at https://twitter.com/DSCreative_Mag for purposes of administering and advertising, DS Creative Magazine; all of the foregoing without additional review, compensation, notice to, or approval from you or any other party, unless prohibited by law. By entering the Spotlight, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of the information described herein.

6. REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES: By submitting an image, you represent and warrant that: (i) you have all rights and necessary consents or permission to submit the image for use set forth herein, including consent and permission for DS Creative Magazine�s use from any individual featured in the image; (ii) your image does not infringe any third party intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights to any party, (iii) each image Entry was created by you; (iv) you will use the image Entry for personal use purposes only and will not be used for any commercial purpose or conduct that is of commercial character, whether or not it is used in the expectation of profit; and (v) you are complying with these Terms & Conditions.

7. RELEASE: BY SUBMITTING AN IMAGE ENTRY, YOU AND EACH OF YOUR HEIRS, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS RELEASES AND AGREES TO HOLD HARMLESS DS Creative Magazine AND ITS PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, AND AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, INSPECTORS AND AGENTS FROM ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER (WHETHER ARISING IN CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY) FOR ANY CLAIMS, COSTS, LOSSES, OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RELATED TO PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, RIGHTS OF PUBLICITY OR PRIVACY OR DEFAMATION) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH: (I) SUBMITTING; OR (II) OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO SUBMITTING. 8. INDEMNIFICATION: You agree to indemnify and hold harmless DS Creative Magazine and its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates and their respective officers, directors and employees (�Indemnified Parties�) from any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and liabilities (including settlements), brought or asserted by any third party against the Indemnified Parties due to or arising out of his or her entry or conduct during and in connection with submitting, including but not limited to any claims for trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property right infringements, right of publicity, right of privacy or defamation whether arising in contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory.

9. DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: DS Creative Magazine MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION. DS Creative Magazine SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGE, COST, OR INJURY THAT ARISES FROM OR RELATES TO PARTICIPATION, OR BEING SELECTED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: (I) LATE, LOST, DELAYED, DAMAGED, MISDIRECTED, INCOMPLETE, OR UNINTELLIGIBLE image ENTRIES; (II) TECHNICAL FAILURES (AS DEFINED ABOVE); (III) FAILED, INCOMPLETE, GARBLED, OR DELAYED COMPUTER TRANSMISSIONS; (IV) THE DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL IN CONNECTION WITH THE SPOTLIGHT; AND (V) ANY OTHER CONDITION THAT MAY CAUSE THE SPOTLIGHT TO BE DISRUPTED OR CORRUPTED. DS Creative Magazine RESERVES THE RIGHT, SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE, TO SUSPEND OR CANCEL OR ALTER THE RULES FOR ANY REASON, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IF AT ANY TIME A COMPUTER VIRUS, TECHNICAL PROBLEM, OR OTHER UNFORESEEABLE EVENT ALTERS OR CORRUPTS THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SPOTLIGHT.

DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 75

CONTRIBUTORS Every to to

DS Creative needs a small army of people help make it happen, so to those people who helped make issue 17, A very big Thank You. month

The DS Creative Team

76 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

TutorialS

Bowski Seliah Staganonkriss Gallaigunner Todd Kogutt

Free GiftS BadKittehCo Alexaana Luthbellini

THE TEAM Camilla Drakenborg Phil Thompson Totte Alm Matt Allgood Sanyel Jackson Jamie Somers Bobbie Brundon Jeffrey Samir Rouabhi Deleuze

CONTRIBUTORS

Astuce Man Bellatryx Bowski Brian Sans BronzeDragon Charlie McDonald Christopher Franklin Cliff George Daniel Wright Fantail451 Ginger McKee Gran22 James O’Rell Jean Morneau Jennifer Vander Kooi Jodie Griffiths Karisma Kismet2012 Ktoya Lucinda Atman Marcius Hess Marfoldi Rita Mario Heyer Mark Kappe Markus Ba Mary VanAssche Michael D Morrow Michael Klink Mithoron Nancy Schultz Penne Chaput R.P. Callahan Rian Bergwerff Robbie Laliberte Sandra Bauser Seliah Shawn Thomas Sister of Darkness Theschell DS CREATIVE • November 2015 • 77

Damn Pirates

Plundered the stocks of DS Creative

But It’s free at Issuu.com DS Creative Issue 18 • 1st December 2015

78 • November 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Artwork by Phil Thompson