DS Creative 18 by Daz Studio Creative

DS CREATIVE

ISSUE 18 DECEMBER 2015

The magazine for DAZ Studio users

camera Animation Keymate & Graphmate help us to animate

GENX

Part 2 of our 3 part tutorial

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 •

UNNAMED Cherubit

• December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CONTENTS

Issue 18

FEATURES 16 • Vendor Spotlight For our first featured vendor this month we speak to P3Design 40 • Vendor Spotlight Our second vendor this month is the awesome Karibou 50 • Artist Spotlight This months artist spotlight is a good friend Estroyer 62 • Vendor Spotlight Our third vendor this month is 3DSublimeProductions

REGULARS 06 • DAZ Gallery Are you looking for inspiration then lets look at some of the best artwork from the DAZ community.

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

30 • Competition Winners We were looking for a great adventure, you didn’t disappoint. 47 • Maggie Raider Let’s welcome to DS Creative our first comic strip heroine. 58 • Competition Time It’s time for new challenge and this time we are going seasonal, a huge range of prizes up for grabs.

TUTORIALS 24 • GenX Part 2 Seliah brings us part 2 of 3 showing how to get even more from GenX. 36 • Light Emission We delve into the Iray world of emissive lighting. 46 • Getting Dirty Kismet show how to make our characters dirty using geometry shells. 72 • Camera Animation Eric Susch shows us how to animate a camera using keymate and graphmate.

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 • December 2015 •

Welcome to I s s u e 18

Winter has come and for some its summer, de-

pending on where you live on this earth of course. Winter can often be a time of hardship and pain, the darkness creeps up behind you and makes you aware of the loneliness it can contain. But for many it’s a time to light the candles, play in the snow and spend quality time with family besides the Christmas tree. So for those that has the comfort of warmth & family, let’s not forget those that do not. Make some cookies & donate to your local homeless shelter, or buy some toys and donate to the local children´s hospital or why not invite someone over for a few hours that you know may be all alone?! To be kind & show compassion is sometimes the best remedy for a lonely & or hungry soul. Simply show some winter spirit for all may not be as lucky as you! From the team of DS Creative, we wish you a warm & happy winter/holiday!

Camilla Drakenborg Editor

As the year draws to a close from the magazine’s

production perspective, that is, 2015 has been a fantastic year, we are now very firmly established within the DAZ community, which considering our humble beginnings I can honestly say I am so very, very proud of. Each and every month we get comment after comment telling us how much you, the readers enjoy the magazines we put out, but what really makes us happy are those comments that tell just how inspired you have become or how much you have learnt thanks to DS Creative.

So I really want to say a big thanks to those people who take the time to submit whether it’s a picture for the gallery or for a competition or whether it’s a tutorial or a tip, you guys are really awesome. If you want to see us next Christmas keep those submissions coming in. I also want to say a big thank you to all the vendors whose kindness whether it be with freebies or a prize donations, Thank you for your support. Merry Christmas and Happy Rendering

Phil Thompson Production Designer

• December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Dragon Dream 2

Eric A. “Blacjac” Carr DS CREATIVE • December 2015 •

GALLERY

Klara

Daniel Wright UK

All what she loves Ktoya

Ukraine Isis Goddess Tiger Lee Arts USA

Klara • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

All what she loves

Isis Goddess DS CREATIVE • December 2015 •

GALLERY

Read This Now Brent Bowers USA

manhawke Mauro Bisiani

Italy

Sweet Lucy and the Troll R.P. Callahan

USA

Read This Now • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

manhawke

Sweet Lucy and the Troll DS CREATIVE • December 2015 •

GALLERY

Transcendence EsaPesa New Zealand

mesje

Rian Bergwerff The Netherlands

Transcendence

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mesje DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 11

GALLERY

Night

Bellatryx Italy

Housewife Pinup - Laundry Mithoron USA

NIGHT 12 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Housewife Pinup - Laundry DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 13

GALLERY

Fairy Garden

Sister of Darkness UK

Angel

AstuceMan France

love dragon Michael Klink

Play Nice Boys 14 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CURSED GARDEN

love dragon

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 15

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

P3Design

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

I got into modeling at the beginning of 2009. Before this I practised a lot with Paint Shop Pro. I was always searching the internet for nice images which I could play with and that’s how I have found Poser and the wonderful characters you can render. I bought Poser and some characters but I soon started to modify them to my liking and posted images of them. Some friends encouraged me to start creating my own characters. And that’s how it began.

Where would say you draw your inspiration from?

My inspiration can come from anywhere: people I meet in real life, movies, commercials, pinterest or sometimes simply my own mind.

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

For creating my characters I use programs like Photoshop, Poser Pro, DAZ3D Studio, Hexagon, Zbrush and Blacksmith3D. 16 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

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

It usually takes me about two weeks to create a new character including the testing and promo images.

What is your favorite subject to model? My favorite subjects to model are female characters. I would love to create hairstyles or jewelry for them some day, but there are so many things and so little time. Also with those new characters and render engines coming up, I constantly have to learn a new work flow, leaving me too little time to learn modeling other subjects. I wish I could insert 48 hours into a day!

“it makes me feel very happy and proud to see what kind of artwork they have created with my products ”

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

My advice to someone who is just starting out creating models for DAZ Studio is: try to enjoy what you’re creating. Try to create it in a way you would love buying it yourself. Always try to learn new things and improve yourself with every product you create. And never give up. And if you stumble into something you cannot work out yourself, don’t hesistate to ask another vendor: most of them are very willing to help you out.

If you could add one new feature to daz studio, what would it be? If I could pick a new feature to DAZ Studio it would be; the possibility to create your own great looking hair.

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

The biggest challenge for me, when creating a new product, are the makeups but not the standard ones, the more excentric ones. With so many gorgeous characters out there it sometimes can be hard to come up with something new and refressing.

Which 3 vendors would you say are your personal favorites?

I find it hard to name only three favorite vendors. Actually I find there are lots of vendors creating gorgeous content. By naming only three it almost seems I do not love the rest. So I will try my best to only name three: SWAM, Liflame and Godin.

How does it make you feel when you see the final artwork created with your products? How it makes me feel when I see the final artwork created with my products? By this question you mean the artwork other people create with my products? In that case, it makes me feel very happy and proud to see what kind of artwork they have created with my products and I hope my products bring them a bit of happiness and joy.

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

Currently I am working on a lady for Genesis 3 Female and a texture for a male character.

Where can we find your content to buy?

My content can be found on Renderosity and DAZ3D. https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/?uid=523475 and http://www.daz3d.com/p3design DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 17

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/P3DTara_G3F.zip

18 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Video Tutorial

How to convert lamh to iray By Alessandro Mastronardi https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=UYdpH6JeSyg

Get Wolf 2 here:

http://www.daz3d.com/wolf-2-0-by-am DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 19

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What fools These Mortals Be Steve Cody

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 21

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT #1 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 The Master Armorer

DECORATIVE

NOBLE

TRUSTED

PRACTICAL

Paladin HD MMXV Luthbel

Mercenary Knight Valandar

Swords of History Valandar

Old World Knight Bluebird 3d

Paladin MMXV is a complete Armor set for Genesis 2 Male(s). It includes five complete texture sets.

Patriotism is no match for professionalism, and the Mercenary Knight knows it well. Whether she is really a knight doesn’t matter, because she has the armor and the skills needed to back up her claim. So if you have enough coin, she can help you put down a rebellion, fight off invaders, clear out a bandit nest, or even help you reclaim your throne!

The Greek Kopis The Migration Period Viking Sword The Sword of Santa Casilda The Sword of Edward III of England The Sword of Estore Visconti The hand-and-a-half Sword of Albrecht II

Bring back the days of old where knights were gentlemen and ladies were proper!

VIEW

22 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

VIEW

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

Morphing Unicycle

Wheels and pedals turn Seat height adjustable comes in two texture options DS Creative takes no responsibility for any injuries sustained by any 3D characters whilst using this unicycle, please equip your characters with suitable safety equipment. Please unicycle safely DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 23

GENX PART 2 Seliah shows us how to convert between Genesis and Genesis 2 The last installment discussed the process for converting a character from a Generation 3 or Generation 4 figure over to Genesis or the G2’s, including how to perform a .cr2 export when needed for the purpose of transferring characters between figures. Fortunately, GenX has no such file requirement when transferring between Genesis and the G2’s. This installment will take you through the steps necessary to transfer a character morph from Genesis to the G2’s, or from the G2’s to Genesis (the process is the same in either direction). Alright then, onto the tutorial!

• If you are converting from a G2 to Genesis instead, then you want to choose “Genesis” as the “Target” figure. • You can, of course, transfer a male Genesis morph to the G2F, but in most cases that would be silly - unless your boys really want to wear pretty dresses. Shappa would throttle me in my sleep if I put him in a dress! ** Remember - “Target” is the figure you are converting TO. ** • Making sure that you have Genesis selected, click the “Select” button. In the dropdown menu that appears, you want to choose “Get values from figure in scene.” This will select all of the active (in use) morphs from Genesis, and their values for you.

Step 1: Setting Up For Conversion • Load Genesis. • Apply the morphs that you want to transfer over to the G2’s.

• Open the Scene tab. Make sure Genesis is selected. • Now set up and render your thumbnail(s). Save them to the same temporary folder you used on the previous tutorial. You’ll use them later. • ZERO your figure’s pose. Always, always do this before converting the character. Step 2: Selecting Morphs for Transfer • Open up the GenX pane. • Where it says “Source,” you want to select Genesis. • If you’re converting from a G2 to Genesis, then select your G2 instead. ** Remember - “Source” is the figure you are converting FROM. ** • Because we’re transferring a character morph, under “Mode,” you want to select “Create Single Morph.” • Now, where it says “Target,” choose the figure you’re transferring to. Because I’m transferring a male Genesis morph, (in this case my Shappa Napook), it makes sense to put him on the male G2. I’m going to select Genesis 2 Male for the “Target.” 24 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

• Now, you want to look at the list of morphs. By default, all of these categories are collapsed. For going from Genesis to the G2’s, this part can look far more complicated than it actually is, as there are a lot more items listed here than what you saw with the M4 conversion. • Scroll through the list of morphs, and double check to make sure all of your active morphs are selected for the Transfer. Ignore the sections that are prefixed with “Bone,” “Figure,” or “Geometry.” The areas you want to pay attention to are anything with the prefix of “Region” on it. Expand these one at a time and scroll through them to make sure that all the morphs are selected that should be. Step 3: Performing the Transfer • Once you have all of your active morphs selected for the character conversion, go down to the “Transfer” button, and click that. • In the dialogue that opens up, enter a name of your choosing for the resulting G2M morph. • Now go to the “File” button, and select the thumbnail(s) that you rendered for the character’s

morph dial(s). • Once you’ve loaded the appropriate thumbnail, click the “Accept” button, and let DS chew on it for a moment or two. Step 4: Verifying the Conversion • Exit DazStudio, and then re-open it. • Now, go to your Content tab, and load a default G2M into the scene. • Make sure that G2M is selected in the Scene tab. • Next, go over and open up your Shaping tab. • Click the triangle next to “Actor.” If the conversion ran correctly, you should now have a sub-category called “Generation X” visible. • Click on that “Generation X” sub-category. If all

worked as it should, you should now see a new morph dial, with the name you chose, and the thumbnail you chose. • You will also see another category under “Generation X” labeled “People.” Click on that. As we did a conversion from Genesis, there should now be a “Genesis” dial listed here. Just like when running the conversions from Gen3/Gen4 to Genesis, you have to set the base figure shape to make sure your character looks right when applied. Set the “Genesis” body shape to a value of 1.0. • Once that’s done, your G2M should now look like a Genesis 1 instead. At this point, you need to go back to Actor --> Generation X --> Genesis and set your new character’s morph dial(s) to a value of 1.0. • At this point, you should now have a very close reproduction of your original Genesis morph. As I mentioned in the previous installment, some characters and their shapes convert better than others. Shappa here is an example of this. If you look at his face, the G2M version on the right side has much heavier, deeper lines in its face than the original Genesis version on the left. The G2M version also has a much more severe “broken nose” appearance than the original Genesis version. The nose I will be stuck with; this is not a problem as the character is sup posed to have that broken nose. :) But in some cases, what you might want to do when an effect like this is over-enhanced on the conversion, is to go back, load your character, and maybe dial down the strength of the problem morphs a bit. Then, run the conversion again on that, and this will help with the shape of the transferred shape a little bit.

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 25

Closing

cle definition lost during the conversion process.

This process is the same, whether you are transferring from Genesis to the G2’s or from the G2’s to Genesis. This type of transfer takes a little less time than a Gen3/Gen4 transfer, but that’s primarily because you do not need to perform the CR2 export.

As always - experimentation is your friend! Play around with it, and experiment with it, see what you can do. The more you muck about in the interface, the more familiar you’ll get with the plugin. Included here at the end is an example render of Shappa with his Genesis morph converted over to G2M.

Just as with the Gen3/Gen4 transfers, no two figures will ever be exactly the same. Although the GenX plugin can get you very close. Some of the differences between the figure shapes can be fixed with the available morphs on your newer figure. Some of these differences cannot. As you saw with Shappa up above, some transfers apply certain kinds of morphs in a greater strength than others. In a case like that, your best bet is to go back to your original character and dial down the strength of the problem morphs, and then re-run the conversions from there. Another quirk I’ve noticed is that when converting, the resulting morph often contains less of the muscle definition. This was evident in the first installment with the M4 to Genesis transfer of my Wulf, and you can see it in action again here with the Genesis to G2M transfer of Shappa. In these cases, just use the new figure’s various muscle or body morphs to reacquire the mus-

26 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Dials in use are the following : • • •

Genesis : 1.0 Shappa-Head : 1.0 Shappa-Body : 1.0

That’s it for this round, folks. Enjoy, and good luck!

NEXT MONTH PART 3

Converting Converting Morph Morph Dials Dials Only Only

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

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 27

images from the war room

The MiG-21 was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining Fighter and Interceptor characteristics in a single aircraft. It was a lightweight fighter, achieving Mach 2 with a relatively low-powered After-burning Turbojet, and is thus comparable to the American Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and the French Mirage III. Its basic layout was used for numerous other Soviet designs; delta-winged aircraft included SU-9 Interceptor and the fast E-150 Prototype from MiG bureau while the massproduced successful Front-line Fighter SU-7 and Mikoyan’s I-75 Experimental Interceptor combined a similar fuselage shape with swept-back wings. However, the characteristic layout with the shock cone and front air intake did not see widespread use outside the USSR and finally proved to have limited development potential, mainly because of the very small space available for the radar. Like many aircraft designed as Interceptors, the MiG-21 had a short range. This was not helped by a design defect where the center of gravity shifted rearwards once two-thirds of the fuel had been used. This had the effect of making the 28 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

plane uncontrollable, resulting in an endurance of only 45 minutes in clean condition. Additionally when more than half the fuel was used up, violent maneuvers prevented fuel from flowing into the engine, thereby causing the aircraft to shutdown midflight. The issue of the short endurance and low fuel capacity of the MiG-21F, PF, PFM, S/SM and M/MF variants—though each had a somewhat greater fuel capacity than its predecessor—led to the development of the MT and SMT variants. These had a range increase of 250 km (155 mi) compared to the MiG-21SM, but at the cost of worsening all other performance figures (such as a lower service ceiling and slower time to altitude). The delta wing, while excellent for a fast-climbing interceptor, meant any form of turning combat led to a rapid loss of speed. However, the light loading of the aircraft could mean that a Climb Rate of 235 m/s (46,250 ft/min) was possible with a combat-loaded MiG-21bis, not far short of the performance of the later F-16. Given a skilled pilot and capable missiles, it could give a good account of itself against contemporary fighters. Its G-limits were increased from +7Gs

IMAGE, MiG-21 PFM Fishbed F and extras by theschell

in initial variants to +8.5Gs in the latest variants. It was replaced by the newer variable-geometry MiG-23 and MiG-27 for ground support duties. However, not until the MiG-29 would the Soviet Union ultimately replace the MiG-21 as a maneuvering dog-fighter to counter new American air superiority types. The MiG-21 was exported widely and continues to be used. The aircraft’s simple controls, engine, weapons, and avionics were typical of Soviet-era military designs. The use of a tail with the delta wing aids stability and control at the extremes of the Flight Envelope, enhancing safety for lower-skilled pilots; this in turn enhanced its marketability in exports to developing countries with limited training programs and restricted pilot pools. While technologically inferior to the more advanced fighters it often faced, low production and maintenance costs made it a favorite of nations buying Eastern Block military hardware. Several Russian, Israeli and Romanian firms have begun to offer upgrade packages to MiG-21 operators, designed to bring the aircraft up to a modern standard, with greatly upgraded avionics and

armaments. The North Vietnamese Air Force received the first MiG-21’s in 1965 and were used to such devastating effect during the early Rolling Thunder Bomber Raids that the US Navy and Air Force conducted Operation “Bolo” specifically to try and counter the MiG threat over North Vietnam. The issue of dealing with the MiG-21 led to development of what later became known as the “Top Gun” US Navy Fighter Weapons and “Red Flag” US Air Force Dissimilar Air Combat Schools (First started in 1969 to teach Navy and Air Force pilots how to deal specifically with the MiG threat over ‘Nam) and affected all subsequent NATO aircraft designs for many years to come. Here I’ve depicted North Vietnamese MiG-21’s intercepting a B-52 Bomber Stream during Operation “Linebacker” during the Vietnam War... A roll that the MiG-21 excelled at...

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st Bowski

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DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 31

nd Jörg Kießling

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Steve Cody DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 33

HONORABLES Johnny C

Rob Veith

Todd Kogutt

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Kenda

HONORABLES BronzeDragon

Bellatryx

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 35

LIGHT EMISSION We explore Iray’s ability to make surfaces emit light

idden within the surfaces tab in an Iray material is possibly one of Irays greatest features. I’m talking about emissives, emissive lighting is where the material actually emits light, and this offers us huge possibilities to create really realistic looking lighting effects by getting the polygons that a modeller has created to look like a light to actually emit light. Before we had Iray and we had a light shaped mesh in our scene, to give the impression that it was emitting light we would place a point light just in front of the object to simulate the lighting, it worked but it was never wholly accurate. Now with Iray we can get rid of the point light and make the polygons that are the lights surface emit the light giving us a much more realistic effect.

Now in the Iray version I no longer have the nice graduated light texture that was on the original, so let’s get it back. All we need to do is to add the texture that’s in the Base colour channel to the emission colour channel, now as the brightness of your light increases the harder it will be to see the texture.

Up to this point all we have done is to make a surface on a mesh emissive, so let make our own lights. If you ever look inside a portrait photographer’s studio then you will probably see a softbox. This large light is favoured by portrait photographers as it gives a very nice soft light with no hard shadows, and the great thing is we can make one easily thanks to Iray.

POINT LIGHT So to make it emit I will go to the surfaces tab and select the light surface now if I scroll down I will find Emission color, this needs to be anything other than Black but I want white light emitted so I will choose white, emission temperature to 6,500, luminance to 100,000 and luminance units to Lumens (lm)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Create a plane “Create/New Primitive” In the Create new primitive box Type: Plane, Size: 1m & Divisions 1 Select your Plane go to its surfaces and add the Iray Uber Base shader On your surfaces tab go to the emissive channel and set the colour to white Now I will set the luminance to 250000 and the Luminance units to lm

Now all I have to do is to position my plane where I require my light and a couple of test renders while I adjust the luminance to get the brightness correct. Adjusting the size of the plane will affect the hardness of the shadows: Small plane = sharp shadows Large plane = soft shadows

IRAY EMISSIVE 36 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

We can use the other primitive shapes the same way as the plane, different shapes will give us different results.

Let’s look at some of the different emissive parameters and get a feel for the important ones. Emission color This is simply the colour of light emitted, by default its black = No light but once we change it from black then light is emitted. Emission temperature (K) I really don’t want this to blind you with science so here is the simplest explanation I could find, Colour temperature has been described most simply as a method of describing the colour characteristics of light, usually either warm (yellowish) or cool (bluish), and measuring it in degrees of Kelvin (°K). Two Sided Light When “On” light is emitted from both sides of the polygon/mesh Emission Profile In the real world the optical characteristics and shape of the bulb affect the pattern and shape of the light emitted so to recreate this you can download IES profiles there are many different profiles available online and they can give you some quite different looks. The sample images are lit by a small sphere just hidden from view the light is close to a wall so you can see the effects of several different IES profiles. Luminance In its most simple form this is the brightness or the strength of the illumination Luminance Units This is simply the scale that will be used to control the level of Luminance, Daz offers you 6 different measurement scales, personally I have always used watts for both home lighting and incandescent lighting in the photographic studio, but since the introduction of Iray I have tended to use Lumens. Watts measure the amount of energy required to power a light, whereas lumens measure the amount of light produced. The more lumens in a light bulb, the brighter the light. A simple comparison between Lumens and Watts 100 Watts = 1600 Lumens. A quick Google search will provide you with conversion charts and calculators. *NOTE* Using Lumens does tend to result in the need to use very large numbers, figures such as 5million or greater are not un-common.

Simple portrait lit by a single 1metre Emissive Plane Emission Color: White Emission Temperature: 6500K Two Sided Light: Off Emission Profile: Nonew Luminance: 250,000 Luminance Units: Lumens (lm) Distance to V6: 1.4m approx

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 37

9mm Handgun Iray Textures For the 9mm Handgun from the DAZ Firearms pack

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_9mmTextures.zip

38 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE Logo Designed by Freepik

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT #2 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 Winter

CUTE

DESOLATE

SNOWY

WARMTH

Arctic Fox Alessandro_AM

Winter Kingdom: Castle Ruins Stonemason

Frost Queen Ragazze Feroci, Secretheart, Syyd

Winter Fantasy Mada Moyra Sarsa

The cute Arctic Fox, 12 poses, several morphs, Look at my Hair fur presets to provide the most realistic renders

A DAZ Studio 3+ exclusive, using shader mixer for surfaces and cameras. This large scale environment is a fine addition to the fantasy artists toolkit.

The Frost Queen package includes the two piece Frost Queen outfit for the G2 female (gown and corset with train) and the frosted aquamarine textures shown in these promotional renders.

Let the cold winds blow and the snow fall! This gorgeous winter outfit for Genesis 2 Females includes a dress and a combination hood and scarf.

VIEW

VIEW DS CREATIVE â&#x20AC;˘ December 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 39

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Karibou

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

I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons (and other tabletop RPGs) for many, many years. In my head, I was always able to visualize what my characters would look like, but I am NOT talented with pens, pencils, or paints. I began poking around art sites (like DeviantArt) and discovered that there were tools which would allow me to create the kind of character art that I always wanted to make. I began to seriously teach myself 3D art starting sometime around 2007.

Where would say you draw your inspiration from?

I’m inspired by strong personalities, both of real people and fictional characters. I try to create images which capture the essence of a person or an emotion. And, of course, some of my art comes from personal feelings and experiences. Art is a great way of releasing things that are hard to express in words.

40 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

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

I’m not much of a modeler; I’m more of a texture artist. When I do create models, it’s generally in 3DS Max or Autodesk Inventor. When I create lights or textures, I utilize many different tools as part of my workflow, including Adobe Photoshop, Blacksmith 3D, Daz Studio, and Poser. I also spend a considerable amount of time behind my camera when I’m gathering textures and light probe data.

“I love seeing the product of my imagination being used in someone else’s. It makes me feel connected to other artists in a very inspiring way.”

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

This varies widely by the size of the project. A complete texture set for a large clothing package or a character morph and texture can take several weeks. With HDRI-based lights, a good portion of the creation time comes from taking photos for the light probes. Promo images are also very time consuming!

What would you say is your favorite subject to render? People! All of my products, from character packages to clothing textures to lighting were created to accentuate a character idea I had in my head.

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

Be open to criticism. Get a set of testers who will be rigorous and honest. Try not to be offended when being offered advice – remember that there’s always room for improvement! Also, patience is important. It takes a lot of time to make a quality product!

If you could add one new feature to daz studio, what would it be? Morph brush!! I use it all the time in Poser. Sometimes you don’t want to fiddle with D-Formers.

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 41

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

Promo images. I HATE making promo images. By the time you’re ready to render your promos, you’ve already stared at the product enough to make your eyes fall out.

Which 3 vendors would you say are your personal favorites?

It’s hard to pick just 3! My wallet definitely will tell you that I have LOTS of favorites. But I think it’s safe to say I own almost the entire catalog of Stonemason, Jack Tomalin, and Godin.

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

Incredible! I love seeing the product of my imagination being used in someone else’s. It makes me feel connected to other artists in a very inspiring way.

42 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

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

Well, since my last product was “KB-HDR Lights Vol 1,” I think most people will figure out what’s next without needing much of a hint!

Where can we find your content to buy?

My store at RuntimeDNA: http://www.runtimedna.com/karibou/ or my store at HiveWire 3D: http://hivewire3d.com/shop/shop-by-artist/karibousboutique.html

Karibou Presents

Vivid Skies

KB-Vivid Skies is a collection of 10 digitally retouched stock images for use in any creative project. Contents: 10 4000px X 3000px sky imagesin Jpeg format

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

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Ebeliza Scrooge Andreas Küntzer

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 45

LET’S Get Dirty

Let’s use Geometry Shells to dirty up our characters This is a technique for adding dirt (Grunge) to your characters without the need for postwork and it works by using geometry shells Using photo editor of your choice create a Grunge Map. If you do not use GIMP you will have to modify these steps. 1. 2.

3. 4. 5.

In DAZ Studio apply a Geometry Shell to the character, props, clothing, etc you wish to apply grunge textures. 1. 2.

In Scene Tab select item. Click on icon in upper right corner (looks like 4 lines with a sideways arrow ). Create > New Geometry Shell. I named mine G2F.

3. 4.

In Scene Tab click on your new Geometry Shell Under Parameters > Mesh Offset > Offset Distance (cm) change from 0.10 to 0.01

Create new – I used the default dimensions of 640 x 400 Create your “grunge” map. I used one of Ron’s Grunge Brushes but you can

use the settings within the program, any free or other brush you have available to you, etc. Save this file. This will be your Diffuse Map. I saved in jpg format. Invert colours. In GIMP – Colors > Value Invert

6. Save this File. This will be your Transparency/ Opacity Channel Map and 7. Displacement Channel Map. I saved in jpg format.

46 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

In Surfaces Tab apply desired shader (AOA, 3Delight, Iray) Choose area of geometry shell you wish to apply new maps, i.e.: forearms in this example Add your grunge maps to their appropriate channels. Set the Horizontal and Vertical tiling to at least 2 x 2. Adjust Horizontal and Vertical Offset as desired. Play with settings until you get desired results.

NOTE: You can do other neat effects the same way. Once you get the hang of this effect try some other effects as well, veins of gold, magic sparkles, etc. Since you can have multiple shells, you can get tons of interesting effects.

You asked for us to feature a DAZ created comic strip well here it is, Enjoy.

DS CREATIVE â&#x20AC;˘ December 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 47

Miss Octavia´s Outfit

http://www.daz3d.com/miss-octavia-s-outfit 48 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

http://www.daz3d.com/swam

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 49

50 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

ARTiST SPOTLIGHT

Estroyer

“When I grow up, I want to be an artist!” That was my answer when you would ask the 7 year old me what I wanted to be when I grow up. Coming from a family of artists on both sides, that wasn’t very surprising, but little did I know about the road I would have to walk to get there. What I am doing now is so different from what I envisioned it would be! My full name is Esther Zeedijk-Langenbacher but online most know me by my artist name: Estroyer, which my husband came up with when I needed a screen name for an online game. I liked it so much, that I have been using it ever since. I am a thirty-six year old Dutch gal from a tiny town near the German border; together with my husband and daughter (she also seems to have gotten the creative gene). Last year, I was able to quit

my job to dive head-on into my work as a digital artist. I am very lucky to have a supportive husband who gives me free reign in my personal artistic development.

“I still have a long way to go but I am lucky to have a great group of inspiring people around me who are helping me in the process. After my years at the art academy, where I studied graphic design, photography and illustration, I felt a little lost in terms of my career. The internet was still teething and so was digital art. My first experiences with digital art were during college. My teachers pointed out to me that I had a knack for digital media and at the time I concentrated on software like Illustrator, Flash and Photoshop. In the years after I fluttered around, taking on any assignment that would pay the rent such as; web page design, short animations, portrait drawings of kids and pets; anything at all. A few years ago, during the launch of a new game, I stumbled across 3D. I was curious about how those 3D characters came to be and during my search I found several software applications, Poser and DS among them. DS felt more intuitive to me and I managed to create my very first render that week. In the years that followed I also learned modeling in Hexagon and Silo

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 51

and soon after I made my very first baby steps as a vendor. One of the things that I find the most appealing in 3D is the technical side of things, the ongoing learning processes and finding out that there’s at least ten different ways to get the job done. At the moment I am still experimenting and trying things out. I feel I haven’t come to a point yet where I figured out what part of 3D I want to concentrate on. So far everything seems equally fun and challenging! I am honored to work with great people and am lucky to have made some very inspiring friendships in the past few years. It is always a challenge to try and explain what I do to “outsiders”; I even once made a little tutorial for my family and in-laws! Besides my own modeling and illustration projects, I also concentrate on promo work for other vendors, which is great fun because you are part of the creation process of someone else, which is insightful. As a vendor myself, I still have a long way to go but I am lucky to have a great group of inspiring people around me who are helping me in the process. When I created the cover, I tried to catch that warm and intimate atmosphere that is characteristic during that last month of the year, where we enjoy good food and company of loved ones. Thanks to the DS Creative team for inviting me to this month’s issue!

52 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Anyone who is interested: feel free to join me and my work over at http://estroyer.deviantart.com/ or https:// www.facebook.com/est.morte.3

Estroyer Freebie G3M Starter Pose Pack

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_Estroyer_G3M_freebie.zip

https://www.facebook.com/DSCreativeMagazine

Image by Drakenborg

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 53

54 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

A days rest Jodie Griffiths

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 55

NAME THIS

CHARACTER WINNERS 1st Place $40 Daz gift certificate Lyam L Name: Wrath-Crella 2nd Place $20 Daz gift certificate Tami Cherub Name: Rubia (her nickname is Ruby) 3rd Place $10 Daz gift certificate Ola Andersson Name: Gale

Winning Entry

Abandoned as a baby in the war torn lands of the living, Wrath-Crella was saved by the soul reaper demon Yosroth. In her desire to do her adoptive father proud, Wrath-Crella cleaved countless souls of humans before their natural deaths by utilizing the cobalt soul fire bequeathed to her by Yosroth. As more souls fall captive to Yosroth, the greater his power and influence spread throughout the underworld to the point where he could soon invade the land of the living adding it to his domain. However, Wrath-Crella discovered Yosroth did not rescue her, but instead, stole her, after slaughtering her human parents. The cobalt fire in her soul was innately hers, and not a gift by Yosroth after all; the thing the demon desired from the beginning. Unlike most anti-heroes who would stop cleaving souls after the revelation, Wrath-Crella intensified her soul reaping. However, instead of giving the souls over to the Yosroth, she kept the souls and forged it into a spirit sword, powerful enough to plunge into the heart of her adoptive father. Feeling betrayed by both the world of the living and the dead, Wrath-Crella aims to bring both under her rule, dealing out her fury and wrath to all.

Competition sponsored by Maniacmayo May 56 â&#x20AC;˘ December 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ DS CREATIVE

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 57

58 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Wintertime

For some, winter means a time full of fun in the snow, joy with family and holiday spirits. For some, winter means fun on the beach, because they have summer when others have winter, & decorating the tree wearing shorts. For some, winter means darkness & cold, loneliness & painful memories. What does winter time mean for you? Your images can showcase the reality of your winter or the fantasy you wish it was. There are no limits or rules, as long as your image portrays in some ways, what winter means for you! 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 December-15 For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dazcreative/ DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 59

WINTER COMPETITION PRIZE LIST No bundles or DAZ originals, unless stated otherwise

10 $ from BWC

Place

2nd Place

1 item from Emma & Jordi

http://www.daz3d.com/emmaandjordi

1 Wolf 2.0 by AM

http://www.daz3d.com/wolf-2-0-by-am (if already have wolf another item can be chosen)

1 item from Bobbie25

http://www.daz3d.com/bobbie25

1 item from SWAM

1 item from ignisserpentus

http://www.daz3d.com/ignisserpentus

1 item from AprilYSH (no daz org. or co-vendors) http://www.daz3d.com/aprilysh

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/SWAM or http://www.daz3d.com/swam

1 item from Pandygirl

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/PandyGirl or http://www.daz3d.com/pandygirl

1 item from Bobbie25

http://www.daz3d.com/bobbie25

5 $ from BWC

10 $ from BWC

4th Place

3rd Place

1 item from Porismo (excluding Swordplay Volume One) http://www.daz3d.com/porsimo

5 $ from BWC

1 item from SWAM

1 item from umblefugly

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/SWAM or http://www.daz3d.com/swam

1 item from Pandygirl

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/PandyGirl or http://www.daz3d.com/pandygirl 60 â&#x20AC;˘ December 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ DS CREATIVE

http://www.daz3d.com/umblefugly

1 item from BadKittehCo

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/BadKittehCo

1 item from Fred W

http://www.daz3d.com/fred-winkler-art

Place

1 item from SWAM

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/SWAM or http://www.daz3d.com/swam

1 item from Sabby

1 item from BadKittehCo

1 item from P3Design

1 item from Fred W

1 item from Fisty & Darc

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/BadKittehCo

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/?uid=523475 or http://www.daz3d.com/p3design

http://www.daz3d.com/fisty-darc

http://www.daz3d.com/fred-winkler-art

http://www.daz3d.com/sabby

Place

1 item from Enchanted Pixie

1 item from Lyoness

1 item from Slosh

1 item from Sedor

http://www.daz3d.com/enchanted-pixie

http://www.daz3d.com/slosh

Place

http://www.daz3d.com/lyoness

http://www.daz3d.com/sedor

9th Place

10th Place

1 item from Wolfie

1 item from Sedor

1 item from Karibou

1 Dsick SciFi from YURdigital

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/-Wolfie-

http://www.runtimedna.com/karibou/ or http://hivewire3d.com/shop/shop-by-artist/karibousboutique.html

http://www.daz3d.com/sedor

http://yurdigital.com/catalog/8440-dsick-scifi-edition

DS CREATIVE â&#x20AC;˘ December 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 61

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

3D Sublime Productions

What made you get into 3D modeling and how long have you been active in the craft? I started with Poser in 2004, so roughly eleven years. I honestly started using it as a hobby, making things for my own personal use. It wasn’t until about a year after I purchased Poser that I started creating things for the marketplace because I wanted to create the types of things that I wanted to buy, but was unable to find.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I know it will sound cliché, but I honestly DO draw inspiration from almost everything around me. It can be a show on television, a song I hear, a season, something my daughter wore to school that day, or even something I have seen in a store, or on a billboard.

62 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

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

I use DAZ Studio Pro and Poser 2012/2014 exclusively, as well as Photoshop CC 2015, Hexagon and a few other small utilities that I could not live without.

“I’ve taught myself

over the past 11 years not to plan to far ahead because this community changes so much from day to day” Typically how long does it take from initial idea to finished model?

Since I do not actually “create” the model, only textures or skin for it, it can take me anywhere from a few days, to a week. I work faster with Poser products than with DAZ Studio products because I am still trying to perfect my knowledge of Daz Studio, so sometimes I have to do things several times to get them right.

What is your favorite subject to create?

To be completely honest, and it might sound crazy to some, but my favourite thing to do is to create textures for shoes, and make the promotional images. I LOVE shoes, my closet is proof of it :) - but to be honest, I equally love creating characters and skin, and morphs for Victoria 4 and Genesis 3

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

Don’t give up. Take a break, take a breather, have some wine, but do NOT give up. It does get simpler over time. And, always remember to be unique and different with the products that you create, just because an idea can’t be copyrighted doesn’t make it right to do it after someone else has, that’s just not a very artistic or classy thing to do. As the sign in my office says, “In a world where you can be anything.... Be yourself”!

Which are your 3 personal favorite Vendors?

Wow. That’s a hard one. If I had to choose only three I would say; Fabiana, Outoftouch, and Swam, but there are so many others that I adore for their products, as well as the person that they are, among those are Sabby, Silver, dx30, Lilflame, RainbowLight, WildDesigns, LittleFox, ironman13, dragonfly3d, Rhiannon and many, many others.

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

Honestly, I have a few things that I personally would like (because they would make my life easier, but probably wouldn’t benefit the normal user that much). I LOVE Daz Studio now that I have been working in it for so long, doing products for Iray and Genesis 3. It really is a very complete and complex piece of software. There is SO much that can be done inside of it, and the Iray Render Engine is my favourite right now. I still love Poser too, and I do still create for it, but I am having a blast right now learning all the cool things that I can do with Daz Studio and Iray!

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

Time and finding a place of silence. Anyone that does this as a business, that also has a family and pets understand all too well that it’s sometimes hard to find a good medium between home and career especially when your office is inside your home.

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 63

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

I could probably NEVER put into words the level of satisfaction that I get from seeing something that was made from one of my products. To see someone create something that makes them happy by using something they purchased from me is a very unique and rewarding experience!

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

Other than a wall to separate my home office from the chaos of the rest of the house? * grins* Aside from that, honestly, I don’t know. I’ve

64 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

taught myself over the past 11 years not to plan to far ahead because this community changes so much from day to day, however I will say that I plan on continuing to create high quality products, and make them as affordable as I can for my customers. I also intend on putting some new skills into action in the direct future, and that will be a fun adventure for sure!

Where can we find you content to buy? I have active stores at Renderosity and Daz3d

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/vendor/ 3DSublimeProductions http://www.daz3d.com/3dsublimeproductions

Candy Cayne V4/A4

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_CandyCane.zip CandyCayne for V4/A4 Tis The Season... for something sweet and sultry! In true 3DSublimeProductions Syle, we bring you another beautiful creation for your runtime. Candy Cayne comes with: Custom Head Morph Combined with DAZ Morphs Morphs made for both V4 and A4 Eye Adjustment Morph DAZ Body Morph Complete Body Texture 4000 x 4000 4 Makeup Textures 4000 x 4000 1 Natural (no makeup) option 4000 x 4000 8 Eye Textures 2048 x 2048 ALL Applicable Eye Textures included EyeLash Texture 2 BONUS Textures for the V4 Basic Bikini Bra and Boy Shorts Easy to apply INJ/REM for all morphs

Li m i t e d Ti m e

This freebie is available until 31/12/15 DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 65

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT #1 We asked you to vote for a classic cult item, this month was The Master Armorer

The Winner Paladin HD MMXV for Genesis 2 Males By Luthbel

http://www.daz3d.com/paladin-hd-mmxv-for-genesis-2-males-s

Next months category is Seriously Shoes, if you want to cast a vote check out our facebook group from the 5th of December onwards https://www.facebook.com/groups/dazcreative/ 66 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

The Fiend

Phil Thompson

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 67

68 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

She Devil Shawn Morrill

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 69

From Sade a.k.a OrangeDragon at Renderosity

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

70 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT #2 We asked you to vote for a classic cult item, this month was Winter

The Winner Arctic Fox By Alessandro_AM

http://www.daz3d.com/arctic-fox-by-am

CAMERA ANIMATION Animating a Complex Camera Move In DAZ Studio With keyMate and graphMate I’m in the process of creating a short video to test the limits of animation in DAZ Studio. I designed one of the shots to test complex key framed camera movement. This tutorial is based on that shot. (You can see it here - http://EricSusch.com/dsc18) In the shot the camera pulls back from a door window, tracks left as the door opens, a character runs through, and the camera pans with her. I’ve simplified this tutorial so you don’t have to worry about the character animation or the door. All you need is a simple scene with a standing character and a room or environment with a bit of space to move the camera around. We’ll be using the keyMate and graphMate plug-ins to build the camera move.

now be highlighted in keyMate. Now look at the graphMate window. All six camera parameters should be listed on the top left. <Image 2>

Setting up the First Camera Position In keyMate make sure the playhead is at frame zero, and then create a camera in DAZ Studio. Select the camera in the DAZ viewport and move it so that it’s framed on your character. Make sure “Show Aspect Frame” is checked in the viewport menu so you can see the actual frame line. Go to the keyMate window. At the bottom type at least 300 in the “Max” field. This is the length of your timeline. Default is only 30 frames which is only one second. 300 frames will give you 10 seconds to play with. Now find the camera you created in the list down the left. Twirl down the “transform” control underneath. These are the XYZ translate and rotate controls from the camera parameters tab. They represent camera pan, tilt, and tracking. You’ll notice that there is a keyframe – a rectangle you can drag back and forth - set at frame zero on all the parameters. They were automatically created when you created the camera. <Image1>

The parameter graph lines should also be visible in the main window. If you can’t see the lines you may have to zoom around and find them. Click and drag on the zoom and pan buttons on the top right of the window. Some lines may be far away from all the others. The colours match the colours in the parameters tab. You’ll also see the initial keyframe squares at frame zero on each line. Setting the End of Camera Position One Next, move the playhead to a later point in the timeline where the camera will start to move. You can drag the playhead line or type a frame number in the field at the top. Set it at 70 frames.

Select all six camera transform rows individually by clicking them and holding down the control key. If you can’t select them move over to graphMate and make sure “Listen for Parameters from keyMate” is checked in the graphMate options menu. All six rows should 72 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Click the “key” button at the top. This will set keyframes across all the parameters at the playhead. This is the end of position one. From here the camera will start to move to position two.

Why? Because these controls pan, tilt, and track the camera directly on its axis. That means panning side to side will be level when looking trough the camera. With other movement controls, like the ones in the viewport or the universal tool, things get wonky and start tilting at strange angles.

Go back to the keyMate tab and see the new keyframes there. If you make a mistake you can delete keyframes, just select them and click the “X” button at the top.

Now move the camera. Track left (X Translate negative) then pan right (Y Rotate negative) to re-frame your character. The exact position isn’t critical, just move somewhere camera left to the other side of the character. Use the sliders in the parameter tab and get a feel for them. The rotate controls will pan and tilt the camera. The translate controls will dolly. Check out your progress in keyMate.

Warning: Don’t hit “delete” on the keyboard to delete the keyframes. That will delete whatever asset is selected in the scene tab. I’ve done it, and you will too. Undo is your friend. Also, for some reason it is very difficult to click and select keyframes in keyMate. It’s much easier to drag a square around one or more keyframes. Now move the playhead another two seconds down the timeline to frame 130. So far the camera has been still. Now we’re going to move the camera to a new position on the set. Moving the Camera To Position Two From this point on, when you move the camera always use the controls in the parameters tab.

Only the parameters you moved have keyframes. This could potentially cause a problem if we move further down the timeline and change a different parameter; like Z translate. Z translate will then “skip” this camera position and create a curve directly from camera position one to position three. We don’t want that so click the “key” button at the top. This will set keyframes down all the parameters preserving the current camera position.

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 73

In graphMate you can see the curves created. <Image 7>

After you’re satisfied with the composition click the key button at the top of graphMate to fill in the other keyframes. Note that some of the curves change slightly. That’s OK. The new curve may actually be better. You won’t know until all the rest of the keyframes are set and you watch the camera playing. <Image 9>

One thing you may notice is that the flat lines at the beginning of the shot where the camera was still are now curved. (See arrow) That means there is movement there now and that will be a problem, but don’t worry about it. We’ll fix it later. Camera Position Three Now move the playhead forward again four more seconds to frame 250. Move the camera again. This time move forward, way past the character (Z translate negative) then pan back to him (Y Rotate negative.) Check out the curves in graphMate. 74 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

The End Of the Shot The camera will remain still here at position three until the end. Move to frame 300. Click the key button to set keyframes across all parameters. Check out what you did in graphMate. <Image 10>

Switch to graphMate. All the initial lines are flat. Play the shot. The camera is still then starts moving at frame 70. <Image 12>

OK, now go back to frame zero and play the timeline with the button at the top. You should see your camera move in the viewport. It’s not going to be perfect. For one thing, the beginning of the shot moves when it should be still. To fix this you have to understand the three types of keyframes. TCB, Linear, and Constant Keyframes are created TCB by default. You have to manually change them to Linear or Constant. Linear means straight lines and sharp corners at the keyframes. That creates jerky movements unless you have lots of keyframes to create artificial curves. Constant keeps the line flat - no movement. That’s what we want here so let’s try that. Go to keyMate and select all the keyframes on frame zero by drag selecting them. Then click on the Set Interpolation Type drop down button on the top left. It has a wavy graph line on it. Select Constant. All the selected keyframes now have a “C.”

It works, but it’s not the way I would do it. Why? Because I’ve found that every time you adjust a parameter on a constant keyframe it will revert back to TCB. It’s annoying. I think it’s a bug. Because of this I try to do everything in TCB mode. It makes things much easier. Go back to keyMate and change the keyframes back to TCB. What the Heck Is TCB? TCB stands for Tension, Continuity, and Bias. Those settings are at the bottom of the graphMate window. See the sidebar for an explanation of each control. I DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 75

personally don’t worry what each one does; I just play around until the curve does what I want. Try it. Select a keyframe and start messing with the up and down arrows to change the values. You’ll see the curve change. It’s not as easy as Bézier curve handles but most of the time you can get the curve close to what you want. The challenge is that the controls affect the curve on both sides of the keyframe. There’s no way to adjust only one side.

Tension Rotates a curve around a keyframe

Fix the Beginning and End In graphMate select one of the keyframes at frame 70 that has an unwanted curve before it. Adjust one of the values at the bottom of the window until the line is flat. Fix the other parameters as well. <Image 13>

Continuity Sharpens or smoothes a curve at the keyframe

Bias Slopes the curve toward one side or the other

Examine the keyframes at frame 250 and using the TCB controls, make all the final lines flat so the camera stays still for the last 50 frames. Play the shot in the viewport. If it’s not perfect keep tweaking different keyframes and test playing the camera move until it’s the way you want. You can move individual keyframes back and forth in time to help make smoother curves. You can also add or subtract keyframes at any point. All that matters is that the camera move is exciting and dramatic! 76 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Eric Susch is a filmmaker who loves to make Sci-Fi. He thinks CGI is cool.

www.EricSusch.com http://www.facebook.com/e.susch

Mysterious Tomb coming soon

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 77

one year

twelve amaz

one awesome 01 • JANUARY M

F 1 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 07 • JULY M T W T F 1 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29

S 2 9 16 23 30

02 • FEBRUARY S 3 10 17 24 31

S 3 10 17 24 31

78 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

M 1 8 15 22 29

T 2 9 16 23

W 3 10 17 24

08 • T W 2 3 9 10 16 17 23 24 30 31

T 4 11 18 25

F 5 12 19 26

S 6 13 20 27

AUGUST T F S 4 5 6 11 12 13 18 19 20 25 26 27

03 • MARCH S 7 14 21 28

T 1 7 8 14 15 21 22 28 29

W 2 9 16 23 30

T 3 10 17 24 31

F 4 11 18 25

S 5 12 19 26

S 6 13 20 27

09 • SEPTEMBER S 7 14 21 28

T 1 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 19 20 21 22 26 27 28 29

F 2 9 16 23 30

S 3 10 17 24

S 4 11 18 25

zing issues

e community 04 • APRIL M

F 1 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29

05 • MAY S 2 9 16 23 30

S 3 10 17 24

S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

10 • OCTOBER M

S 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 31

S 2 9 16 23 30

M 7 14 21 28

11 T 1 8 15 22 29

06 • JUNE S

NOVEMBER W T F S 2 3 4 5 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19 23 24 25 26 30

W 1 6 7 8 13 14 15 20 21 22 27 28 29

T 2 9 16 23 30

F 3 10 17 24

S 4 11 18 25

S 5 12 19 26

12 • DECEMBER

•

S 6 13 20 27

T 1 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 19 20 21 22 26 27 28 29

F 2 9 16 23 30

S 3 10 17 24 31

S 4 11 18 25

DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 79

GALLERY

On Patrol Bowski UK

Surf Easter Island Alex Ledante USA

On Patrol 80 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Surf Easter Island DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 81

GALLERY

Pizzpot

Mary VanAssche USA

Elfine

LaMuserie France

Seamus and Nadja Seliah USA

Pizzpot

82 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

Elfine

Seamus and Nadja DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 83

GALLERY

It Is A Womans Underworld Mario Heyer Germany dream girl BronzeDragon

It Is A Womans Underworld

84 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

dream girl DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 85

GALLERY

In the Park Gran22 Denmark

My friend has my Authorization ManiacMayo Canada

Making a List Todd Kogutt USA

In the Park 86 • December 2015 • DS CREATIVE

My friend has my Authorization

Making a List DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 87

GALLERY

Fantasia Sandra Bauser USA

Solitary Sorrow Penne’s From Heaven USA

Fantasia

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Solitary Sorrow DS CREATIVE • December 2015 • 89

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 90 • December 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.

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CONTRIBUTORS Every to to

DS Creative needs a small army of people help make it happen, so to those people who helped make issue 18, A very big Thank You. month

The DS Creative Team

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TutorialS Eric Susc h Kismet2012 Phil Thompson Seliah

Free GiftS Estroyer Karibou P3Design PhilT Sade Totte Alm

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

CONTRIBUTORS

Alex Ledante Andreas Kuntzer Astuce Man Bellatryx Bowski Brent Bowers BronzeDragon Cherubit Daniel Wright Eric A Carr EsaPesa Gran22 Jodie Griffiths Johnny C Jörg Kießling Kenda Ktoya LaMuserie Maniacmayo Mario Heyer Mary vanAssche Mauro Bisiani Michael Klink Mithoron Penne’s from Heaven R.P. Callahan Rian Bergwerff Rob Veith Sandra Bauser Seliah Shawn Morrill Sister of Darkness Steve Cody Tiger Lee Arts Todd Kogutt Theschell

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ome people will go to any depths to find a copy of DS Creative

I just go to Issuu.com DS Creative Issue 19 • 1st January 2016

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Artwork by Phil Thompson