Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 7

194969899100

Comments

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Here's BD Nadira (Gen3F)  wearing Maui Days Outfit (Gen3F)  and Jennifer Hair. 

    The first outfit, however, is worth noting. I combined the Nighty Night Outfit (Gen3F) with the i13 Visions Silk Robe (Gen3F)   It's worth noting because both have extensive morphs which enable you to put the Nighty Night under the robe with the movements. The Robe opens, blows left and right, etc, and the Nighty Night has good movements too. Both of course expose the breasts for sexy renders, but those movement morphs may also help you kit bash under other clothes. So if you need a combination nightgown and robe, keep these two in mind.

    As for Nadira, I had to greatly reduce the length of the eyelashes. One observation- with the full set examined, not the tweaked- the bottom eyelashes don't go all the way to the end.  Very disappointing. 

     

    NadiraVisnsSilkRobeNightyNight.png
    300 x 673 - 360K
    NadiraMauiDaysB.png
    450 x 673 - 567K
    NadiraMauiDaysC.png
    450 x 673 - 586K
    NadiraMauiDaysLite18.14.png
    450 x 673 - 600K
    nadiraEYE.jpg
    375 x 562 - 171K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,684
    edited January 2017

    Hi I'm popping in here because you said it was OK for forum members to review too and I see no one reviewed Genevieve and the bundle. There's a whole thread with a ton of my renders but threads get buried pretty quickly when new stuff come along. I personally love Genevieve's morphs and think it's a GREAT addition to the gene pool. I don't, however, like the textures she comes with but the good news is that she can look completely different, depending on which texture you use on her! Her morphs definitely add something to any character to make it less generic looking. She's also beautiful by herself and has a look of sophistication lacking in the usual pretty girl characters. I'm not thrilled with her teeth, but I read (I think here) that some people don't like model teeth so that may be a plus for some. Also the teeth seemed to distort when you mix too many expressions. I mixed PA slider expressions with Daz ones and her teeth went wacko! So, if you're going to do an open mouth expression, do that first, before adding any other expressions and make sure the teeth don't distort as you add more expressive details...

    Lots of renders can be found here with some of my offbeat mixtures: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/140181/genevieve-7

    I think her shape adds more to gene pool than any other DO character! Also I like the Vanessa Marquise outfit because you can repurpose the top (by using cutouts) to look like a nice regular top rather than fantasy. The pants that come with it are long (if anyone was wondering--I hate when you can't tell from the promos if they are long or stop at the boot!) The pants are very similar to the skinny jeans in the skinny jeans outfit with a nice brown crushed velvet/suede look. 

    The poses in the pro bundle are really nothing special or original, almost amateurish, but they are basically free if you like everything else in the bundle. Lots of renders in the other thread but here is my final one with the Vanessa Marquise top repurposed and skinny jeans. I used Freja's Alfhild for Rune texture that I also highly recommend!  I think I will be adding a bit of Genevieve to many characters in the future or starting with her as a base dialed down a bit and then adding other character morphs to her. This is the first time I've gushed about a new Daz character!

     

    image.jpeg
    755 x 1008 - 734K
    Post edited by Wonderland on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Hi I'm popping in here because you said it was OK for forum members to review too

    More than OK, it's always a delight as long as the renders show the product(s) well and yours certainly does!  I didn't buy that character simply because I went crazy with the past two sales and if I'm not using the products any time soon, they have to wait. Thanks SO much for showing her, feel free to post any time. She looks quite lovely. I really like the pose, it's one that can be interpreted so many ways!  Like "I dare you." or "Well....no. Not today." (like "I want a lazy day. Don't bother me." )

    The only thing I'm not liking about her is the notched line on her nose. I think it runs too long (vertically.) But that's just a personal preference.

    If expressions and teeth are going slightly wonkers (combo of weird and bonkers) maybe try using the Visemes. I've had luck with two to three combined and they were natural, fluid looks without the mouth puckering and teeth seem to do fine. I like to use "t" 50% and "sh" 21% mixed with the Happy (50-70%)  Works well with Excitement too. They give you an open mouth look I just did this one of Nadira to show it. No teeth distortions.

    I also like Smile Delight because it has SO many sliders and combinations. I think you did a very nice job with her expression though!

    NadiraMauiDaysBedrm4.png
    448 x 476 - 367K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858

    Okay, is it just me or is this latest version of the studio giving a lot more noise in the shadows? I have the time and samples waaaaay up and scenes are lit as well (or better) than the version we just left- and I'm seeing noise. Example, look at my last render, on the neck. And um, I just looked, I'm seeing it on Genevieve's neck too. And if you go back up to the first Nadira renders, look at the second one, the neck right by the jawline. And these are all different lights, and of course I know how to do portraits/ reduce noise/ light portraits and so does Alicia. Anyone else seeing increased noise with this latest version? (white specks) 

  • isidornisidorn Posts: 1,601
    edited January 2017
    Novica said:

    Okay, is it just me or is this latest version of the studio giving a lot more noise in the shadows?

    Can't say I've noticed it myself, but then I've only done two renders since the upgrade.  But I've seen it mentioned elsewhere on the forum, so it's not just you.

    Edit to add: What quailty and converged % have you set? I used quality 5 and 98% converge ratio on those two renders I did.

    Post edited by isidorn on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Don't know if you caught it (and gawd knows WHERE it is) but I tested quality 1 and 2 and there was NO difference. Did multiple tests. I have the convergence on 99%, the time is set to something like 6 hours and the samples are set high too. (like over 8600)  I'm using the same settings as previous renders. I wonder if spectural will assist with that noise. Did you actually test to see if there was a difference with 1 and 5 in quality? I didn't go that high. 

    Gotta get off the computer, back tonight. Not ignoring anyone if you post LOL! Worked on zbrush all night, gotta get some sleep. It's 9am. I love having a reverse schedule when I'm trying to concentrate, the neighborhood is so quiet. It was 65 degrees last night and I had the windows open. Happy dance! I hope you folks in the ice storm stay home and stay out of it. BTW, Colorado State released the first discussion of the 2017 Hurricane season, may be worse than 2016. 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,684
    Novica said:

    Hi I'm popping in here because you said it was OK for forum members to review too

    More than OK, it's always a delight as long as the renders show the product(s) well and yours certainly does!  I didn't buy that character simply because I went crazy with the past two sales and if I'm not using the products any time soon, they have to wait. Thanks SO much for showing her, feel free to post any time. She looks quite lovely. I really like the pose, it's one that can be interpreted so many ways!  Like "I dare you." or "Well....no. Not today." (like "I want a lazy day. Don't bother me." )

    The only thing I'm not liking about her is the notched line on her nose. I think it runs too long (vertically.) But that's just a personal preference.

    If expressions and teeth are going slightly wonkers (combo of weird and bonkers) maybe try using the Visemes. I've had luck with two to three combined and they were natural, fluid looks without the mouth puckering and teeth seem to do fine. I like to use "t" 50% and "sh" 21% mixed with the Happy (50-70%)  Works well with Excitement too. They give you an open mouth look I just did this one of Nadira to show it. No teeth distortions.

    I also like Smile Delight because it has SO many sliders and combinations. I think you did a very nice job with her expression though!

     

    Yes, I love smile delight! That's what I was trying to use AFTER all the other expressions and saw the horror of the teeth!  I have a ton of expression morphs (sliders, I don't like the set ones) and I play around with them, not really going for a specific emotion, but a bunch of subtle nuances... I went a little crazy testing Genevieve, combining character morphs and expression morphs. THEN I attempted to give her an an open mouth smile. The teeth might go wonky on any character like that LOL. I was trying weird combinations like Genevieve with Snowflake and a bit of other completely incongruent characters. When I first got Star 2.0 and was testing her out, I over-morphed and got weirdness too. It's pretty easy to screw up the mesh on G3 when you combine too many things, but I like to see what the limits are!

    I don't see an issue with her nose, I really like her nose actually because it has a Roman feel to it to counteract all the little turned up noses the other characters have. The pose in my pic above did not come with the bundle, it's my own. The poses that came with the bundle, were so basic they required as much work to make them interesting as starting with a null pose! I am very happy with the bundle though, I rarely get the pro bundle but glad I did for this!    

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    I don't see an issue with her nose, I really like her nose actually because it has a Roman feel to it to counteract all the little turned up noses the other characters have. The pose in my pic above did not come with the bundle, it's my own. The poses that came with the bundle, were so basic they required as much work to make them interesting as starting with a null pose! I am very happy with the bundle though, I rarely get the pro bundle but glad I did for this!    

    I like the shape, just not the line. Quite a few of us have been discussing via emails the lackluster poses for many of the more-recent pose products. In one set, the legs don't even change at all for FOUR of them. No excuse for that, give us some variety. I can do a standing person with their legs apart, that's not effort, it's Parameters> Side To Side basics. Or they swing the arm down and we should be grateful for the movement?  Need to step it up!

    So for this Friday night,  I will go through my pose sets and tell you what I use/recommend and also just point out some things on other sets. So not all of these are the best sets. Anyone else, jump in and promote the great pose masters!

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858

    FR Harley will be wearing Athletic Gear and Everyday Updo Hair, with a white background, and showing you some great poses. Coming soon. I'm only doing 400px renders (or so) to crank these out.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551

    The notched nose has been done before. Can't recall which character.  But that is a really unusual feature. I've never met anyone with a nose slot like that before.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Spritely Poses for Josie 7   Grade: A

    Not just for fairies and fae folks, these give you a wide range of movement, great hand posing, and fluidity. No stiff posing here!  So kudos,   @dragonfly3d

    For all pose sets, look at the starting points. We discussed this in the last thread when I showcased many for Genesis 2. What can you do with these from where they start? Are they already sitting, legs bent, hands posed? Or do the hands just hang down, nothing done with the fingers?

    posesSpritelyJosie7.C.png
    400 x 470 - 117K
    posesSpritelyJosie7.png
    400 x 470 - 112K
    posesSpritelyJosie7B.png
    400 x 470 - 120K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Precious Model Poses For Eva 7 - On The Box   

    Not quite as usable for me-  (a spread leg pose and a lifting wrong with the legs spread and lifting with the back) and not a fan of the hiney up in the air one, shown. (However simply click on the KNEES and pull to the right, and the pose smoothes out.)

    But like the pose set above, great attention to giving the fingers details, natural bending with legs brought up or to the side. Considering they're model poses, these can easily become everyday ones. I love the one where she's on her knees looking toward us like "Where'd it go?" Very practical. 

    So for a bit more extreme poses, remember On The Box! Although for Eva 7, Harley's having no trouble. I did have to pull a foot up a bit in the crossed foot pose, otherwise no tweaks.

     

     

    posesPreciousModelOnBox.png
    400 x 470 - 106K
    posesPreciousModelOnBox2.png
    400 x 470 - 94K
    posesPreciousModelOnBox3.png
    400 x 470 - 102K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Always A Lady for Genesis 3 Females     Grade: A

    This is by @aavenainen   They are casual, classy, and not exaggerated.

     

     

    posesAlwaysALady.png
    400 x 470 - 122K
    posesAlwaysALady3.png
    400 x 470 - 117K
    posesAlwaysALady2.png
    400 x 470 - 136K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551
    Novica said:

    These look pinup style to me. Too much hiney in the sky action for realism. 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017
    Novica said:

    These look pinup style to me. Too much hiney in the sky action for realism. 

    Yep- they have Model in the name for a reason LOL  wink  That's why I said you'd have to pull knees and adjust on the one shown, but there are a few more like that (couldn't show them all.)  They're meant to be more- what's the word- playful. So you nailed it with "pinup style." 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Amazon Queen for Olympia 7  

    These definitely are a mixed bag and personally I'd buy them only if they are on sale (Hmm, that spells BOOS) - because  IMO there are quite a few standing around poses with slight tweaks. Want to show you some of those, and also a few of the action/different ones so you can decide.  And not shown, but #2 and #10 are somewhat the same, with the arms bent over the head. However, there are some poses with swords to consider and two with bows,  when making the buying decision. 

    Only showing the action ones. You can see the thumbs on the others, below.

     

    posesAmazonQueenOlym7.png
    400 x 470 - 115K
    posesAmazonQueenOlym7 2.png
    400 x 470 - 140K
    posesAmazonQueenOlym7 3.png
    400 x 470 - 135K
    posesAmazonQueenOlym7 4.png
    400 x 470 - 131K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    At The Pool-Poses for Victoria 7     Grade A   @sedor

    These are just versatile- and broken down nicely into different actions. Can't even begin to show you the variety. There are a lot of horizontal poses for swimming and laying, there's sitting poses, stretching- this is a great set! 

    posesAtThePool.png
    400 x 470 - 113K
    posesAtThePool2.png
    400 x 470 - 103K
    posesAtThePool3.png
    400 x 470 - 95K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Bed Hogs   Grade: A   @devon

    These 20 poses are perfectly named. Go read them for a good laugh. So which are you? A Ballerina? A Bed Hugger? I laughed out loud when I read the pose names. Some of these are angled, not showing you straight on, showing from slightly above so you get a better view. If you're doing battle scenes with people down, some of these poses won't need any tweaking, or just a tad!

     

     

     

    posesBedHogs.png
    400 x 470 - 116K
    posesBedHogs2.png
    400 x 470 - 110K
    posesBedHogs3.png
    400 x 470 - 128K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281

    I have those poses. They came in the pro bundle I think. I never use them.

    1. They're not mirrored.
    2. They are ....odd. The thumbs have the poses in a slightly different direction for some of them, and it's jarring when the pose loads.
    3. They just don't....look good.  
    Novica said:

    Amazon Queen for Olympia 7  

    These definitely are a mixed bag and personally I'd buy them only if they are on sale (Hmm, that spells BOOS) - because  IMO there are quite a few standing around poses with slight tweaks. Want to show you some of those, and also a few of the action/different ones so you can decide.  And not shown, but #2 and #10 are somewhat the same, with the arms bent over the head. However, there are some poses with swords to consider and two with bows,  when making the buying decision. 

    Only showing the action ones. You can see the thumbs on the others, below.

     

     

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858

    It figures they were part of a bundle- although I have bought poses before when they were under $2, glitched prices, etc. I do want to be fair that these are for Olympia 7 and only shown on Gen3F, that's why I think the hand isn't clenched in that last pose. I didn't bother scrutinizing the fingers individually because I already had reservations about the repetitive nature of standing poses. Good to get input- thanks!

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551

    The olympia poses look like pretty stereotypical wonder woman poses. The kind of poses where she is holding up her bracelets to stop bullets and the like.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858

    The olympia poses look like pretty stereotypical wonder woman poses. The kind of poses where she is holding up her bracelets to stop bullets and the like.

    Wow, you nailed it. I was looking at those and had a niggling feeling they looked like one from a specific character, but I couldn't pin it down. Given your avatar, you would know immediately!  

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    Bella Donna Poses, Chaise, and Shaders       Grade A   @Elliandra  @PandyGirl   

    Love the chaise- keep in mind these poses are for the Bella Donna dress, so it's refreshing to see how nicely they work with casual clothes. You can use the poses on other surfaces too. (I'm thinking that if you have other really long dresses, you may want to try these poses with those too.) 

     

    posesBellaDonna.png
    400 x 470 - 119K
    posesBellaDonna2.png
    400 x 470 - 144K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551

    I like those. Poses with props are very useful to me. I do have enough of the regular standing around type sexy model poses. It is nice to see the character interract with his or her environment.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    So going to go do Zbrush, but will go through some poses and note my observations. What I'm going to do is just click through using Content Library, and only stop when I see a set full of action or a good variety. Here goes:

    Blooming for Josie 7: the sitting poses have variety and mirrored.

    Only so-so: Capsces:  Classy Eva 7, Cute and Flirty Bethany 7, Fun and Flirty Victoria 7.
    Go for the Poses for Aiko 7 or Teen Josie 7 instead.  The body/ legs are stretched, turned, and make good starter poses. You'll have better poses to work from.

    Poses for Aiko 7

     

    Poses for Teen Josie 7

    Champion Poses for Tween Julie 7  Another dragonfly3d set. Good variety, attention to detail. 
    Classical Dance Poses (Gen3F)  (no surprise there for action poses) 
    Couples' Run Poses- I've used this for holding hands


     

    Speaking of interacting with props, check out SereneNight's signature for her FREE POSE SETS. 

     

    posesPosesForAiko.png
    400 x 470 - 106K
    posesPosesForTeenJosie7.png
    400 x 470 - 120K
    posesCouplesRun.png
    400 x 470 - 121K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited January 2017

    FM Gym Poses Dumbbells and Barbells  Adapt them for other things, there's the typical laying flat on the back, reaching above the head, etc. (It's weight lifting)

    Free Running Poses (V7 / Gen3F)   Wow- action packed!

    Okay, so only through the F's. Since I said I was going to be strict on budgeting my time and spent all evening on this, I am going to Zbrush and perhaps do some more here-and-there. Have a great evening!

     

    posesFMGym.png
    400 x 470 - 114K
    posesFreeRunning.png
    400 x 470 - 102K
    Post edited by Novica on
  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Thank you for doing the poses.  I have been passing more and more on poses and looking very hard for the ones that I can adapt myself.  I do wish there were more weapons poses, especially for spears, axes and maces.  I have been converting a lot of poses as well instead of buying new ones.  I will say that i13 has a some very good, comprehensive pose sets that include full body, and then breaks them down to upper and lower body and in many sets, arms, legs, head and neck.  Very comprehensive.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551

    Check out QT168's facial poses for Darius here.I actually think QT168 makes some of the most natural and fun facial expressions for Characters and these look great. I'm a huge fan. QT168 doesn't have a lot of items in the store but they are excellent quality. The rest of their store is also on sale so check it out.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,018

    Check out QT168's facial poses for Darius here.I actually think QT168 makes some of the most natural and fun facial expressions for Characters and these look great. I'm a huge fan. QT168 doesn't have a lot of items in the store but they are excellent quality. The rest of their store is also on sale so check it out.

    I didn't even consider those products. The promo images don't show off the product very well. They are tiny. I thought some of the expressions (Darius) looked goofy. I'll have a second look, based on your recommendation.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551

    I really like the Real Mike pose set it is my all-time fav and it is by this pa.  But then I sort of like the emotionally charged expressions which used their eyebrows. My guys have great eyebrows and I like to have them shown off.  But I do use them fairly often. I like that the face doesn't get scrunched up quite so badly as some pose exprssions do, where the face gets centered, and made smaller. There are some goofy sets in each one, which I don't use, but the rest are usually useful.

    The problem I see with modeling darius 7 is that his lips are a big part of his features and expressions and yet, the technology doesn' quite exist to make them behave quite as realisically as lips would, so sometimes his lips just seem there, but not wrinkling or rmoving quite in a lifelike way. IT doesn't help that the base skin has a high gloss texture, which draws a lot of attention to his mouth. I tend to remove that first thing fom his skin.

This discussion has been closed.