Digital Art Zone

I am so impressed with the helpfulness in reading posts- so thanks in advance   Here’s my dilemma. I’ve gone through posts, watched YouTube videos, etc- and have not found an organized path to learn Daz. I hope I’m just missing something- but is there a tutorial 1, tutorial 2, etc that explains the basics from starting point zero and progresses? 

I am buying things without having a clue as to how things relate to each other, so I thought I would just ask some of the multitude of questions as I know others probably are encountering the same thing. (As I said, I’ve spent countless hours/ days on this, so it seems logical that others with ZERO experience in 3D are going to encounter it too. There’s only so many hours of trying to read the forums/going back- I have done that. )

Here goes, hope I don’t totally make you laugh with hysteria with these. (Although humor is always a welcome thing.) And please remember when you are using terms, it’s Greek to me- so your answer wont make sense unless you baby talk me. (Call me Pampers.)
PLEASE NUMBER YOUR ANSWER TO MATCH THE QUESTION SO I CAN KEEP THIS STRAIGHT.

1.  What is a UV?

2.  Is mesh and rigging the same thing, or is mesh the wired looking surface and the process is called rigging?

These ALL have to do with V4, V5, Genesis. I HAVE tried to get info on this but some forums (across the internet) and videos seem contradictory. So thought I would ask you pros

3.  MORPHS: Morphs for other generations (V3, V4)  work with Genesis IF you use Generation X? (I think that’s where I saw UV mentioned?) http://www.daz3d.com/shop/genesis-generation-x  What is the difference in V4 and a “Legacy Figure”? It makes it sound like that IS V4.
And I assume morphs for Genesis work only on Genesis, not V4.

4.  CLOTHES: Clothes for other generations (particularly V4) do or do not work with Genesis? I think I read it does, but you need to do Smoothing and/ or Collision Detection “for better fit.”  If you CAN use V4 clothing, is that ALL V4 clothes (and does that include belts shoes necklaces, everything in the outfit?) AND do clothes for Genesis work with V4? (That is important to me because there is a figure I want that is compatible with V4 and Aiko 4, which requires the Victoria Morph 4.2++ and Aiko 4 base,  that means I must buy V4 (I assume) and I really don’t want to do that if V4 clothing doesnt work in Genesis)

5.  What the heck are both of those,  (Smoothing and Collision Detection) and where is that located in the Studio?

6. PROPS: Are props for other collections (or in general, not stated)  usable in Genesis?  For instance, I bought the Luxury Car 1950, that can be used in Genesis?

7. BACKGROUNDS: Are backgrounds that are not labeled for any figure, usable in Genesis, and V4? (if it says Daz Studio)

8. Is V5 and Genesis Victoria the same thing? (assume they are)(and I do already know about the morphing ability to make Victoria into a child, teen, etc, that has been well explained.) I’ve heard both terms but not together that makes a definite conclusion.

Here is what I have purchased as relates to my next question: (and ONLY listing the things that will help you with the questions I am asking)

Victoria 5 Pro Bundle - has the Handy For Genesis, Expressive For Genesis, Posed for V5, V Base Poses,  V Standard Poses, Genesis Female Genitalia

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9. MORPHS- GENESIS:  SOOOO confused on what morph packages you need for Genesis, and possibly V4.  Here’s what I don’t understand, based on what WAS included (above) with the Victoria Pro Bundle and what’s built in to Genesis- do I need these?

The Genesis Evolution Morph Bundle- Two questions. A.) I thought morphing was BUILT IN to Genesis, so it’s not? This works on all Genesis shapes, you don’t need a morph for each one, and covers the body, face, head- so if it’s not built in to Genesis then .... B)  this is a must have for morphing I assume?    (link to help others find/buy it)  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/genesis-evolution-morph-bundle or
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/genesis-starter-bundle

Head Morph Kits and Body Morph kits- don’t you just drag and move items around in the Studio to change the faces, height of brows, etc?
Are these type of kits (beautifully done btw) needed or is it to save time? http://www.daz3d.com/shop/genesis-head-morph-resource-kit-1
and http://www.daz3d.com/shop/genesis-evolution-head-morphs 

What else is a must have for really enjoying Genesis and morphing?

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10. POSES:  Will poses for V4 work for Genesis?

11. I read that to be safe, when installing, keep both the Poser and Daz Studio files. If I’m correct, that means when you go to install the Poser file, when it asks if you want to uninstall the previous version (DAZ’ file) you should say NO and install the Poser one so you have both?

12. What are DS lights, gel lights, different type of lights and which works best for what? TOTALLY lost :(  Working mostly in Genesis if that makes a difference.

13. I do have a big complaint- this is CONFUSING to beginners. The description on many products will state “Create your own beautiful textures for your poser models” or something specific regarding POSER,  then at the bottom say Daz and Poser Compatible Software (and models N/A at the bottom)  For example:  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/texture-tools  Can these be used for Genesis/V4 or not? That really should be made clear under Compatible Models or remove the POSER MODELS reference in the paragraph.

14. Example:  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/content-creator-toolkit-cct  If it says Daz Studio 4.5 or 4.0, or both- I assume the 4.5 pro edition works on it?

15. Texture Atlas- probably recommended for everyone?  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/texture-atlas-for-daz-studio

16. FBX Plugin to export to other software, probably good for everyone?  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/fbx-plug-in-for-daz-studio

17. I’ve been able to grasp that Metadata helps as it puts items in the Smart Content area. What version did that start? I have so many downloads with no metadata! In particular, do V4 items usually have metadata or does it just depend on who made it with what? (not sure if developer would be the correct term)

18. What is a “compatible Mimic file?” The horse is Tumbleweed, and it says Tumbleweed DMC, what does that mean? The file is from 3D Universe. Are those easy to use in Daz? I want to keep it simple so need to know what’s involved, it makes no sense to me. (But love that horse!)  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/tumbleweed-the-toon-horse And I. have a question about those that have n/a for compatible softeware like this-  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/toon-cow-1  Is that just a mistake?

This one says Mimic compatible so it seems to be a widespread use.  http://www.daz3d.com/shop/millennium-kids-young-teens

19. Can you point me in the direction of beginners tutorials, NOT THE DOWNLOADING PART- that go in a logical order? All I am finding is mish mash.

20. Any other helpful hints on getting started? Reading up on Lightwave, Maya, love the 3dBuzz tutorials on Photoshop. I used Corel (not hard stuff, just basics) but want to learn Photoshop.

Hi ceramicemporium… or Pampers if you prefer…

Wow, that’s alot of questions you have… but they are very good questions to ask…

I remember how excited I felt when I first started up Studio and thought about all the things I could do, but I was a total newb to 3D and soon felt just as overwhelmed by all the terms and the what’s this and that.

I was so clueless that I didn’t even find the forums until some six or sevens months later… during that time I just read anything and everything 3D I could find. These forums have been a treasure since.

I’ll try and answer some of your questions as best as I can and I’ve no doubt others will also…

Here we go…

1.  What is a UV?

A UV map is a set of coordinates that tell the program where and how to apply a texture map. U and V are directions just like x, y and z, only they are 2 dimensions that apply to a 3 dimensional object. Think of a globe, if you were to lay the globes map out flat on a table, you would have a left-right (U) and up-down (V), but wrap it around the globe and you still have left-right (U) and up-down (V) but they go around the globe.

Texture maps are based on the UV maps layout, so an example would be like a box that has product artwork on it. Cut the box apart at the glue seams and lay it out flat. That is what a texture map based on a UV map would look like.

2.  Is mesh and rigging the same thing, or is mesh the wired looking surface and the process is called rigging?

Mesh and rigging are two different things, but they go together to form a figure. The Mesh is what you see in the viewport. If you click on the little ball above the camera cube and select wire shaded with say Genesis loaded into the scene, you will see Genesis covered in grid lines. That’s what the mesh looks like.

The rigging is the bones and the weights. With Genesis in the scene press <Alt-Shift-J> and you will see the bones appear in the viewport.

Anything with moving parts can have rigging to move those parts.

3.  MORPHS: Morphs for other generations (V3, V4)  work with Genesis IF you use Generation X? (I think that’s where I saw UV mentioned?) http://www.daz3d.com/shop/genesis-generation-x  What is the difference in V4 and a “Legacy Figure”? It makes it sound like that IS V4.
And I assume morphs for Genesis work only on Genesis, not V4.

Yes you can transfer Gen3-4 morphs using Generation X to Genesis if you have the Gen3 and/or 4 “Legacy Shapes for Genesis” and the Gen3 add-on for Generation X.

V4 is a Generation 4 figure like M4, A4 etc… same with V3, M3 etc are Generation 3 and are now referred as “Legacy Figures” not to be confused with “Legacy Shapes” for Genesis. Genesis has “Legacy Shapes” of the “Legacy Figures” available in the store.

To use Generation X you would need to have the Gen3 or 4 figure plus the morphs for them and the Genesis “Legacy Shapes”

Yes Genesis morphs only work on Genesis

4.  CLOTHES: Clothes for other generations (particularly V4) do or do not work with Genesis?

Yes clothing for Gen3 and 4 can be used on Genesis by way of Auto-Fit. It converts the clothing to work with the Genesis figure, which means the clothes will then work with most all Genesis Shapes. Some clothes convert better than others and as for shoes, well nothings perfect…

5.  What the heck are both of those,  (Smoothing and Collision Detection) and where is that located in the Studio?

Smoothing and Collision is a modifier that aids in fixing poke through of the figure in clothing, but it can be applied to any mesh object. Some clothes already have it applied and you can find the settings in the Parameters tab. To add it to something, select the item in the scene tab, then click the menu on the scene tab and go to Edit>Apply Smoothing Modifier

Set the collision to the figure you want the item to collide with and adjust the iterations to acheive the disired result. Increase in small amounts, less is better.

6. PROPS: Are props for other collections (or in general, not stated)  usable in Genesis?

Genesis is just the new figure. Props are un-rigged objects, props. They can be scene items like plants or accessories like jewelry. You can use them any way you want really.

7. BACKGROUNDS: Are backgrounds that are not labeled for any figure, usable in Genesis, and V4? (if it says Daz Studio)

Pretty much the same as props. Use them any way you want as long as they work in Studio or Poser.

8. Is V5 and Genesis Victoria the same thing?

V5 or Victoria 5 is a Shape for Genesis. Without Genesis V5 doesn’t work.

Think of Genesis as the base mesh that all Gen5 charaters emerge from. Genesis is a shape-shifter.

9. MORPHS- GENESIS:  SOOOO confused on what morph packages you need for Genesis, and possibly V4.  Here’s what I don’t understand, based on what WAS included (above) with the Victoria Pro Bundle and what’s built in to Genesis- do I need these?

Genesis does come with the basic morphs needed for the basic shapes that it came with. The V5Pro Bundle includes some additional Characters that require additional morph packages, ie: Evolution Morphs.

As far as additional morph packages, well thats up to your budget…   the more morphs you have the greater the number of unique characters you can create.

10. POSES:  Will poses for V4 work for Genesis?

Yes, but with exceptions. It really depends on the poses and how well they were made. But for the most part they will work and you might only have to make small adjustments.

11. I read that to be safe, when installing, keep both the Poser and Daz Studio files. If I’m correct, that means when you go to install the Poser file, when it asks if you want to uninstall the previous version (DAZ’ file) you should say NO and install the Poser one so you have both?

I would say, yes, you are correct. If there are both studio and poser content files, often times the poser files will contain files that are need by both Studio and Poser.

12. Lights

I’ll leave this for some of the Lighting Guru’s for now

13. Yes the store descriptions are confusing even to long time users…

14, 15, 16, All of these are now included in DS4Pro and up. No need to “purchase” seperately

17. The Smart content started with DS4 so allot of older content has yet to have meta-data made for them. Check this thread for listings of older content that now has meta-data. Non-Genesis Content with Metadata

18. Sorry don’t know…

19. Some of the Link gurus could help here…

20. Well speaking for myself, I’ve read tutorials for just about every 3D software there is, just to get the basics of concepts. I use Blender so I watch alot of Blender tuts and read Blender books. For Studio, I did alot of experimenting to learn it’s in’s and out’s.

Then there is the Studio 3 User Guide which is what got me through my first few days in Studio and 3D. Most all of the info carries over to the basics in Studio 4.
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/3/start

The Studio 3 User Guide is available as a .pdf download

And these forums are your best friend for help and tips and tuts. All you have to do is ask…

well that was long… and I hope I was able to answer your questions the way you wanted and I wasn’t too confusing…

Hope this helps…

  You explain VERY clearly- thank YOU so very much!!!!!! I will read after I get some sleep, going on 4am- but just skimming it I can tell you really made it so clear. Hopefully these questions will help the other newbies too  

Your very welcome… glad to be of help… we were all new at some point, I’ve only been doing 3D and using Studio for just over 2 years now…

Have a good nite or morning sleep… just after 2 AM here, need to go to bed myself… work comes way to soon…

niccipb nice work there. Saved this in my CV helping folder, this will help others I am sure of it.

Szark - 18 September 2012 05:40 AM

niccipb nice work there. Saved this in my CV helping folder, this will help others I am sure of it.

I agree, very well done. HeadDesk CV helping folder, why didn’t I think of that?

Personally I think this thread would be helpful if it was made into a sticky thread, so others could add their questions to it, or use the questions asked as a basis for a general question and answer thread, similar to the FAQ threads in some forums.

Jaderail - 18 September 2012 08:27 AM

Szark - 18 September 2012 05:40 AM

niccipb nice work there. Saved this in my CV helping folder, this will help others I am sure of it.

I agree, very well done. HeadDesk CV helping folder, why didn’t I think of that?

I don’t know why you didn’t think of it you normally do. Man I have Fav folders for all sorts of things, all broken down in to sections. Yep anal some call it, me I call it organised so it is easier to find.

I second the Sticky Q&A idea.

Thanks everyone…

Just trying to do my part to aid and give back to the community… I’m glad you all thought answers were helpful

nicci…

oh darn it, just noticed some typos