Jaderail - 08 October 2012 09:11 PM
With a little work you can get great renders right from DS. No postwork needed, DS4.5 comes with some great tools (Uber Evro, Point Lights, Base Shaders) all when you install it. Then you have the Surfaces tab to play with as well. Lighting (even just two Distant Lights setup well) and the Surfaces Tab with a good camera angle and image composition (flow of the eye, rule of thirds or another one of the many rules) can really do great things to what starts as a simple everyday render.
I really think more users should learn the full capabilities of the program before they jump into the Postwork to fix it frame of mind. If you can visit my DA page and look at my stuff, WARNING 18+ for part of it (in my sig) you can get a idea what DS can do all by itself. 99% of my renders are done WITHOUT postwork. I'm not even good, but I have done some good renders with just DS.
This is the end of the I Love DS and what it can do commercial.
P.S. I also love all the WIP's so far, with postwork, without I don't care. This is a great thread this month.
I think this is an important statement. Postwork is ok for some things, but if you can do it naturally within your original software you'll get the effect you want, and easier.
Knowing your software is, without a doubt, all about comfort zones. I know Photoshop a lot better than I know any 3D application, and I know I can add a shadow here and there by making a grey area, blurring it, adding a mask, blah blah blah and it might look just fine, but it takes just as long to create a light and move it somewhere. Once you've learned the kind of effect you want and the settings on the light to achieve that, then you'll be in a brand new comfort zone.
I used to think Daz was a simple product. It can't model, it doesn't have particles to worry about, doesn't do landscaping, doesn't do this or that... How wrong can you be? Very complex software, and out of nearly everyone's comfort zone! But worth the effort of learning.
