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Novica & Serene Night’s Renders, Tips, Tutorials & Product Reviews PART 2

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  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    Still running Black November Sales... Well, good for those who just got paid! =-) Kinda hoping for some new M6 goodies. They do need to change Fastgrab though.. =-)

  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,055
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    tjohn said:
    Remember Titan?
    I was playing around and tried Benjamin M5's texture out on him, and applied Subsurface settings. I really like the result.

    Hot! What a wonderful render, nice lighting, and cool backdrop! Great work! =-)
    Glad you like it. M6 could use a little more diversity. :)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 2013

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/33195/#492723

    I am adding this link to the references section- Slosh did an excellent tutorial on how to use Michael 4 Skins Auto Converter For Genesis 2 Males. I still haven't tried it yet.

    And yes, I noticed my all time favorite hair Pyrit Hair is now for Genesis 2. :) (It was the very first hair I ever used, on Kaetl with her two baby dragon friends.)

    EDIT: Here is what got added to the References for November. Remember, you can always find this section from a link in the VERY FIRST POST.

    New In November

    File Types: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15792/#330279
    File Types: https://helpdaz.zendesk.com/entries/22890557-Understanding-Content-File-Types
    Ron's Brushes- Tips http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/32428/
    Clothing: Fitting M4 To Genesis 2 Male http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/32596/
    DIM: Multi-Use/ More Than One Computer: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/32843/
    Frequently Asked Questions http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/17/

    Photoshop Bridge-DOES NOT WORK WITH CLOUD!
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20485/
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/19651/
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25174/

    Shader: How To Restore: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/33136/#491681
    UberArea Lighting: by Tjohn http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/33160/P30/#492883

    Post edited by Novica on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    Today’s Review is:

    Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    http://www.daz3d.com/main-man-mix-and-match-expressions-for-michael-6

    By EmmaAndJordi

    Some additional stuff used:

    Skin is Deacon for Michael 5 http://www.daz3d.com/deacon-for-michael-5

    Shape is Jepe’s Nathan for Michael 6 http://www.daz3d.com/men/jepe-s-nathan-for-michael-6

    Outfit: Rogue Sci-fi Suit for V6 http://www.daz3d.com/uniforms-costumes/rogue-sci-fi-suit-for-v6

    Backdrop is Designfera's Nebula

    You can never have too many facial expression sets, especially ones designed for Male characters, and Main Man Mix and Match Expressions includes quite a bit of nice variety. 30 base poses plus you can mix and match the additional 30 upper half of the face poses with the 30 lower half for many more possibilities. The poses applied well to this Nathan body shape, and there is such a variety of expressions if you use m6, this set will certainly be of use.

    Here I have rendered a number of samples so you can see how well they look. (Images attached 1-5 including 1 mixed pose).

    Things to be aware of: if you morph M6 a lot beyond his base head, you might end up with some clipping or some facial distortion. You can surmount this by using the partial poses to alter the facial expression to something more suited to the character's features.

    This is a quite useful set, with a great deal of variety. =-) I like it! =-)

    m6-1-pose-o3.jpg
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    m6-1-pose-mixed.jpg
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    m6-1-pose-118.jpg
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    m6-1-pose-24.jpg
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    m6-1-pose-10.jpg
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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 1969

    They look very fluid, not stiff like a lot of the poses. One thing- whose teeth are those? They look so real compared to the dentures I normally see. Did you change the color to a more bluish gray (shadowed teeth- looks really good) or is that how the character came with them?

    I agree- I really like this set!

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,550
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Today’s Review is:

    Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    http://www.daz3d.com/main-man-mix-and-match-expressions-for-michael-6

    By EmmaAndJordi


    Those look very nice and realistic.
  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 2013

    barbult said:
    SereneNight said:
    Today’s Review is:

    Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    http://www.daz3d.com/main-man-mix-and-match-expressions-for-michael-6

    By EmmaAndJordi


    Those look very nice and realistic.Very Nice examples TY for the Heads up. I missed this set until now. Not sure how but I did. Hit my cart so fast.

    Now, as one of the friendly neighborhood helpers let me teach you ladies a trick. See that Blue link under the Title of the link you took the time to set up? Well here you go... Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    That Ladies is not only a title BUT a link to the Store PAGE as well. Click it. To see HOW it's done just QUOTE this post and look at the code I used.
    Post edited by Jaderail on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 2013

    Jaderail said:


    Now, as one of the friendly neighborhood helpers let me teach you ladies a trick. See that Blue link under the Title of the link you took the time to set up? Well here you go... Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    That Ladies is not only a title BUT a link to the Store PAGE as well. Click it. To see HOW it's done just QUOTE this post and look at the code I used.

    :) Clever!
    EDIT: What you do is just the bracket [ with url= in it, then the http stuff and end that with ] then the product name, then So everyone can benefit from the wisdom of the wise one. The purple wise one. (Go check out his new avatar in his thread) The url does not go in quotes.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 2013

    Well your typing most of it anyway (or doing as I do and Copy Paste) the [ url= ] is standard code and works on most sites. the BOLD can be added as Well as SIZE but the color will always default to the users Browser link default. That can not be changed.

    Post edited by Jaderail on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 1969

    Ron's Angel Dust

    Title is clickable link.
    I know everyone else had an easy-smeasy time of putting their Ron's Brushes in Photoshop, but for some reason, technology hates me. But I found a work-around.

    For anyone starting out in Photoshop, I'd really recommend 3Dbuzz.com, go to "training" and you'll find 24 free Photoshop videos and then the rest are $35 a month (watch as many as you want, as often as you want) for a total of 94. Video 9 deals with the paint brushes, etc.

    Anyway, I am new to Ron's brushes, but not 2d art, so like to post some suggestions/tips on using the brushes. You other folks who use them, chime in! (SereneNight is a pro IMO)

    1. Less is best. Just because it is a cool effect, don't smother your render.

    2. Tie in the colors. The great painters of the Renaissance often put the color of the shirt in the hair for highlights and even parts of the strands. You'll see in the renders below that the swirls/splatters etc are the color of the object.

    3. Consider using more than one color. (See the dragonfly below)

    4. The colors should make sense. The dragonfly has blue for the trail directly behind the blue body, and pink out where the wings are pink.

    5. The particles/ swirls should follow the action of the figure. My olive green dude is striding forward and the swirls should reflect that motion, particularly if he is generating them.

    6. Use opacity to make some of the effects in the background lighter or to fade away, or for the effects that are being dispersed.

    7. Change the size of the effects and experiment- and also the spacing of the particles (blobs, dust, whatever)

    8. Mix brushes and use different transparencies.

    9. Your particle texture would look neat if it tied in to the object's texture. (See the olive man below. Those particles look like they have flaked off the dude as he's moving.)

    TIP: Name your images with the brush name, number, opacity, etc. If you like the render, you don't have to search for notes to recreate that effect. If you use the same order every time, you could eliminate the op, s, sp. etc but I'm not taking any chances, lol.

    For example: cat.Angl.1125.op30.s28.sp18
    Angel Dust, brush 1125, opacity 30, size 28, spacing 18.

    So here's the renders I had previously done, with some photoshop Angel Dust. The Octopus one has a hint of rocks behind him now.
    All of these are Angel Dust brushes.

    Octopus: brush 80, size 60, spacing 81, opacity 30. Roundness 100. Great for rocks!
    Babies First Bug: brush 1100, size 95, spacing 36, opacity 66
    Olive Man: brush 2500, size 63, opacity 63

    olive2Angel2500.63Op_.jpg
    2000 x 2000 - 2M
    BabiesBugAngel1100.95px_.sp36_.op66_.jpg
    703 x 608 - 297K
    octoAngel60.60px_.sp81Op30Rdness100_.jpg
    1800 x 1172 - 604K
  • IndigoJansonIndigoJanson Posts: 1,100
    edited December 1969

    Excellent advice Novica. I recently picked up the same brush set so this is great timing for me and it was especially good to see some subtle examples. With these, they're not taking over, leaving us thinking "wow, great brushes" and missing the point of the render.

  • Tarina KiviTarina Kivi Posts: 488
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Jaderail said:


    Now, as one of the friendly neighborhood helpers let me teach you ladies a trick. See that Blue link under the Title of the link you took the time to set up? Well here you go... Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    That Ladies is not only a title BUT a link to the Store PAGE as well. Click it. To see HOW it's done just QUOTE this post and look at the code I used.

    :) Clever!
    EDIT: What you do is just the bracket [ with url= in it, then the http stuff and end that with ] then the product name, then So everyone can benefit from the wisdom of the wise one. The purple wise one. (Go check out his new avatar in his thread) The url does not go in quotes.

    When I click "post reply" and go to message editor when I want to post a link to sth I click "", makes the whole process easier for me than remembering the code. The pop up window asks me for the hyperlink URL and then for the title of said link. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer using those shortcuts to typing the code in myself.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 2013

    Novica said:
    They look very fluid, not stiff like a lot of the poses. One thing- whose teeth are those? They look so real compared to the dentures I normally see. Did you change the color to a more bluish gray (shadowed teeth- looks really good) or is that how the character came with them?

    I agree- I really like this set!

    Those are Mr. Deacon's teeth. He is a great figure for M5, very realistic. They load with a gray spec. I do have a gray light in there as well. They appear slightly gray upon close-up inspection

    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 2013

    Here is a useful tip for using Ron's brushes, especially for night and dark scenes.

    Render your night scene as usual.

    1. Bring image into photoshop. Duplicate it. The top layer should be your default render.
    2. Bottom layer adjust the lighting so it is overall brighter and a little over-exposed
    3. Click on your eraser tool. Make sure you are in a top layer.
    4. Select a ron's brush. You can use Ron's light & Shadows for example to create the spotlight effect shown in the quick render below. You can select a round effect to do lights or anything that gives off a rounded glow.
    5. Use the eraser tool with Ron's brush applied to punch a nice hole through your top dark layer exposing the light layer below. This will create a nice 'light beam' or 'lighted area effect. This is a quick way to make a beam effect. You can then add other effects in photoshop to additional layers to make stuff appear to glow.

    What you do here, is essentially expose the brighter lower layer giving the impression that the things exposed here are lit (such as the headlight beam area and the highbeam area where I highlighted v5.

    war-night.jpg
    994 x 1136 - 407K
    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • Tarina KiviTarina Kivi Posts: 488
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Here is a useful tip for using Ron's brushes, especially for night and dark scenes.

    Render your night scene as usual.

    1. Bring image into photoshop. Duplicate it. The top layer should be your default render.
    2. Bottom layer adjust the lighting so it is overall brighter and a little over-exposed
    3. Click on your eraser tool. Make sure you are in a top layer.
    4. Select a ron's brush. You can use Ron's light & Shadows for example to create the spotlight effect shown in the quick render below. You can select a round effect to do headlights.
    5. Use the eraser tool with Ron's brush applied to punch a nice hole through your top dark layer exposing the light layer below. This will create a nice 'light beam' or 'lighted area effect. This is a quick way to make a beam effect. You can then add other effects in photoshop to additional layers to make stuff appear to glow.

    What you do here, is essentially expose the brighter lower layer giving the impression that the things exposed here are lit (such as the headlight area and the highbeam area where I highlighted v5.

    Thank you for the tip SereneNight, I did not think of doing it like this. : ) I like that render btw.^^

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 1969

    Jindi said:
    Excellent advice Novica. I recently picked up the same brush set so this is great timing for me and it was especially good to see some subtle examples. With these, they're not taking over, leaving us thinking "wow, great brushes" and missing the point of the render.

    Wonder if we can use them in the RRRR
    :) Glad you decided to join the fray!

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,550
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Jindi said:
    Excellent advice Novica. I recently picked up the same brush set so this is great timing for me and it was especially good to see some subtle examples. With these, they're not taking over, leaving us thinking "wow, great brushes" and missing the point of the render.

    Wonder if we can use them in the RRRR
    :) Glad you decided to join the fray!
    If you look back at some previous RRRR entries you will see some recognizable Ron's brushes being used. So i assume they are still allowed. Totte would be the one to ask for clarification.

  • Tarina KiviTarina Kivi Posts: 488
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Here is a useful tip for using Ron's brushes, especially for night and dark scenes.

    Render your night scene as usual.

    1. Bring image into photoshop. Duplicate it. The top layer should be your default render.
    2. Bottom layer adjust the lighting so it is overall brighter and a little over-exposed
    3. Click on your eraser tool. Make sure you are in a top layer.
    4. Select a ron's brush. You can use Ron's light & Shadows for example to create the spotlight effect shown in the quick render below. You can select a round effect to do lights or anything that gives off a rounded glow.
    5. Use the eraser tool with Ron's brush applied to punch a nice hole through your top dark layer exposing the light layer below. This will create a nice 'light beam' or 'lighted area effect. This is a quick way to make a beam effect. You can then add other effects in photoshop to additional layers to make stuff appear to glow.

    What you do here, is essentially expose the brighter lower layer giving the impression that the things exposed here are lit (such as the headlight beam area and the highbeam area where I highlighted v5.

    I've just used this technique on an image and it worked like a charm! I had so much trouble adding good looking light beams to my underwater render and this simple trick made it so easy.^^ Thanks again SereneNight! If you want you can check it out in my gallery. Instead of using the eraser tool I've painted the light beams on a layer mask, I prefer to use the non-destructive approach whenever possible. I change my mind so often that an easy way to undo sth or change it slightly is imperative to me. : )

  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Tarina Kivi said:
    Novica said:
    Jaderail said:


    Now, as one of the friendly neighborhood helpers let me teach you ladies a trick. See that Blue link under the Title of the link you took the time to set up? Well here you go... Main Man Mix And Match Expressions For Michael 6

    That Ladies is not only a title BUT a link to the Store PAGE as well. Click it. To see HOW it's done just QUOTE this post and look at the code I used.

    :) Clever!
    EDIT: What you do is just the bracket [ with url= in it, then the http stuff and end that with ] then the product name, then So everyone can benefit from the wisdom of the wise one. The purple wise one. (Go check out his new avatar in his thread) The url does not go in quotes.

    When I click "post reply" and go to message editor when I want to post a link to sth I click "", makes the whole process easier for me than remembering the code. The pop up window asks me for the hyperlink URL and then for the title of said link. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer using those shortcuts to typing the code in myself.That works fine as well but as I point out is Forum specific were url= is standard net code and will work on most sites. Its just my way I've used for years. Nothing against other ways that work.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    Great work with those brushes Novica! I agree one thing you must do is keep it subtle. Too much can look too fake and flat! Great overall advice

    Jaderail said:
    RE Main Man Review.

    Yep, I missed these too the first time around- okay I think I saw them but they didn't register with me for some reason. Thanks for the HTML advice. Will have to try that.

    barbult said:
    Those look very nice and realistic.

    Thanks! I thought they looked great too, especially with a figure close to default M6.

    I've just used this technique on an image and it worked like a charm!

    Oh! I'm pleased you found this helpful. =-) I find the godrays/beam of light effect kinda a pain in the neck in DAZ studio, so finding a quick way to do it postwork, is my cuppa tea. Glad it worked for you, and like your underwater renders- that sea turtle looks great! =-) And thanks for the compliment.

    One thing I think might also be interesting to try would be to use a hazy middle layer to simulate a slight fog or give the 'light' layer some speckling to simulate motes. Haven't gotten around to it yet, but might be an interesting thing to try. =-) Anyway glad you like it. I was so tired of attempting to use light to achieve what is easy to do postwork.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    Hmmm. Am I the only one with no snowballs yet? =-)

    My picks of the new releases today:

    Laced back Party Dress http://www.daz3d.com/catalog/product/view/id/15931/category/1438/

    and

    Ron's Sci-fi Optical flares
    http://www.daz3d.com/new-releases/rons-sci-fi-optical-flares

    The Sci-fi optical flares I will most definitely pick up eventually. Just Waiting for a coupon or Gift Card deal to be offered. I know December will bring discount gift cards, so, I may wait a while before taking the plunge.

    The laced back party dress has some sci-fi potential to me. I like the way it looks.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,550
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Hmmm. Am I the only one with no snowballs yet? =-)

    You should at least buy the free clocks and get a snowball for that.
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    barbult said:
    SereneNight said:
    Hmmm. Am I the only one with no snowballs yet? =-)

    You should at least buy the free clocks and get a snowball for that.

    Ah! I have one. Thank ye!

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    Today’s Review is:

    Everyday Food
    http://www.daz3d.com/everyday-food
    Maclean

    Some other Products included in the render:

    Country Dining Room http://www.daz3d.com/country-dining-room
    By Candle Light http://www.daz3d.com/by-candle-light-for-daz-studio (reviewed earlier)
    Country Time Backdrop by: Susan Justice (formerly McKivergan) and Jackie Browning-Victors

    When it comes to making food items, Maclean certainly has what it takes. This set is a great value. It includes over 50+ food and dinner table props, a number of nice texture customizations, tableware, and some custom platters with a nice selection of food including coldcuts, sliced meats, and a table setting which includes a fork, a knife and a plate full of food. Plus a bonus item! Chopsticks =-)

    About the only thing missing is the dessert! Seriously! I want one of those huge jello molds all red and filled with fruit=-) But if you own everyday Snacks you can stock up on Pie and Cookies, so I guess Maclean also has that covered too =-)

    One thing that is cool is the set includes some nice Tupperware-Like storage containers which are transparent. You can change the contents by applying textures. I like the way they are transparent and the content shows through the sides of the container. You can also remove the lids, quite easily, making many of these props both stackable and more versatile. There is also a really nice butter dish with butter, salt & Pepper shaker, and cool little sliced tomato.

    One thing that I would love to see with this is a lazy man’s place setting. I liked what Maclean did with everyday snacks where you get the tray with the complete meal on it. Would like a similar thing, with a full place setting including plate, drink, knife, fork, spoon and napkin. This would make it easy to quick-load a scene with food place settings for… AHEM… those amongst us who still don’t know how to properly set the table. There is a partial setting here, though… Just… No spoon, napkin or drink.

    I particularly like the way those potatoes render. They just look perfect glistening there. They look so real! =-)

    Overall, nice product. Lots of options and very customizable. A great way to fill out your kitchen or dinner table with lots of great food!

    Image 1: Everyday food in action. Everything on the table, minus the candles is from the set. =-)

    final.jpg
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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 1969

    That looks really good with the background and the lighting!

    I have five snowballs. Don't ask me how. I'm not getting anything from today but like Ron's. I'm with you though, have to wait awhile. Really cool effects though.

  • macleanmaclean Posts: 2,438
    edited December 1969

    Nice render, Serene! Glad you like the pack.

    Re deserts - I did make a jello - the full mold and everything. I had it all ready and was testing it, but for the life of me, I couldn't get it to look good. The balance between Refraction and Transparency eluded me completely, so I abandoned it.

    mac

  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,055
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    That looks really good with the background and the lighting!

    I have five snowballs. Don't ask me how. I'm not getting anything from today but like Ron's. I'm with you though, have to wait awhile. Really cool effects though.


    Look on the page where the Products that qualify are shown. Some of them are earlier products like Michael 6 Pro Bundle and the HD Bundle. Your extra snowballs are probably from that. I have six snowballs myself. :)
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,582
    edited December 1969

    maclean said:
    Nice render, Serene! Glad you like the pack.

    Re deserts - I did make a jello - the full mold and everything. I had it all ready and was testing it, but for the life of me, I couldn't get it to look good. The balance between Refraction and Transparency eluded me completely, so I abandoned it.

    mac

    Oh, I understand. I can see that might be hard. Perhaps an angel food cake from a mold might be easier or a bundt cake.

  • IndigoJansonIndigoJanson Posts: 1,100
    edited December 1969

    I love Maclean's products, don't have this one yet but it's definitely one I'll get at some point. The render looks great and is making me hungry! Thanks to you also, SereneNight, for more helpful tips on the best way to use Ron's brushes. You and Novica have given me some new things to try.

    Snowballs... none yet. There have been so many sales lately that I need a new GC. Besides, the banners are a little off-putting right now (in my personal opinion) and don't make me want to linger.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,869
    edited December 1969

    Jindi said:
    Snowballs... none yet. There have been so many sales lately that I need a new GC. Besides, the banners are a little off-putting right now (in my personal opinion) and don't make me want to linger.

    Thank goodness the gallery nonsense of featuring it on the main pages will END at the end of December.

This discussion has been closed.