Very Useful Daz Products IMHO (Converters, Lights, Utilities, Morphs, VRAM Optimizers, Shaders etc.)
LenioTG
Posts: 2,118
Hi everyone! :D
This is the text of one of the following tutorials of my YouTube channel for beginners! I'll post a link to it when I'll actually shoot it, but until then here's what I wanted to say! I hope at least some of you will find this list useful. Please, if any useful product is missing, tell us about it: I've actually found most of these ones thanks to this same forum!
I don't know any of these creators: if a different version of the same product is not present is just because I haven't tried it in the first place!
The goal of this guide is to improve your workflow and to save money in the long run!
When you start to purchase products from the Daz Store, it's very likely you'll end up with a ton of useless stuff, with the illusion to save money.
You don't need these products to learn Daz Studio, and, depending on what you want to render, you may not need some of them at all.
But if you're thinking about your first or next purchases, I think it will be useful to you to know that the following products exist: I really wished I've found a list like this one when I made my first purchases! ^^
I've put between brackets the lowest price they've had in the 12 months, thanks to Daz Deals browser extension.
CONVERTERS
Genesis 8 products are often pretty expensive, but there are a lot of old clothes and hair around that would look just fine with the right shaders! Since the most supported previous generations are the Genesis and the Genesis 3 ones, here are the relative converters.
- Clothing Converters (8.98+9.98+8.98+9.98$) (Genesis to G8F; Genesis to G8M; G3F to G8F; G3M to G8M)
- Hair Converters (11.37+11.37$) (G3F to G8F; G3M to G8M)
- Genesis 3 to Genesis 8 Pose Converter (9.18$)
LIGHTS
- Iray Ghost Light Kit (6.58$)
You could actually create ghost lights by yourself every time, but this kit is very quick and easy to use. - Iray Light Probe Kit (7.58$)
It seems hard to use, but it's not: add the probes to the scene, select the pose "small" or "large" room, choose what kind of light you want, and it's done. I use it in combination with the Iray Ghost Light Kit. - LI Incandescent Set (10.48$)
The best pinup light set I've seen so far. - Leonine Set (1.99$)
- UltraHD Iray HDRI with DOF domes like this one (1.99$ each, let's say 4 of these cost 7.96$)
These creators have made a lot of nice domes with decent lights. Don't waste your money on static backgrounds!
UTILITIES
- Batch Render (9.98$)
The batch render will revolutionize your experience with Daz: set your scenes, then render them altogether when you won't need your PC. - SimTenero Randomizer (10.98$)
Don't waste a ton of money buying figure after figure: with the right morph sets, you could create the perfect shape each time you'll need a new character! I prefer the original version to the 2nd one, because the latter is meant to use just a few morphs, otherwise the time to set it up is exaggerated, and you couldn't use more than 800 morphs with the 2nd version even if you wanted to. - Skin Builder 8 (24.98$)
And with this utility, you'll be able to create your figure texture! Don't waste money on LIE makeup etc.! - Genesis 8 UV Swap (5.23$)
Skin Builder 8 only works with Females. But you may save your new skin textures and load them on your male figures! This tool simply makes this process work better. - Fit Control For Genesis 8 Bundle (17.98$)
To give your clothes a more realistic fit. Be careful: it's not automatic, you'll have to apply each morph by yourself! - Look At Me Pose Control (13.18$)
This will save you a lot of time: it allows you to make a character look at the camera, at another character or at an object. - Shape Rigger Plus (11.98$)
You probably don't need this, but I wanted you to know that there's a way to use your morph on a different figure, where by default you'd have strange deformations. - Pose Architect (13.48$)
Power Pose has made our lives a lot easier in posing our characters. Pose Architect makes it even easier! There are a lot of well-organized sliders to move a part of your character's body, but the special thing is that, when you'll move something with those sliders, its entire body will move, giving you a very natural-looking final pose!
MORPHS
These morphs sets are basically all you need to create a customized figure shape.
- 200 Plus Head and Face Morphs Bundle for Genesis 8 (12.78$)
- RareStone's Face Morphs Collection (7.18+8.80$) (G8F and G8M)
- Shape Shift Bundle for Genesis 8 (17.98$)
- Daz Original Morphs (5.03+5.03+5.59+5.59$) (G8F Body and Head, G8M Body and Head)
- Growing Up For Genesis 8 Bundle (11.18$)
This Growing Up bundle and the following Aging Morphs will save you money, because you won't have to buy younger or older figures! I always suggest to directly buy the bundles when they're on sale, because if you buy the female one there's a good chance you'll need the male one too someday, but they cost a lot more if bought separately. - Aging Morphs For Genesis 8 Bundle (15.98$)
VRAM OPTIMIZERS
You won't need these if you have a great GPU.
- Scene Optimizer (9.98$)
It basically lets you reduce your texture size, with the option to make and to restore a backup. You could also remove maps. - Iray Memory Assistant (10.98$)
Have you ever wondered if a specific scene will fit in your VRAM? IMA will let you know. - Resource Saver Shaders Collection (7.98$)
I mostly use this to remove maps and for some shaders.
SHADERS
- ColorWerks Hair Shaders (9.98$)
The best set of hair shaders IMHO. Don't waste money buying hair colors: this has hundreds of them. - Basically anything from JGreenless (2.79$ each, let's say you'll take 10 of them for a total of 27.90$)
Don't waste money on clothes textures! Here you'll find cloth, leader, shiny etc. shaders, and you'll be able to customize each piece of clothing. You could also "restore" old outfits.
TATTOOS AND PIERCINGS
You could actually create every tattoo yourself. But if you want to buy some, always pick L.I.E. ones, because you'll basically be able to use them on every figure!
- Teensy L.I.E. Tattoos for Genesis 3 and 8 (3.99$)
- Tattoo for Genesis 3 Female (4.79$)
- Tatt's All Folks! (11.97$)
Be careful: this set works differently! It doesn't have a fixed position, but you'll be able to move those tattoos around. The problem is that they won't stick to the skin, and so you'll need to set up rigid follow nodes to make them stay in position when you change the pose, and when you'll overlap a limb over that body part the tattoo will move to the more superficial part. - Alternative Piercing Pack for Genesis 8 Female (5.69$)
CLOTHES
These are just some examples of clothes bundles, but you can pick any outfit you want!
- dForce Casual Closet for G8F (8.39$)
- dForce Multi Dress System for G8F (13.98$)
- dForce Casual Closet Skirt Collection for G8F (6.95$)
EXPRESSIONS
My favorite expressions are the ones from JWolf, but there are a lot of sets available in the shop.
- 100 Must Have Expressions Volume 2 for Genesis 8 Female (7.18$)
100 expressions are really a lot, and this set may have every female expression you need. Don't bother with the 1st volume, I think it's older and much less "expressive". - Male Sets (6.28+4.19+4.19$) (My Rules, Strong Man and A Gentleman)
- Female Sets (1.99+1.99+6.28+4.19$) (Elegance, A Famous Woman, Feelings and Brave Girl)
OTHERS
- Unisex Jewelry for Genesis 8 (6.28$)
If you need some jewelry, these two sets are a nice start. There are many equivalent ones on the store. - ES Jewelry Collection (7.98$)
- CC Beard Boss (12.48$)
Don't waste money on beards! This set is customizable to give your figures every beard you'll want. - CC Shave This (12.48$)
This product is not necessary, but it may be useful to give an even more realistic appearance to your male characters. - Alt Style Glasses For Genesis 8 (6.98$)
All the eyeglasses you'd probably need. I find the default clear glass too reflective, so I usually swap it with the default clear glass shader.
In the end, all these products together cost 411.83$ (at their lowest price in the last 5 months).
I'm gonna repeat myself: you probably don't need them all, and they're not necessary to learn Daz Studio. But, if you're going to buy something anyway, these are the product I feel more confident to suggest to you!
I'd set a price notification for each item with the Daz Deals browser expansion, and I'll try to combine those deals with the Platinum Membership (coupons, more discounts), with specific events (like March Madness or Anniversary Sales) and with the Gift Card sales: this way, with a lot of patience, I'm confident you'll be able to get everything for around 300$!
Then just add whatever nice outfits (either from Genesis 8, 3 or 1) you prefer, hair and environments (check out i13 sales) and you probably won't need anything else! :D
Oh, I almost forgot: if you're new to Daz Studio, and you want to use new stuff without spending a single cent, there's a Wikipedia-like website that categorizes every freebie available on the web: PoserDazFreebies
PS: if you think these products are bad, or if you simply prefer to use other ones or to model stuff by yourself, feel free to share with us your experience: every discussion is a chance to grow, and thanks to these same discussions I've found out about those products in the first place! :D
Recapping, here are all the links:
https://www.daz3d.com/rssy-clothing-converter-from-genesis-to-genesis-8-female
https://www.daz3d.com/rssy-clothing-converter-from-genesis-to-genesis-8-male
https://www.daz3d.com/clothing-converter-from-genesis-3-male-to-genesis-8-male
https://www.daz3d.com/hair-converter-from-genesis-3-female-to-genesis-8-female
https://www.daz3d.com/hair-converter-from-genesis-3-male-to-genesis-8-male
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-3-to-genesis-8-pose-converter
https://www.daz3d.com/iray-ghost-light-kit
https://www.daz3d.com/li-incandescent--portrait-lighting-for-iray
https://www.daz3d.com/ly-leonine-pro-hdr-lighting
https://www.daz3d.com/ultrahd-iray-hdri-with-dof-seaside-resort
https://www.daz3d.com/batch-render-for-daz-studio-4-and-rib
https://www.daz3d.com/simtenero-randomizer
https://www.daz3d.com/skin-builder-8-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-uv-swap-male-and-female-base
https://www.daz3d.com/growing-up-bundle-for-genesis-8-female-s-and-male-s
https://www.daz3d.com/aging-morphs-bundle-for-genesis-8-female-s-and-male-s
https://www.daz3d.com/fit-control-bundle-for-genesis-8-females-and-males
https://www.daz3d.com/look-at-me-pose-control
https://www.daz3d.com/200-plus-head-and-face-morphs-bundle-for-genesis-8-female-s-and-male-s
https://www.daz3d.com/shape-shift-bundle-for-genesis-8-female-s-and-male-s
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-female-body-morphs
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-female-head-morphs
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-male-body-morphs
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-male-head-morphs
https://www.daz3d.com/scene-optimizer
https://www.daz3d.com/iray-memory-assistant
https://www.daz3d.com/resource-saver-shaders-collection-for-iray
https://www.daz3d.com/colorwerks-hair-shaders-for-iray
https://www.daz3d.com/jgreenlees
https://www.daz3d.com/teensy-lie-tattoos-for-genesis-3-and-8
https://www.daz3d.com/tattoo-for-genesis-3-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/tatts-all-folks
https://www.daz3d.com/alternative-piercing-pack-for-genesis-8-female
https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-casual-closet-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-multi-dress-system-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-casual-closet-skirt-collection-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/my-rules--expressions-for-genesis-8-male-and-christian-8
https://www.daz3d.com/strong-man--expressions-for-genesis-8-male-and-the-brute-8
https://www.daz3d.com/a-gentleman--expressions-for-genesis-8-males-and-edward-8
https://www.daz3d.com/elegance--expressions-for-genesis-8-female-and-penny-8
https://www.daz3d.com/a-famous-woman-morph-dial-expressions-for-stephanie-8
https://www.daz3d.com/feelings--expressions-for-genesis-8-female-and-bridget-8
https://www.daz3d.com/brave-girl--expressions-for-genesis-8-female-and-mei-lin-8
https://www.daz3d.com/unisex-jewelry-for-genesis-8-males--females
https://www.daz3d.com/es-jewelry-collection
https://www.daz3d.com/cc-beard-boss-for-genesis-8-males
https://www.daz3d.com/alt-style-glasses-for-genesis-8-males-and-females
https://www.daz3d.com/pose-architect-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/rarestone-s-face-morphs-collection-for-genesis-8-female
https://www.daz3d.com/rarestone-s-face-morphs-collection-for-genesis-8-male
https://www.daz3d.com/cc-shave-this--body-hair-for-genesis-8-males
https://www.daz3d.com/shape-rigger-plus
https://www.daz3d.com/100-must-have-expressions-volume-2-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/iray-light-probe-kit
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Comments
Great compilation - very useful.
Products I would definitely recommend and which I use extensively:
Characters'skin:
Shaders for clothes:
Shaders for architecture:
Lights:
Morphs:
Dforce:
Those are the ones that I can think off.
It's an impressive list, but please keep in mind that what is a must for you might not be a must for others and I would hate for a new user to see your list and think they need to get everything you posted in order to get the most out of their 3D experience. A lot also depends on what types of scenes, renders or animations a user wants to do. I have been doing this for awhile and don't have a need for over half of what is on your list and many items I have used and found them lacking and even returned some of them.
In my opinion, a new user should spend time, not money learning what DS can do and use what assets come with the app before diving into the store. It would also be beneficial for new users to learn simple aspects of modeling since it will help them understand how all this works better and be helpful in the long run.. IMO the goal should be about being creative, not saving money or time.
Thank you! :D
The characters skins and the shaders for clothes are very interesting, thanks for sharing! :D
Of course, I've written twice "You probably don't need them all", but you've done well to highlight it! ^^
I don't know about you, but no one has ever explained this stuff to me, and the first months I wasted money on textures and hair color I'm not using anymore, and the same regards some light sets and figures. And I didn't know you could buy, for example, a Genesis outfit for as little as 80 cents and restore it in some minutes to use it in your stories, while many Gen 8 are, for a good reason, very expensive!
Creativity to me, and to everyone who doesn't do this as a job, but as a hobby, IS time! If you just have 2 hours to be creative, and you spend it wasting time because the scene doesn't fit your VRAM, or rendering each scene one by one, you've lost a big chance to give life to your story! :D
But this is my opinion, and that's why I've written "IMHO" in this thread title! ^^
It would be useful for some users to know what products you haven't liked and why!
I do agree with a lot of stuff you have added, as many are the products I use a lot. However I would add Mec4D shaders to the list, particular volume 1 (https://www.daz3d.com/mec4d-pbs-shaders-vol-1-for-iray), as I use it all the time to improve the look of metal surfaces. When I am converting a 3DL or Poser product to look good in iRay, the surfaces I amost always replace are the metal and glass surfaces, most of the rest can either be left alone, or need minor tweaks.
Thank you, that shaders set looks great! :D
BTW I think today could be one of the best day of the year to make those purchases!
Theres a 50% discount on everything if you buy 2 items. Then you have a 10% discount on gift cards, and PC+ items have a bigger discount. Finally most people still have the 12$ coupons from the Platinum Membership. So I guess a total of around 60% discount is avaiable!
Most definitely this.
The answer to our issues as a new user, aren't products (sorry Daz), but skills. Learning basic Studio skills doesn't take long, but it is much easier to throw money at what we perceive (in our ignorance) to be the problem.
At first, we don't even know what to throw our cash at, so scatter it about randomly.
There are a number of products I bought when first starting with Daz and its various products, I still haven't used; I have no intention of using them... And I'm years late in returning them. :)
I would suggest that most of us identify the problems when first starting using Studio as being a lack of certain products. Not true, or only partially so.
There are lots of excellent products, and I still enjoy buying new ones.
The OP's list of products is only really useful, if each has a sufficiently verbose explanation as to why they find them useful.
For example: the clothe's converters do something we can do ourselves; I have no use for them, despite the fact they do an excellent job. This being the case, why would a new user/beginner find them useful? They don't have a multitude of items to convert - as in an extensive back catalogue; so there is little if any back catalogue in need of converting.
Now the OP presumably disagrees with me; why? That is what I mean.
Exactly, I've done the same, and so, for this specific purpose, I've made this list! :D
Don't you think those listed products are the ones who most of the people should consider, before putting money on else?
I don't think anyone is going to spend hundreds of dollars on Daz Product without knowing the software a little bit! I've waited a whole year before purchasing anything, yet I'd really liked to have a list like this for reference! :D
And there are some things you CAN'T do without spending money. Okay, you could learn lights (I've done some tutorials about that too), but how could you require less VRAM from your scenes? Are you going to model stuff and to create shaders by yourself? I'm honestly not intrested in learning blender etc., I prefer to spend that time creating stories, that are the reasons why I got in Daz on the first place!
Tho whole point is to spend less, not more. If you, for example, buy the hair shaders set, you won't have to buy any colors for hair, and the same applies for clothes textures.
Generally speaking no; there are some exceptions though. The 'others' you list give a good assortment though, and ghost lights (version 2 for preference, although I use both) also assist with lighting - and certainly an HDRI or two are almost essential. Scene Optimiser is a great time-saver, and especially useful now directories can be selected.
Personally, it is important for a new user to identify the type of scenes they like doing, and choose products according to the style; SciFi, Fantasy, Horror or whatever it may be.
I think that the Genesis 8 (or whatever the latest generation is) morphs released by Daz are almost vital, either the female:
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-female-body-morphs
https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-8-female-head-morphs
and/or male equivalent.
I'd recommend these over any others as there are many figures that might cite these as required, whereas it is rare to see the 200 morphs as a required product. I do recommend the 200 morphs though. With sufficient time, patience and practice, it is prossible to make hundreds of distincive characters using the G8F Body and Head morphs. Certainly Growing Up are very useful even if children aren't a factor. The posture, narrowing morphs are very versatile, and up to about 10% of the Youth Morph make petit figures simpler - but by no means impossible without. Ageing morphs are also very useful - not just for ageing, but for subtle signs of what might be better termed weathering.
No about what? You think they're all useless except for these you've quoted later? I've not understood xD
The Daz Original morphs are already included in the list ^^
The growing and aging morphs are there for who'd like to avoid buying specific bundles with old and young people, that is what I thought I should do to have them a few months ago. I still recall what's like to know nothing of anything, and I think it's better to know that those tools exist! Then, of course, anyone decides if he needs them or not!
The 200 morphs etc. are included as a general option to create your own figures, instead of buying dozens of them! Indeed nowadays I use Skin Builder 8 for the textures, UV swap to use them on males too, and for the shapes I use those morphs and the randomizer!
There is something missing from the list: environments. HDRI's from light sets are nice and all, but also very limited in their use. They do not allow for any interaction with the character.
To that end, you'll need other stuff to fill the scene, and environments do just that.
For contemporary scenes, I'd really advice beginners to keep their eyes open for Ironman13 sales. These feature ready-to-render scenes, like restaurants, bars, offices, kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, you name it. They include a ton of props and furniture, so you can re-arrange the scene, or even mix up different scenes, often include about a dozen poses, sometimes even include clothing items (though those are usually sold seperately, but do check whether there's a bundle with both that also happens to be on sale).
Sc-fi scenes tend to be slightly more expensive, but often come in modular sets that in some way attach to one another, like a set of halway pieces with doors that match a seperate briefing room product or commandcenter made by the same designer. I can't really suggest one specific designer in this genre, they're pretty much all awesome, with their own distinct flavor.
For fantasy scenes, there are all kinds of environments, but I really advice not to ignore the older Poser environments. Those will require some work to get the textures and lights to work in iRay, but there are many awesome models between that "old stuff" at very affordable rates, so overall, the effort will be rewarding.
This is a great list, and all the feedback from others is invaluable. I love seeing what others are using and why and hearing the pros and cons of why they choose or don't choose certain product. Instead of a vague these products aren't necessary, others are better, I would love to hear specifics and examples of why an individual prefers one over the other and how they have incorporated a product into their workflow. Any time another artist offers useful feedback on products it helps other users and the creator of the product for future work.
When I first started I didn't know anything either about how Poser (I started with poser) the products (V3) and this community worked and I bought plenty of things that I regretted, which is why I suggest betting comfortable with the app first, before diving into the store. The store is geared to suck you in and once you start spending it can get out of control real fast, LOL
Even though I do this commercially, it is still a hobby for me and time isn't a factor (other than not having enough of it), being creative is and making my work stand out If anything, time only factors in on commercial work where I usuatlly have a deadline.
As for things that don't work for me, well I tried the RS converter products and found the results on the clothing to be far lass quality than using just a clone, but they are very convenient and save time, so it's up to the user, time or quality, I chose quality. There are many other things in your list that I can post about as to why it didn't work for me, or why i don't have a need for them, but that would be my opnion and everyone has different needs. Again, my concern is for new users that think that your list (anyones list) is what they "must" have when starting out since that is how the thread title kinda reads with the words "Necessary Products".
Yes, i13 are great! :D
I've not linked any specific environment (but I've linked i13 page) because there are too many around, and no one is really better than the other one (I like TeslaCorp3D), so everyone will choose what's best for him! :D
Where do you find old Poser environments? And what set of shaders do you use to restore them? I think some beginners could find that useful!
Thank you! :D
I absolutely agree: I don't understand who could find useful to hear that "some products are not good". On the other hand, each feedback is invaluable!! :D
I've changed the name, but that IMHO at the end should have pointed out that it was MY opinion! ^^
It's interesting to know other people opinions as well, especially if they're professional like you've said!
RS converters work very well for me in 95% of the cases! I guess most people who have started with Poser are experts into converting stuff. I'm not.
I think that when it comes to hobbies time is money anyway if you're not doing what you like, because at that point you could just work more! I honestly don't want to model stuff or to do any of that complicated things, I want to have fun creating my stories, and for those who just want to do that I thought it was very helpful to let them now such converters exist and work well!! :D
The first months I didn't know you could use old outfits with other than the auto-fit, so it would really have helped me to know about those converters before ^^
None of them are useless as they are all good products, but essential for those new to the rendering scene? In general, my answer is no.
What some needs: morphs, and some lights. This is presuming they are geared towards creating renders with figures; practicing with figures, more simple scenes makes it easier to get to grips with. G8F or M with morphs, and the freebie hair is a good place to start, but folks get poor results ( I certainly did) and they think the issue is 'buy stuff'.
The problem is both knowledge and experience. The more products available to use, the harder it is to create something one likes - barring a case of lucky accident.
I have no idea if people who started with Poser are better at converting stuff to be honest I don't see the relavance. Autofit is pretty good for a lot of things and its built into DS, its perhaps an idea to get use to using that before you start splashing out on convertors, I also have not had good results with the convertors and stick with the autofit and the clones, with the introduction of dforce problems that once exsisted can now often be solved. As for the hair convertors I have only ever found a couple of hairs that I can't fit manually and have never understood the need for a convertor.
What you have listed under Shaers are in actual fact Shader Presets.
I'm afraid I don't consider many of your list essential any more than they are necassary. The only one that I might consider essential is the Daz Head and Body Morphs.
Okay, thank you for sharing your opinion with us! :)
I've had much more problems with autofit than with the converters, and a good thing about them is that they apply metadata to your converted item, so that you'll find it in "smart content", and that's also a huge deal to me! :)
What's the difference between shaders and shader presets?
So, which products do you think are essentials in general? :)
EDIT: Anyway I've edited the first post. Now it says "Very Useful IMHO", that is what I wanted to say in the first place!
I've also changed the prologue, explaining that you don't need to spend all that money to use Daz. I had thought it was obvious that no one would spend hundreds of dollars on something he doesn't even know how to use, but if it was not I'm sorry and now I hope that's fixed! :D
My goal is not to say "buy all this stuff", but to create a discussion to help beginners, and us!
Personally, I wished I had been recommended some "basic" products that would've helped me venture inside the world of 3D. One of the things I struggled with the most was just lights. It became the vane of my existance for a while. So it helped me a lot when I got https://www.daz3d.com/simple-emissive-light-shaders-for-iray. Because environments that already had light props without iray-light settings, I could simply lit myself by selecting the bulb surface and using one of these presets.
The reason why I also recommended https://www.daz3d.com/altern8--skin-shader-system-for-genesis-8 is because you can get a lot of value from one skin. So if you don't have enough characters, you can still use the same skin and simply make it look different by using the presets. Plus it helps you understand how each value alters the skin.
https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-master-cloth-simulation-presets is a product that allowed me to experiment with dforce a lot more comfortably. I have used the presets in a lot of older products with great results.
https://www.daz3d.com/decorator-kit-neutral-shader-presets-for-iray is a great arsenal to change environments and re-purpose them. Older environments which you can get for cheap, can look amazing with these shaders. It helps that it has so many options as well, of course! So it's a lot of value for the price.
So I think that having someone recommend basic products and explain what they are for and how they can help is very useful. The user can still decide whether to buy them or not. But at least they'll be on their radar.
Thank you! :D
Yes, older environments are very cheap! I've honestly never restored them (thanks to those huge i13 sales I have plenty of environments right now xD), but it's a nice idea for the future! :D
Oh, btw, these morphs for G8 (which are free) are also great for new users:
https://sharecg.com/v/91888/browse/21/DAZ-Studio/SY-200-Morphs-for-Genesis-8-Head-and-Body
Of course, that can be an entirely different discussion. The best free resources for working with DAZ, maybe? It would be a good starting point for new users before they start spending. You can kill 2 birds with one stone.
Outside of what has been mentioned above, there's something that I use very often and find really extremly useful:
https://www.daz3d.com/ultimate-pose-mixer
I like it because it has a simple way of locking joints and applying poses, and it's not limited to Genesis figures. It also has a really nifty built in pose converter that lets you use G8 and G3 poses on the other generation with a simple adjustment click.
Thank you for the list. I'm playing with the hair shaders now, updating older hair.
Thank you for these morphs, I didn't know them!
I have made tutorials on where to find Daz freebies and how to install and use them! :D
Basically I suggest the website https://poserdazfreebies.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page that categorizes every freebie avaible on the web! ^^
Thanks, I've wishlisted it and maybe one day I'll buy it! ^^
Today I've discovered, thanks to Richard, a way to apply a full body pose on just some body parts: select them, then double click on the pose holding CTRL, and put "selected" in the first menu...very useful! :D
This way you can also remove the default option that scales your figures or moves them on the X and Z axys!!!
You're very welcome butterflyfish! :D
Great job putting this together! I was actually looking for something like this when I first started with Daz. It was through asking questions and doing some research on my own that I was able to start to narrow down as to what were good purchases and not. I am happy to say that I do have many of the items on your list there. But there are differences though. I don't have any converters as I am not sure which ones really work well and which ones don't work well. So I shied away from them. For the lights I have the Leonine Set and the incandecent one is in my save. For Ghost Lights, I have learned to make my own, but I still have that package in my wish list. So it looks like we are on the same thinking level with lights. I am only starting to use some HDRI environments, but I found some shortcomings with them when it comes to interacting with an environement. Being 2D, that is something that you can't do. Worse it is hard to postion in an environment because the HDRI background doesn't show up in the textured mode, so you have to use Iray and with me using a CPU only, that is difficult. So Jury is still out there.
For morphs, again, we are on the same line of thinking there. I don't have the 200+ package but the 350 one from Rarestone
For Utilities, I only have the Skin Builder in your list but the randomizer and 'Look At Me' are definitely going into my wish list. I am surprised I didn't come across the latter earlier as I can see that being a massive time saver as it will automatically position the head and eyes on a particular subject or the camera.
The VRAM stuff is also something I didn't think of. I don't know how much it would benefit CPU rendering only though. But if it can speed up my renders, I am interested.
Again, I also have layered makeup, but I found out a big problem with it when using some of the newer skins for figures such as Alexandra, Sydney, Eva, Briget, etc (the spray tan series). For some reason the LIE makeup looks faded on them. I was going to post a thread on that as to why LIE makeup doesn't work on these characters. It does make putting custom makeup on the new characters difficult. But if I don't use a character skin and go straight up Genesis 8 female base...they work great! But yes, I have noticed with the characters, Layered makeup can be used on other figures, a regular material makeup ends up just reloading the texture map. I found other odd issues with some of the newer base skins. It just has me shaking my head and I think I am better off just using the Genesis 8 base female charcter and Skin builder to get the skin look I want. LOL!
For clothing, I have the Multi-dress system and highly recommend that as well as it's expansion pack. Also worth a look see is the Merimay dress system:
https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-merimay-multiform-for-genesis-8-females
The other two choices you posted I have in my wish list, however, I rarely seem them go that low in price. Usually they are MUCH higher.
I am very much a naysayer when it comes to poses and expressions. Given the amount of morphs I have and the fact that when I made bundle purchases, I often get a bunch of expressions. I have yet to outright buy a single expression pack. ...Well that is not entirely true. I DID buy a posing pack for bow and arrow, but it also came with said bow and arrow. That was something that I felt would be difficult to do on your own, but not impossible.
For Jewelry I have a few packages:
https://www.daz3d.com/ej-tiara-collection-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/regal-jewelry-for-genesis-8-female-s
Are examples that are more geared to regal wear or fantasty wear.
Thanks for the tip off on Beard Boss! I am just starting to get into Gen 8 male characters and I was looking into a facial hair pack. That one looks good to me!
Overal with some minor differences, I think you put together a nice list. I am sure others (including myself) are going to add to it. For starters, for those wanting to make 'less than human' characters, I highly recommend this package:
https://www.daz3d.com/ej-demon-races-creator-and-morphs-for-genesis-8-females-and-males
Even though it is labeled as 'demon races', you can build many fantasy and even sci-fi space monsters with this package. On a half price sale it is a must have...again for those wanting to make such figures.
I know initially I made some mistakes with purchasing and I think everyone does that to a degree when signing up here. For me the greatest expenses are clothing and hair. I am going to say that since I signed up in December, I have already surpassed the four figure mark in what I spent on Daz. I have been slowing down recently and that is only because I am getting to that point where I have a good wardrobe and I have made some good hair purchases. These are a few that are very flexible and I use these the most often:
HIGHLY adjustable and you can create many styles with this one including a retro style, a couple different bob styles, a pear shape style, a mane style. You can shorten the hair up to the ears or lower it just slightly past the shoulders. There are MANY color combinations:
https://www.daz3d.com/carla-hair-for-genesis-8-female-s
I like curly hair so this was a must for me:
https://www.daz3d.com/miranda-hair-for-genesis-3-8-female-s
You can make the hair bigger, smaller rounder, or more oval. Not as many options as Carla Hair above, but still nice if you like this style of hair.
For courser hair ladies (ladies of color), I HIGHLY recommend this one:
https://www.daz3d.com/my-messy-hair-for-genesis-8-females
You can see the various styles it can do in the pictures.
For braided hair, this one has quite a few options. It has 5 braids that you can pretty much position anyway you want:
https://www.daz3d.com/mrl-amara-braids-for-genesis-3-and-8-female-s
Many textures here and you can even make them metallic looking.
I am sure I have many more to add, but this post is long as it is.
Again thank you for sharing. I definitely walked away from this with some good ideas for future purchases.
Thank you, that's exactly why I've done this!! :D
Honestly, looking back I wouldn't buy the M4/V4 converters, because the products from that generation are too old, and those converters don't work as well as the other ones. And the hair converters are not essential, since the autofit works fine most of the time, and you don't have to fit the hair every time if you save your character as a scene subset.
I've started making my own ghost lights as well, but I have to admit that the results were not as good as the ones I'm achieving right now! I got that kit for around 10$, and since I'm starting to take this more seriously after 7 months of practice, and since I'm using it in basically every scene, I think that was a good purchase, also because it's very fast to apply those lights and to customize them!
I'll wishlist some of his products, they look good!
Yes, it saved me a lot of time! I'd still prefer it bent the heads more than the eyes, but if you modify a little bit the starting head position the results are good! Of course it's even faster if you set the shortcuts.
If you're rendering with your CPU and you have a nice Nvidia GPU, you'd find a massive speed gain using it! You can't use it if the scene is bigger than your available VRAM :(
I'm using Skin Builder 8 a lot too these days! Or I go with the makeup provided with that character skin.
Wishlisted, thanks!
I've found those priced with the Daz Deals browser extension
I'm not that good, when I create my own poses they're often worse than the ones I buy xD
My stories are mostly in a nowadays or sci-fi setting, but the second set has nice pieces: wishlisted! ^^
I've started to purchase in November 2018 (although I had been rendering from time to time since October 2017, just freebies), and I'm in that same situation! So I guess this is one of the reasons we are on the same line!
Of course, the perspective of people who have started maybe with 3Delight ages ago is pretty different. They've had the time to learn a lot of stuff, and their libraries weighs terabytes and terabytes, so they're more interested in using what they're already accustomed to.
And they often don't use Smart Content, because they've grown up with Content Library!
But this list is primarily meant for who's starting right now
Wishlisted! I could always use a new hair type. I don't usually pick strange hair color combination, and nowadays I never use the included hair colors, but I choose instead those CC hair shaders
I love Miranda hair. Dammit, I had to buy them at almost full price :'(
But I've made two entire stories with them, and I'll probably use them in the future...so it was worth it, I guess.
This was my original purpose indeed, so I'm glad you've found this list!! :D
Thank you for your comment and for your precious suggestions ^^
Nice list! To see and rotate the HDRI in Texture Shaded mode, check out "IBL Master" by Parris. There is a short video on the product page.
https://www.daz3d.com/ibl-master-for-daz-studio
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/215066/ibl-master-image-based-lighting-control-for-both-renderers-a-new-ibl-for-3delight-commercial/p1
I think I have every converter made by RSSY. Haven't had a chance to sit down and use them yet, just grabbed them in good sales. Only thing I worry about are shoes and boots. Pretty much all my male clothing from M4, Genesis and G2M have boots, and the females from V4 on up have boots, heels, or sandals. Has anyone who has these converters had any specific issues? My 30 days aren't up, but am so busy right now I'm afriad I won't get to them.
Thx
Thank you for your suggestion! ^^
I use Iray!
Footwear and accessories is where those converters lack the most.
There's a "use feet pose if available" check, and you can do some tries with a specific window if you enable it (I didn't).
I've successfully converted most of my G3M/F footwear, but I'm afraid that the older a product is, and the harder it becomes to convert it!
Time is a pretty important factor, though. Most people do not have this luxury, like me. I might have an hour or two TOPS to play around with Daz Studio and that is being very generous. There are many times when I have no time at all. And it also must be pointed out that basically every single thing you can buy in this store for Daz Studio is something you can make yourself. So the argument falls a little flat for this reason. Daz is an asset store, and when you think about it, all asset stores are shortcuts in some way, whether it be Unreal, Unity, or stock photos. Why can't you hop on a plane, travel to France, and take your own photo of the Eiffel Tower? That is being extreme, but all asset stores exist for this reason.
IMO, the entire purpose of Daz Studio is to save people time, it is designed to make 3D modeling easier, it is designed to bring 3D modeling to as many people as possible. In a lot of ways, Daz Studio should be like "easy mode" for 3D. You can buy or create a preset for every aspect of the program. Not just models, but the shaders, the render settings, the lights, the poses, even camera angles are included with a variety of environments. This lowers the bar of entry for people.
The choice, of course, is still up to every user as to how far they want to go with assets. Do they want to buy a preset or do they want to make it themselves? I am more likely to buy things that save me time, time is money. (Well, not really, I don't sell anything for Daz, yet.)
For me, a number of presets helped me learn Studio better. Seeing different shaders at work helped me better understand how the material settings can work. That lead me to get more comfortable with creating my own settings later. I really believe this helped me more than just playing with the settings on my own. So from the perspective, I do not regret buying that kind of product. There is a LOT of stuff to learn in Daz Studio, so to expect all users to just dive in and learn everything on their own is a bit much, especially if time is a constraint.
As for the list itself, I would add OOT Hair Shaders to the list, though they are not available here. These are pretty much my go to hair colors, with some minor adjustments since they were made way back for 4.8. Like the black is too "gray" in the light, but easily adjusted to work correctly. The Backlight Hair Shaders available here are pretty nice, too. I combined them with OOT and the result was very nice. I use the OOT shaders even on brand new hairs, because honestly some hairs are seriously lacking in the texture/shader department.