Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 13
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I sure hope not. Indy is my home town of 21 years! :(
I have kept the Johns Hopkins map on my computer since it was first posted on the forums. And I have the news running on my iPad when I am at my desk unless I am editing. The numbers are bad, but what has driven it home is the stories behind the numbers. The baby, the guy who worked for MSNBC who died a week ago, the nurse, the husband who couldn't get a test until it was too late, so many people, so many families, communities.
I check out the numbers where my sister and her family live, where my son and his family live. I did find out my sister and her husband still have their restaurant open, but just for takeout. Like so many small restauranters, they worked so hard to build their dream for the past twenty years, I hope they can hang on to it.
I have no idea where we will be by the end of next week, next month, or even next year. But, when we come out of this, we will be stronger and more serious about threats that we can't see. And maybe respect science and medicine again. And planning for the future needs.
First thank you very much @barbult, @memcneil70 and @Novica. The background is a photo of the sky that I ran through Topaz Impression.
I hope everyone is doing OK. Take care.
Perhaps after reading this article:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/us/west-virginia-coronavirus-patient-one-test/index.html
you won't be so Amazed at West Virginia.
Oooh, this is the best map yet of Florida. Click the icon to open details, then click back on the map to close it. (I was looking for a way to X out.) You'll need to scroll down to the second map, which is the interactive one.
Sad. At 4am United States had143,055 and at 4:30pm just 12 1/2 hours later, 160,020. So 16,965 new cases in about 12 hours. Only half a day. The CDC reports in at 4pm but I don't know if that's Eastern, Central, etc. The rest of this evening will be the states reporting. (Again, Florida is 5pm/6pm and 11pm.)
While the rate is alarming it is actually a good thing.
It is clear that there are a lot more people infected than we know. Numbers increasing means a lot more testing is being done. I believe testing properly is the first step in combating this.
I listened to my governor give his daily report today. One tiny bit of good news, with one day's sample, the number of cases instead of doubling every 'two' days, has dropped to every 'five' days. So if that continues, it appears the stay at home orders and closure of non-essential businesses is working. He also warned that there are a number of test results still waiting to come in. So stay at home and hand washing is our best defense now.
There were a number of details, but honestly, I had trouble seeing his graphs on the screen behind him on my iPad, and also hear him at the same time. He has stressed his vocal cords and is down to almost whispering now. He and the medical expert that was there gave a large number of details about those ill in Colorado, but also how the people are affected, even by family members outside of Colorado. We are so interconnected.
I did finally sat down and do the Census 2020. It seemed so unreal today.
What is happening in LA is amazing! EVERYTHING is shut down except groceries & pharmacies (and doctors/hospitals of course) including beaches, hiking trails, parks... They are putting homeless people in empty motels, hotels or trailers. They are not allowing evictions or rent increases for 6 months. Every night through my window I see a helicopter at about 10 PM patrolling to make sure no one is outside. Although people can still walk their dogs... They are building a hospital inside the LA Convention Center pre-emptively because the hospitals aren't even full yet. I don't have broadcast TV but the mayor and governor are doing live Twitter & Facebook press conferences every evening. I feel really sorry for states without strict lockdown protocols. I really think California can do a good job at flattening the curve! Also, at the two places I've shopped at, they have not run out of toilet paper, but HAVE been out of paper towels, hand sanitizer, Lysol, and pretty much all disinfectants. Which makes a lot more sense than hoarding toilet paper!
I grew up in NYC though and am so sad to see what is going on there! It's truly horrific!
Yea, California had a great response! At the start NY and Cali were very close in numbers. Now NY has gone up like crazy while Cali is keeping it pretty low.
California has the luxury of being built out sideways, large lots and space in the suburbs. New York City was always crammed into a small area and then built UP at a time when most towns/cities have few buildings over three stories. San Francisco is close in comparison, but after the earthquake and fire in 1906, they changed somewhat. Although I am a Californian, each time I drove back into the LA and SF areas, I get claustrophobia. But California is more than the cities, there are wide swaths of mountains, rolling hills, desert, and farmlands with small towns scattered around. That helps to insulate a bit.
I love California, I love Colorado. Both wonderful states.
I set this up to try and show show DOF, and how to use it, in another thread and thought it might be of interest.
Here are a few images showing settings for two cameras and the results.
First set the DOF Overlay Colour and Opacity to whatever you want. Mine is set to RED and 46% on these. This will let you know where the Near and Far DOF Planes are.
In this first image you can see my settings and the image at the left shows the Far DOF Plane with the Near Plane turned off. To get the planes in the correct place you use the Focal Distance slider. By moving it back and forwards moves the planes. I set the far plane behind the model with the near plane turned off. Then, to set the part of the image to be in focus, use the F/Stop slider. Lowering the setting narrows that and increasing it widens it. If you do change the F/Stop setting you will have to redo the Focal Distance to get the Far Plane behind the model and or the Near Plane in front. To check they are both in the correct place I turn the Near Plane Visibility On and Off.
This is the Settings Image
Click on image for full size.
This is the render.
Click on image for full size.
If you want to increase the blur caused by the DOF then use the Focal Length setting for the camera, not the Zoom. There shouldn't be any need to change the other settings unless you want to increase the sharp area and you do this by increasing the F/Stop.
This image shows the Focal Length set at 88.75mm, from the previous 55mm. I didn't change any other settings.
Click on image for full size.
This is the render showing the increase in blur but the sharp area is still in the same place.
Click on image for full size
Thanks for the tip, Fishtales. I didn't know you could make the front and back DOF planes solid colour, could be useful in the future.
That said, what I tend to do is set the camera up to frame the image how I want it, then swap to the perspective view before adjusting the depth of field. That way you can look at the subject side-on as you adjust the camera's Focal Distance and F/stop and make sure the things you want are in focus.
Usually, you want it so that - whatever else might be blurry - the subject's eyes are in pin sharp focus. At least, that's what my photography teacher told me!
I do that when first setting up but it doesn't let you see where the actual planes are sitting in the camera view, that is where my system starts.
A quick render of some of the bargains I've picked up in the last few days of March Madness. Use of Daz Original tokens and 99c PC+ offers meant that this image cost me a shade under $3 to make - about the street price of a couple of sheets of toilet paper.
I applied dforce to the cape, and used a weight map to stop it simulating the strap and the part around her throat, it seems to work pretty smoothly. There was a tiny bit of poke through on her right shoulder which I fixed with the clone brush in PS rather than rerendering. Although I used this scene to show DOF planes in my previous post, this render was made with DOF switched off.
Also available in my gallery, comments and critiques welcome.
She's lovely! (And another clothing set I have and don't think I ever rendered... *sigh*)
I love Freja's girls. I've picked up most of her G3F Daz Originals in the last few months (I'm in no hurry to move on to G8). The only thing I don't like about them are the very pencilled-on eyebrows, which don't really suit the stuff I do. But that's easily sorted with Brow Remover and some fibre brows.
I really like the lighting on her- and what an attitude! (In a positive way.)
Eryn (G8F) MRL Everyday Hair (Gen3F/ Gen8F) dForce Soulful Outfit (G8F) The shoes are from Afternoon Classic
That hair is unusual at the back with the little ponytail thingie, but from the front and 3/4 view it is a normal looking short style. It renders realistically.
I love the scarf texture, very elegant. I think Eryn's skin would be great on a youngster. The eyebrows look fairly natural.
Couple things here new to me. Some I have used before in parts and the light set Novica has reviewed before and the reason I picked up the set in the first place. I have used Amira before but I don't think I have actually used the whole character set (morphs and textures). I know I have used like the smile settings and her morph settings previously.
Fashion Editorial Poses - I have used Those Things poses many times and love them she has a couple of different sets and all are top notch. This is not the default pose I had to change a few things with the arms/hands.
BJ Amira -Love her, not suprising BJ makes awesome characters. Shes cute and smile is great. Shes got a couple of makeup options along with a default no makeup. *Tip-Her smile works great with many other characters* I actually have at this time both Amira and Sahel and both characters are worth their price just for the smile presets. I use them frequently on various characters and very seldom run in to problems.
Arwen Hair for G8F- Its got several morphs to help pose along with some to affect fullness. It looks good, although you can't really tell with the lights in this one. It's also has several colors options included.
Bell Sleeve Shift Dress G8F - I bought this dress reciently in one of the sales mainly because I liked the textures in the New Age Shift Dress texture set. I didn't really check out the textures includeded with the dress but to me they were pretty basic, one maroon and one black. The New Age set comes with 5 cute textures 3 patterned and 2 lace. I had some dforce issues with the dress and some sizing issues compared to Amira. I ended up having to go into the abd upper area and adjusting the scaling of abdomen area on the dress because it was so much bigger than Amira. It does have some adjustment dials mainly for the back and skirt. I ended up also changing some of the surface dforce settings to get a drape I liked better.
Paper Tiger's Vivid HDRI Light Set - available from the other site. I like the set for a dramatic look. It comes with a whole bunch of different settings and options. It also comes with an XRay camera that lets the hrdi come through the walls of an indoor scene. (Dont know if I explained that properly) I have included 2 different renders here #1 is the scene set up only with the options in the set #2 is with a couple of rim lights added to make it just a tad more dramatic. No other changes where done to the image, usually I would make some adjustment's in an editor but I wanted the full effect for these examples.
@daventaki You explained it quite well. The light "comes through the walls" so to speak. That's why it's called an x-ray product :) I like the outfit except for the shoes- they seem a bit overly long at the toes. The pointed tip not withstanding, there's still a lot of room for the toes. Do you happen to know if the foot comes forward when the weight of the foot is in the shoe? (If you've moved on, just ignore the question. If you have the scene saved, I'd be curious. Don't render it, just take a peek if you get a chance?)
@Novica, your are right that end of the shoe is large. It is a little better with the default G8F because Amira is smaller but its still there. No dials to change that. Did find out that the right shoe morphs affect the left shoe when you do adjustments. Wonder if anyone has submitted it to support, I think its been around awhile. There is only a loosen shoe and loosen strap. Quick throw together, if you unlock the limits and decrease it down to -30 this is what you get, past that your pretty well getting to small on the rest of the shoe.
-30% with using Mesh Grabber on just the toe area
@daventaki I haven't used Mesh Grabber yet- that looks really good- a lot better. Thanks for exploring the issue. :)
I grew up in NYC though and am so sad to see what is going on there though!
I live at an intersection of two main streets in LA in West Hollywood. Where I am is very populated but most people drive rather than use public transportation and there are a lot less pedestrians than NYC. Stores and elevators are also less crowded than NYC. But there are tons of events, receptions, parties, clubs, every single night that does attract many people together, often with catered food that everyone gathers around. LA is very much a party town, soooo much going on here socially and we also have a huge international crowd. Sometimes I'll be at an event and there is practically every nationality you can think of in that one room. So I'm hoping we stopped things in time.
I started staying home really early, back in February, but went out once on March 8 and made my friend sit in a separate row at the almost empty movie theater and we ate at an outdoor restaurant. That restaurant has already closed and there is a for lease sign on it! That was also the last time I had an alcoholic beverage! I drink quite a bit socially and I used to go out several times a week and drink at the events, but have no interest in alcohol alone, so good to know I'm not an alcoholic!
When the Banana Suit is added to your cart, it is free :)
A few days ago, people here were mentioning plague/pandemic-themed books and movies they were reading/watching- on that note, one that came to my mind was "Pandora's Clock" by John J. Nance. It's a 747-heavy airplane-based book where the plane leaves an infected area, and then keeps being refused landing at any airports because no government wants to risk infection. There's more to the book than that, with conspiracy and rogue ops etc, but the part about the plane stuck in the sky, being refused. Super topical, it reminds me of the cruise ships like those in the news, one of which has been "pandora-clocked" at various ports around the world and today there was talk it might be coming to South Fl. (Like South FL already doesn't have a problem with covid cases.) Anyone who has a Kindle (or other device with the Kindle app or who knows how to put the ebooks on other devices like Kobo readers etc) who is interested in this book, get it today while it is on the Kindle DAILY DEAL list of eBooks at steep discount of $1.99 today only. There was even a 2-part miniseries/movie made with Richard Dean Anderson from this book although they made lots of changes to characters, genders etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Pandoras-Clock-John-J-Nance-ebook/dp/B018YPUQR4/ref=lp_6165851011_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1585729017&sr=1-5
~Gen
@genaris, thank you for the information. My flatmate has a kindle and Amazon Prime account. I was able to pass this on to him. He had not even thought to look for discounted ebooks. This is a big help for him.
@Novica, thank you too. I saw your post in Commons and went ahead and put the banana suit in the cart. I am so zonked still I had not even registered the price yet! Bet the first render is on a monster.
@Wonderland, check out Singapore. They got on this right away and they are moving forward. You might be able to watch the interview of their prime minister with Fareed Zakaira last Sunday on CNN. It was very informative and thoughtful.
So what is everybody getting for their free $20 worth of DAZ Originals?
I'm considering FG Gamers Bundle and Underground Dance Club and Bar
Just heard about this on local news. A 17 year old created this website tracking all Covid-19 reports around the world.
https://ncov2019.live/data
Mary