DS Lack of motivation
AJ2112
Posts: 1,417
Been working on DS for a few years now on and off. I truly love creating on DS, with each base figure I have project folders beginning with V4, character folders, within each folder are wip ranging between 25-50 projects each folder, hundreds of unfinished projects. I also have tons of content free or purchased over the years, I hardly ever use or don't use at all. I've upgraded my computer system to meet the demands of render engines. Now I plan to bulld another AMD 16 core system, upgrade 1080 to 2080,. I read the only difference between the two video cards is 4K,. But with each computer build, my lack of motivation comes down to the same persistent issue, dissatisfied lighting, super slow render speeds, specially indoor, which is the reason I have hundreds of unfinished projects. I'll leave for an hour or two, return scene is still rendering. Another issue I have is, content surfaces are to saturated and glossy, I spend more time in Photoshop, making adjustments then working on DS. Now, I'm a major fan of Photoshop, when I disappear from DS, I'm creating on Photoshop. I do enjoy building scenes but the end results are always dissatisfying, When I go back and view renders I complete as a newbie opposed to now, I become very frustrated and unmotivated, will disappear for months, work on Photoshop. As a newbie, I used reality software in addition to DS. Over the years, DS has become more complex, more challenging, demanding more computer power, which in turn decreases having fun = lack of motivation.
Basically, I have no idea what I'm doing 
I'm sure each and every 3D artist have issues. I was wondering what motivates you to continue, regardless of all the setbacks.
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Comments
I'm more a fan of making content rather than simply rendering it. Takes awhile to do a really good test of an environment or something for a promo. Yeah, things have gotten more complex, but that's to be expected as technology improves.
If I get un-motivated, I go back through the list of characters I'm making, and break one out to start working on. Easier to do for the wimmens ofc... Each one I have on the list atm has their own backstory, purpose within a metastory I've been working on for a LONG time now, etc.
Hi friend, happy you enjoy making content, I enjoy design and creating models, I'm retired design engineer (Autocad). But never learned to render models, which developed my fascination for Daz3D. Technology definetly has advanced. I believe alot of challenges I have with DS is lack of literature, opposed to when I went to engineering school in a classroom environment with plenty of interaction. Self taught is a massive struggle. Learning DS is like an individual with no flying experience, fly an airline. I'm amazed all I've learned thus far.
Thanks for sharing what motivates you to progress forward. Wish I could do the same, I'm always beginning new projects opposed to returning to previous. My theory is, new project, fresh mind........
My 2 cents, more complexity results in lower productivity, back when the original poser was an artists posable figure tool you used to 'render' a figure and draw over it in photoshop with 480x640 images there was a huge spike in productivity from digital artists, these days you need a supercomputer to do it, people are using 20-30 4k images, with 8k environments, with HD figures and rendering to 4k images, meaning you need more capable 2D software just to edit, and more computer memory to do it with, and faster cpus to handle the load. Even though there are more people than ever doing the same thing, the productivity for the individual has decreased because small changes take huge ammounts of time to do.
Even then, the lighting isn't right or the eyes are just wonky. The learning curve is steep and the ammount of time taken to just test things out sucks the fun out of doing it. For instance in the last 2 days I have failed to use dforce to make a suitable replacement eye wetness from trying to drape a small patch over the eye, something I could have acheived by sculpting it using software from 2004 in a couple of hours, instead of making numerous different patches and doing dozens of different simulations. Even then I could photoshop it quicker....
We forget it is a tool, one tool in our box of tools, for posing figures. Yes we can make the photoshopping easier but when it takes that much more time to do, we need to uncomplicate things.
Lets give you a challenge, anything you want V's Gen 3 with only a diffuse texture. I'm betting you'll be more creative and produce more with the latter.
if just trying to do photoreal images I can understand the frustration
maybe doing art needs to be the goal and that need not be anything near photoreal
I've learned to embrace the fact that I have a certain amount of give-a-F mojo. If I get through the project before it runs out, great! If not, I move on and I don't let that other stuff weigh me down.
It took intentionality to not let my "failures" discourage me, but once I decided to be OK with my unfinished work and not dwell on it, the stuff I DO accomplish seems to come easier and brings me more gratification.
Thank you friends, all interesting, helpful replies. Majority of my challenge is time consumption, don't desire to work on DS 10 hrs a day, I did that for 20 plus years working a job, Rofl !!! I'm beginning to realize technology is suppose to speed workflow up, but appears to be slowing workflow down. Example I just rendered a V4 scene took approx 2-3 minutes. G8 takes half hour minimum.
I believe a nice added feature would be able to stop/resume renders at a later time, this is what I miss about Reality/Lux.
Another situation I noticed is monitor resolutions. Higher resolution take longer render times, specially on larger monitors. I render at 2160 opposed to 1080 and way back during 720 phase. Every 3D artist monitors are calibrated differently so, rendered images can vary on varying monitors. What may look dark or bright to me, may be perfectly fine for someone else.
Goodness, I can go on and on and on, Lol !!!!
I desire 3D realism/art combined if that make sense. Great example would be movie Legends of the gaurdian. Surface adjustment are nearly impossible for me. As I shared above either over saturated, glossy or both, can never find balance.
HDRi is outstanding lighting but content, specially characters do not blend well with HDRi backgrounds. Reason, I spend more time in Photoshop then DS
The lack of motivation is a psychological result of the pandemic. I know a lot of artists in different fields, and I'm hearing it a lot - lethargy, ennui, different words for very mild depression. When there are 7 billion people afraid to leave their home for fear of dieing, it puts a damper on enthusiasm.
Figure out what makes you want to do any of this to begin with. If that's still important, then keep at it. If it's not, or it's more trouble than it's worth, move on. Daz isn't a religion. No one will think less of you if you stop using it.
And remember, there are people who don't have a 1080 to work with and still manage to create beautiful images. Upgrading the GPU will make things faster, but if you're not getting any satisfaction out of the process now, I doubt it will make a big difference in the long run.
Hi Friend, thanks for input. Understand what your sharing, pandemic lockdown has contributed to psychological imprisonment through out the world, loss of outdoor freedom/activities. I've had lack of motivation for DS past 2-3 years. I'm sure in time, I'll figure it out....
Thanks friend, your absolutely correct. Creating art since childhood now transitioned to computer technology. Believe sometimes I get overwhelmed, trying to make use of a ton of content in my library. Just trying to figure out how to balance scenes is a challenge...
You've experienced it for the past 2-3 years, but you chose to express your lack of motivation during the pandemic. What I'm doing is saying to myself "the biggest crisis in the history of the world is happening right now. Not in the Middle Ages, not durring World War Whatever, right now. Don't expect yourself to feel motivated to do anything. Don't try to figure it out now. Wait until the crisis passes, then figure it out. Why torture myself over something while this is going on." But that's just me.
Now that I think of it, you may be on to something
I've hardly been on DS past 2-3 years, now being on lockdown, out of complete boredom, not able to explore the world daily, I began using DS again. Reasons I decide to take a break last year, all resurfaced, while trying to create something new. My last rendered image was July 2019. Thanks for the advice friend, hopefully pandemic is over for all of us soon.
What makes me motivated is to look at the thousands of incredible renders in the galleries on this site, and on the other online art sites that have 3D galleries. I also find it motivating to look at the products the 3D content creators are offering for sale. When my cup is empty, I don't try to get something out of it - I fill it up from outside myself.
It sounds to me that you have no objective, no goal, no intended destination. If there were something specific you were trying to achieve, then the hurdles of render times, repeated edits, and post-production would be less frustrating because they would merely be parts of the process of reaching your goal. You know no reason for playing/working in Daz Studio, but you are trying to make sense of it. The definition of "irrational" is "no reason." It will never make sense, have meaning, be satisfying until you know why you are doing it.
I don't care how realistic an image is
if it's an uninspiring jumble with no composition, message etc it's crap, you might as well photograph your neighbour picking his nose while mowing his lawn
that would be PBR and grain free
on the other hand a hand drawn image by a true artist on a napkin can be awesome
DAZ studio is only a tool
if you want to just copy legends of the Galaxy you are like a tracer IMO, so many people do Lara croft renders too, I roll my eyes
Stop,trying create art and go back to basics and learn how to use DAZ Studio to get it to do what you want. I use HDRI for backgrounds and lighting quite a lot but some work and some don't, some work with a bit of work, some I just bin. Once you find the settings in Studio that give you the art you want then you can go back to creating your art without the stress of finding out how Studio actually works and what all the sliders do.
Hi friend, thanks for advice, I absolutely agree with you. Gotta get back to the basics, back to the primitive cube, Lol !! specially being away from DS a long time. I had forgotten more then I believed, in the past I developed a workflow to my satisfaction...
Your not alone, I don't care much for realism either. Actually, a very long time ago, I had a thread pertaining to realism vs art topic, which was closed. Any art is fascinating to me if it tells a story or inspires, regardless how created. Photograph my neighbor picking his nose, Rofl !!!! No desire to copy anything, used Legends of Gaurdian as quality example I try to achieve.
Thanks friend. Truth is I leave DS behind quite often, sometimes for months. I forget alot of what I have learned, having relearn to develop a study workflow. What works, what doesn't work, etc..... specifically lighting. Lack of motivation develops from relearning more then I desire, opposed to creating as I normally do.
Thanks friend, happy galleries inspire you. I rarely view galleries these days, for various reasons, but I do view a lot of PA promos.
Try to set your bar superlow, try to render something simple, just have fun with it! Take a character and the banana suit. Do something silly. Render at an abysmal 800x600 so it renders in a couple of seconds. Pick two random products from your product library and put them together in new and exciting ways. There are no rules... go back to being a kid and play with the sand in the sandbox! No "projects" , just one off renders that spark the imagination.
Enjoy the journey :)
Hello AJ!
I know the feeling, and when I run into a similar creator's block, I usually change method of creation for a while. I close down the computer, leave the 3D projects on the hardddrive, even killing some darlings I know I'll never finish, and then I take the camera and go out shooting. Now, being confined to the home might be time to practise still life instead. It's amazing what some people can do of their spare time, I just saw a youtobe link by a guy who made a stop motion clip with Lego characters (a pity I didn't save the link)
Or you can take pen and paper or crayons and paper and start drawing.
Or perhaps write a story!
Or perhaps if you do, play an instrument.
Anything to keep your mind off what hampers you.
And have fun :)
Good luck!
I understand this completely. I've actually found that when I get too wrapped up in buying content (which is easy with the amount of amazing content and sales here!) my creativity goes down the drain... rather than use what I've got in my library, my focus around DS and my mental energy for it goes into sales-stacking for that new item that just seems too cool to pass up... and then, of course, your computer memory is getting more and more clogged up with items and those render times get longer and longer as a result lol! Vicious cycle indeed...
The advice people have given here is so great and a testament to what a great/supportive place the Daz community is. I'm glad I've read through it.
Right now, I'm just trying to focus on simple portraits to get my mojo back and considering doing some toons for fun. I was trying to create grand stories + complex scenes and my mind was just leap-frogging from one thing to the other and becoming frustrated. So, today I'll render a contemporary character, tomorrow something historical, the next something sci-fi... I'm being kind on my mind and not asking too much. Also, remember: just because you've spent loads on Daz or it's usually your main hobby doesn't mean you're not allowed to take a break from it :) sometimes a break is exactly what is needed to reegnite your interest ,and going for a walk (if you're not in lockdown!) or taking in other forms of media rather than bashing away at Daz might be the source of new inspiration.
I also agree that looking at the galleries is a good relaxer. As a new user, it reminded me that photorealism doesn't have to be the goal, that eveyone is working with different tools, different levels of skill, but everyone is being creative and that's WAY more admirable and important than whether their renders looks like a special effects scene from a blockbuster movie.
Very best to you
From your original post what I'm reading between the lines is that all the technical possibilities and improvements keep you too busy to actually create something you have fun with.
Of course having the next generation GC and a good processor at hand is helping to speed up things. Of course the latest models and figures bring something additional. Don't let yourself get overwhlemed with or driven by it.
This program offers a lot of neat stuff to play around, try to go and understand one tool you didn't use before (depth of field, d-formers, wheight map, d-force, strand based hair, geometry editor, you name them) pick one, pick one primitive pane, cube, sphere and mangle them until you understand that tool.
Get to understand what makes a render slow and what makes it quick and reduce your scenes accordingly. Like fibremesh hair, looks very neet, takes tons of render time. So i usually don't use it. Still once I'm done with a scene ready to render it will last an our or two, maybe more. I go and do something else in that time.
Ignore stuff that annoys you, eg I'm not good at using HDRI backgrounds, I never feel like they match only some camera angles work, can't have the natural light the way I want it. So I don't use them, only as a piece of sky somewhere maybe.
have fun with what you do, if its only suffering, go do something you enjoy
I just try to do an image a day. Use the stuff I bought. Good, bad, doesn't really matter. Some renders work out. Others don't. There's enough real stress in the world, certainly don't want making art to add to it.
Thank you all friends, for wonderful replies, truly was very helpful. Have fun creating/rendering
This clip from an interview with Ira Glass really helps me when I'm feeling stuck or frustrated creatively.
https://vimeo.com/24715531
if you want to make an outpost, prolly more fun in Bryce or Carrara
Thanks for sharing, inspirational vid