DAZ Party!
Petercat
Posts: 2,321
AntMan made a suggestion for DAZ parties.
I love the idea of a DAZ party! I wonder how we could promote it, as a way of introducing new artists to the craft? Maybe some of the vendors could get together and put together a starter pack that could be offered to first-time purchasers only (I wouldn't mind being left out, if it would attract new future friends!) consisting of enough items, examples, and tutorials for a new user to get a good solid start on producing a variety of art? If it was kept below $100.00, it might be an easy sell.
I would be willing to host a party where I live (Savannah, GA) if I could figure out a way to promote it, and get some help hosting it. Other local users with laptops who would be willing to help set up and demonstrate to the interested just how it works, how to use DAZ, maybe a free or low cost expansion pack for the free DAZ Studio download, (see above paragraph).
Any ideas? Any help? Anyone?
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Comments
Sounds like a fun idea. Anyone in Hungary up for it? :) Okay, I'm willing to go as far as Vienna. :)
Great idea! I'd think if you can gather enough DAZ'ers, organize a couple of tutorial presentations and a couple of PA's for meet and greet, it could be awesome.
I'm in Germany and I'm willing to go to Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands and Tjechie.
Maybe if everyone posts where they're willing to go geographically, we could make a couple of DAZ parties in most high spot places (most reachable).
So you're back in Germany? I thought you returned to NL.
I'm in Germany as well, but as I have some kids to take care of my travel range would be limited to Köln /Düsseldorf
I see that idea and raise you a far worse and utterly half-baked one!
Oh, I should probably say what it is...
Well, it has nothing to do with actual parties, per se and to be honest for all I know DAZ may have one or something like it... I never check to see if stuff exists already before I start throwing around ideas or making things... I'm really embarrassed that I spent so much time making my Aviarylocomotivator... Stupid Boeing could have said something at any point.
But anyway... (Get cozy, here comes the back story...)
A long time ago DAZ used to have some sort of stipulation in their EULA (last time I read it it was back in Version 2.3), that basically said "I agree to spread the word to any poor bastard willing to listen, about the joys and wonders of DAZ studio and to convert them to DAZ by fire or sword"... Maybe those weren't the exact words, but what's important is nobody really listens to me anyway so it didn't matter in the end... although I did set a small shrub on fire at one point. So one day after telling someone about and DS and realizing they were just being polite and trying to change the subject, I decided that either I was going to have to stop wearing a pantomime gorilla costume and jumping out of bushes while spreading the word, or I was going to have to do this a different way... That gorilla costume and me have been through a lot, so if I couldn't wear it maybe all was lost (that's when I set the shrub on fire... I do that when I'm sad... Or mad... Or happy... I think I like fire). Anyway a few days or weeks or possibly months later, I was talking to one of my daughters art teachers, who was very impressed with that particular daughter's abstract, abstract art (it's abstract, even for abstract art) and somehow I brought up Bryce (back then there was a free version) which I was letting my kids play with... they were like six at the time, but they loved the materials and shapes and surreal landscapes and forever rendering times... (one Bryce render equals ten thousand child years)... But anyway she was very interested and probably actually downloaded it. I made sure to steer her directly to the Bryce page...
Why did I just say that the way I did?... Well, one other reason I had stop telling people about DAZ (besides the gorilla costume thing), was based on something that happened not long before the aforementioned conversation...
I was having lunch with a client who mentioned he used to draw comics when he was a kid, but didn't think he was all that good... He also mentioned that wished he could draw better because he had loads of great ideas... I mentioned DAZ and how some people use it to put together their own graphic novels and comics. He opened up his laptop and we went to DAZ... I probably couldn't have picked a worse day or advertising period... It looked like Flesh-O-Rama in Boobyville and I could see he didn't know what to make of the place... I just assumed "comic fan, artist" who would be offended?... I don't think he was offended, per se, but I don't think he got what DAZ was, based on all that skimp wear... The worst part was the store search engine sucked back then (snort) and me trying to find the Super Suit and comic hero stuff, just made the first impression/introduction worse. Somehow I wrapped that up and changed the subject, but I felt a little like I just showed him a porn site... After that I was very careful about how I presented DS to people and to whom I did... I had never really given the fleshy aspect a thought and how some people might react whilst randomly browsing the store pages. There is a reason I'm mentioning all this... See, when I was a kid, I think DS would have been a great creative tool, and had it existed back then, I wouldn't have had to graffiti on dinosaurs as much... Same for kids now... (BTW- I'm thinking at least freshman to senior in high school range)... But, the hell I'd ever send any of them or their parents here because I don't think anyone would get the right idea... They would probably think I was a pervert trying to corrupt their kids... You probably have to pee by now, so I should get to the point as good bladder and kidney health are also one of my crusades in life...
What DAZ should do is make a special "Education" package and page... Page because if one has to send parents or people with easily offended sensibilities here, they won't have to browse through the fleshier parts... Package or packages, so someone trying to introduce this won't have to hunt down or edit out stuff.... Maybe even special introductory tutorials for teachers who are computer savvy, but never really heard of DAZ.... Make some bundles of tutorials, and G rated free stuff or special Educational Licensed/Priced G-rated bundles so perhaps an educator or parent won't get burned at or like a steak for suggesting or introducing DS... DAZ likes to say it's a family friendly site (sorry, I just snorted when I said that), but the reality is there is a HUGE... Actually, FRIGGIN' HUGE portion of the populace that would not necessarily see it that way... I think DAZ studio and its animation capabilities would be a great teaching tool, and doing something like I just mentioned would give DAZ an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is... Which one of the stupidest sayings I ever on occasion write, but it seems other people get it... Anyway... And please don't misinterpret what saying here, I'm not condemning DAZ for the fleshyness or saying that skimpy clothing is the work of the devil (trust me, I was having lunch with him and he emphatically denied it), I'm just saying maybe having a special section to steer younger audiences or educators would be a good idea... It could focus more on toon characters and animals, architecture, vehicles, nature and scenery with special prices for schools or students... I realize DAZ might be concerned that would water down their content sales, but if so, focus on using old stuff... There is tons of stuff that is past its prime and is just molding away because it's sold at full price still... Use some of that.
Once again, I'm NOT saying to Disneyfy DAZ, but maybe having an "Educational" section might be good for everyone... Kids get a creative tool and learn 3D art and possibly animation, DAZ gets to look concerned and helpful with education, and in the end if some kids pick up 3D as a hobby, over time that's good for DAZ too, when they are older they'll be buying regular content...
I know there are a million arguments pro and con and like I said, on the surface this is half baked and something DAZ would probably never do... Which is why I never suggested it before... I just figured I'd bring it up since there was something similar being mentioned already.
Face it, it would have to be done right, be well thought out and presented properly... And that requires time and resources and I know that's a scarce commodity, so it ain't ever gonna happen... But I like to think it was a nice idea.
That from a chap in a gorilla suit wearing a Viking helmet and sitting in a crashed Aviarylocomotivator.
Laterz....
If you want a bunch of items under $10 the Lilith 6 bundles are 95% off right now. The pro bundle, full of outfits, hair, poses and Lilith are only $6.95! I'm stunned how cheap this is. Anyway, this is MORE than enough to get someone started.
The PG page for teachers is not a bad Idea I will talk with Daz and see if it would be doable. I have an art center here in my town and they hold adult art classes which is the ideal spot for spearding the word. But most towns have summer programs for kids and if Daz crafted a package that was kid freindly that might work as well.
Keep thinking and keep talking I think there is a way to make something positive happen.
To be honest, even seniors it could work for... Doctors and researchers are always going on about finding new ways of keeping senior's minds active... But I'm sure if many of them visited the regular pages, they would flat out drop dead... Shock or arousal, I'm not sure, but either way dead folks would not be great press... But with PG/G pages, you could bring older folks in and with the educational angle, senior centers with the proper facilities looking for new ways of entertaining and enriching the lives of older folks might also have a great new tool. Think of how many older folks probably once wanted to learn to draw or paint... Some may feel they might not have the skill, or even tactile abilities anymore... Even argue they are too old to learn now... I think this may give them a fun way of learning something new while enriching their lives...
Teaching kids art and animation... Giving older folks new horizons to explore... This kind of press looks great in those business articles that investors and shareholders love to read... Good press and kids and seniors learn something new... Double bonus!
Just don't mention a guy in a gorilla costume brought this up.
Yes, the Lilith Bundle might not be the best introduction to DAZ for kids. Or people tired of the scantily clad fantasy/SF women-in-art stereo type.
I hope something comes of this. Its a great idea. Maybe a temporary license for a classroom to use a designated bundle of resources for the length of the class. Since its only a temp license to use products it can be offered cheaply - I don't know how that works legally however. Like a download from the digital collection of a library.
Would that work well with 4.9 and DAZ Connect? That might take some of the worry out of getting the products off the classroom computers once the class is over.
Its 2016, you can have your Daz parties online! Unless you are talking about creating a small Daz convention, meeting up with strangers in another stranger's home would be creepy as all get out.
Also, yes, Daz needs a PG section. Its really backward for Daz to prohibit nudity and yet promote so much skimpware all over the site. It feels like a double standard, no, it is a double standard. Anyway, there really should be a PG section and a more "adult" section like the store already is. If Daz has any intention of breaking into the mass market, this is a MUST. Nobody is going to take this software seriously when they look at the splash page and see some of the stuff on it. I would even go as far as giving products an age rating, which can be used to sort out searches. After all, if you do get more people on the site, they will eventually run into the skimpare otherwise. I know there are plenty of people who just do not want to see that stuff, period.
totally disagree. I feel DAZ is too PG, especially for my tastes and in the big picture has a balanced representation of different types of images thruout the splash pages and in galleires to be taken serious. No need to dumb it down even more.
Not talking about making DAZ more PG. Just having a section where adults can take kids to introduce them to 3D art. I have a thirteen-year-old girl who helps me write my webcomic, and while that sort of thing doesn't bother her (she watches TV), it bothers me.
Not necessary to have it in your home, there are plenty of restaurants that have meeting rooms that would be happy if a group of people wanted to use them. In Savannah, we have The Sentient Bean, a free-range, organic coffee sort of place near SCAD that is often used for small events.
DAZ could provide different packages tailored to different interests, containing suitable figures, clothing, props and backgrounds. Some interiors, some exteriors, a couple of skydomes... The Sci-Fi artist's starter package would contain certain types, the fantasy artist's starter pack others, etc.
Most of them could be heavy on the PC Pro discounted type of item.
You could have taken him to a website or webcomic that uses DAZ to show him what can be done with it. (Shameless plug follows) My webcomic, for example, is pretty PG, if you don't mind 13 year old girls wearing guns.
But there are others out there that are pretty PG as well that deal with other genres than my real-life one.
Thanks for the heads up - I got that bundle and the VooDoo bundle for under $8 TOGETHER! WOW!!!
I am so slow...I would not be the life of the DAZ party...it would be it's DEATH...lol
...in my 60s and still learning this stuff.
I agree this would be a wonderful idea both for teachers and kids as well as seniors.
...oh and BTW, didn't I see someone wearing a space helmet making off with your Gorilla suit? I think he's still waiting at the #4 bus stop on the corner if you hurry.
...a number of us did so a few years ago at a Sci Fi con in Seattle.
I'm also in my 60's and retired. I'll have to pass on the DAZ Party idea though - US internal flights might be cheap but trans-atlantic journeys are not. On second thoughts, I have to smile at the prospect of a bunch of Trekkies and GoT fans having a party with the fetish crowd. Pity I'm emigrating to New Zealand later this year - a convention might have been fun after all.
@McGuyver - don't worry about the incident with the shrub fire, you are in good company being inspired by a burning bush.
Well, Stonemason and myself are in NZ. But I'm anti-social and I have no idea how Styonemason feels about Tupper DAZ partys :-)
If we can do something in Germany I would be interested. (Based near Frankfurt)
Another Idea that is beyond the "Tupperparty" newbies only thing would be to hold an BAR-Camp / Unconference Style meetup.
There could be Sessions / Demonstrations / Speaches / Courses for all levels of knowledge and interest so the whole thing would be a great experience for everyone from the "pre-Download" interested newbie to the seasoned PA.
To organize something like this is easy. Main issue is to find a free or reasonable priced location that allows multiple sessions at the same time and sponsors.
Yeah, I kinda live in Germany. For the next 3-4 years at least. NL is were I grew up and my family is.
I'm in Bayern, but I'm willing to travel a lot to meet some fellow DAZ'ers in real life. I like trains. And I have a 25% off card with bahn-bonus, so I get bonus points and cool deals for train trips.
Is there any way to organise a poll or something? So we could see who's willing at least to come and to where they're willing to come? I mean, organising a party for three people is a bit thin, but 10-15 people with one PA is a good start.
You have only showed up the Daz 3D website to your friend, but I did much worse.
When Daz3D has announced some years ago, that they are making Daz Studio, Bryce and Hexagon for free (of course during limited period of time),
I have rushed and showed up this offer to our company at some meeting (there were like 50 people around).
And guess what - when I have tried to find out the right page with the offer, the skimpwearing has appeared all around Daz 3D store
and presented to the audience, because the computer was connected to the projector.
The conclusion: one need to be prepared with the exact links to specific web pages, before presenting Daz3D to anyone else...
Yeah, thats the same way I did it... Just went there without really thinking much about it... I guess since I'm not into rendering people that much, I tend to ignore most of clothing and skimpy outfits, and only see the stuff that I could use or would buy... Well, till then... now I'm more aware, especially when out in public with my iPad... I have had a couple of people I know comment they thought I was looking at lingerie catalogues and in one case, about three years ago, either at a fast food restaurant or cafe, some guy walked by in back of me and then back again and was looking at my screen (from a short distance, but enough to make me notice)... I wasn't at DAZ, it was some news or tech page... I turned around and he got embarrassed and made like he wasn't looking... I was wondering what was he looking at, and then I realized I kept scrolling up and down, and on the right side was one of those DAZ ads that follow you around... It was the one with (I think) V5 in a beige bikini... I don't remember the exact ad, but I remember thinking, "Duh, she looks naked!"... There was actually a lot more to that, which was actually kinda funny, but too long to relate at the moment.
+1
Every religion needs a martyr or a guy in smoldering pantomime gorilla suit sporting a Viking helmet (I'm the latter).
Something on the bundle side of things is that I remember a while back when Daz did themed starter bundles for V4/M4 and Genesis. That really seems like the right way to go for what you put in the bundle and fill accordingly. In my eyes I feel it should be:
-Tutorial. Mainly the basics for Daz itself (thus this could be standardized for the bundles), though an additional one with a walkthrough for the bundle itself could be good. Both video and print versions should exist.
-Scene. The set piece for the theme. Arguably it should be large and outdoors or it should be an indoor scene. Something modular is good for the educational aspect.
-Poses. Something that suits the scene. Might be exclusive to the bundle if the original scene lacked poses or if they were too impractical.
-Lights. Similar to poses, this is mainly for if the original scene didn't have any.
-Two outfits. It explicitly needs to be a male and a female outfit or at least one of the two needs to work for both. It needs to err on the side of not outright being skimpwear. It's fine if it can become it but it shouldn't be the default. Also, they should be outfits with shoes.
-Props. At least one thematic prop, though if more are feasible that would be good.
Morps and alternate characters are technically extra for a broad themed starter bundle. However, their importance goes up a lot in a bundle if the bundle is a sort of modern bundle. I also feel that after separating exclusive tutorials, poses, and lights, the set should be 5-6 items.
I think one way to measure all this is to look at three bundles and see how they measure up to the list, give or take some ommisions like a tutorial.
Genesis Fantasy Starter Bundle http://www.daz3d.com/genesis-fantasy-starter-bundle feels like a winner. Clothes that can work for both genders, one of the outfits has multiple colors, a decent scene, a creature to fit the theme, weapons, and hair (though meant for the female).
Genesis Scifi Starter Bundle http://www.daz3d.com/genesis-scifi-starter-bundle sorta drops the ball in one key area. It's got a great scene since it's modular, very good props, the hair works. Where it's let down is the outfit. It doesn't suit the mail characters and bunny stuff makes it an outfit not intended to be taken seriously. It's not a good design in a vacuum (I don't know about the actual outfit quality) and a worse choice for a starter bundle.
Genesis Starter Bundle http://www.daz3d.com/genesis-starter-bundle is an interesting case. The troll makes this set weird since without it, it would have been the "modern" starter bundle, to complement the sci fi and fantasy bundles. It does sit in an interesting place as being the only one with the morph bundle. Swapping out the troll for a scene of some sort would have made this just about perfect.
I think looking at the ideas presented from these three bundles and the base concepts of fantasy/sci fi/modern would be good to plan around. Plus, Daz official bundles are one thing but those showing others what they already own could set up a pre-planned list of things to showcase based on these ideas.
That would be swell if I didn't live 1,000 miles away from Savannah and didn't have a day job. That's the other issue with any such attempt at a convention.
What I suggested does not dumb down anything. Look, I am one of the least conservative people out there, but I am also reasitic enough to understand how flashing skimpware on your main page looks to those who are. Is that how you attract new business? This is not a strip club here, but to be frank sometimes it looks like it.
You have multiple posts here that talk about the embarrassing situations Daz put them in by just trying to show someone what Daz is. Needless to say not a great first impression. I'm not one to often say "think of the children," but, well, think of the children! How do you introduce Daz to younger people with this current set up? That's why you create seperate sections between the two. Go to the mature section and you will still see your favorite skimpware prominently displayed. Is that really such an outlandish and difficult suggestion?
In fact, I would suggest that creating a seperate section for PG and mature would have the exact opposite effect to what you think. Maybe if Daz did create a seperate section, that would result in MORE actual mature content coming to it as a result? Because by trying to cater to everyone, they actually end catering to very few. There is no such thing as a "One size fits all." You simply cannot satisfy everybody. So just split the site so both kinds of customers can be better served. Call it "Daz After Dark."
Problem solved. Daz gets to attract potential new clients, like teens and more conservative folks, and still gets to cater to those who want something more mature. You do not get more WIN-WIN than that.
Now that would deserve a party.
Is there a List of German PAs?
i know of
If you think DS looks like a strip club at times, you are more conservative than you think, LOL.
As for thinking of the children, I don't let my daughter use DS by the very nature of the software, it's content and what it can do (she is 12). Then again, she doesn't have web access without a parent. She has several modeling apps and other, tame 3D software that don''t have realistic type human figures in them. I am sure a child friendly version of DS could be made and advertised on a website catering to that type of clientale, but I would want that to be the secondary site, not the primary as I don't view the current state of DAZ as an x-rated, dark erotic site that needs to hide from mature public viewing as you have suggested.
There is lots of art in the world that is sexual in nature and it does make some people uncomfortable. Some so much they want it restricted or banned because if offends their delicate sensitivities, similar to how some proebably view this site and what is sold on it. I say to them deal with it or look somewhere else
As for the OP's question, i am down for a DS/3D party, although unless there are going to be displays with new tech or software, it might be a little odd for a bunch of DS users standing around talking about changing DS themes, loading other formats into DS or how to change shaders into being Iray friendly, LOL. (JK) I actually went to a convention for a game i develop for and it was surprizingly fun and informative and cool to place the forum names with actual people.