What is the best overall in depth Daz Manual?
cdpro_2831bbd990
Posts: 1,430
I can do renders and understand most of how things work in Daz. But, there are still a lot of things that I really don't know how they work. Is there a really good reference out there that explains what a specific function/menu item/setting, does, what it's good for, and how to use it?
i.e. I can use shaders and I get how textures are applied...etc. But, I don't know the effect of each setting, or how to construct shaders from scratch.
ie. I know how to use the render settings, but don't know what each item actually does for the end product. Something in depth might be able to explain it better.
Anyway, does anyone have a favorite .pdf or other tutorial? I'm not above buying a "gasp" printed book. :)
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I've been asking for that since I started with DS in March... If some DS expert PA would write a book to sell here or Amazon, I'm sure they would make a fortune, hint, hint... Daz does not seem interested in creating one. I REALLY wish someone would create a comprehensive written book with diagrams, there are so many aspects of the program that seem to be some sort of secret that the average user has no way to learn about...
I started writing a how to manual but I only got as far as "Push buttons, see what happens, take notes, repeat" LOL
Push buttons - see what happens is what I do in some parts of DAZ too...when a concise & complete manual doesn't exist it's the only practical thing to do if you're just dorking around creating render scenes.
For more complicated things I have downloaded DAZ 3D & Sickle Yield tutorials and plan to buy this PDF tutorial on rigging in the DAZ Store (eventually)
http://www.daz3d.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-tools-in-daz-studio
For LAMH I just found the LAMH PDF after spending today clicking about trying to figure out how it works (easy so far but I haven't tried to style the hair yet)
This page has a link to a 96 page PDF manual, plus links to videos, tutorials and tips and the online version of the user guide.
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/userguide/start
For the shaders you should study tutorials that teach how PBR shaders work generically. The Marmoset products website has a bunch of tutorials but honestly that stuff is so dry to read - it's sort of like what you really want is a comprehensive PBR Cookbook designed for DAZ Studio because you're never going to remember all the appropriate values for all those PBR materials.
As Wonderland said, there is no comprehensive user guide or manual for DAZ Studio available. The closest thing would be the DAZ Studio Reference Guide here on the site:
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/start
Unfortunately, it is rather hit-and-miss and does not seem to be updated often. Other than that, there is an assortment of video and written tutorials on specific subjects scattered here, there and everywhere around the internet, plus some tutorials or guides/advice scattered throughout various threads here on the forums. The latter can be difficult to find given the limitations of the forum search engine, often leading to the same questions being asked over and over.
Unfortunately, this situation is far from unique and seems to be common relative to software nowadays - leaving guidance to user forums and/or somebody producing bits and pieces as YouTube videos.
Writing one would be a major undertaking for an individual, since such guides require a rather specialized form of technical writing that speaks to the average user. Also, since many want video instructions rather than written manuals, that pretty much precludes any comprehensive approach. You would have either the YouTube equivalent of Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia and War and Peace combined, or a bazillion specific videos to cover all the subject matter.
There a have been several threads discussing the issue, and the most promising approach suggested was to create a wiki so that it would become a community project. But somebody would need to step up and set it up.
Thank you everyone...I appreciate the input. As I was expecting, it doesn't look like a complete reference work exists. But, I will definitely take a look at all the sources you mention.
...not adviseable when you are sitting down at the controls of something like a 747 or Airbus 380 though.
...what we need is a Daz 4.9 for Dummies book. Maybe also one for Daz Iray as well.
I've found the video tutorials and the wiki pretty helpful:
http://www.daz3d.com/help/
https://www.youtube.com/user/WWWDAZ3DCOM/playlists?&ab_channel=Daz3D
With 2.000.000+ DAZ users I think the biggest problem may be server resources. I.e. it may get expensive.
A manual for Studio?.....what a novel idea. I wonder if anyone else has stumbled upon the idea of explaining how their software works?
The tutorial I tried to write, ended up pretty much word for word, exactly like yours.
hmmm....
that would be Richard.
The Complete Guide to DAZ Studio 4 by Paolo Ciccone (creator of Reality software interface for Luxrender), though not comprehensive (by my definition) and no longer up to date (because of Iray), is still very appropriate and informative for a beginner or intermediate user for technical, theoretical, and practical application. I bought the PDF version to keep it handy. However, a comprehensive Daz manual would be a fulltime job for its author.
Hmmm..." best overall depth manual ..." Any one of them tossed into a deep well. It's like a photograph of a bird taken by a sloth. Tail feather here, wing tip there, maybe a claw if you're lucky. If DAZ can't keep up producing their own valid manuals how can any third party?
I was gonna say...Richard's Brain ;)
Laurie
...well Blender tends to be revised on a somewhat regular basis and there are manuals/guideooks for it (sometimes revised as well).
...is that anything like Spock's Brain?
There are two fundamental types of documentation for software, functional and procedural.
Functional documentation provides a detailed explanation of what each and every option does - and very little else. This is the bulk of what is on the current wiki, and it requires a deep understanding of the software. This type of documentation is typically done by the technical writer attached to the software development team. It is my understanding that this is done here by Rob on a 'time-available' basis, which is frequently after-hours.
Procedural documentation describes the process used to achieve a result with the software. This is what most of us want. This is also much harder to write as you need both a deep understanding of how the software works as well as a strong background in the application's use. With Studio I could see needing a team of 4 or more wirters, with committed access to the development staff (which slows them down) - and probably another writer or two to follow behind, doing continuous updates to the documentation to keep it in sync with the changes.
I've done both. Procedural is a royal pain in the backside and always seems to go obsolete just about the time you've double-checked it and committed it to the library.
Only if we steal it ;)
Laurie
Tooltips can be quite useful and actually contain a large amount of text, and also be programmed to stay open long enough so you can read it all. And they're created by the programmer who probably knows more than anyone else what the feature the tooltip is documenting does. They're also very easy for the user to open and close.
There are some very good video tutorials available. Dreamlight has a bunch. Some are a little dated but most of the topics are still valid.
Honestly the best most comprehensive manual for Daz is right here. The forums. Its not organized and the search function sucks but if you are willing to dig for it (or just ask) anything you ever wanted to know is right here.
I do a Google search by pasting this into the browser and typing what I'm looking for after it.
site:www.daz3d.com/forums
good tip
Blender is free and open source and so tends to attract real artists who are enthusiastic about contributing to a common goal. The half million downloads a month (Wow!) gives it a userbase that Studio can only dream of. Blender and it's adherents don't care about money, we do it for purely altruistic reasons. It's much like game modders. Modding is massively popular despite the complete lack of monetary compensation. The one instance when a studio attempted to monetize their SDK use (Software Developement Ki) saw a viscious backlash with everyone leaving the game.
To be honest, I've been considering writing more documentation for DAZ Studio after writing the Comprehensive Guide to Rigging Tools.
However truth be told - not sure how badly people would need another PDF about DAZ Studio functions.
In a way - you could say it's pointless to make since all that information is available online for free.
On the other hand - having all of it pooled into one PDF is convenient sometimes when looking for one, specific function and how it worked.
Yes, please write it. What information IS available in the forums is scattered everywhere and the search function is useless. I keep seeing the same questions asked repeatedly.
Yes, we need documentation! Your first guide is in my wishlist, waiting for a big sale. :). I would love a whole comprehensive manual for ALL DS functions and would buy that at the $45.00 price point. Maybe consider selling it on Amazon to prevent potential piracy and maybe get a wider customer base and full profit for yourself... Some people may want a physical print version too.