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Don't insult potatoos!
Greets, ArtisanS
But I'm sure you can see the other point of view too. I don't think everyone who criticizes is just being mean, or is a "hater". Maybe they have a point to some degree. Sure, some are just being jerks, but probably a lot less than we might think.
Of course there are some very talented people who do DAZ renders and make content. But that doesn't mean that everyone who downloads a free DAZ Studio and works with it for many years is automatically a talented artist, who produces stuff that most people think is jaw-dropping. I sure don't produce anything nearly that good. Some feel that to be a good artist you not only need a lot of training to learn some basic stuff, but also some inherent talent. I have neither.
But how many of us honestly feel "well, I've never been trained, but I've been doing this for many years and I have a great natural talent". But to find out if you really do have a great talent, I think you need to put your work in front of the world and see how they respond. Personally, a lot of what I've seen in Poser/DAZ galleries is, in my view often stiff and unnatural poses, images/animations that are uninteresting and don't really have much if any impact, poor lighting and textures, and they're missing a lot of the basics that give images impact. Especially compared to all the amazing stuff out there we see every day in the movies, etc. I don't really know what all those things are that make stuff awesome, but I know when I see it that it just doesn't impact me at all. I sure know when I go watch a Disney or Dreamworks animation it's usually jaw-dropping. I can't tell you why, but I know it when I see it.
And I think a lot of us tend to think stuff like "well I spent many many hours trying to get this animation looking right and it was a lot of work, therefore it's really really good", and get surprised when people criticize. But we don't realize that nobody cares how we did it or how long it took or how difficult it was. They only care about the results.
But I think people like to take everything as either one way or the other. Critics see a lot of uninteresting stuff, and immediately (for whatever reason) assume all Poser/DAZ people are the same. And Poser/DAZ people assume they're all doing awesome work, and think the critics are all wrong. But the truth is generally in-between somewhere.
Again, I think we'd all be happier if we accept criticism positively and see if there's any merit to it. Maybe not, but maybe there's stuff to be learned.
So funny! I say "3D modeling" with as serious a face I can muster.
An link tend to help:)
http://checkitweb.com/hazop/work.htm
And yes its also my screen saver at work.
I tell people that it's digital graphics. It avoids the whole argument about "art". Avoiding the argument has its advantages.
However, my personal opinion on the argument is that all art is mental masterbation of one sort or another. Very enjoyable and with the side benefit that some people can make a living at it.
I call it digital art. My husband calls it porn because he always seems to see my models before I put the clothes on.
If anyone asks, I just tell them it's art.
I got enough of this nonsense as a professional photographer, "Oh, it's not REAL art, you didn't create anything! You just recorded it!"
Yeah, like ol' Leo Baby just recorded an existing person, he didn't create her. Unless the old lech got around more than History says he did.
Could be, she wasn't called "Moaning Lisa" for nothing, after all.
But 3D art can be more than just the art of the image, it can be the art of the story, the art of laughter, the art of joy, even the art of disgust or fear, depending on the artist's intentions.
3D art isn't limited to one specific area.
Just because I create a webcomic with DAZ doesn't disqualify it.
I've seen some really crappy 3D renderings that evoked powerful emotions.
They were, despite a lack of technical excellence, genuine art.
And I'll not allow some pretentious upsnoot tell me what I can and cannot call my creations.
That's not within their authority. It's within mine, alone.
As a sometime photographer, I may describe it as "Virtual Photography", but I have found if you say "Computer Graphics, like in the movies" they are satisfied. I learned not to make any reference to manga, anime or graphic novels, 'cause then they get this look and go ooohhhhh....and I know they are thinking of short skirts and striped panties (the pervs!).
I use the term digital imagery and most I know seem to grasp that a little better.
I collaborate with some very talented artists (PAs) to make images.
DAZ describes Daz Studio as a virtual photo and film studio. http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/start
I call it art. That is what it is to me. I don't get snobby about art. Art can be anything from a cave dweller painting their hand on a wall of a cave, to a modern person making a paper mache zebra from newspapers. I don't have a specific skill level required, or consider one medium superior to another.
Speaking as a graphic designer, at the end of the day only the end product matters. A client doesn't care what program you used or how you made the final piece (just don't steal stuff). If we use the logic about making everything from scratch I would have to write my own graphics programs and build my own computer components. Art is art, in this case I would say 3D art or renderings.
I once had this issue in a painting contest were my digital art went up again traditional painted art. It was allowed to entry after some grumbles and place 3rd, fairly. Art is about being able to realise a vision you have in your minds eye, how you do it is not overeally relvant unless you are measuring a certian skill in question. Being a great modeller doesn't make you a great artist, it just means you have great modelling skill (which is no small thing either).
"What's it about?"
@ ebergerly creating a vision can be subjective, somethings poeple rave about I find uninteresting a visa versa. In terms of people creating generic art, thats fine too, alot of great and average artists alike through the ages created a lot of average art for various reasons, not everything can be a masterpeice. You should read a an artist history/biography book if you get a chance, as even lauded masters had their share of critics in their time.
There's 4 apects to the consideration of artistic endeavors.
1) The artist and their self-perceptions (no one cares so it's not worth spending any time on)
2) Critics
3) Your Peers
4) The General public.
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Getting one to favor your work doesn't mean the others will.
No one cares to hear you talk about you art or explain it until you've heavily swayed some component of the other three.
All you've got until then is an attitude "I think this!" and "My art is XYZ" ...
A general public win (alone) is a summer blockbuster that critics call empty fun or mindless entertainment....or in our case, a pretty picture that says nothing and really has no value- aside from the creator having fun.
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Critics rave, but everyone says they don't get it - or it's artsy-fartsy.
The general public loves it and other artists call that creator a hack. (It didn't take much to create that work)
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You can run from some of those groups or pretend they don't count.
But if you do anything worthwhile they show up. lol
And so- who to judge what you do - best?
Probably some kind of combination, in the end.
Who can discern what you do with Daz assets better than a long time Daz/Poser/3D-thingie user?
Who can forget 'everything they've been taught' and distill your work down to enjoy/didn't enjoy besides the general public?
Who has seen enough art (in your field of interest) to accurately understand your place in the big picture and know if you're breaking new gound, copying familiar territory, being bold and fresh or playing it safe?
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I think all of them are important, but not really important for an artist to be worrying about.
Long as your destination matches your trip planning, you'll be fine.
I just had someone ask me on Facebook, wow, how did you learn to paint like that?! I just said it was a combination of 3d and 2d art and left it at that
I'm pretty sure that my husband feels the same way as yours and for the same reason lol.
As far as wether or not its art, if its something that comes from inside of you and presents a image to the world then I am going to say yes, its art, no matter what tools were used. Wether its good art? That's completely up to individual interpretation. I am generally happy with what I do, at an given stage of learning, and am most happy when I feel I am improving at what I am doing. Mostly, I just enjoy the heck out of myself and I don't have to pay a psychiatrist.
Your newest set of renders are incredible.
You had a massive leap.
Can't tell if it's lighting or what, but wow.
Is this directed at me? If so thank you very much!
It depends on how interested that are. If they show low interest, I just tell them it's digital art like CGI. If they are really interested, I describe it as virtual photography. You have a virtual camera, virtual lights, virtual environment, virtual models, virtual props, virtual wardrobe, etc, ect. I have a lot of IT friend who use Virtual Machines, so they get it. I use the CGI describtion for the less tech minded. Although, that can back fire. My wife thinks I can do movie level special effects. I told her, I'd need way more powerful computers networked together and I just got the blank stare. Besides, I do still not animations.
If I can't avoid describing it: as a...
"A different way of doing art for those trying to learn new skills".
I tell them I enjoy playing with virtual dolls that I can pose, dress them up, try on different clothes/makeup, and make them walk/talk.
I agree no one likes to hear some borish, self centered or lengthy description of ANYONE's "job", but I think the OP was asking how to deal with people who ask and seem negative, bewildered, or judgemental.
That was my response to anyone who thinks THEIR opinion of their own art has any value or sway with what others think.
So you can consider your art/work/hobby or whatever you do - whatever you want.
I'm just saying that doesn't matter until you sway some of those other groups.
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Seeing that every post that seems to address someone specific, gets deleted, I have to carefully word my responses.
I intend to work within the rules - on this forum.
Same here .... I simply don't tell them.
I do often mention that I play around with computer generated 3D in my spare time when asked. I've done GIS (Geographic Information Systems - another difficult thing to expalin to people) for over 30 years, so my friends all know about that. I've used GIS data to make 3d visualizations for almost as long, so if there are any questions, I just show them some of that work. Other than my wife, no one in RL really knows about my DAZ interests, and I'm fine with that.
lol
That's what my wife calls it .... virtual Barbies
As for what is art, well art is so many different things to so many different people that IMHO truly defining what is art is quite difficult. There are many pieces of art that it seems most (all??) people will recognize immediately as art, and many others that are more subjective, for instance, Pablo Picasso. I've heard many people say "that's not art" when looking at one of his abstract works. But yet he is consider one of the great artist (most of his work is not what I like, but I can understand why he is considered a great artist). IMHO art is so many different things to so many different people that you really don't know what reaction you will get if you show your DAZ/Poser art to family and friends.
For me personally, I know I'm not an artist, so I don't expect anyone to look at one of my images and and think it's art. I know many true artists in RL, and I know I simply do not have the same talent or creative vision that they have. I wish I had it, but I know I don't. I create "pretty" images (for lack of a better term) that I like, and that I hope someone else might find interesting or "pretty". I continually challenge myself to improve by looking at the work others do, and comparing them to mine to figure out what I can do to improve. I find that looking through the galleries here, at Rendo, and at DA to be quite instructive, especially looking at the most popular images. Hopefully I am improving, and making more pleasing and eye catching images, that is my real goal. As for it being art, that decision is not up to me. If someone looks at one of my images and they see it as art .... that's fantastic, and very humbling at the same time. But for me, I'm still just trying to create the best image I can through a fairly technical/analytical process. But I know I'm not an artist, so I don't consider my images to be art (but there are some really fantastic artists that use DS, Poser, etc.).
I describe it as "somewhat similar to filming". You purchase some props, make some, paint the set, take pieces of something and kitbash them together to make them look like something else, set up the lighting and poses.
Now that's funny stuff right there!
Yeah, I don't even look at the DAZ store pages when waiting for my food at Ihop. It would be just my luck somebody'd see the screen and I'd have a promo pic up of NVIATWAS.
It's useless to even try to explain that this is a kind of a meme in 3D land. 
As for me, I don't really even try to explain it anymore. And by the way, it really IS art. I've never heard of anybody requiring sculptors, photographers, or painters to manufacture all the items in their pictures. Can you imagine the trouble just to make one still-art piece? I mean hell's bells, you'd have to grow those grapes, apples, and pears, then chop down some trees to make the table, learn how to make "doilies" from scratch, and create the sunlight coming in the window. A simple portrait would require that you only use your progeny as subjects (or it isn't art!), and nevermind all the tailoring you'd have to learn just to take a picture of anybody wearing clothing!
I've never heard of anybody requiring sculptors, photographers, or painters to manufacture all the items in their pictures.
It took me a while to understand what you were talking about. had to re-read it several times. So you're paralleling the virtual experience and workflow with a real world one.
Heading to the market and buying fruits and such = Going to the Daz store and buying food assets.
Buying candles and bowls from the shoppe = visiting the shoppe and buying props
Painting supplies/tones and tints = buying Shaders and texture/material add-ons
Visiting the seamstress and buying a gown = PA clothing items
Being taken by a person and asking them to pose for you = Buying a new genesis X figure
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After all the stuff like that, comes the adjustments, where you put curtains up, add/subtract candles, mix your pigments...move the clothing, ruffle, straighten, change expressions, rotate the fruit so the mix of apples, oranges and bananas look awesome. Please feel free to add whatever else you did during this arranging stage. Please, let this take hours or days or weeks, if you must....
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Because somewhere after all that, the traditional artist using the traditional mediums sits down to capture all that.
There is no equivalent in the digital realm aside from products like Z-Brush and or something that has a paint brush simulator. Something that simulates the MEDIUM and not the subject(s).
Daz does both. Lots of camera emulations and a ton or real world photography aspects.
So whoever said "Digital Photography" might have been the most accurate- in a sense.
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Digital photography sounds like capturing an image as opposed to making an image or picture.
When someone then says look at my photography, the understanding is that you are looking at images of a place where that person was.
They were that at the volcano and took pictures. Not that they generated an image of a volcano using Bryce and/or bought a Daz volcano set and rendered it.
I think that difference is still a big difference to some people.
I've never heard of anybody requiring sculptors, photographers, or painters to manufacture all the items in their pictures.
So now, to look at this statement again, there are equivalents.
Painters make their own paint and canvass, sculptors their own clay and such.
Even in the CGI world, you'll always hear how they rewrote code to get a desired effect. Very few get what they want right out the box.
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Artists work in artistic ways. I don;t think anyone on this forum is immune to this.
Why is it- with every picture you like- the work behind it always has so much customization?
So much EXTRA work?
That's the part that reaches toward art.
Daz is a tool box.