Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 10

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Comments

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,158
    Novica said:

    @Mollytabby   Brooke looks good, you've got a great list going there!

    One thing for those who aren't aware of it- whatever camera you use, if you select it in Scene, then over in Parameters go to Camera, the focal length for portraits optimally may be between 90-125 or so. That way you don't get nose distortion or head distortion due to the closeup. Your camera is tilted (maybe on purpose?) and you'll see the difference in the head size and the body size. 

    The head is bigger which suggests you may have the focal distance on 65 or whatever the default is. (and it is a nice effect, so that's why I'm saying you may have done it on purpose. smiley   I'm not great with camera settings but we had a prolonged discussion on it and the 90-125 stuck with me and that's what I use to showcase all the portraits to avoid distortion.  To give you an idea, it's 21 for the distant shot in the second render. 

    This is great information, @Novica. I haven't even looked at focal point yet. I had to jiggle the camera to get Brooke's face into the shot, so this is more happy accident rather by design.

    There is so much for me to learn, but I really must now start looking up how to set up cameras.

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,158
    edited April 2018
    • Adaline
    • Amaya
    • Anain & Akasha - folder for Kande and Musoke for Genesis 3 and 8 Female
    • CB Thyme
    • Frankie
    • FW Art Brooke
    • FWSA Cai
    • FWSA Samira
    • FWSA Tala
    • GA Elish

    Next on my list is FWSA Cai. I got this figure when I picked up the Mei Ling 7 Pro Pack recently as an extra free bundle. This is her rendered straight out of the box using Render Studio's Pro-Studio HDR Lighting System. The only materials options I changed where her eye colour and makeup options. 

    I used Nita Hair on her and she is wearing the Genesis 2 Peplum Dress that I got in the Stephanie 6 bundle (also a free at the time). I used shaders on the dress to change it, using the same shader on all the material zones for this test. Next time I use it might try to be a little more adventurous and shade the zones differently. I had to do some adjustments using Fit Control for Genesis 3, but still had problems with the skirt when I put her in pose. So I tried Dforce (on the skirt part only) and it worked beautifully.

    1. Full Length Figure

    2. Head and Shoulders Portrait.

     

    18 04 05 Cai full length render.jpg
    600 x 1200 - 344K
    18 04 06 Cai head and shoulders.jpg
    800 x 800 - 500K
    Post edited by Mollytabby on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited April 2018

    Okay, here's Bar Interior 2018 at 76% done, FIVE HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES.  3568 iterations.  1300 x 1400 and the full scene, which I wouldn't recommend.  Click to enlarge, and seriously- click again. Remember it's not totally rendered but the details are amazing.

    Bar Interior 2018 2.jpg
    1300 x 1400 - 2M
    Post edited by Novica on
  • Robert FreiseRobert Freise Posts: 4,247

    Nice

    Must be all the reflections affecting the time

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,158

    It is beautiful, Novica. I’ve bought it but I think I may have problems loading it onto my machine. I’ll have to check it out.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    The render settings which loaded with it was Sun, I upped the Environment Intensity to 1.94. The Tone Mapping section, the Exposure Value was 8.52 and ISO 287.16. In postwork, I lightened it a bit more with a touch of Contrast, took down highlights as there was already a lot of light bulb burnout, and added midtones and shadows. Then I sharpened it a bit.

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,818
    edited April 2018

    I used the back wall and the back wall frames from the bar interior, for a portrait I've been rendering over night. Not done any post on it yet, but will show once it's done :) 

    Small edit, to show the mostly non postworked picture I talked about. Only resized it and added my signature, as well as made it from png to jpg to make it less heavy :) The model is Liam from Darwin, with CC beard Boss. The jeans is from OOT Mega wardrobe for g8m, the backwall and paintings are the bar interior 2018, hair is Morley Hair from AprilYSH. The pose is from the Stallion Poses. For light I've Film Noir Portrait Studio and High Peaks Skydome and HDRI from Flipmode... think I got all of it now lol.

    Will update with the finished, postworked version later :)

    liamportrait.jpg
    1200 x 1560 - 355K
    Post edited by Carola O on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @carolao     Looks good! How was your render time with just the wall and wall frames?

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,818
    edited April 2018

    Well.. I did it over night, as I know that kind of picture (background, hair, skin etc) does take some time. I estimate it took around 6-7 hours. I know it finished before I had set it to finish (had set the render time to 36000 seconds, so.. ten hours if I count that right lol) but it was finished a fair bit before that cause I was up a few hours before my alarm sounded, and it was finished by than.

    I know the figure would take time, and I don't think the wall and paintings added much to that time. But that's just a guess honestly

     

    On a unrelated note.. for some reason I can't access the store or the galleries, actually.. the only thing I can access is the forum. Had no problem during my earlier post in this thread :/

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479
    edited April 2018
    Carola O said:
    On a unrelated note.. for some reason I can't access the store or the galleries, actually.. the only thing I can access is the forum. Had no problem during my earlier post in this thread :/

    I was just going to post that the store appears to be down. I hadn't checked the gallieries yet. Anyway, my cart is showing as text. The page isn't loading any styles or images. The same with Khory's store. Tried Darwin's store, and it loaded just text after a couple of minutes. Can't get the main store page to load.at all.

    Don't be surprised if the forums are down next.

    ETA: And… the forums are now affected. Wonder how long this outtage will last…?

    Post edited by L'Adair on
  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479

    And…

    The site's back! Yay!

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,818
    edited April 2018

    yay *happy* I got some household chores done while it was gone lol and here is the postworked version of the earlier picture, not much done to it though :)

     

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281

    oh that peplum dress looks great on her! I have that too and haven't even thought of trying it on G3 as i know skirts/dresses can be problematic. Didn't even THINK of trying dforce! Thanks for that, I'm a gonna give it a go! 

    • Adaline
    • Amaya
    • Anain & Akasha - folder for Kande and Musoke for Genesis 3 and 8 Female
    • CB Thyme
    • Frankie
    • FW Art Brooke
    • FWSA Cai
    • FWSA Samira
    • FWSA Tala
    • GA Elish

    Next on my list is FWSA Cai. I got this figure when I picked up the Mei Ling 7 Pro Pack recently as an extra free bundle. This is her rendered straight out of the box using Render Studio's Pro-Studio HDR Lighting System. The only materials options I changed where her eye colour and makeup options. 

    I used Nita Hair on her and she is wearing the Genesis 2 Peplum Dress that I got in the Stephanie 6 bundle (also a free at the time). I used shaders on the dress to change it, using the same shader on all the material zones for this test. Next time I use it might try to be a little more adventurous and shade the zones differently. I had to do some adjustments using Fit Control for Genesis 3, but still had problems with the skirt when I put her in pose. So I tried Dforce (on the skirt part only) and it worked beautifully.

    1. Full Length Figure

    2. Head and Shoulders Portrait.

     

     

  • macleanmaclean Posts: 2,438

    Glad you like the fruit, Novica. It took me a while to get the maps (Spec, Glossy and Normal) right, but it was worth the trouble.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    OMGosh, check your EMAILS to see what you got charged this past week. What it showed in the cart and during checkout is NOT what I got charged!!!!  

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    This is TOTALLY unacceptable. My cart was $6.01 and I got charged about $55.00    All the PC free ones were full price, and Quince was 18.95 instead of 2.51.  HP Kinsley was 17.95 instead of 3.49   Be sure and check your paypal emails and your order emails. Wrong by  FORTY NINE DOLLARS. 

  • MollytabbyMollytabby Posts: 1,158
    jakiblue said:

    oh that peplum dress looks great on her! I have that too and haven't even thought of trying it on G3 as i know skirts/dresses can be problematic. Didn't even THINK of trying dforce! Thanks for that, I'm a gonna give it a go! 

    • Adaline
    • Amaya
    • Anain & Akasha - folder for Kande and Musoke for Genesis 3 and 8 Female
    • CB Thyme
    • Frankie
    • FW Art Brooke
    • FWSA Cai
    • FWSA Samira
    • FWSA Tala
    • GA Elish

    Next on my list is FWSA Cai. I got this figure when I picked up the Mei Ling 7 Pro Pack recently as an extra free bundle. This is her rendered straight out of the box using Render Studio's Pro-Studio HDR Lighting System. The only materials options I changed where her eye colour and makeup options. 

    I used Nita Hair on her and she is wearing the Genesis 2 Peplum Dress that I got in the Stephanie 6 bundle (also a free at the time). I used shaders on the dress to change it, using the same shader on all the material zones for this test. Next time I use it might try to be a little more adventurous and shade the zones differently. I had to do some adjustments using Fit Control for Genesis 3, but still had problems with the skirt when I put her in pose. So I tried Dforce (on the skirt part only) and it worked beautifully.

    1. Full Length Figure

    2. Head and Shoulders Portrait.

     

    @jakiblue that dress is great, it loads in two separate sections - the top and the skirt which makes it easier to work with. It’s been a bit hit and miss with others but it doesn’t put me off trying.

    @novica I hope Daz sought this out fast for you!

  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479
    Novica said:

    This is TOTALLY unacceptable. My cart was $6.01 and I got charged about $55.00    All the PC free ones were full price, and Quince was 18.95 instead of 2.51.  HP Kinsley was 17.95 instead of 3.49   Be sure and check your paypal emails and your order emails. Wrong by  FORTY NINE DOLLARS. 

    I just checked all my orders since the 1st, and none of them were incorrect. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I used store credit for all of them. The two before that had GCs so they went through Paypal. Orders in order history show the correct cost, as does Paypal.

    I'm really sorry to hear you got hit with the payment glitch. You're right, it is totally unacceptable. I know CS will make it right, but sometimes that's not good enough, when the incorrect charge goes to a bank account instead of a credit card and causes overdrafts and bank fees.

    Did you screenshot your cart? I now do that for every single order I make. Just in case there is ever an issue. (I also separate out free products when possible. When everything in the cart is free, you don't supply payment information. so there's no way the cart can overcharge you.)

    Sounds like you could use some… HUGZ!!!!

     

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,553

    My recent order was fine. 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    Customer Service fixed it within minutes. They did suggest I not check out around midnight Daz time (which is 1am my time) and I did the order at 4am and the stuff was the NEW items for that day, the deals were still in place even now. And two of the items were PC+ freebies and those stay free longer than a day. But they were so sweet about doing it and so quick, I just said "Okay dokey." Can't explain why it was fine in the cart, fine during checkout, and then it must've glitched during that time is does the "Processing" with the spinner. Just like apparently those of you online had a store and forum screwing up this morning? I wasn't online, sounded like "fun." 

  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,092
    Novica said:

    This is TOTALLY unacceptable. My cart was $6.01 and I got charged about $55.00    All the PC free ones were full price, and Quince was 18.95 instead of 2.51.  HP Kinsley was 17.95 instead of 3.49   Be sure and check your paypal emails and your order emails. Wrong by  FORTY NINE DOLLARS.

    That's really too bad! Like L'Adair I've mostly used store credit recently and had no problems. I used a CC for a "three products plus GC" order before that, but it seems OK. I hope Customer Services can sort it out for you today.

  • Charlie JudgeCharlie Judge Posts: 12,268
    Novica said:

    Customer Service fixed it within minutes. They did suggest I not check out around midnight Daz time (which is 1am my time) and I did the order at 4am and the stuff was the NEW items for that day, the deals were still in place even now. And two of the items were PC+ freebies and those stay free longer than a day. But they were so sweet about doing it and so quick, I just said "Okay dokey." Can't explain why it was fine in the cart, fine during checkout, and then it must've glitched during that time is does the "Processing" with the spinner. Just like apparently those of you online had a store and forum screwing up this morning? I wasn't online, sounded like "fun." 

    I'm glad it got fixed quickly. It sounds like in the final pay stage you may have lost recognition of your PC+ status. I've had that happen a couple of times. One time, some years ago, it happened and threatened to overdraw my bank account. But fortunately DAZ_Jared (Pup n' Such) was able to intervene and prevent that from happening. 

  • Novica said:

    Customer Service fixed it within minutes. They did suggest I not check out around midnight Daz time (which is 1am my time) and I did the order at 4am and the stuff was the NEW items for that day, the deals were still in place even now. And two of the items were PC+ freebies and those stay free longer than a day. But they were so sweet about doing it and so quick, I just said "Okay dokey." Can't explain why it was fine in the cart, fine during checkout, and then it must've glitched during that time is does the "Processing" with the spinner. Just like apparently those of you online had a store and forum screwing up this morning? I wasn't online, sounded like "fun." 

    I'm glad it got fixed quickly. It sounds like in the final pay stage you may have lost recognition of your PC+ status. I've had that happen a couple of times. One time, some years ago, it happened and threatened to overdraw my bank account. But fortunately DAZ_Jared (Pup n' Such) was able to intervene and prevent that from happening. 

    The site was misbehaving at one point last night, perhaps Novica was caught in the early stages of that.

  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,092
    MelanieL said:
    Novica said:

    This is TOTALLY unacceptable. My cart was $6.01 and I got charged about $55.00    All the PC free ones were full price, and Quince was 18.95 instead of 2.51.  HP Kinsley was 17.95 instead of 3.49   Be sure and check your paypal emails and your order emails. Wrong by  FORTY NINE DOLLARS.

    That's really too bad! Like L'Adair I've mostly used store credit recently and had no problems. I used a CC for a "three products plus GC" order before that, but it seems OK. I hope Customer Services can sort it out for you today.

    Ah, looks like we cross-posted - I see that they did indeed sort it out quickly.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @richardhaseltine   Probably, because I got offline and read about all the problems when I came back on. There wasn't anything time sensitive in the order (aka disappearing discounts) so lucky me hit that brief period of chaos in all likelihood. 

  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281

    ok you really freaked me out with this. Did you mean your most recent order did this? Or previous orders suddenly changed amount afterwards?  

    Novica said:

    Customer Service fixed it within minutes. They did suggest I not check out around midnight Daz time (which is 1am my time) and I did the order at 4am and the stuff was the NEW items for that day, the deals were still in place even now. And two of the items were PC+ freebies and those stay free longer than a day. But they were so sweet about doing it and so quick, I just said "Okay dokey." Can't explain why it was fine in the cart, fine during checkout, and then it must've glitched during that time is does the "Processing" with the spinner. Just like apparently those of you online had a store and forum screwing up this morning? I wasn't online, sounded like "fun." 

     

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    The order last night, after the store turned over, showed (rounding this) $6. Went to checkout, still showing $6. Went to Paypal, still $6. Hit the pay button, it began swirling (still showing $6 before it grayed out and nothing showed IIRC) then the screen with order number, etc came up. Didn't think a thing about it, it goes to a different email than what I normally use, I happened to check it and the cart said 17.95 instead of free for the PC item, etc. I was like YIKES.  $54 dollars??!!!!  So it was fine even as it started processing, which blew my mind. Never had that happen before. 

  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281

    Oh! i get it. LOL I was freaking thinking suddenly our past orders had changed amounts or something. Bummer that happened - I've seen reports on the forums that this does occasionally happen to people. It seems to do it just after hitting pay in paypal and it does the swirling thing. Ridiculous that it happens, never seen it happen anywhere else but here.   

    Novica said:

    The order last night, after the store turned over, showed (rounding this) $6. Went to checkout, still showing $6. Went to Paypal, still $6. Hit the pay button, it began swirling (still showing $6 before it grayed out and nothing showed IIRC) then the screen with order number, etc came up. Didn't think a thing about it, it goes to a different email than what I normally use, I happened to check it and the cart said 17.95 instead of free for the PC item, etc. I was like YIKES.  $54 dollars??!!!!  So it was fine even as it started processing, which blew my mind. Never had that happen before. 

     

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited April 2018

    Agreed. The price needs to be locked in once the make payment button is hit. Believe me, I'm going back through orders at the moment. (And I've shopped here five years and never had this happen. I did used to do screenshots of the cart, but since the emails show what it's supposed to be (as opposed to the orders in our accounts) I've stopped doing it. Just going to check the Paypal now, every time.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited April 2018

    Space merchant  FWSA Erynn HD For Victoria 8 and LF Erynn Lingerie  wanted to surprise her boss for his birthday, but what do you get a man who has everything? Answer: Something you want for yourself, because you know he isn't going to keep it.  Baby Packy was a perfect gift! 

    Also used: Curly Top Hair For Genesis 3 and 8  and Cyber Siren Outfit for Genesis 8 Female(s)   If you want great floors, don't forget the Ceramics for Iray shaders.

    Edit: Here's a closeup of Erynn.  (Opens a new window.) 

    Baby Packy Erynn.png
    636 x 900 - 1M
    Post edited by Novica on
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