Novica & Invited Guest Contributors Tips & Product Reviews Pt 4

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Comments

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    I just have to share this- totally off topic- but it's so funky yet pretty that I had to show you. I've NEVER seen a radar like this- with such severe thunderstorms (hot red and yellow) mixed into the ice and snow (pink and blue) and then some areas getting totally skipped but surrounded by the wicked weather. How pretty this looks too- quite the myriad of colors! This is the United States East Coast at 2:20am (3:20am their time)

    weirdweather.jpg
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    Post edited by Novica on
  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,092
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Melanie- thanks!
    When I installed the new DIM version, something's gone funky. The products show up in Content Library in the lists, but nothing shows up. Ivory and those other two I listed (in the other thread) are in that category of "no shows." So thanks for covering her :)

    I know what you mean about the eyes, I have to apply poses to get V4 to look good. Do you have this? I'll do a closeup of Alayeh in this scene and you can see the eyes. (Even if you do, I'll show it for other folks to see.)

    http://www.daz3d.com/100-essential-emotions-for-v4


    No I don't have those,. Actually I rarely use V4 (only for demo purposes like this) - I got her when she was free, along with all the other Gen4 people, but didn't do much with DAZ Studio until Genesis came out. So I have quite a few Gen4 clothes and lots of Gen4 skin textures that I really bought to use on Genesis. (I also have GenX so I could transfer the characters)
  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,092
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    BTW, you can get Carrara 8.5 Pro for about $28 right now- just add one of the cheap qualifying items for that second item. You only have a few minutes though, the cheapies are on Day 2 so will be removed shortly. Like this one:
    http://www.daz3d.com/sultry-hair

    Did you have an earlier version of Carrara?
    I thought I did really well to pick it up yesterday at about $66 - how on earth did you get it down to $28???
    Mine was showing 102.60 on the store page, so with Sultry Hair is dropped to 85.50 (the 50% price) less 10% for owning the Viking Village making 76.95 less the $10 for a $50+ cart = 66.95.
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Yes, I had an earlier version- does that make a difference? I also had bought it at 50 something about five months ago, then canceled it because I'm not sure I'll ever use it. But on the March Madness thread in commons I saw someone posting about the price and so I put it in the cart with another qualifying item (the cheapie, shown) and since it was over 50.00, the additional 10.00 off kicked in. Amazing price. You still got a very good deal, I'm not sure if mine was tied to "previous owner" or not.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    The product discussions/renders listed by vendor:

    P
    Petipet
    Air Bike (DAZ3D / Petipet)
    Air Car Jumper (DAZ3D / Petipet)

    Phoenix1966
    Shaw For M4 (Phoenix1966)

    Predatron
    The Gatehouse (Predatron)

    Propschick
    Aldora Hair (DAZ3D / Propschick )

    Q

    R
    Raiya
    Ariadne For V6 (Raiya)
    Ariadne For V6 (Second Review) (Raiya)

    Ravenhair
    Cape For Supersuit (DAZ3D / Ravenhair)
    Casual Jeans and T-Shirt for Genesis and Genesis 2 Female(s) (DAZ3D / Ravenhair)
    Defiant For Genesis (and expansions) (DAZ 3D / Ravenhair)
    Defiant For Genesis (Review #2) (DAZ 3D / Ravenhair)
    Effortless Cool For Genesis Male (DAZ 3D / Ravenhair)
    Evening Gown For Genesis 2 Females (DAZ 3D / Ravenhair)
    Evening Gown For Genesis 2 Females (Review #2) (DAZ 3D / Ravenhair)
    Malvada For V4 ( DAZ 3D / Ravenhair)

    Ravnheart
    Plantz (DAZ 3D / Ravnheart)

    RawArt
    Amun Raw-The Mummy (RawArt )
    Amun Raw-The Mummy (Review #2) (RawArt )
    Monster Classics- The Hunchback (RawArt)

    S
    Sarsa
    Darkwoods Heroine (DAZ3D / Bobbie25 / Sarsa)
    Darkwoods Heroine (DAZ3D / Bobbie25 / Sarsa)
    Fair Corsair Outfit For Genesis 2 Female(s) (DAZ3D Bobbie25 / Sarsa)
    Pure Hair Crazy (DAZ 3D/Bobbie25/Sarsa/Discobob/Lobo75/Lourdes/Morris)
    Warrior Outfit (DAZ 3D / Sarsa / Val3dart)

    Shox-Design
    Frosty Boots for Genesis 2 Female(s) (Karth / Shox-Design)
    Frosty Boots for Genesis 2 Female(s) (Review #2) (Karth / Shox-Design)

    Sickleyield
    Simple Veins HD (Sickleyield) Temporary Freebie

    SilvaAnt3D
    Clothing Textures For Charlize (SilvaAnt3d)

    Silver
    Nidale (DAZ 3D / Countess / Silver)

    Slosh
    M4 for Genesis 2 Male (Slosh)

    Smay
    Bad Guy for Genesis (Smay)
    Modern Ninja Poses for Genesis 2 Male(s) and Michael 6 (Smay / Velemudr)
    Super Hero Equipment For Genesis 2 Male (Smay / Velemudr)

    Spheric Labs
    Luxus (Spheric Labs)

    Stonemason
    Cambot (Stonemason)
    Desert Outpost (Stonemason)
    Desert Outpost (Review #2) (Stonemason)
    Sci-Fi Corridor 2013 (Stonemason)

    Streetwear
    Rogue Sci-fi Suit for V6 (StreetWear)
    Rogue Sci-Fi Suit For V6 (Review #2) (StreetWear)

    Swam
    Filippa Hair (DAZ3D / SWAM)
    Pyrit Hair (DAZ3D / Swam)

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    The product discussions/renders listed by vendor:

    T
    Teresa Tyllo
    Totally Baazar (Marieah / Teresa Tyllo)

    The AntFarm
    Killzones: The Pipes (The AntFarm)

    U
    Umblefugly
    Alruna (DAZ 3D / Bobbie25 /Umblefugly)

    V
    V3Digitimes
    The Briefing Room (V3Digitimes)

    Val3dArt
    Warrior Outfit (DAZ 3D / Sarsa / Val3dart)

    Valandar
    Adventure Lord For Genesis (Valandar)
    Order Of The Wolf (DAZ3D / Valandar)
    Order of the Wolf (Review #2) (DAZ3D Valandar)
    Science Fiction Pistols (DAZ 3D / Valandar)
    Tech Staves (DAZ 3D / Valandar)

    Velemudr
    Modern Ninja Poses for Genesis 2 Male(s) and Michael 6 (Smay / Velemudr)
    Super Hero Equipment For Genesis 2 Male (Smay / Velemudr)

    Vyktohria
    Deacon For Michael 5 (vyktohria)
    Riley For Stephanie 5 (DAZ 3D / vyktohria)

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    The product discussions/renders listed by vendor:

    W

    X
    Xenic 101
    Dynamic American Flag (DAZ 3D / xenic101)
    Mitsu Hair For Genesis (Showing "Float" for underwater scenes) (DAZ 3D / Xenic101)

    Y

    Z
    Zev0
    Growing Up For Genesis (Zev0)
    Growing Up For Genesis (Review #2) (Zev0)
    Growing Up for Genesis2 Female(s) and V6 (Zev0)
    Skin Overlay Bundle (Zev0 / Draagonstorm)

    Zigraphix
    Queen Of Ages (Zigraphix / OptiTex)

    Post edited by Novica on
  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,092
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Yes, I had an earlier version- does that make a difference? I also had bought it at 50 something about five months ago, then canceled it because I'm not sure I'll ever use it. But on the March Madness thread in commons I saw someone posting about the price and so I put it in the cart with another qualifying item (the cheapie, shown) and since it was over 50.00, the additional 10.00 off kicked in. Amazing price. You still got a very good deal, I'm not sure if mine was tied to "previous owner" or not.

    Yes, I believe previous owners get 50% off the going rate. Still that $66+ is the best price for "non-owners" I've seen since release, so I was pleased to see it.
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,331
    edited December 1969

    Invited Guest Contributor

    This image was made for the RRRR contest, as a Novica homage/send-up, so I figured I ought to turn it into an IGC post here. ;-)

    Herdbeast by DAZ 3D and Valandar
    http://www.daz3d.com/herdbeast

    This creature would be equally at home on an alien planet, in a fantasy world, or in some alt-prehistoric setting. It comes with six texture sets, and a good number of head and body morphs for creating your own unique creature. The textures are nicely detailed. I wish more poses were included or available, but it's not too hard to dial up your own. I experimented with different shaders... The image below was created by combining two renders--one using the UberSurface shader by omnifreaker and the other using the Subsurface Shader by Age of Armour.

    Genesis 2 Male Clone for Genesis by SickleYield
    http://www.daz3d.com/genesis-2-male-clone-for-genesis

    This product does one thing, and does it well: it allows you to use Genesis 2 Male clothing on Genesis characters. Yes, there are other ways to accomplish this, but the clone provides an easy and straightforward solution. AutoFit use is pretty self-explanatory, if you're familiar with using AutoFit on Genesis with V4/M4 clothing, but just in case, there's a nice manual available. The manual also covers the process of using the clone with the Transfer Utility, which is a more advanced (and sometimes more effective) way of fitting clothing from one figure to another. I've used the Transfer Utility before, but not often enough to have committed the process to memory, so the manual is a nice reminder. I own a number of SickleYield products (mostly from here, a few purchased elsewhere) and I definitely plan on getting more...they are always high-quality and often come with extra documentation.

    Also used:
    Tomb of Helena
    Mad Doctor for Genesis Male
    DAZ Barn
    The All-New Worldbase XT Lushlands
    Modern Muses: Tamesis
    Taylor Hair
    Adventurer for Genesis 2 Male(s) (hat)
    Bold for Adventurer
    Newport Outfit for Genesis 2 Male(s)
    Nice Doctor/Evil Doctor
    Diner Food 4 (lettuce)
    Advanced Ambient Light
    Advanced Spotlight
    Subsurface Shader Base
    GIMP

    novica2pw1.jpg
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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    LOL- really cool! :)
    I haven't checked in over at the RRRR in several days, been working on the product lists (just finished THREAD ONE, 1500 posts.) Integrating them into the front page list / sort by vendor list- spent seven hours on that just today.

    I think you captured the true essence of me- and of course, I've ALWAYS wanted to own a herd beast but they are illegal in Florida. Something about the native species act... :)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    14MU Monitor Bot
    Easy Environments Mountain Trail

    http://www.daz3d.com/14-mu-monitor-bot
    http://www.daz3d.com/easy-environments-mountain-trail

    I'm just playing around today, having trouble with DIM. Things are listed in the content library but nothing is there when I click on them. So I clicked on this little bot and rendered him for fun. The mountain trail has very dark areas if you want to go with a dark trail/ eerie render, but distant lights brighten it right up. I used point lights to get the different colored ground areas, and a pink point light by the headlight.

    The bot has fun material options with red or blue etc side wings.

    14MUMonitorBot.jpg
    1200 x 1200 - 1M
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,553
    edited March 2014

    I had some trouble wtih DIM earlier. It refused to download stuff, and told me I was an invalid user. It is working now, though, so I could download my stuff.

    I like this little bot a lot and use it often. I like the lights you added to give it some color variety. =-)


    I think the model's only flaw is that the eye lens is so vast and empty. It really needs a surface or light there, to give it some pizazz. When I use it I always feel compelled to photoshop or add a special effect.

    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    My DIM installs stuff supposedly, but although it's in the list, it isn't there when I click on it and wait and wait. Also several things have not had their materials (the spaceship that comes with Toon Alien. It's white, there are no materials. Should be blue.)

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    My DIM installs stuff supposedly, but although it's in the list, it isn't there when I click on it and wait and wait. Also several things have not had their materials (the spaceship that comes with Toon Alien. It's white, there are no materials. Should be blue.)

    Can you post these 2 screenshots:
    1) In DS, Edit > Preferences > Content Library > Content Directory Manager, expand the "DAZ Studio Formats" and "Poser Formats"
    2) In DIM, on Ready to Install tab check the "Show Details" box in the lower right

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    Will do, sorry didnt answer sooner. Had to run an errand. Back in a few and will put in this post.

    For the first part: Those are both going to C>Users>Public>Documents>MyDaz3dLibrary in the Content Directory Manager
    And so is the DIM.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Will do, sorry didnt answer sooner. Had to run an errand. Back in a few and will put in this post.

    For the first part: Those are both going to C>Users>Public>Documents>MyDaz3dLibrary in the Content Directory Manager
    And so is the DIM.

    Do you have other content folders listed, or just the one?

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    I only saw one, a render is finishing up but I'll double check.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Just the one folder.
    And there's a LOT of content that is listed but nothing happens when I click, even when I wait awhile for it to load. There is nothing there. I reinstalled the DIM btw, with the latest version. No difference.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Interesting. PokeAway is 2.02 and dress shoes 2.83 right now. Yes, it checks out that way too.

    orderMarch9A.jpg
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  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,092
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Interesting. PokeAway is 2.02 and dress shoes 2.83 right now. Yes, it checks out that way too.

    Did you buy PokeAway 2 for G2F when it came out? Apparently you get 70% off the bundle if you own the G2F already (saw it in another thread, can't remember which) - hence Bundle comes in at 14.95 / 2 * 0.9 * 0.3 = 2.02.
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Good to know it's not a boo boo so other people can get it at that price!

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    Mara For Victoria 4 And Genesis (Artemis3d)
    V5 Shoe Pack (Dx30)
    Miss Fishers Wardrobe Feminine Wiles (Aave Nainen)
    Love Me Hair For Genesis (DAZ3D / Goldtassel)
    Millennium Puppy (DAZ 3D / LaurieS / Lisa's Botanicals)
    Puppy Playtime Props (DAZ3D /ARTCollab)

    http://www.daz3d.com/mara-for-victoria-4-and-genesis
    http://www.daz3d.com/v5-shoe-pack
    http://www.daz3d.com/miss-fishers-wardrobe-feminine-wiles
    http://www.daz3d.com/love-me-hair-for-genesis
    http://www.daz3d.com/millennium-puppy
    http://www.daz3d.com/puppy-playtime-props

    "Nice try...no deal."
    Mara has gone to a lot of trouble to set up her romantic dinner for two and decides to put her rambunctious puppies in the house. However, her puppies have other ideas. Frolicking right out of her reach, the second puppy is smart enough not to get tricked with the promise of a bone. Why have a bone when you can wait for a steak?

    MAIN SET: Can You Guess?!
    There is a scene that works delightfully for cozy dinner scenes- let's see if you can figure it out. Here's your clue: The table/chairs/dining set, character, and dogs do not come with the scene, but all the structures and vegetation are part of the product. NO vegetation has been added from other products.

    Clue #2: Think outside the box- just like I mentioned flipping floors and using them for backgrounds, this setting is not a backyard gazebo romantic location.

    dinner_for_two2SIG.jpg
    1200 x 933 - 1M
    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    And this is the closeup of Mara. Wanted to show the marvelous detail in the Miss Fisher's dress (as usual.)

    mara3sig.jpg
    1594 x 1741 - 2M
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited March 2014

    Rapture For Victoria 4 And Genesis (Artemis3d)
    Pen Hair For Genesis (DAZ3D / Goldtassel)

    http://www.daz3d.com/rapture-for-victoria-4-and-genesis
    http://www.daz3d.com/pen-hair-for-genesis

    One interesting thing about Rapture is the option for thin eyebrows (not shown.) Nice if you're going for a bit more cartoonish.
    Her upper lip protrudes, if you like that characteristic, or it is easily changed. These renders are the out of the box character. Her face seems fuller than many of the other characters, which is nice. You can see it best with the 3/4 turn view.

    The Pen Hair has smoothing but it was on zero, I put it on ten for this render.

    She is also wearing that same dress from Miss Fisher's Wardrobe, with a different material option.

    EDIT: Note the funky hair strand over the ear closest to you in the second render.

    rapture3.jpg
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    rapture2.jpg
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    Post edited by Novica on
  • starionwolfstarionwolf Posts: 3,666
    edited March 2014

    Observation: the skin looks a bit on the dark side. The shadows make the skin a bit flat. Maybe I'm just used to seeing renders with perfect lighting on DeviantArt. People suggest that I stop using distant lights. But I like distant lights.

    Keep up the good work Novica. I like your style.

    edit: it seems that one out of ten renders on DeviantArt was rendered in either Octane or LuxRender. You're not doing anything wrong Novica.

    Post edited by starionwolf on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    These are actually eight distant lights and several spot lights. I'm testing a light combination on several characters for comparison, and not changing anything in the Surfaces unless there is something that I really don't like (the next render which is going now does have several adjustments but it's mostly light color.) I prefer more "flat" than sheen, it's just personal preference. Also, keep in mind I try to do out of the box so far as Surface settings, and definitely do it most of the time when I am testing each product.

    That was sweet to say I'm not doing anything wrong, and I know you just wanted to clarify the "feel" of the post. Not a problem :)

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,553
    edited March 2014

    Lighting is such a personal taste thing....

    I note a lot of people really like UBER Environment 2 and it can look bizarro to me edit: sometimes.

    Some promo art can look really off to me as well because of lighting or overuse of depth of field..

    So I am convinced lighting is entirely a personal taste thing. =-) What one person likes, another might find distracting.

    I am fond of the warm tones in images. I like the dress and texture in the first shot, and that warm light! Looks quite sci-fi.

    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    It's funny that you mentioned UE lighting- I just finished rendering an example of with and without it, one is Dimension Theory lights which has UE2 and the other is the spotlight/distant light combination which will have the harsher lines. But as we discussed several times, it is chalky looking depending on how much of UE2 is used.

    Alysa Character And Hair (Valea)
    Isla Character And Hair (Valea)
    Genesis Evening Gown (DAZ3D / Sarsa / Bobbie25)
    DAZ Dimension Lights 1

    http://www.daz3d.com/genesis-evening-gown
    http://www.daz3d.com/alysa-character-and-hair
    http://www.daz3d.com/isla-character-and-hair
    http://www.daz3d.com/daz-dimension-lights-1

    For the Isla Hair, you might want to select Head in Parameters and use Y Translation to lower it slightly so it's closer to the ear.
    With the Alysa character, I was not that thrilled with the makeup options- the lip color I liked had the ultra dark eyeshadow- there was only one natural choice and the lips were too light. So I used color 164 / 124 / 114 in Surfaces to darken the lips. Most of the eyeshadow options were brightly colored and intense, but the natural option does exist.

    So here's a look at spotlight/distant light and DAZ Dimension Lights with UE2.

    alysa2A.jpg
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    alysa.jpg
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  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    edited December 1969

    I like the lighting on the second image better, it seems alot warmer, is that the UE2 light? The first one feels a bit on the harsh side to me, and I agree with SereneNight lighting seems to be a very personal thing :)

  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    edited March 2014

    Novica said:
    And this is the closeup of Mara. Wanted to show the marvelous detail in the Miss Fisher's dress (as usual.)

    The dress looks fabulous Novica, but I wasn't real fond of the lips on Rapture so didn;t purchase her. To me they just seem so off from the rest of her face. Edit: I see you mentioned you can change them, is that a morph specially for her or just a standard genesis morph?

    Post edited by Kharma on
This discussion has been closed.