What Prompts Your Decision To Buy (Or Not Buy) A Figure?
riftwitch
Posts: 1,439
In the speculation thread about the forthcoming Bethany 7 for G3F (http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/872776/#Comment_872776), some members were excited about the possibility of Bethany being more, um, ample, while others were just as uninterested if she does turn out to have that sort of figure. It got me wondering; do people tend to buy figures based upon their personal tastes in real life, or are there other factors?
Personally, the larger sizes shown in the dress morphs in the linked thread would not be what I would find attractive on a personal level, but I do like to have as much variety for character creation as possible. I will probably pick up Bethany, since all of the iconic characters have separate head and body morphs, so it's pretty easy to dial down (or up, depending) the body, alter it with other morphs, or swap it out for an entirely different one. I'm really more concerned with the face, and so far I've liked most of the Genesis 2 & 3 faces I've seen.
So, in a nutshell, how much does personal taste affect what figures you buy?
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Personal tastes play a part, but also what I need for material I am producing.
I am also interested if the skin textures look interesting; the fact that the majority of figures the body and head are seperate morphs also means they can be dialled in as required.
I buy pro packs only based on the figures included; if the clothes and poses included get used they are a bonus, but generally they have limited utility. Poses frequently seem variations of what has gone before and I usually tweak them. Quite simply there are too many. So if all the figures are not going to be used in some way then I am more likely to get just the base figure.
A unique, compelling facial shape. Alternatively, a celebrity-alike, if said individual happens to be a good fit for a project I'm working on. They don't have to be traditionally 'beautiful', either. I love Heroine, for instance and she was one of my first must-haves for G2F's array:
http://www.daz3d.com/heroine-fantasy-bundle
If I need a strong female facial structure, I tend to dial her face in with other morphs. The body isn't necessarily a concern for a new character model, because I can just dial in/out other body shapes - and character models usually come with seperate head and body morphs, in any case.
Both.
I choose figures based on what is appropriate for the scene, so what I render does not necessarily reflect what I find attractive. It may make sense to have unattractive or plain characters, or characters of the opposite sex. It may even be an absolute requirement depending on the scene. Ugly can under certain (but probably rare) circumstances even be a selling point; the troll, for example, is horribly ugly, but totally awesome because of it. Also, if every character in the scene were always as close to possible as what I felt was attractive, all my scenes would gradually start to look the same and very contrived and thus unconvincing, so what I feel is attractive must be avoided a certain percentage of the time.
However, it is also true that if the attractiveness level doesn't matter in any way for what the scene is, I probably will pick an attractive or at least plain character somewhat more often than not simply because just in general I like looking at attractive characters, and dislike looking at horribly unattractive characters. It's also true that I can create unattractive characters via morph dials much easier than attractive ones, thus the extra work involved in arriving at a good combination of dials for an attractive character gains value for a product.
So, I would hazard a guess that personal tastes do increase the chances of a sale somewhat on average, given the circumstances, but certainly do not definitively determine the sale.
I buy almost exclusivey males, monsters, architecture and props. Once I get the prime human figure and it's official DAZ morphs and basic textures then very little will get me to buy another character UNLESS it has significant characteristic differences. i.e. racial skin textures or face characteristic difficult to obtain through morphs or surface adjustments only. I look at the huge array of charcters for the females and what I see is repetition ad nauseum. Same thing for the males except for the beefier characters, and battle damaged warriors. Subtle differences in skin texture are wasted on me. Although I do recognize poor quality textures and make a note of the PA to avoid in the future. Likewise for subtle differences in face shape. I'm sorry, but I can tweak the morphs myself and producte something equally satisfying as most of what is offered as separate characters. Sometimes a PA will offer a collection of face shape morphs and display them untextured in their ad. I suggest not doing that because quite frankly I see no difference in the shapes despite being side by side.
And I definitely don't buy characters just because it's new or by a specific PA. I'm not a collector for collections sake. If it's a model that fits my style, doesn't look cheesy and if I can get it for a reasonable price then I consider it but I'll live without it.
Wow that is the first time I've seen Heroine; she isn't beautiful, but her face certainly has lots of character.
I look for details in the skin, so the promos need to show closeups. The shape of the figure is irrelevent to me, as I tend to use one product to create a multitude of virtual models. For what I do, faces and hands have to look broadly authentic, which means freckles, pores, variations in skin tone, and other natural effects. Most promos don't show these, so I end up not buying many products. When I find one that I like, I use it heavily.
When it comes to the new Genesis Figures approach, for me it comes down to two things: Do I think it brings uniqueness to the gene pool? and What's the price?
If I think a figure will give me flexibility, I'll grab it right away. If I can score a great deal after it's 'older', I'll get it even if I don't think I'll get massive amounts of use out of it.
i buy what i like and i look at each character as additions to the gene pool to be mixed
My preferences are driven by what I need at the moment. At the moment I am purchasing models that come with V4/V5/V6 morphs (even though I have GenX) and I am looking for models with slim bodies and small breasts. It is easier to work with them when auto-fitting clothes.
Unless a character is part of a commision, it will defintely reflect my personal tastes. I don't usually buy the addon figures as I can come pretty close with dials or custom morphing, So for me, they are pretty redundant and hard to justify the price. With other addon characters, I first look at skin detail which is hard here since promos are always incomplete (no nude promo). I tend to go with darker/tan skin and makeup doesn't really matter as I usually add my own. I also could care less abut complicated shaders or SSS options since i render outside of DS or poser always. Then I go for unique face morphs, preferrably custom with no need for any morph packs. As for figure shape, is doesn't matter as I use my own morphs since it has been my experience that the promo images rarely look the same when rendered on my end.
I tend to go for more toony looks if I'm getting things for just rendering or the making of videos. If I'm planning to use it for other purposes, it depends on whether or not the current project calls for it.
I just got the V7 Pro Bundle because it had one thing I need for my current project. I could have picked up Eva instead and got the same thing, but Victoria's look is more useful, and had a couple of bits of hair that I'd actually use.
I buy only adult mature looking figures. I have no use for children, teens or immature/anime type figures.
i like men and if he is a hunk I will buy. I avoid characters that resemble actors or gaming figures.
I do not like female characters with oversize eyes, baby faces and pout lips. Ie the "doll" look I am not fond of characters with lots of tattoos especially those that look like the tattoo clip art book was cut and pasted on the skin. I do not like pores or distinctive moles.
i do not like figures which are too pale.
I do like aliens or unusual skin but not body paint or war paint which looks fake. I don't like textures I have seen before.
i do like cyborg parts
I don't buy a figure, I buy a set of resources that I can use as part of my own production process. Given the high price tag that DAZ puts on the base figures, that means my decision is often made by how much value I find in the items in the starter and pro bundles. I put off buying Mei Lin until last week, when I bought her pro-bundle for just under $19, as I already had plenty of asian morphs and textures for G2F, and the contents of her bundle were equally redundant. Gianni actually sat in my wish list even longer, though I eventually picked him up in the same 20-dollarish price range. Lee, Monique, Keiko and several other will sit in my wish list until they hit similar pricing. Josie, Jayden, Aiko 6 and Lilith, on the other hand, were all instant buys as they filled gaps that hadn't been covered by stand-alone morphs sets and PA characters.
Likewise, if there's not enough variety in what's available for a figure, then I just don't bother with it. I have a few things for Dawn, but the pace of release of items for her was glacial and eventually G2F filled allthe niches that I'd originally used Dawn for. Likewise, I'm not buying into the G3F product right now. It's very pretty, but until there are a wider range of morphs and skin textures, there's no point in it for me. At this point I've got a huge library of Genesis 1 & 2 and Gen 4 shapes and textures that I can use interchageably to do just about anything I want, and by cutting off the ability to re-use those DAZ has pretty much pushed my interest in actively aquiring G3F product until probably next year. That's pretty much what happened with G2F for me, where I didn't really buy in until Josie appeared, and that was WITH the benefit of being able to use previous generation textures.
I buy unique, there's so much cookie cutter regurgitation, that unique characters are the rare find. Characters that can help tell a story.
I tend to buy things that (a) fit into my novels, (b) add something unique, or (c) fit my personal tastes, in that order. If Bethany is a realistic plus-sized figure she'll be a definite buy for me, as she hits all 3 of those. I don't use Genesis 2, but I had to buy http://www.daz3d.com/big-beautiful-genesis-2-female-s because they were so realistically done.
I'll also add that I'm not a very visual person, so some of the things that appeal to those striving for extreme realism don't interest me. I don't care for SSS, and I prefer 3delight to Iray -- the lighting tricks for Iray seem to come more naturally to some people, especially if they have a background in photography/cinematography/stage lighting, but for me lighting for Iray is harder than for 3DL.
I also never use makeup, it doesn't fit into what I want to render and doesn't appeal to me, so I have to see a no-makeup promo. I occasionally feel some interest in unusual sci-fi/fantasy makeup, but in practice I end up not using them most of the time. Same for tattoos -- if it fits my novel, that's a tremendous draw, but tattoos that only fit in a modern setting or an immediately identifiable culture won't get used.
the fact G3F straight out crashes carrara my program of choice makes it an easy choice not to buy any figure based on her.
I had created most of my characters long before DAZ Studio and Poser existed, so my primary consideration is usually whether or not I think a product will help me show others what's inside my head. While some of my creations are influenced by my personal tastes, many aren't. On the other hand, I have bought some things simply because they looked really nice. While my main genre of interest is superheroes, I do find myself buying interesting non-human creatures. But in a genre with so many different influences, the creatures could be aliens, mutants, demons, or something else. And superhero settings usually have at least a few shape-changers, so nearly anything could potentially have use for me.
I picked up the female shapes you linked to, and their male counterpart. These sets are a case where they don't fit my personal tastes (as far as what I'm attracted to in real life), but they're so well done, and just so useful. I don't want everyone in my renders to look the same, and not everyone is a memeber of a superhero team that spends long hours working out and training. Ordinary people come in a variety of shapes and sizes (I should know, I'm very ordinary), and they do make up the majority of the population. And gaining superpowers doesn't mean that a person is automatically going to be transformed into a Cosmo or GQ cover model.
I'm sticking to 3Delight for now because my time to work on this stuff at all is rather limited right now, and I don't really have the funds to invest in all the Iray stuff right now. I still have a lot to learn about lighting, composition, and modeling the clothing I need for some characters, so I think right now that's where I need to focus my free time. I may play with Iray more later, but I'm content with 3Delight.
I don't mess with makeup much either, but I can see a few occasions where it could work for me. Same with the tattoos. (In real life, I find getting ink is like eating potato chips, but I'm not interested in trying to do renders of myself.)
I'm a 3delight user. I prefer the results and am familiar with the lighting. It works for me, and I like it. To me Iray, is too coppery and realistic.
I tend to buy figures a lot for their skins not shapes. I like to dial my own dudes, or mix shape
I have to agree as far as the appearance of Iray goes. It makes for fantasic skin, but the hyper-reallistic skin is immediately at odds with the much older tech of most of the rest of DAZ's product. An image is only as strong as its weakest link, and the fact the figure in DS still don't have multiple soft body collisions or dynamic hair (and for the most part clothing) that realistincally follows the path of gravity automatically sends most Iray renders into the uncanny valley. With 3Delight I've hit a level of just slightly stylized appearance that I'm comfortable with until DAZ finally decides to upgrade the rest of DS to match.
What I've been trying is Iray and then using post to move toward a less realistic look.
For example:
http://willbear.deviantart.com/art/King-s-GambitC-537015611
Ever since Genesis 1 came out, I don't think I have ever used a pre-made figure shape by itself. I buy based on materials and shape-mixing potential - if it's just another skinny big-boobed white girl, it'll get little more than a yawn from me. I also sometimes get a figure bundle if it's cheaper than just getting the component products I want.
Though this thread is primarily about human characters, most of my work is non-human, particularly mechanical things and robots. There are a scant handful of good non-toon robot characters for Poser/DS in all of the entire world. By "good" I mean something that looks authentic and perhaps a little bit chilling. I'm often envious of the selection available in human characters.
Pricing and becasue of that I haven't bought anything for near on two years.
How much money I am willig to spend at the moment : )
And then of course I have my preferences too. I like some figures more than others, I tend to buy realistic looking ones so I´m not into the anime girls (except for Aiko because at least 1 anime girl is always nice to have) and I did buy Giselle at a big discount.
I also do not really like teen/young figures because very often they look too dolly-like and unrealistic.
So with Genesis 2 it was realistic females, haven´ bought any males but I intend to buy male figures once Genesis 3 Male arrives.
I use V4 and the original Genesis. I just don't need the others. I still have stripped down older figures (V1,2, 3) to use as fill if needed. I wouldn't even be using Genesis except that V4 doesn't move around very well in my pipeline so if I need to go into another program, I will use Genesis. Just not interested in the others.
I'll buy shaping morphs like Zev's because I custom-dial all of my characters. I don't know why every DAZ realistic female character has to have a toned, slightly muscular shape, but when I want that, I dial it in (which is why I hate waiting two years for muscle morphs).
The one thing I'm a sucker for are medieval fantasy interiors. Characters and their outfits can be kitbashed, but it's much harder to put together an environment without a large collection of rooms, textures, and props.
...pretty much my feeling as well. As my story revolves around characters who are and/or look like they are in their teen and preteen years, I need more lithe and petite shapes. It may seem redundant that I have Julie, Justin, Josie, Belle and Brodie, but as you mention they all mix together so very well in the gene pool, and along with the morph resource kits I have, it gives me a huge palette to work from. for creating many different types of characters.
I remember struggling for years working in Gen 4 which had no young to mid teen figure and it wasn't until Steph 4 with the NPMs that I could finally get a nice more youthful physique. In comparison, Genesis and G2 feels like cheating (and there is nothing wrong with that if it saves time)
Got to agree with this; I've actually reverted to using G2F and whilst I still use Iray, I am now deliberately looking to stylise my renders to counteract the effects of clothing and hair that is difficult to get round. Dynamic clothing does help a lot though, when it can be used.
I buy variety- but am getting really picky about eyebrows. If they are penciled, thin, or precisely shaped, I've already got my fill of those. I am like SereneNight, I do NOT buy characters that look like actors, can't use them. My characters need to have their own identity.
I want to have characters with thicker eyebrows with individual hairs showing at the start of the brow but also continuing a bit further.