@ Tugpsx_ Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!

___________________________________________________

This design presents a conceptual architectural study of a modern VR gallery in a brutalist style. The structure consists of four clearly defined segments arranged around a central circular element. Sharp-edged geometries and reduced forms shape the overall composition, giving the object a calm, almost monolithic presence.

The architecture is conceived as a deliberate contrast to the digital world it contains: while the exterior appears raw, massive, and restrained, the interior serves as a platform for immersive virtual art experiences. The clean lines and abstract representation draw attention to spatial impact, proportion, and structure.

A particular focus lies on opening the building to the surrounding environment. Parts of the exhibition are intentionally shifted outdoors and spatially framed by the segmented arrangement. Two of the areas function as covered stages, enabling an extension of use toward performances and media-based productions.

The representation itself is kept minimalistic and deliberately avoids color in order to highlight the architectural idea in its pure form. Light, shadow, and structure come to the forefront, making the composition perceptible as a spatial concept.

Hey!  I'm wondering why sometimes my products are also downloaded to (example:)

Data>Cloud>1_90388>enviroments>landscape>dreamlight>edge of wonder

Data>Cloud>data>cloud>1_83505>shader presets>censored>snow and ice floor iray shaders

Data>Cloud>meta

Data>Cloud>data>auto_adapted

Data>Cloud>data>cloud>meta

It would happen if I had downloaded product previously from DAZ Central & currently if I choose Studio 2026|Premier BETA>Smart Content>Available or Update Tabs -- same with DAZ Studio 4.24.0.3 (64-bit)

Thanks!!

richardandtracy said:

Must admit I assumed SE Asia for the forest, possibly tropical wet areas of Africa (DRC maybe). Ignorance made me forget Central America, somewhere it could also be, I imagine. Regards, Richard.

My first guess was Central/South America, but given I've never been anywhere more tropical than Florida, my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt the size of a palm tree.

manekiNeko said:

richardandtracy said:

The second is XI Forest Village. That is an incredible set. The background hills are crying out for some UltraScatter vegetation (it obviously only relies on texture to simulate vegetation), but otherwise it's incredible. I don't know how it could be used though. Would need mud streaks up to knee high for people to be walking down the track and use a lot of imagination for additional props, but the modelling is remarkable.

Regards,

Richard

it is incredible! and imho very realistic. now, does this look like a particular region in the world, or just some generic "warm" region, because yeah, palmtrees..?

 Yeah, the name Forest VIllage is completely inaccurate given that there's nothing close to a forest to speak of, but I expect that at this poinit with Xivon, which I believe is a collective rather than a single human being.  As for location, it's mostly typical of Southern Mexico, and South and Central America but, again, Xivon tends to add random inconsistant details so often that it could be the Phillipines or even Malaysia.    

Hello, dear Carrara community,

It has been quite a while, and while I wish my return came with different news, I must share that Carrara Cafe and DAZ3D have officially parted ways. Carrara Cafe is no longer an official DAZ3D project—a transition that, while bittersweet, is perhaps to be expected. I remain deeply grateful to DAZ3D for their support over the years; considering Carrara has not seen active development for over a decade, their commitment lasted far longer than many of us ever expected.

I couldn’t bear to see the sunset on a place that has meant so much to us. Driven by sentiment and a deep appreciation for this community, I have personally taken over the ownership of the Carrara Cafe domain.

The transition hasn’t been without its hurdles. Due to a lapse in the previous hosting during the handover, I’ve had to migrate the site to my personal hosting, which is secured through 2029. Unfortunately, I had to restore the site from older backup files, which means some recent articles or files may be missing, and certain features might be temperamental.

Carrara and this community have been a significant part of my life. To me, keeping the Cafe alive is a token of gratitude for the wonderful years we’ve shared. However, the current WordPress system is complex to maintain. With my newfound creative freedom over the site, I am planning to rebuild Carrara Cafe as a sleek, simple static website during my spare time.

Because many old links have vanished into the digital ether, I believe it’s best to start fresh. And this is where I would love your help.

How You Can Help

If you still believe in having a "central home" for everything Carrara, I invite you to help me curate its new iteration. If you have any of the following, please consider sharing them with me:

• Essential plug-ins and shaders

• Scene files and 3D models

• Showcases of exciting projects or "gems" created in Carrara

Rather than patching a broken system, let’s rebuild a library of resources that actually work. If the interest is there, we can ensure the legend of Carrara continues. If not, the Cafe will eventually have its sunset in 2029—but I truly hope we can keep the fire burning a little longer.

Thank you for the adventures, the art, and the memories. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing what we can build together.

With my warmest regards,

Danas

(P.S. this is not AI but I have used Gemini to help me with text editing) 

Headwax said:

hmm I asked copilot if the ai image was ai and it said :

 ...

then I asked google Ai and it said:

This image is an AI-generated artwork styled to resemble a 1970s Chinese propaganda poster. While it features authentic-looking Chinese text and slogans from the Cultural Revolution era, the central imagery—including a surreal skeleton figure and figures in indigenous-style attire—is likely the work of a modern creator using AI tools

I've never used Copilot (that was the short answer?), but I routinely use Google AI, mostly for summaries of world events, not for image analysis.  I've gotten fairly good results.  Your result seems to match my expectation.

It does remind me of an old joke.  A helicopter is taking people to the Seattle airport and gets fogged in.  The pilot hovers near a large office tower and holds up a sign reading "Where are we?"  The people in the building hold up a sign reading "You are in a helicopter."  The pilot nods and flies directly to the airport.  A passenger asks, "How did that help you?"  The pilot says, "What they said was exactly correct and totally useless.  So that was the Microsoft building, and I know where the Microsoft building is."

hmm I asked copilot if the ai image was ai and it said :

Short answer: It’s very unlikely that this image was created by AI. Everything about it points to a historically produced, human‑made propaganda poster.

Why it doesn’t look like AI‑generated work

Several features strongly suggest it’s a real, traditionally printed poster:

1. It includes a publisher imprint and date

• 人民美术出版社 1971 — “People’s Fine Arts Publishing House 1971” This is a real state‑run publisher in China that produced propaganda posters during the Cultural Revolution.

2. The artist signature

• A. Finnie 17 Propaganda posters often included artist credits. AI images rarely include consistent, readable signatures.

3. The visual style

• The composition, color palette, brushwork, and layout match 1970s Chinese anti‑imperialist propaganda.

• AI models tend to produce telltale artifacts (warped hands, inconsistent text, odd anatomy). This image instead shows the clean, deliberate linework of manual illustration and offset printing.

4. The Chinese slogans

The text is:

• Correctly typeset

• Historically consistent with the era

• Not distorted or garbled (AI often struggles with multilingual typography)

5. Thematically accurate

The imagery aligns with real Cultural Revolution–era posters that depicted imperialism as monstrous forces threatening oppressed peoples.

Bottom line

Everything—from the typography to the publisher mark to the artistic style—indicates this is a real 1971 propaganda poster, not an AI creation.

If you want, I can also tell you more about:

• the historical context of this type of poster

• the publisher

• the symbolism used in Cultural Revolution artwork

Just let me know what direction you want to explore.

then I asked google Ai and it said:

This image is an AI-generated artwork styled to resemble a 1970s Chinese propaganda poster. While it features authentic-looking Chinese text and slogans from the Cultural Revolution era, the central imagery—including a surreal skeleton figure and figures in indigenous-style attire—is likely the work of a modern creator using AI tools

Kinich said:

The sensors in typical Smoke & Carbon Monoxide (important where you have gas fired central heating systems as are common in the UK) themselves have an operational life beyond which their sensitivity will drop off to the point where they might not work well as they should, this is somewhere around ten years on average from manufacture but like all things it will vary between units and usage, dirty dusty areas tend to degrade the sensors quicker. They may 'Test' alright but in real life usage may perform below where you might want. They cost about £15-£25 each depending on model, features etc in the UK, so in my opinion even at the top end £50 over ten years is a small price to pay for the safety of yourselves and your families.

As for batteries always failing at night, that's simple, battery performance drops off when they get cold, talk to any EV owner driver about how much range they loose in winter or any nature photographer about how much quicker their camera batteries die in winter, and as household temperatures are typically lower at night that's where the battery performance is most likely to drop below the low voltage trigger point.

I wondered about the operational life. Definitely makes sense to have a new one every 10 in that case. Definitely a comparative bargain in the long run, though with six to replace it's still a hit to a tight budget when they all come due at the same time. (We have one in each bedroom, one in the hall by the kitchen, one by the deck doors, one by the door to the garage, and one in the basement. Considering we're in a quad home, one of my greatest fears is one of my neighbors in the structure does something regrettable and the whole thing goes up.)

I don't think the chirps are as simple as just getting cold, though. While I'm sure it's true for some, both my house now and the one I lived in growing up were pretty steady temperatures in deference to the animals in our care... and they still started chirping at night. I think they just like to be dramatic.

The sensors in typical Smoke & Carbon Monoxide (important where you have gas fired central heating systems as are common in the UK) themselves have an operational life beyond which their sensitivity will drop off to the point where they might not work well as they should, this is somewhere around ten years on average from manufacture but like all things it will vary between units and usage, dirty dusty areas tend to degrade the sensors quicker. They may 'Test' alright but in real life usage may perform below where you might want. They cost about £15-£25 each depending on model, features etc in the UK, so in my opinion even at the top end £50 over ten years is a small price to pay for the safety of yourselves and your families.

As for batteries always failing at night, that's simple, battery performance drops off when they get cold, talk to any EV owner driver about how much range they loose in winter or any nature photographer about how much quicker their camera batteries die in winter, and as household temperatures are typically lower at night that's where the battery performance is most likely to drop below the low voltage trigger point.

xyer0 said:

So, you guys are seeing another white girl? I suppose she could pass for white without much scrutiny in the melting pot of the Western world, but I saw her as Central Asian immediately. She could easily be Indonesian or Filipina.

I agree, I though Filipina when I first saw her.

I think she's cute, and quite like the add-on bundle too. The outfit in the character bundle is nice (though the heels on sand are ridiculous) but I don't see myself using it much...

xyer0 said:

So, you guys are seeing another white girl? I suppose she could pass for white without much scrutiny in the melting pot of the Western world, but I saw her as Central Asian immediately. She could easily be Indonesian or Filipina.

She doesn’t really read as "white girl" to me. Her features feel more in line with what you might see in parts of Asia. At the same time, they’re quite ambiguous overall, and she actually reminds me a bit of Xiao 9 in that sense. I think it really depends on what each person is used to seeing.

xyer0 said:

So, you guys are seeing another white girl? I suppose she could pass for white without much scrutiny in the melting pot of the Western world, but I saw her as Central Asian immediately. She could easily be Indonesian or Filipina.

I think you're right, for me it just feels like I have that skin tone already, and I have that general face shape and body shape.

I bet if I dug around in my G9 originals toy box I could make some combination of 2-3 other characters that are borderline indistinguishable.

So, you guys are seeing another white girl? I suppose she could pass for white without much scrutiny in the melting pot of the Western world, but I saw her as Central Asian immediately. She could easily be Indonesian or Filipina.

Heads up. I am doing a FREE (first session  2 hours are free) presentation tomorrow.14MAR2026

Drew Spence returns live tomorrow at Digital Art Live with a free introductory session for DAZ Studio artists exploring where AI now fits inside an artist-led workflow.
Many of you will remember Drew’s earlier training sessions, where his approach combined strong visual storytelling, DAZ Studio craft, and practical production thinking.

This free live session introduces the thinking behind Art Official Intelligence — a new 4-session course built around a central question:
How do you work with AI without losing authorship, judgement, and creative identity?

Tomorrow’s session will explain the framework behind the course, show visual examples, and help you decide whether the full course feels relevant to your own creative direction.

https://digitalartlive.com/etn/art-official-intelligence-free-introductory/

Start time:
Saturday 14th March
20:00 London (GMT)
16:00 New York (EDT)
13:00 Los Angeles (PDT)

Note Start Time : 20:00 GMT (London) / 16:00 EDT (New York) / 13:00 PDT (Los Angeles)

A free live introduction for DAZ Studio artists exploring AI without losing creative control

– You don’t need AI to replace your work.
– You need it to support your vision.
This free live introductory session is designed for established DAZ Studio artists and CGI creators who want to understand how AI can strengthen existing workflows rather than override them.

Presented by Drew Spence, this session opens the door to the ideas behind the 4-session course, Art Official Intelligence, showing how DAZ Studio can remain at the centre of your creative process even as new AI tools enter the picture.

During this free event, Drew will introduce the thinking behind the course and demonstrate two practical examples drawn from Session 1: Leading the AI — where the artist creates first, and AI is used afterwards with restraint and intention.

---------------

In this introductory session we will explore:
The central question behind Art Official Intelligence: how artists stay in control while AI becomes part of the workflow

Why DAZ Studio still matters inside emerging AI pipelines

A guided preview of the four course sessions and how they connect

Visual sneak peeks from Drew’s own hybrid workflow

This is not a prompt-driven shortcut session.
It is a grounded discussion for artists who want to stay relevant while protecting authorship, judgement, and visual identity.

Who this free event is for
– DAZ Studio users with existing experience
– CGI artists curious but cautious about AI
– Creators who want practical examples, not hype
Who it’s not for
– Beginners with no 3D experience
– “Prompt-only” AI users
– Anyone looking for shortcuts instead of craft
----------------

Presented live by Drew Spence
Drew’s professional comic and illustration work combines CGI, photorealistic image manipulation, and long-form storytelling, with DAZ Studio still at the core of his production pipeline.

This free session also gives you the chance to decide whether the full Art Official Intelligence course is the right next step for your own creative development.

AI is here. The question is: how do you use it without losing yourself in the process?

https://digitalartlive.com/etn/art-official-intelligence-free-introductory/

Data point: not having any issue accessing current page on Chrome. Located in USA. (Current time 10:45 Central Daylight, but didn't have any issue when I first looked at 4 AM, either.)

kyoto kid said:

...it was 51° in my old college town of Stevens Point In Central Wisconsin. Tomorrow it will be 52°with lows still below freezing.  Next Monday a mini "heat wave" when it will reach 69° so break out the shorts, flip-flops, and Hawai'ian shirts. Two days later it will be back ri a heavy coat, scarf, gloves. and snow shovel as winter returns.

This (along with the summer humidify and mosquitoes) is why I left the "tundra country" for the soggy but milder Northwest 46 years ago.

 Heh... the week I was in the Portland area for a vacation taught me I wasn't made for the Pacific NW. It was so nice! And then it was nice. And then it was nice! And then the sky opened up and drooled a bit. And then it was nice! It made me twitchy. Surely the other shoe was going to drop soon; weather is never that consistently lovely for that long... nope! I was told that was just what to expect. 

I'm not sure I'd know what to do with myself without thunderstorms and blizzards and sweltering sauna-like heat and temperatures that will freeze exposed flesh in less than five minutes. Sometimes in the same week.

Could live without the mosquitoes though. Wouldn't miss that.

TSasha Smith said:

Is this one cat or two?  I saw these meme on Facebook.

...it was 51° in my old college town of Stevens Point In Central Wisconsin. Tomorrow it will be 52°with lows still below freezing.  Next Monday a mini "heat wave" when it will reach 69° so break out the shorts, flip-flops, and Hawai'ian shirts. Two days later it will be back ri a heavy coat, scarf, gloves. and snow shovel as winter returns.

This (along with the summer humidify and mosquitoes) is why I left the "tundra country" for the soggy but milder Northwest 46 years ago.

SilverGirl said:

hjake said:

ArtAngel said:

.....

LOL. Are you my cat Pixi? It sure looks like it based on your avatar. Pixi my Siamese cat, has been eyeballing my monitor especially when the screen saver is on,  AND she has been doing some tap dancing on my keyboard. Hmmm I just watched In The Lost Lands so maybe . . . you are my cat Pixi who has a Sybil personality and you are not human . . .  I think Richard who has feline ties and could have starred in this movie , needs to closely monitor your posts. 

 Any cat or dog lovers out there should watch this movie. 

 

You should not have mentioned the cat, now I am compelled by a geis to offer my exposition on the cat. 

My first cat was named Jake. Hence my name HJake. He was a Seal Point Himalayan. I had no clear pictures of him as a kitten and found that one on the intertubes many years ago. It looks exactly like a picture my girlfriend had taken of Jake, except this one is clear and hers looks like she took it from the moon while thoroughly inebriated.

My girlfriend had bought Jake a couple weeks before we became a couple on discount from a breeder at a flea market who was selling off kittens that she would not breed or show. My girlfriend had to sign a contract not to compete with her. The name Jake was chosen because of his somewhat shocked look which reminded her a character named Jake in a Molly Ringwald where Molly sees Jake passed out under a glass table and says his name in shocked discovery.

I never had pets before Jake and I was not really a "cat person", Jake decided I was his best bud and would not leave me alone. Over the next year we became buds. When the girlfriend and I broke up she decided that I should keep Jake for various reasons. Over the years I added 3 more cats to my colony and fostered a few more. Because of him I ended up volunteering for a cat rescue group in Ontario and I caught 100s of feral cats to get them spayed/neutered and cleaned up. Those that could not be forever homed, because they were too feral, were released to farms and ranches across south central Ontario. Apparently they keep rats from pooping in the animal hay/feed which is really dangerous for horses. That little monster changed me and the direction of my life. Although that was many years ago I still miss him.

I keep a Himy pencil mug on my desk so when I need a smile I think of my little buddy.

What a wonderful legacy Jake leaves behind!  

@Hjake, Your story about the life of Jake gave me a warm smile for the beginning of my day. It started around 2:30 am today when my 3-paw, Simon woke me with his "Mew" alarm that I needed to wake and cater his breakfast 'now'. He and his older partner/brother are asleep behind me now.  

hjake said:

ArtAngel said:

.....

LOL. Are you my cat Pixi? It sure looks like it based on your avatar. Pixi my Siamese cat, has been eyeballing my monitor especially when the screen saver is on,  AND she has been doing some tap dancing on my keyboard. Hmmm I just watched In The Lost Lands so maybe . . . you are my cat Pixi who has a Sybil personality and you are not human . . .  I think Richard who has feline ties and could have starred in this movie , needs to closely monitor your posts. 

 Any cat or dog lovers out there should watch this movie. 

 

You should not have mentioned the cat, now I am compelled by a geis to offer my exposition on the cat. 

My first cat was named Jake. Hence my name HJake. He was a Seal Point Himalayan. I had no clear pictures of him as a kitten and found that one on the intertubes many years ago. It looks exactly like a picture my girlfriend had taken of Jake, except this one is clear and hers looks like she took it from the moon while thoroughly inebriated.

My girlfriend had bought Jake a couple weeks before we became a couple on discount from a breeder at a flea market who was selling off kittens that she would not breed or show. My girlfriend had to sign a contract not to compete with her. The name Jake was chosen because of his somewhat shocked look which reminded her a character named Jake in a Molly Ringwald where Molly sees Jake passed out under a glass table and says his name in shocked discovery.

I never had pets before Jake and I was not really a "cat person", Jake decided I was his best bud and would not leave me alone. Over the next year we became buds. When the girlfriend and I broke up she decided that I should keep Jake for various reasons. Over the years I added 3 more cats to my colony and fostered a few more. Because of him I ended up volunteering for a cat rescue group in Ontario and I caught 100s of feral cats to get them spayed/neutered and cleaned up. Those that could not be forever homed, because they were too feral, were released to farms and ranches across south central Ontario. Apparently they keep rats from pooping in the animal hay/feed which is really dangerous for horses. That little monster changed me and the direction of my life. Although that was many years ago I still miss him.

I keep a Himy pencil mug on my desk so when I need a smile I think of my little buddy.

What a wonderful legacy Jake leaves behind!