Novica said:

...
Imagine what you can do with these, with Kaleidoscope. And that price on Kaleidoscope is insane- really cheap!!!!! OMGosh, is there anyone who is NOT getting that? Look at the thumbnail promos and get it in your cart! :)

These are both in a featured store you get the additional discounts when buying 2 new releases:
http://www.daz3d.com/forest-elements (What a forest you could make with 130 props! AND Kaleidoscope!)
http://www.daz3d.com/nature-broken-trees-pack-1

http://www.daz3d.com/kaleidoscope

So what goodies are you folks buying these past few days/week?

Tim_A said:

What is that environment Erik? It looks pretty amazing ...

Thanks, it's not a ready-made environment you can buy in one go.
Essentially it's two instances of Predatron's Rocky Outcrop,
http://www.daz3d.com/rocky-outcrop
surrounded by trees by Dinoraul from Rendo, all kinds of bushes, and smaller plants from Andrey Pestryakov, Predatron, and Flink from Rendo.

If I open the scene in DAZ Studio, the Octane plugin tells me it has loaded 1516 MB of textures, 127 of which are 8 (32) bit RGB.
I'm still using v1.2 of the plugin, so there's room for 144 of them.

Here's a DAZ Studio screenshot of that scene as seen from above.
As you can see there's trees behind the camera, as well as to the sides out of the frame.
That was necessary to get the light inside the frame to look like a true forest would look.
I often (most of the time) use objects outside the actual frame to influence the lighting, it has quite an impact with unbiased rendering.

Cheers!

Erik

I really love all of Andrey Pestryakov's nature sets. Loading the whole set can be a bit system intensive on most of them, but they come in pieces so you don't usually need to use the whole thing.

I highly recommend his Forest Elements set http://www.daz3d.com/forest-elements which I used to create the forest in this image: http://www.daz3d.com/gallery/#images/43384/.

EDIT TO ADD: I think that rendering times are usually going to be slow on forests no matter what set you use. The key is to just put in what is actually going to be visible in the scene instead of trying to recreate a whole forest. :)

Huh, I always start with Andrey Pestryakov's sets. Lisa's Botanicals, now not here, are worth noting. Stonemason includes good plants in his sets. Merlin offers really neat trees. I liked Predatron's plants based on promos, but I don't have them, so I cannot help more.

What is important? I would say variety. Morphs, textures, so on.

The trees look like AM's trees from this pack
http://www.daz3d.com/rpc-volume-1

or it could be one of Andrey Pestryakov's sets

Looking closely at he ground it looks a bit like soggy bottom,
http://www.daz3d.com/nerd3d-soggy-bottom

The grass looks likes esha's, especially the stuff the dragon is standing on
http://www.daz3d.com/grassy-grounds-megapack

Top favourite three:

1. Favorite character: http://www.daz3d.com/svengar-for-gianni-6

Just look at him: he's masculine, the textures are so photorealistic, he is not a typical white male who is thirty-something... It was hard, because I love all characters by Saiyaness. She, along with Raiya, Valea and FWArt, is my favourite character vendor from DAZ.

2. Favorite clothing: http://www.daz3d.com/possibilities-2pc-dress-for-genesis-2-female-and-victoria-6

It was a difficult choice. I mean, I was really torn between this and three rocking sets by Mada: Corvidae Dress, Sighni Outfit and Peony Kimono, because they have great partial morphs and poses to go with them. But, as I couldn't choose just one, I settled on this. It is my solution for DS users who have little choice for dynamics. With any set by Aave Nainen, you can forget about this problem: her clothes are very expensive, but packed full of morphs and they look so realistic!

3. Favorite set/scenery: http://www.daz3d.com/freemasons-ruin

It's like several sets in one. The textures are amazing, you can choose visibility presets you want, it works perfectly with Predatron's light presets. And it looks as if the Hammerites built it.

4. Favourite hair: http://www.daz3d.com/spiderqueen-hair

I've been waiting for this to go on sale for ages. It is flowing, has lots of bones for movement and it's by Valea. What else could you ask for?

This space is reserved for my favourite ten, which will not feature the things above as you can obviously see I love them. This isn't something violating the rules, ergo, I can do that :coolgrin:.

* * *

1. http://www.daz3d.com/genesis-generation-x2

An absolute must-have, it let me save a lot on content for Generation 6. If addons are treated like textures, I'm adding this: http://www.daz3d.com/genx2-addon-for-genesis-2.

2. http://www.daz3d.com/sighni-outfit-for-genesis-2-female-s

One word: partials. It resembles dynamics thanks to partial morphs and poses that fit each other.

3. http://www.daz3d.com/corvidae-dress

Like above: partials make this dress outstanding. And there are lovely textures. I only got http://www.daz3d.com/ljosalfar, but I'm saving for http://www.daz3d.com/dokkalfar too.

4. http://www.daz3d.com/medieval-cloaks-for-genesis-females

I highly value http://www.daz3d.com/hooded-cloak-for-genesis and pretty much any clothing Ravenhair comes up with, so three cloaks were an instant steal.

5. http://www.daz3d.com/merlin-s-oak-plants-and-props-set

I adore Merlin's and Andrey Pestryakov's trees. This set also has rocks, pebbles, a campfire...

6. http://www.daz3d.com/mermaid-genesis-bundle

Merfolk! I needed a mertail for Genesis so badly. I was relieved when this came out.

7. http://www.daz3d.com/boris-hair-for-genesis-2-male-s

This set is so underestimated it's a shame. You get multiple hairstyles and beards!

8. http://www.daz3d.com/minotaur-6-hd-bundle

MINOTAURS!!!

9. http://www.daz3d.com/medieval-merchants-house-bundle

Lots of useful props in here, trust me.

10. http://www.daz3d.com/domina-character

Another relatively new, but incredibly talented PA made this character. I also love her "sister" Miu Zen!

Andrey Pestryakov said:

mark128 said:

I purchased Nature - Lake and Forest. I downloaded and installed with DIM, but I am getting a lot of errors about missing textures and missing data files when I try to load it. I looked for some of the files, and they do not seem to be there. In the 3rd pic below there is no directory "Nature - Lake" as listed on the 2nd pic. There is a "Nature - Lake and Forest", but it does not contain the missing files.

I note that DIM says the installer is 3.4 GB. Is it possible that zip files this big do not work correctly?

Thank you for your purchase. This product is the addition for "Nature - Lake", it is written on the product page and in the promo video.

This is indeed the issue. I bought and installed the "Nature - Lake" and that fixed all the issues.

The funny think is, that I actually double checked the product page for "Nature - Lake and Forest" before posting this, and it did not list any Required Products. After reading your reply again, I check the product page and it still did not list any Required Products. Then by chance I used a different browser, where I was not logged into the DAZ Store, and it showed "Nature - Lake" as a required product. I double checked this and I'm sure that is what I was seeing. When logged into the DAZ store, it would not show me the required product.

Now that I have purchased "Nature - Lake", it shows as a required product for "Nature - Lake and Forest" when I am logged in.

Either there is some bug in the store that it will not show you required products you don't own after you purchase something, or it was just some hiccup in the store software that one day.

Flipmode said:

Thanks for posting the images Dani, great work. I`ve noticed the top one on the Daz gallery a few days ago, really stands out.
Next EE set will be Winter-ish again, you could say I am seasonal too, just late ;)

haven`t you said that you have another "cellar" or another "dark place" in the pipe-line? Hmmmmmmmm?

Okay, here is a mountain trail render so far, the winter set I haven`t bought right now but will buy it in the future, right now I haven`t so much time to render so :(

here is Dixie as mountain girl on the mountain trail with some trees by Andrey Pestryakov and some rocks made by him but with the rock texture of you mountain trail set so they fit perfect :) hope you like the scene :)

Dolores For Victoria 4 and Genesis 2 Female(s) (Artemis3d)
Darcy Outfit For Genesis 2 Female(s) (DAZ 3D / Xena)
Iggy Hair For Genesis and Genesis 2 Female(s) (DAZ 3D / Goldtassel)
Summertime Grill (Daz3D / Valandar)
Nature: Bush Oleander (Andrew Pestryakov)

http://www.daz3d.com/summertime-grill
http://www.daz3d.com/dolores-for-victoria-4-and-genesis-2-female-s
http://www.daz3d.com/darcy-outfit-for-genesis-2-female-s
http://www.daz3d.com/iggy-hair-for-genesis-and-genesis-2-female-s
http://www.daz3d.com/nature-bush-oleander

"Dolores had a long day at work and the minute she got home she headed outside to light up the grill. Her neighbors had gotten into arguments before, but never like this..."

Was doodling around with point lights, dim spotlights, and distant lights, with the emphasis on distant lights. There are 3 distant lights, 1 spotlight, and 1 linear point light. Note for the Summertime Grill- it's really nice, the coals show up well at night. No lights were added, only Ron's Smoke. I kept it simple with only the grill- it has a lid, utensils, and food.

Iggy Hair is okay, but I didn't find a way to put more hair over the ear. When broken down in Scene, there was only scale and rotate, etc. The other options didn't move the area by the ear. I may have missed it, but I looked. Regardless, to me it's only an okay hair but not one of my favorites.

Want to mention the Dolores character promos might make you think this is one made-up woman, but her options can give you a pretty wholesome look too. I'll render a closeup later with daylight.

Darcy's Outfit is really a nice family friendly dress, and the textures are elegant. Note: Darcy Outfit also has textures, which I didn't use for this. http://www.daz3d.com/darcy-outfit-for-genesis-2-female-s-textures

EDIT: The oleander bush is really nice, highly recommend. The leaf textures are subtle but spot-on- we have a lot here at our home and it is widely distributed throughout the south because of the gorgeous blooms. It comes with flowers, this was shown without.

Here's more from the Art Studio that caught my attention- drop a comment to these artists if you have time :) It's only a small sample too- so many good threads and I can't get through all of them.

berriboy Catwoman 20000BC
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/49265/

SereneNight Sci Fi Fun- Go to this post and surf backwards for a recent group of outfits- wonderful variety showing you what can be done.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/41025/P150/#722087

llolalane Two Heads Are Better Than One
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/33447/P300/#715280

awesomefb Queen Pernille - Moon Goddess
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/40160/P60/#721918

Kismet2012 Sandstorm
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/39532/P60/#660998

TobiasG Squat
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/40887/P105/#721957

Ivy Ghosthunter
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/9050/P510/#705316

Ivy 4th Dimension
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/9050/P510/#708270

Novica Derek For Freak 5 (my all time fav!)
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/44327/P735/#702169

mori_mann Smile! DAZ Horse 2
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/22716/P240/#707404

AngryChair Guardian
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/27118/P60/#647299

AngryChair (unnamed)
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/27118/P60/#720824

bigh 11 0214
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/34926/P540/#706051

bigh 9 2514
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/34926/P510/#683845

cosmo71 Dixie In Space
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/220/P615/#720134

Szark Panoramic View
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/2765/P540/#701085

Szark Water Dragon
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/2765/P540/#708598

MN-150374 Giant Anteater
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/40042/P60/#689978

gilikshe Playing With Shaders
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20283/P60/#718959

exumbra23 Gods And Monsters
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/46453/P45/#711180

Atticus Bones Impressionistic Ballerina And Robot
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/48848/

Atticus Bones Scarecrow and Birds
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/46599/P30/#707700

peter.schelfhout Evil Clowns
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/26927/

bullit35744 Welcoming The Ship
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/28462/P1200/#679842

Eamon The Gatekeeper
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/27570/P45/#605307

Eamon The Gatekeeper #2
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/27570/P45/#715532

MadisonXF Reality Portrait
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/48252/#708529

drcuda77 Tribute To Armed Services
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/41766/P75/#712173

mattymanx Lara And Tiger (Check out Sasje's Lara renders too)
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/859/P135/#660780

Andrey Pestryakov & Contributors: Octane Renders MANY great renders!
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20589/

And last of all, spend some time using the links from this thread to find some outstanding Gallery renders. :) Scott-L put some time into this and the other contributors to the thread have found some awesome things for you.

Scott Livingston's Mining The Gallery For Hidden Gems
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/49018/

Andrei Pestryakov, Stonemason, Merlin, Flipmode, Firstbastion, Predatron, Alessandro AM, SoullessEmpathy... HowieFarkes if you are using Carrara. OrestesGraphics has good underwater stuff and a fusion of manmade and natural thingies. Estevez, David Brinnen and Horo if you are using Bryce. MartinJFrost if Vue is your preferrence. Nerd3D for weathered landscapes and Bijan for Carrara, Bryce and Vue.

Just counting in DAZ vendors. MortemVetus on RDNA is amazing too, so is ironman13 on Rendo (he sells his fantasy stuff there), 1971s...

You might try these stores here at Daz. I do not own any of these, so I can't actually vouch for them.
http://www.daz3d.com/andrey-pestryakov
http://www.daz3d.com/flipmode

Kerya said:

Andrey Pestryakov said:

...
Unfortunately Poser not able to group objects and disable them by one click.

http://my.smithmicro.com/tutorials/1023.html
???

In Poser is possible to set the parent object. But when I turn the visibility of the parent object, the other objects are not disabled.
I recorded a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMAydpDcsR0
Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Andrey Pestryakov said:

...
Unfortunately Poser not able to group objects and disable them by one click.

http://my.smithmicro.com/tutorials/1023.html
???

FirstBastion said:

1950's Era Motel for both Poser and DAZ Studio Available Now

http://www.daz3d.com/new-releases/1950-s-era-motel

have used the landscape and textures for this image and some props of the motel set + some grass from Andrey Pestryakov the container by Predatron (could used the one by Ness Period Production which I also have but I needed a smaller one) and some props of the trash stash also by Predatron. Clothes are by 3D-Age (Top) and Rhiannon (Jeanz) and Hitman47 (shoes) Hair is by Ali (Hair 083)

base texture of Dixies Skin is Natasha Elite Skin fixed by me (some tatoos and tan lines and some little spots here and there, not all you can see in this image). Clouds are from Ultimo Paradiso by AM (Used just the cloud-dome on a pale blue backround)

Lighting by AoA one Distand and one Ambient.

As a Poser only user I wanted to add my thanks to the current offerings that support Poser:

Esha's Rowan Trees Megapack
Andrey Pestryakov's Nature - Firs and Pines
and Merlin's Medieval Merchants House Bundle.

I was able to purchase all of the above this week though truthfully it does seem to get harder and harder in this economy to feed my hobby habit...but I do try! *smile*

Support for Poser is very much appreciated! Dani

Velvet Goblin said:

The original question was why there was no Poser support for sets of props. I think every Poser user understands what a complete and awful PITA it is to try to make clothes and rigged figures work in both sets of software (and by rigged figures, I don't mean a door that opens and closes). What's kind of hard to understand fully is why a house, for instance, can't be easily made Poser compatible.

I suppose if you're relying on a lot of DS shaders, those would be quite difficult to recreate. But if your props use texture maps in standard diffuse, bump, gradient bump, displacement, and specularity, the only tweaks to be made are to way Poser handles displacement.

Still, while I doubt there are that many more DS users than Poser users, I DON'T doubt that there aren't many Poser users who shop at Daz very much, so it doesn't surprise me that sales of Poser compatible products don't offer much incentive to go through any hassle to provide them.

In the end, it's entirely up to the vendor whether they want to spend the time for we lowly Poser peeps. Those who do will get my money -- and a sound and hearty cheer every time I see "1 Poser core installer" on their product page. Thank you, Merlin!! Thank you, Antfarm! Thank you, Jack Tomalin! Thank you, Andrey Pestryakov!

In the meantime, there's still an enormous back catalog that I don't yet own... (though I think I have almost everything that some vendors have made). Lately, I've been buying a lot of very old stuff. And I've discovered that it renders just as well as the new. It's just that the old stuff often doesn't have such beautiful new promos, so you don't realize how fantastic it really is. But with the right lighting, if they were modelled well, 10 year old props look just as good -- often better -- as 10 day old props. And Daz has a big catalog of great old stuff.

Love, Jeanne :)

The original question was why there was no Poser support for sets of props. I think every Poser user understands what a complete and awful PITA it is to try to make clothes and rigged figures work in both sets of software (and by rigged figures, I don't mean a door that opens and closes). What's kind of hard to understand fully is why a house, for instance, can't be easily made Poser compatible.

I suppose if you're relying on a lot of DS shaders, those would be quite difficult to recreate. But if your props use texture maps in standard diffuse, bump, gradient bump, displacement, and specularity, the only tweaks to be made are to way Poser handles displacement.

Still, while I doubt there are that many more DS users than Poser users, I DON'T doubt that there aren't many Poser users who shop at Daz very much, so it doesn't surprise me that sales of Poser compatible products don't offer much incentive to go through any hassle to provide them.

In the end, it's entirely up to the vendor whether they want to spend the time for we lowly Poser peeps. Those who do will get my money -- and a sound and hearty cheer every time I see "1 Poser core installer" on their product page. Thank you, Merlin!! Thank you, Antfarm! Thank you, Jack Tomalin! Thank you, Andrey Pestryakov!

In the meantime, there's still an enormous back catalog that I don't yet own... (though I think I have almost everything that some vendors have made). Lately, I've been buying a lot of very old stuff. And I've discovered that it renders just as well as the new. It's just that the old stuff often doesn't have such beautiful new promos, so you don't realize how fantastic it really is. But with the right lighting, if they were modelled well, 10 year old props look just as good -- often better -- as 10 day old props. And Daz has a big catalog of great old stuff.

My must-haves are:

++ Genesis/G2 morphs in combination with different morphing products by Thorne and Mada, ZevO and DieTrying (the Genesis/G2 transcriptions by SickleYield, at sharecg).

++ Clothes… I love those versatile, more historical ones, like MFD, the Pharaoh's sets - and almost everything by Ravenhair and Moyra.

++ Jack Tomalin's, Faveral's and some of Stonemason's buildings, interiors and props.

++ Andrej Pestryakov's 'Nature', 'Forest', and 'Tropical' series.

++ Flipmode's 'Easy Environments'

++ Good shaders! One of my most 'precious', a radiant gem in my shader collection, is Fisty and Marieah's 'Gemologica'.

++ AoA lights, but also Dimension Theory's light series. ARTCollaboration's sets mostly come with excellent lights.

There are many, many more; it's almost unfair to stop here and leave a lot of fine artists unmentioned.

For me:
a) morphs:
Raiya
Thorne
ShiftingImages
FWArt (guys)
Valea
b) hair:
Valea
3Dream
AprilYSH
Goldtassel
SWAM
c) clothes:
Sickleyield
Aave Nainen
Ravenhair
d) props and lights:
Stonemason
Andrey Pestryakov
Dreamlight

GENX2 IS A MUST-HAVE!