The PAFEST-5 code is STILL GOOD. If you spend $30 or more, don't forget to use it! NOTE: IT CAN BE USED MORE THAN ONCE SO IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOR TWO ORDERS, YOU WOULD SAVE $10.
Of interest (to me) are:

To quickly get m4 or h4 into position for laying, sitting, kneeling, look at this variety. Or use it as a reference for your own. But for $3.98, why not scoop it up?
http://www.daz3d.com/m4-h4-humble-poses

For Carrara- look at all the neat lighting opportunities for this sci-fi set! Be sure and go through the thumbnails.
http://www.daz3d.com/radius

Take a closer look at this, because it doesn't HAVE to be dilaplidated. There are several areas where you can do nook and cranny shots and have pretty backdrops. The entire top of that tower is in good shape. The doorway scene, as long as you don't get the area that is crumbling to the right, makes a pretty archway with big stones. It's $14.98 half price, and deduct the $5 from that (spending $30 or more) and it would be $9.98, a steal!

http://www.daz3d.com/torprin-tower

The vegetation ROCKS- (same vendor as the tower.) http://www.daz3d.com/orestes-plants-vol-1

So basically I'm getting the tower, the humble poses, the running shoes (for Genesis/2 as I want FLAT shoes, tired of messing with heels that dont work and hate absurdly high platform shoes) and pose stuff. Will buy http://www.daz3d.com/new-releases/sublime-illumination
so I can test it for you, IF I have enough to place two orders and get another $5 off

i got this product today from Orestes graphics which, besides the problem i have, looks really awesome.

problem is i have this strange artifacts all over the plants....i used with and without the following options but nothing seems to work

idl
smooth at rendering
ambient occlusion at the shaders (default) ant not...

nothing seems to work!!!

any idea from anyone what might causes this?

DAZ_jared said:

In order for a render to qualify for that week's contest you need to include at least one item from a featured PA from the week. (So for week 1's contest the render needs to contain an item from Week 1's PA's).

For clarification, is it any item from a featured PA's store? Or is it the new item of the week from a featured PA that is the requirement to qualify for the contest?

I missed week 1's contest with items from Orestes Graphics's Garden of Poseidon, but now Orestes Graphics is a featured PA again. Would my entry qualify with Garden of Poseidon items for this week's contest?

Tarina Kivi said:

Title: To Touch The Sky

Artist Festival items used:
Desert Outpost by Stonemason
Gardens of Poseidon - Super Bundle by Orestes Graphics
Mermaid Genesis 2 Female(s) Mega Bundle by Sickleyield and Fuseling

Reposting my first image. I've changed lighting in this one...

Edit: Added another version. ^^

SickleYield said:

One more from me, having fun with goodies by Esha, Destiny's Garden and Orestes (and our Genesis mermaid goodies, of course).

Full credits and big version on my DA page: http://sickleyield.deviantart.com/art/Stranger-Loves-399508524

Nice one SickleYield, lovely posing and I like how you've got your mermaid tail and the Triton tails commingling so beautifully.

One more from me, having fun with goodies by Esha, Destiny's Garden and Orestes (and our Genesis mermaid goodies, of course).

Full credits and big version on my DA page: http://sickleyield.deviantart.com/art/Stranger-Loves-399508524

Holy criminies! How on earth did I manage to miss this thread for three days? I must live in a cave or something.

Chohole-Bryce renders, absolutely beautiful. Orestes knocked it out of the park with Gardens of Poseidon. You made them look stunning.

Storypilot (post 9)- that is such a powerful image. Very moody and evocative.
(post 32)-Wow! Widescreen landscape was the way to go with that one. Excellent job on both.

Scorpio64dragon (post 16)-Really? Seriously? How do you do it? Can I buy prints to hang on my wall? Top notch as always my friend. Thanks for always making my stuff look so wonderful.

Vanguard (post 17) -the Cris outfit is so cool, and you have shown it in a very hot light. Great tension with the tilted camera angle.

SassyWench (post 18)-You are really telling a story with that one. I wonder what those two are going to get up to. Great job.

MelanieL-(posts 19-21) - a trio of beauties. That poor sap in the boat doesn't stand a chance. Great use of the mermaid tail. I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Satira Capriccio (post 24)-Lovely. Just lovely. I always enjoy the hazy, dreamlike quality of your renders.

hawkonthewing (post 26) good use of perspective. I wonder what waits for those adventurers when they reach the dungeon.

luannemarie (post 27-28)-I'm enchanted by your mermaid, and the blues and pinks are so captivating. All the bubbles really sell the images. Nice job.

TheWheelMan (post 31)-Scary! Remind me not to get on her bad side. I really enjoy the stylized approach.

Carola O (post 33) - I enjoy the stories you always include with your pictures. Awesome use of shaders, and great effects. Nice work.

temporal.ranger (post 34 )-Squee! Charming picture.

Spit (post 35) - totally cute!

Tarina Kivi (post 37) -the tail looks fabulous and you made great use of point of view. We don't often see the water surface from underneath, so that was a nice touch. Add some fish? Maybe zoom in to the figure a bit more? You'll get there. It is good how it is already.

Zawarkal (post 38) - Squee! Just keeps getting cuter and cuter. Great sparkles.

Thanks for the shout outs everyone. Render threads like this one are such a treat for all of us.
I have to shout, "Squee!" now and go buy myself a tiny dragon.

Here's the one I've done so far with stuff I got during the festival.

Editing to add that I used Naida and Nalin from FWArt, the Mermaid Clothing from SickleYield and Fuesling, and the Reef Rocks by Orestes Graphics.

Sean Riesch said:

Orestes Graphics said:

And more! they just keep coming...lol
Orestes, that's a fantastic promo render for your product "Gardens of Poseidon - Reef rocks" http://www.daz3d.com/gardens-of-poseidon-reef-rocks . Just out of curiosity, how did you do the glow effect in the dark areas right around the edge of the bright light? (If it isn't a trade secret or anything). Postwork, a material for the water that scatters light, something else?

The Radiosity effect is post, mainly due to the lack of time for rendering..As usual, I waited to the last minute to jump onboard the theme..lol
Daz had asked me to make a tutorial on the techniques, but didn't have time to do it for the sale.

And more! they just keep coming...lol

One other question, in the product "Gardens of Poseidon - Invertebrates" http://www.daz3d.com/gardens-of-poseidon-invertebrates , are the spines on the sea urchins generated via displacement, or polygons in the model (ie, could the model still be used to some extent with displacement disabled, or is displacement critical to their use)?

Its all poly. The displacements make the ridges of the shell stand out, but not critical.

Miss B said:

Orestes Graphics said:

Media Head said:

Are Orestes Graphics' products ( the plants and invertebrates) rigged for animation?

No, they are all just props. But I'm sure a magnet could get some nice wave movement.

Well I happily bought 3 of your packs earlier today, and I was wondering if I loaded them up in DS, will they port to Bryce nicely?

I'm not sure if you ever tested that out. I ask because I started an underwater scene back when I was using Bryce 5 which I couldn't finish since moving items over to Bryce to fill up the scene was a hassle. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish the scene now with Bryce 7 and your lovely underwater creations. :-)

I haven't tried it in Bryce, but I don't see why not. If you got the 'Sets' pack, they are saved as DUF, and should do anything that duf does. I'd be curious to see how they do for you. XD

Orestes Graphics said:

And more! they just keep coming...lol

Orestes Graphics said:

Media Head said:

Are Orestes Graphics' products ( the plants and invertebrates) rigged for animation?

No, they are all just props. But I'm sure a magnet could get some nice wave movement.

I'm not sure if you ever tested that out. I ask because I started an underwater scene back when I was using Bryce 5 which I couldn't finish since moving items over to Bryce to fill up the scene was a hassle. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish the scene now with Bryce 7 and your lovely underwater creations. :-)

RAMWolff said:

Seems really weird that one of the main products is being held back (the meretails). Takes some of the excitement away for me. Not sure who's brilliant idea that was but ...... Yea. Ho hum!

I'm a little confused about that myself, but it may have to do with the fact that Fuseling's and my Mermaids comprise something like NINE products (counting the two bundles). I did figure we'd be on a different day from Orestes because he and we both did large multipacks, and those are hard to promote together.

Also, I'd like everyone to know that the upcoming mermaids are not a "SickleYield" product - they're a "SickleYield and Fuseling" product! We'd be nowhere without the MASSIVE amount of gorgeous texture work she did on these. ;)

Media Head said:

Are Orestes Graphics' products ( the plants and invertebrates) rigged for animation?

No, they are all just props. But I'm sure a magnet could get some nice wave movement.

Are Orestes Graphics' products ( the plants and invertebrates) rigged for animation?

Since Orestes Graphics's Gardens of Poseidon products are great looking props and inspire some animation ideas, does anyone know if the plants and invertebrates are rigged for movement?

Thanks.

Day 4

Zigraphix
Camera Magic: WaterCam DAZ Studio
http://www.daz3d.com/camera-magic-watercam-daz-studio

Orestes Graphics
Gardens of Poseidon - Super Bundle
http://www.daz3d.com/gardens-of-poseidon-super-bundle

FWArt
FW Naida and Nalin Merfolk Bundle
http://www.daz3d.com/fw-naida-and-nalin-merfolk-bundle

Muscleman
Under The Sea Poses
http://www.daz3d.com/under-the-sea-poses

Dartanbeck
Carrara EnvironKit - Underwater Realms
http://www.daz3d.com/carrara-environkit-underwater-realms

ForbiddenWhispers
Enchanted Pixie
JSGraphics
Dark Cyreena for Genesis and Genesis 2 Female(s)
http://www.daz3d.com/dark-cyreena-for-genesis-and-genesis-2-female-s

Here's a couple of images that actually inspired my work on UnderWater Ambiance for Poser - in as much as these are (perhaps slightly crude/unfinished) versions of what I had in my mind's eye that inspired me to work on the set.

Naturally, the creatures that I've used (primarily by Digital I, Stonemason, or The AntFarm, but more by Orestes Graphics and 3D Universe too!) are ones I can wholeheartedly recommend. They're terrific :D

One of these images - a Stonemason critter drifting over a render of the the Stonemason critter floating over a render of a Stonemason critter... almost became the cover for the ReadMe PDF file - but at the quality I'd have wanted to include it, it bloated the PDF too much :( Pity.

But at least I get to show a low res copy of it here, where I cam be a little more whimsical than in the store pages! :D

Cheers,

Cliff

First of all...
Hi! I hope you decide to join us as we all grow together, working with our 3d art in our own way! :)

Tough question.
For starters, since you say: "Plugins", Here's a short list of Plugins available here at DAZ 3D
In there, I own most of it. The Pose and other animation tools by Fenric are very helpful along the way and the Advance Pack is filled with, well.. some pretty advanced features that you can add to the tool box - of course depending on what you decide to get involved with.
I love having Tim Paynes Skies as well... and I'm kind of wondering why his skies are in that list without a bunch more, similar stuff. Like The helpful tools by these folks:
GK Dantas Shaders, Leaves, Skies, 3D Paint Brushes,
Dimension Theory HDRI, Clouds, Skies
3D Lust Incredible Futuristic Environments
Philip Drawbridge Excellent Star Ships
Ringo Monfort DP Shaders
Phil Wilkes Dynamic Hair, Photo Studio, Clouds...
Orestes Graphics Techtonics Vol's 1, 2, and 3
Mike Moir Realistic Outdoor Scenery
Howie Farkes Realistic Outdoor Scenery

Darn... I know I'm missing somebody besides My own store.
But if you love to just learn all sorts of good ways to use the software as well, I strongly suggest, sometime along the way, getting the Infinite Skills Carrara Training taught by the same fellow who made the Photo Studio you've made mention of... our own Phil Wilkes!

But just because all of this stuff is geared directly toward Carrara does not mean that it's the only way to go. Nearly anything sold here at DAZ 3D loads and works beautifully in Carrara - so it really depends upon what you wish to do - and how soon you wish to do it. :)

I am a Platinum Club Member, and use it to the hilt! Those models they sell at 1.99 and 2.99 are gold to me! petipet's store is nearly all mine! Those vehicles and building kits are so cool! Jack Tomalin as well.

I know that bigh's gonna get me for this... but I also love having Project Dogwaffle Pro: Howler to use right along with my Carrara renders - but that's me! ;)

Whew... I could go on forever like this - but let's see where you feel after exploring that stuff :)

Orestes Graphics (the PA) also has a product in the store called Creepy Trees Photoshop Brushes. I wouldn't be surprised if they were used on the backgrounds. As for the skies and clouds...they could be from pretty much anywhere...