New User's Challenge - March 2025

Sponsored by Daz 3D

Are you new to the 3D World? Are you at the beginning stages of learning 3D rendering? Have you been around for a little bit but feel you could benefit from some feedback or instruction? Have you been around awhile and would like to help other members start their creative journey? Well then come and join the fun as we host our newest render challenge!

Back by popular demand (or well because we think it went well LOL), we are breaking down each month into 2 different challenges:

A Beginner Challenge and then also an Intermediate Challenge.

So which "Challenge" should you choose?

Follow the Beginner Challenge if you are:

• New to the New User Challenges
• New to Daz Studio
• Newer to 3D Rendering in General
• ​Or if you have not participated in the Previous Month's Composition Challenge

Follow the Intermediate Challenge if you have:

• Participated in the New User Challenge for awhile
• Know the basics of Daz Studio and would like to learn more in depth topics
• Been using 3D Rendering Applications for awhile and feel comfortable with learning Intermediate Topics
• Or if you have all ready been spotlighted in the Previous Month's Composition Challenge

*Please be sure to list in your post which Challenge you are participating in!!*

Check out Daz3D's Free Masterclasses on Daz Studio from Jay Versluis! It's a great series for everyone from the Newest User to the OG's of Studio!!

Closing date for Posing and Puppeteer/PowerPose challenges are both Midnight Daz Time on March 31st 2025!

For a list of the current challenge rules, please see this thread: Challenge Rules

They apply for both versions of the challenge!

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Beginner Challenge - March 2025 Posing Basics
 

Posing Basics:
This challenge is a general render challenge with the focus being on how you pose the characters in your image. We're providing you with lots of great links on Posing from a variety of sources. To get started, find a photograph or drawing using this link or for dance poses this link to use as a reference. (Be sure the image you use is labeled for commercial reuse - though we will only be using it as reference, alternatively use your own personal photographs for reference.) Additional searches approved for use include Running and Fighting. (These links go to DuckDuckGo, which may give different results for different searchers, and should give everyone plenty to choose from.)

Then try to pose your character as closely as possible to match the reference image. For this challenge, please post your reference image or a link to it, and your render. This will give forum viewers an idea of the pose you are trying to achieve and will lead to more helpful suggestions. Have fun!

How to Use Your Software:

Software is often updated, and online tutorials and information often demonstrate older versions of the software. The software version you are using may differ in User Interface and tools available. Please share links to reference material that you have found helpful in the Challenge thread.

in Daz Studio:
Introduction to Posing Tools in Daz Studio with Jay Versluis
Daz Documentation Center [Wiki]
Daz 101: Posing
Pinning, Posing and the Active Pose Tool
Applying Partial Poses
Daz 3D Posing, Pinning Poses, & Morphs
Some good tips in this forum thread.

in Poser:
Poser Tutorial: Quick Posing

in Carrara:
Huge list of helpful forum links (scroll to Animation and Posing section) If you have a problem, your answer might be here!
Carrara 3D Tutorial - Posing a Figure
Posing in Carrara

in Bryce:
While it is not possible to pose things in Bryce, you are welcome to do your posing in another program such as Daz Studio or Poser, then export and render in Bryce.
For information on how to use the Bryce bridge to import a DS scene into Bryce

Always worth a look: Previous Posing challenges:

Posing 2024
Posing 2023
Posing 2022
Posing 2021
Posing 2020
Posing 2019
Posing 2018
Posing 2017

I will be checking in, as will the rest of the Community Volunteers, to try and help with anything you all may need.

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Intermediate Challenge - March 2025 using Advanced Posing Tools:

This includes PowerPose, Active Pose and Puppeteer, you can choose one or try yourself in all three. These tools give you a greater range to create your own new poses either from existing ones or from scratch. For example using Puppeteer you can create new poses from existing ones on a fluent scale. It can be applied for animation as well, but for this challenge we will keep the focus on the still image.

You are welcome to use one of the references for a pose from the links in the beginner challenge, but it's not a requirement.

Information, Explanations and Tutorials:

PowerPose
Introduction to Posing Tools in Daz Studio with Jay Versluis
Daz Animarion Power Pose
Making Expressions with PowerPose
Daz 3D Posing, Pinning Poses, & Morphs

Active Pose Tool
Pinning, Posing and the Active Pose Tool

Puppeteer:
Puppeteer Tutorials Forum Thread
Daz 1.6: Animation Puppeteer Tool

• for Daz Studio:
  • Puppeteer
  • Puppeteering in Daz Studio 4
  • Building a Coffee Shop scene in Daz Studio using Puppeteer - 3D Shenanigans #1.10.
  • Lighting, Camera Angles & Puppeteer - In the Studio with Daz 3D
  • Daz 3D 4.8 - Puppeteer
  • Hair Dynamics Effect in Daz Studio! Puppeteer from Poses!
    ​
• For Carrara:
  • Puppeteer Carrara (Older video, but still relevant. French language)

Hey everyone,

I'm having an issue when importing an environment from DAZ into Unreal Engine. Every time I import, a new level is automatically created instead of adding the environment to the default level.

Is there a way to import environments without generating a new level each time? I’d like everything to be added directly to my main level.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I often import OBJ models I either obtained or modeled myself which have PBR materials. Importing them into Vue it is quite easy to assign PBR materials. However in DAZ I find the SURFACE/COLOR controls for materials too confusing and overwhelming. Is there a way to have only the diffuse, bump, normal, displacement, alpha, metalicity, roughness controlas? I am not interestied in all the other clutter.  IMHO  I do not need  them as in other 3D apps do not have this clutter. I believe in keeping things as simple as possible.

And please do not reply that I ould use another app to assign the materials before importing. I've tried this using 3D Coat and exporting to OBJ. Importing into DAZ often does not assign the materials  properly desipite having a proper .MTL file for the OBJ.

Cheers

Kenmo

If you mean you want to simulate from the clothing status after you stop the simulation and move your char..., with the dForce functionality as default, you're not able to make it. The simulated result will be cleared and the simulation will be started over, no matter you simulate with current frame or an animated play range.

The only way is to export the "interim simulated result" to OBJ (after you stop the simulation), import it as a morph and dial it, then simulate again.

Well, if they have a ReadMe and it says which categories they appear in, then they should work "right" through Smart Content (give or take the odd error where the metadata hasn't been set up correctly).

If they don't have a ReadMe then there's a fair chance they won't. Although for new items being added to the store they occasionally miss the ReadMe anyway. But "Today's New Releases" (on any given day)  will generally have gone through Daz QA and metadata setup so will probably be fine.

When will [Carla for Cecelia 9] she be made available?  Usually we get the bonus forms at least midway through the release date.  It's still advertised on her page but not available to download.  I've updated my metadata several times and did so again today, but nothing yet.  

yusmarytorrealba39 said:

crosswind said:

yusmarytorrealba39 said:

442191327 said:

Hi,

Maybe you should import the custom expressions from DAZ Posing Panel(Right Side) by Diff Import Custom Morphs

So how would I do it? I don't know how to add those .duf expressions so that they appear there in the pose menu as in the image you are showing me.

Another thing is that the expressions only work if I apply them to the face rig, because if I double click on them with the character selected, it just doesn't do anything, so I have to join both (?

They're Pose Presets rather than Custom Morphs... and in DS, those GFC FACS Pose Presets only work on Genesis 8 Face Controls node rather than G8 figures per se.  But in Blender, you can directly select G8 armature to apply the pose presets ~~

Edit: BTW, though they're named as "FACS", they have nothing to do with FACS on G8.1... but just push values to joint rotations on G8.x 's face rigs.

That's what I was doing and it would be importing one by one and then clicking on “Save as shape key”.... But they don't import well, the part of the eyebrows and the head works fine, however, for the mouth it doesn't work.

Only the lips move, however, the jaw, the teeth and their position and rotation do not move when loading the poses.

Again, the product https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-3--8-face-controls that you're using utilises Face Control figure to just call the joint rotations on G8 figures (under face rigs), by using joints + Pose Controls with its ERC Freezed Sub-Components (screenshot 1).  You're right, I tested more Presets and found some of the presets don't work as you don't have those Pose Controls in Blender... i.e. Diffeo cannot support this Face Control to fully work.

After revisiting your requirements, you should avoid using this product... instead, directly use FACS, i.e. check FACS option when importing Daz scene. FACS will be auto-converted to shape keys. (screenshot 2)

If you DO want to import those Pose Preset from the above product, the only practical way is to create custom morph for them one by one and then import into Blender ( screenshot 3 ~ 4 )  If going for the way of Bake to Transforms, that workflow will be very very cumbersome.

You are using expressions which are poses for the face rig, the face rig then uses facs. In this case you have first to load facs for the face rig to work, then you can load the poses with: runtime > poses > import pose. Or convert the pose set to blender assets with: runtime > import asset.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/wiki/Posing/Import Pose Library

To convert to shapekeys in this case is more complicated because the pose affects bones and facs. So you have to do it manually with the blender tools: shapekeys > join as shapes, over a duplicate figure without facs.

p.s. To convert to shapekeys is much easier to use the standard facs, rather than facs poses for the face rig.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/wiki/Features/Morph Tools/Shapekeys/Convert Morphs To Shapekeys

crosswind said:

yusmarytorrealba39 said:

442191327 said:

Hi,

Maybe you should import the custom expressions from DAZ Posing Panel(Right Side) by Diff Import Custom Morphs

So how would I do it? I don't know how to add those .duf expressions so that they appear there in the pose menu as in the image you are showing me.

Another thing is that the expressions only work if I apply them to the face rig, because if I double click on them with the character selected, it just doesn't do anything, so I have to join both (?

They're Pose Presets rather than Custom Morphs... and in DS, those GFC FACS Pose Presets only work on Genesis 8 Face Controls node rather than G8 figures per se.  But in Blender, you can directly select G8 armature to apply the pose presets ~~

Edit: BTW, though they're named as "FACS", they have nothing to do with FACS on G8.1... but just push values to joint rotations on G8.x 's face rigs.

That's what I was doing and it would be importing one by one and then clicking on “Save as shape key”.... But they don't import well, the part of the eyebrows and the head works fine, however, for the mouth it doesn't work.

Only the lips move, however, the jaw, the teeth and their position and rotation do not move when loading the poses.

442191327 said:

yusmarytorrealba39 said:

442191327 said:

Hi,

Maybe you should import the custom expressions from DAZ Posing Panel(Right Side) by Diff Import Custom Morphs

So how would I do it? I don't know how to add those .duf expressions so that they appear there in the pose menu as in the image you are showing me.

Another thing is that the expressions only work if I apply them to the face rig, because if I double click on them with the character selected, it just doesn't do anything, so I have to join both (?

1. You want to import the DAZ custom expression products into Blender (For Example: 100 must Have Expressions For Genesis 8 Female)

2. Filter them on the Posing Panel(Right Side) by "i3d" what ever ( you must import them from Posing Panel) 

3. Click the Gear Icon and choose Parameter Settings 

4. Click the File Path Icon "..." and copy the File Path

5. Select your Figures on Blender (For Example:Genesis 8.1 Female Mesh) and Click the Import Custom Morphs on DAZ Setup Panel 

6.  Paste your file  path on the Blender File View and Select all file for import, you also can change the name like 100 must Have Expressions

7. You can find the Cutoms Expressions on DAZ Runtime --> Customs Morphs  

They are Morphs, work well without Face Controls 

Nothing works for me... my models are .duf (as I showed in one of the images above, they come directly from the addon folder), they don't even appear in the pose panel... they just apply directly to the face rig.

Then if I do the Blender thing to import the dufs, it appears that it worked but they don't appear and don't do anything.

yusmarytorrealba39 said:

442191327 said:

Hi,

Maybe you should import the custom expressions from DAZ Posing Panel(Right Side) by Diff Import Custom Morphs

So how would I do it? I don't know how to add those .duf expressions so that they appear there in the pose menu as in the image you are showing me.

Another thing is that the expressions only work if I apply them to the face rig, because if I double click on them with the character selected, it just doesn't do anything, so I have to join both (?

1. You want to import the DAZ custom expression products into Blender (For Example: 100 must Have Expressions For Genesis 8 Female)

2. Filter them on the Posing Panel(Right Side) by "i3d" what ever ( you must import them from Posing Panel) 

3. Click the Gear Icon and choose Parameter Settings 

4. Click the File Path Icon "..." and copy the File Path

5. Select your Figures on Blender (For Example:Genesis 8.1 Female Mesh) and Click the Import Custom Morphs on DAZ Setup Panel 

6.  Paste your file  path on the Blender File View and Select all file for import, you also can change the name like 100 must Have Expressions

7. You can find the Cutoms Expressions on DAZ Runtime --> Customs Morphs  

They are Morphs, work well without Face Controls 

Padone said:

Yes I can see the issue when we export as HD, while non-HD works fine. This is probably due to the geograft being for the head, while we generally tested with body geografts. One workaround is to import without merging geografts, then merge by hand as a last step.

https://www.daz3d.com/cgi-gauged-ears-for-genesis-9

my steps:

1. In daz studio load G9 with the gauged ears.
2. Enter the geometry editor and export as HD with the HD convention, marking as HD only the figure and not the gauged ears.
3. In blender easy import with "FACS" without "merge geografts"
4. Then merge geografts as a lst step: setup > finishing > merge geografts

Anyway, now reported to Thomas to see if this can be fixed.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues/2398/

Thank you, I exported the ears seperately last night and merged them onto the body :) Will reconvert if & when it can be fixed. Her weights & shape keys now work with no issues, so I'm super grateful for that. Again, thank you for helping me. :)

yuyu.atem said:

Great, thank you very much!  Last question (I hope): after creating several "instance tiling shader", I thought that they would be better in a specific folder, and I deplaced them. Now, they still work correctly, but I noticed that there is not the "shader" inscription anymore, on their image in Content Library:

Before moving in another folder :       After : 

Is it a problem? Is there a way to fix it without having to "create again" the shader?

Thank you in advance!

Right ~ when you save a Preset for the 1st time, DS will tag a metadata, i.e. Content Type ( Shader in this case...) to the DUF file and write its path + file name to cms database. Then if you move the DUF file to another folder, the path + file will be broken in cms database... that's why you saw the Shader icon on the thumbnail is gone.

So, to bring it back, in Content Library, right-click on the current folder that this preset file locates > Edit Metadata, select the file in the list, then set Preset/Shader to Type field. (ss1)

Hi!

I'm trying to import a G8 morph into Daz with Morph Loader Pro, but even correct Delta Tolerance option gives me quite poor results. So manual cleaning in Geometry Editor is still required.

Quesion: is there any way to create Selection Set from morph obj's Vertex Group with scripting?

Yes I can see the issue when we export as HD, while non-HD works fine. This is probably due to the geograft being for the head, while we generally tested with body geografts. One workaround is to import without merging geografts, then merge by hand as a last step.

https://www.daz3d.com/cgi-gauged-ears-for-genesis-9

my steps:

1. In daz studio load G9 with the gauged ears.
2. Enter the geometry editor and export as HD with the HD convention, marking as HD only the figure and not the gauged ears.
3. In blender easy import with "FACS" without "merge geografts"
4. Then merge geografts as a lst step: setup > finishing > merge geografts

Anyway, now reported to Thomas to see if this can be fixed.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues/2398/

update. Fixed in the last commit.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/downloads/

for an animated one, FLUIDOS but do it on a proxy object not the original scene then use the generated ply series in the original scene

you can even convert them all to obj and use DCG obj series import, this also works for Blender fluid sims exported as obj series

felis said:

With the excemption of plugins, I cannot see that your content needs reinstalling. Just point Daz Studio to your current libraries.

The reason I excempt plugins, is that some of them gets installed in "weird" places.

You will probably have to reimport metadata.

Well I finally scrubbed DAZ Studio from all the folders and managed to uninstall anything that ressembled a plugin in DIM. Reinstalled DS then the default items and ran environment splitter and it now works properly.

ah-ha I wrote too soon. I installed the other "plugins" and crashed again! I will have to look into this tomorrow.

With the excemption of plugins, I cannot see that your content needs reinstalling. Just point Daz Studio to your current libraries.

The reason I excempt plugins, is that some of them gets installed in "weird" places.

You will probably have to reimport metadata.

Padone said:

You have to import G9 with FACS to get the eyelids to follow, in easy import there's a G9 preset you can use. Just tried and works fine here.

diffeomorphic 4.4.0.2526 blender 4.3.2

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/downloads/

thanks, i ticked the FACS boxes but it wasnt this version of diffeo or blender, ill try this again now and come back with a result :)

You have to import G9 with FACS to get the eyelids to follow, in easy import there's a G9 preset you can use. Just tried and works fine here.

diffeomorphic 4.4.0.2526 blender 4.3.2

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/downloads/