Permanently Switching Creative Gears: Custom Videos

[Nyghtfall]

I'd rather wait until I'm actually in a position to start my next production, but my need to announce things keeps compelling me to post this now, given what happened in the 3D art community this week, so please bear with me.

DAZ3D recently released their new base mesh for human figures, Genesis 9, and with it, their new flagship female character model, Victoria 9. Unfortunately, the new tech has added a new layer of complexity for creating 3D art that I have no interest in learning how to utilize, especially considering the rising cost of assets during the last few years. Furthermore, I have no interest in building a content library for the new character because my experience as a 3D artist has long taught me how little, if any, of it will get used.

The surprising net effect for me is that Genesis 9 has given me the excuse I didn't know I needed to get out of 3D art altogether. As soon as my new workstation is paid off, I'm re-purposing my "fun money" to finance custom videos. Meanwhile, you may start seeing scripts I hope to have filmed in the not-too-distant future as I begin honing my writing skills.

Thank you.

[trish]

I haven't given up on 3D art since I basically cartoon with it anyway, I'm similarly unimpressed with the idea of buying assets all over again though. I don't do photorealism, don't need it, and yes, the prices are starting to get steep. I'm going to lay off buying anything new.

DAZ has a need to always sell new things, it's their business model. That's fine, but it doesn't have to be to me ;)

[Nyghtfall]

I don't do photorealism, don't need it...

Photorealism has been a strong interest of mine ever since I got into the game in 2009, but the learning curve for mastering surface materials has always been beyond my full comprehension. My knowledge of how to manipulate shaders is rudimantary compared to what's possible, and now Genesis 9 has raised the bar even higher.

I considered being content with my current library and tried setting up a scene, but knowing Genesis 8 is the end of the line for me, and DAZ artists are going to stop making content for it at some point, took the fun out of the process. That's when I realized how much I really want to work with real women again, even if only by proxy as a custom client.

[DeanMcStabs]

So is genesis 9 even harder to use than Genesis 8? I've been thinking about making a 3d comic for a while but really don't know where to start. I've dabbled with Daz3d but haven't had a whole lot of time, so I'm not really sure it's something I can even learn. If 9 makes things more complicated I might look into character creator instead despite it being expensive.

[Nyghtfall]

So is genesis 9 even harder to use than Genesis 8?

I think it is. Your mileage may vary. Here's what's changed:

* Male and female figures are now unified, and use a slider to morph between the two genders

* New asymmetry morphs

* Enhanced bone hierarchy with industry standard naming

* New proportions system

* 8K HD materials

* Doubled mesh density

* Mouth and eye geometry are separated now - This improves how sub-divison (subD) effects the base mesh, but I've never used that feature, so now these are two additional body parts that will always load with every itertion of G9, and I'd have to contend with them.

* Enhanced facial rigging system for more realistic expressions

The new bone hierarchy and naming standard, proportions system, mouth and eye geometry are what lost me on upgrading, and part of what made me lose interest in 3D art.

[trish]

So is genesis 9 even harder to use than Genesis 8? I've been thinking about making a 3d comic for a while but really don't know where to start. I've dabbled with Daz3d but haven't had a whole lot of time, so I'm not really sure it's something I can even learn. If 9 makes things more complicated I might look into character creator instead despite it being expensive.

It depends on whether or not you are trying to make photorealistic pictures. If you're not, then Genesis 8 or even 3 is fine, or the Poser route is open again now that it is in the hands of a company that isn't ignoring it to death.

Nyghtfall is right though, they are going to stop making items for Genesis 8 pretty quickly, on the other hand there is about 6 years worth of that out there, and the existing items are going to available really cheaply over time. And Daz pretty much bends over backwards making things backwards compatible, V3 still works in the current version of Daz Studio. Plugins are a different story, those have to be updated with the program, and if you are using IRAY you pretty much have to keep Studio updated because NVIDIA changes its drivers and Studio has to match.

[ilovebellyshooting]

on 3D movies do we have realistic details like skin bouncing when bullet impacts? or is it still hard to generate realistic physics on 3D movies

(maybe Nvidia omniverse field)

[DeanMcStabs]

Well, I'm trying to get fairly realistic looking people, but I just want to create characters, pose them and make it look like a comic book stylistically. Might even be mostly black and white. I'm still having trouble creating the characters themselves to be honest. When I say I've dabbled, I mean I'm a complete noob lol I don't have a lot of free time as it is. I was wondering if there was something simpler out there, or if Daz3D is fairly simple and I'll be able to figure it out when I have more free time. I just don't know. I'm determined to make my comic one way or another! If it takes me decades I'll do it damnit!

[Nyghtfall]

on 3D movies do we have realistic details like skin bouncing when bullet impacts? or is it still hard to generate realistic physics on 3D movies

I've never animated with DAZ, but I can tell you it does not have a soft body physics system, so any skin bouncing effects would have to be created and animated manually.

Well, I'm trying to get fairly realistic looking people... I was wondering if there was something simpler out there, or if Daz3D is fairly simple...

DAZ's simplicity is relative, meaning some people pick it up within a couple of hours, and others, like myself, need a couple of years to wrap their head around it. I spent three years noodling around with it, and Poser, just to understand the differences between their content folder systems, before I created my first render in 2009. They are wildly different, and yet most content worked with either app before Genesis 3 kicked Poser artists to the curb.

If you want to work with DAZ, and don't mind limiting yourself to their line of base meshes, (Genesis 1, 2, 3, 8, 8.1, and now 9), then all you need to create your own characters is to figure out the right dozen or so combinations of parameter settings to come up with whatever look you want as a starting point. That doesn't include texturing. If you want to go deeper and more customized, you'll need to consider learning how to sculpt with a third-party app like ZBrush.

Beyond that, I know nothing about character creation because it wasn't something I was ever interested in. I always used content bought from other artists, so all I had to worry about was posing, lighting, and camera angles.

[DeanMcStabs]

You bought pre made characters right? Did you ever use render hub? Lol I've tried that recently and can't wrap my head around it. The base models from DAZ central don't really appeal to me that much either.

[Nyghtfall]

You bought pre made characters right?

Yup.

Did you ever use render hub?

Nope, just DAZ and Renderosity.

The base models from DAZ central don't really appeal to me that much either.

Different strokes. They appealed to me within the context of the medium.

[Nyghtfall]

:: slaps self on wrist and shamefully lowers head ::

I really need to excise the word "permanent" from my vocabulary... It never sticks...

Since my departure from 3D, I've been trying to figure out ways to express my fantasies through short stories that are entertaining and engaging. I've come to realize my fantasies are little more than variations on particular themes I like and are best expressed through a visual medium, like 3D art and/or custom videos. For example, someday I'd like to commission a series of videos featuring different models playing career women who are surprise attacked from behind and garroted in their home office chairs. Once the script is drafted, there's not much variation needed for the template beyond changing character names and wardrobe (if any).

Last month, I started feeling an itch to reinstall Daz. I tried to resist for all the reasons I discussed in this thread last year, but wound up re-installing several times because I missed working in 3D and kept coming up with ideas I wanted to create in 3D.

So... yeah. Apparently, I'm back in 3D. I've already got one project done that I'll share later. I've got another one in the pipe as I write this.