Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 11
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This week I issued myself a challenge, and that's what I've been busy doing. How many times have we all said we have light sets we never get around to using or testing? So here's a thought for this week. Go through your light products and use one or more you haven't tried or used in a long time. Second, see which light products combine nicely with other ones, particularly ones you haven't tried or used often. Tell us what you tried, and what you think. Pros? Cons?
Good heavens, I don't need any more light products!
Also, as I eluded to a couple days ago, light products may be using the same lights repeatedly within a product, with different combinations turned off and on, so when you read there are X light presets, that doesn't mean it's all different lights. That's not a bad thing, unless you're dealing with spotlights and adding them in the Scene pane. You may be getting duplicates.
So I'll review Dramtica for you.
Dramatica is one such example, and it's probably not an uncommon practice as turning lights off and on makes a big difference, and why reinvent the wheel? The reason I checked this was because of wanting to fine tune what I wanted to keep and do a preset of just those spot lights, then when comparing the XYZ translations and rotations, I was glad I did that because many of the lights were the same ones. You may also want to try your own combinations (turning the eye off and on in Scene pane), and you'd be muddying the water by combining the same front lights.
For example:
Light 1 Front Side
Light 2 Same Front No Side Nothing Added
Light 3 No Front New Side
Light 4 No Front New Side
Light 5 No Front Side #4 Added Side Light
Light 6 Front #1 Side #4 Side #5
Light 7 Front #1 New Side
Light 8 Front #1 Side #4 New Side
Light 9 Front #1 Side #8 Removed Side #4
Light 10 Front #1 Added a top light
etc. So you wouldn't want to have all the front lights, it's the exact same one! (Remember, to add to your Scene pane, you hold control and select Add not Replace.)
Then at 12 you get a new front light, which I found disappointing that the same one was used on the first 11. So much can be done with the front! You get a new side light in the back on 14 and it's mirrored on 15. On 18 you get a new side light, 19 a new side light, and it's mirrored on 20.
What I found, that you might want to look at- there are gaps in coverage on your right side as you look at it. (In other words, to have a ring of spotlights.) You might want to create some spotlights and copy a light from that side, then move it. And of course, the front doesn't have a lot.
I just want to emphasize Dramatica is a good set, just know the lights aren't all unique. The combinations used are going to be very similar in some cases, with a light added or removed. I ended up adding ten more spotlights and four more top lights to make my own. (And moved most of the originals so I had even coverage when I added mine. But the original positions will get you lovely renders!)
I will do a Dramatica render for you sometime in the next few hours.
Okay, go back to the previous page to see VYK Patty and her adjusted chest. I also used another new light set, Dramatic Iray Lights, for the side lighting. I linked it in that post.
The whole reason for using Sy's conversion tutorial is to preserve all the morphs. As there aren't any shoulders to that outfit, you might be able to get away with just changing the Scene Identification and forego Auto-fit altogether. I've read it's possible to change the Scene ID on the figure, fit-to the wardrobe, and change the Scene ID back while still retaining all the morphs. Might be worth a few minutes to give it a try.
@ladair What exactly is the Scene Identification? (edit- I looked it up and the graphics aren't matching my options. It showed Edit>Figure>Scene Identification with the root node selected in Scene, and that's not there.)
Lol I totally misread not only the store page but your post as well Novica. I was trying to do too many thing at once.
My order. I can't do a cart shot because I checked out earlier today.
Items Invoiced
The Girl 8 Pro Bundle
Installers
The Girl 8 Pro Bundle
dForce Magical Charm Outfit Textures
Installers
dForce Magical Charm Outfit Textures
dForce Seven Seas Outfit Textures
Installers
dForce Seven Seas Outfit Textures
Razors Edge Outfit Textures
Installers
Razors Edge Outfit Textures
Oak Defender Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
Installers
Oak Defender Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
dForce Warrior King Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
Installers
dForce Warrior King Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
Wizard Apprentice Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
Installers
Wizard Apprentice Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
Gone Girl Outfit for Genesis 3 Female(s)
Installers
Gone Girl Outfit for Genesis 3 Female(s)
Aldis Adigard Outfit for Genesis 3 Female(s)
Installers
Aldis Adigard Outfit for Genesis 3 Female(s)
Cthulhiana HD
Installers
Cthulhiana HD
Dragoh Outfit for Genesis 3 Male(s)
Installers
Dragoh Outfit for Genesis 3 Male(s)
V-Neck T-Shirt and Jeans Outfit Textures
Installers
V-Neck T-Shirt and Jeans Outfit Textures
Airisu Outfit for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Installers
Airisu Outfit for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Beastial Battle Armor for Genesis 2 Male(s)
Installers
Beastial Battle Armor for Genesis 2 Male(s)
Lady Scarlett for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Installers
Lady Scarlett for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Cinderella Ball Gown for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Installers
Cinderella Ball Gown for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Grand Ballroom Dress for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Installers
Grand Ballroom Dress for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Genji Outfit for Genesis 2 Male(s)
Installers
Genji Outfit for Genesis 2 Male(s)
Prehistoric Princess for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Installers
Prehistoric Princess
Thanks for the chest tweak recipe, I've saved it on my "tip sheet."
I read somewhere on our forums this can happen if the subd and render subd properties are different, as one is for the viewport and the latter for what you see in the render. Not sure if that helps you but thought I'd mention it in case.
@worldsedge You're welcome
@dawnblade Interesting!
That outfit was a freebie and I'm doing other things so not pursuing anything with it, but I did *TRY* to look up Scene Identification and ended up in the Developer forum (SHUDDER) so I'm done with that topic so far as testing stuff. Still curious as to where to find it and what we use it for (to help other people who may be interested.)
SickleYield made a tutorial on converting clothing from previous generations to G8, and referenced the scene identification property. Along with other steps, you set it to G8F so that DS thinks it is made for that figure, and you get all the morphs etc. for that clothing.
@worldsedge I forgot to mention to also do the Breasts Gone and Breasts Small to your liking. The main two are the ones I mentioned so far as losing the toon/exaggerated hardness and round ball features. Breast GONE flattens it to the chest, and Small reduces the size overall but doesn't really flatten.
I stuck with the 51% off extras, which went to 60% off with three in the cart, inclusing some of the texture add-ons. I wishlisted the Vyk characters and P3D Hailey to wait until they drop in a featured artist sale later. $85 for 39 items seemed like a good deal to me. I grabbed a lot of WL items, mostly sci-fi and fantasy, some needing modesty geoshell or for kitbashing. I struggled to find good G8 items that I really wanted from the list available.
With the G8, G3, and G2 'freebie offers', I used ATI's app ability to sort by %off to maximise yield as I picked though my WL! The 30% off stuff will be on sale at a better price at some time in teh future.
Oh and DIM is at 347 KB/s, just like always, so hurray for Verizon DSL, and the market forces of 'Why would we ever roll out FIOS to your @!@& little town?'. At least it is no slower than usual
Thanks @dawnblade.
You folks that bought the Aldis Adigard will really like it. Here's a gallery image I did with it. Looking at everyone's lists, there's a lot of great stuff there!
P3D Hailey for The Girl 8 Sloane Hair (Gen3/Gen8F) Razor's Edge Outfit (Gen8F)
This one is back to the Pro-Studio lights.
In case you're interested (and to save a LOT of time. Tweaking that hip/hiney took a bit to get the right balance with the legs)
Hailey's chest adjustments were:
Breasts Downward Slope 100%
Breasts Gone 36.1%
Breasts Natural 22%
Breast Size -4.8%
Breasts Small 113.7%
The hips were:
Hip Size -58.9%
Glutes Lower Depth -22.5.%
Glutes Upper Depth 28.2%
Glutes Width -100%
Glutes Size 12.3%
Hip Bone Size -6.7%
Thighs Size -100%
Calves Size -351.6
Shins Size -37.9
She's a cutie nice work
If you don't like the Girl 8 body, why not just dial it to 0 and dial in a different body that you like better?
While I have a lot of characters, some people don't, so I go the safer route that will apply to more people. I actually tried her with some combos and ended up tweaking almost as much as just doing it from Patty or Hailey to start with. And not everyone will have the same combination of characters, so back to that too. I guess I'm a natural born tweaker LOL.
The Girl makes me shiver. I add her to my long list of disquieting daz figures, right behind Ollie, and his female counterpart Edie. I realize they are popular, but I can't see any reason to pick those up. I don't like caricatures or toons, mostly unless they are hunky men.
That said, I'm wondering if the house brownie shirt top would work under the victorian Jacket. I don't like the victorian necktie, and the house brownie one... Looks like it might work.
Hey, now there's an idea. Combing The Girl 8 with Edie..... that's an interesting combination!
Are you trying to scare me to death.... No....... No.... No....... Although the plus side is that might tame the grapefruit decolletage down to a more realistc shape.
Ollie mixes very well with other males, and can make that perfect male model look more like someone you might actually meet in your lifetime! Here he is mixed in with Darwin's Giuseppe:
It was what a bit of Ollie added to other figures could create that made him a must-have for me. By himself, Ollie is definitely more of a fantasy character.
@ladair He is really neat! He does add that "normal" into characters, the not-perfect aspect. Very nice render! Edit- what hair and beard is that, may I ask?
@serenenight I wouldn't do that to you. Well, I would but I don't have time.
Thank you.
I think the beard is the one that came with Dylan. The hair is Riccardo Hair for G3M from Linday.
Novica, that is an absolutely stunning render! Wow. I have the Real World lighting product and use it a lot, but I don't think I've had results like that LOL. What setting did you use....did you do any adjustments at all? I find it difficult sometimes cos I don't really get how to use it properly.....especially when I want a bit of sun on the character's face, but can never get it.
Yean, I hear a lot of people liking to mix ollie.... However his look is quite distinctive and its sort of obvious to me when he is dialed in. He ads the same traits to every face. Its a bit like people who dial george in.. ITs a bit samey in the way it makes them look.
How are you getting the pro bundle down to $42???? I put the pro bundle in and three of the add ons and the pro bundle goes to only $52.90
@jakiblue You have to have the 20% banner, buy 3 of The Girl add-ons, and be a PC+ member. Those three things.
For the Helena render- I'll look at the render file and be back in a few. I'll see if I have my notes as to which one I used from the options. One thing right off the bat is I always use the Mitchell filter, never Gaussian, as I do see a difference most of the time.
ah! ok i didn't know there was a banner - I missed out on that I guess cos I've only got 1 G8 pro bundle LOL It's a good deal definitey, but alas, $70AU is way too rich for my blood. LOL.
I think Girl 8 looks pretty good, even if she doesn't look like previous Girls. I think she'd mix in with other morphs really well.
Here are a couple renders of Hazel for the girl. IMO she renders even cuter than on the promos. She's wearing Kinley hair.
Just for Jakiblue Special
Well, I didn't save the duf with those settings (love it when I do a nice render and don't keep the scene.) But I do remember what I did for the most part and definitely know the Environment/Render settings. But let's start from scratch and do a specific one for you.
Tone Mapping
1. Normally I put 135 to 145 in the ISO first, then I move the Exposure Value to 14.10 and slide it lower into the 13's until I'm happy with it. Usually 13.40 or so. This one however was (estimating based on experimenting I am doing now) 324.76 ISO and 13.28 for Exposure Value.
2. Since she was wearing white, in Tone Mapping the Burn Highlights would have been lowered to .20 or less, and Crush Blacks a bit higher. This render is .18 and .25 respectively
3. For newbies- if your character is wearing white, and you're not happy with the burnout glare, remember to add gray to the base/Diffuse color for the clothing in Surfaces. I darkened this top and bottom to a light/medium gray.
4. In the Render Settings Pane, in Progressive Rendering the max samples are 11,000 and max time was 118,000 (seconds) with a converged ratio of 98%
5. Stil in that pane, in Filtering, switch to Mitchell with Pixel Filter Radius at 1.35 (default is 1.50. The lower you go, the sharper details get.) The Noise Degrain Filtering is 3 and the Radius is 4. (Noise Filter Enable must be turned ON to see those.)
6. In DA Real World Lighting, click the Base Sun and Sky Preset that is clearly labeled APPLY FIRST. For that sunlight being splattered let's go into specifics as to where I had Helena, NOT AT WORLD CENTER, and a specific country/region to get "the look." Try putting your character into a sitting pose around these XYZ translations and XYZ rotations. First, It's important your character be facing with the cube in the viewport showing Right and Front, -that cube edge separating RIGHT/ FRONT (where I have the slash here) should be facing directly toward you for the camera view.
7. Your gal should be at these coordinates for the sun to hit her like Helena- XYZ translations are 35.94 / 33.75 / 3.24 and rotations are - / -28.34 / -
8. Next, go to Precise Location Presets and choose a South American country. Try Brazil Rio de Janeiro. (or Brazil Sao Paulo. Cambodia Angor Wat works well too.)
9. In Render Settings pane, Environment- scroll down to the Dome Orientation. You'll notice at 360, your gal/guy will have rim lighting on the right (as we look at him.) 320 will be behind your figure (and if you turned on bloom you get some fun effects. Bloom is in the same settings area as the Mitchell filter) 290 brings the light (still in back) over to your left as you look at it. 270 which I use a LOT gets the cheek on the left as we look at it, and the light is starting to come around to the front (based on where we have our gal rotated.) I suspect 240 is one you'll really like if you are using Rio de Janeiro.
TIP: Have fun with this- now type in 240 for the Y Dome Orientation, and watch what happens. The rim lighting switches neatly to the other side when it matches the Dome Orientation. So type in different values for your Y Dome Orientation after you find a Dome Rotation you like. For this character, 210 does a great backlit rim light. Since we're going for irregular sunlight, try 185 for your character in these coordinates.
So Dome Orientation was 240 and Y Dome Orientation was 185
10. I also went to the product's Haze and Tint Control and used "Slight Blue."
And then we have the Just for Jakiblue Special. So I'd tinker with your Dome Orientation and Y Dome Orientation with different countries, and I think you'll get that face splattering of sunlight. Also bend the head slightly backward and see if it catches a ray.
Hope this helps.
And this is with the wet skin geometry shell, as seen in the first Helena render. Exact same lighting as above.