How do they do it

sheedee3D

Hello;

For as long as i am working with Daz Studio i have always wondered how promo images are made…one thing is for sure that these renders all have in common…they all look fantastic!...of course i know that these are made by professionals in the 3d bussines who know their stuff very well and they know all the tricks and in and outs of the trade.

Another thing that i also notice is that the vendors very rarely…or bretter said never divulge the light sets that were employed for the promos…but as you all might also know that on the Renderosity website its the other way around…in most cases the vendors reveal which lights were used for the promos…and if thats not the case…then you always have the chance to email the vendor and ask…and you will in most cases get an answer.

It is as if on the Daz side of things…this aspect wants to be kept a secret…or there is no interest in making this known to the public….which i find is rather sad.

It also seems like all the promotional renders at the Daz store would use the same light sets…or at least very similar…because they all look just fantastic!...if only i was let in on the secret…that way i too can enjoy the pleasures of a beautiful render!...but sadly enaugh this will never be divulged to the public…unless a vendor decides to be kind enaugh to let in on his or her secrets!...which i think is rare.

I have used various commercial light sets since i started with Daz Studio years ago…and as much as i tried my renders never even came close to the promos that i see at the store!...

If any vendor happens to be reading this…i would much appreciate at least a little tip on rendering promotional quality images!...much like the one i have attached to my post!

Thx for reading.

Scott Livingston

Here's a link to a tutorial on how to recreate the lighting and other aspects of the promo renders for Gia 6. I found it to be very, well, enlightening...

For a more general answer to your question, I assume that in most cases, the lighting for each promo render was custom-made specifically for that scene by the artist (who may or may not be the same as the one who created the product being sold). A few characters are sold with the light sets that were used in the promo images, including several by 3D Universe (Jasmin, Jason, Toon Amy, maybe others), Hitomi, several of Morris's characters, and some ARTCollaborations and ARTCollab products, to name a few examples.

You might also be interested in checking out this thread.

DestinysGarden

I don't think the lighting used in promos is a secret for most people. You can PM the vendors here and ask too. Scott is right though, a majority of the time, the light is customized for each scene, but I think vendors here are pretty open to telling you what they used as a starting point.
Lighting is just half the equation though. The surface settings almost always need to be changed or tweaked with the specific lighting being used. It really comes down to practice, practice, practice.

Edit: most of my products are light sets, so yeah they are included in the product, and used in all the promos. ;-)

Slosh

I, and many other PA's, tend to include our light setups in the product. You may have just not been lucky enough to get one of these products, although the lights might be in your library already and you just didn't realize it. I can think offhand of several PA's that share their lights in their products. To name just a few: JackTomalin, Slosh, AprilYSH, 3dUniverse, StoneMason, ARTCollab, Morris... the list goes on. Try checking your Light Presets folder, or the character folders.

frank0314

All of our lights (ARTCollab) are in the Poser runtime under lights. We only use our lights we are including in the sets for our promo so you know exactly what you are getting and the look you are capable of.

Khory

It is possible that many don't use a purchased light set but set the lights up for that scene as they go. Most of the time I use one of my light sets that is here in the store. If I need something different I tend to start with one of those and add what ever additional lights are needed and make adjustments till the light level is right again.

Herald of Fire

I've been working with Daz Studio and Poser for years and I still consider myself a beginner when it comes to lighting. I may be able to fake it at times with clever postwork, but I'm barely scratching the surface of what the engines are capable of. Lighting, like many things, is something that comes with a lot of practice. It's arguably one of the hardest parts of getting the right look to an image, and is why I've always respected those who get beautiful results with their own light setups.

That said, there's no big secret here. As mentioned, many PA's are very open about their own renders and have even included the promo lighting in the packages! You can't say fairer than that.

MarcCCTx

If you want a nice (free) lighting rig, try the one in the Day at the Beach Bundle tutorial.