Genesis Recommended Settings? (Diff, Spec, etc.)

wile_e_coyote930_c886060b2c

I've been using xnalara/XPS for more than a couple of years now, but only made the jump to DAZ in the last couple of weeks. Obviously I'm familiar with posing models and building scenes, but trying to light them... :/ I know that in the long run DAZ's vastly more in-depth lighting settings will be a big improvement over what I've been working with, but in the short-term I'm struggling with it. Been working (off-and-on) on one very simple scene for more than a week, in fact.

I followed this tutorial: http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/artzone/pub/tutorials/dazstudio/studio-lighting00 , which at least gave me some ideas on how to start with the overall lighting, but I think that my main problem right now is with my character. I created her from the base Genesis figure that comes with 4.7, and it's accompanying default textures (V4? Sample Lana?). Now I realize that I'm obviously not going to get the kind of photo-realistic results with this that are possible with a purchased character and it's super hi-rez textures, but I feel like I oughta be able to at least make her look as good as what I'm used to seeing (with models with similarly-sized textures) in XPS, and so far that's not happening. Either her face looks washed-out and over-lit (while the rest of the scene either looks fine or still too dark), or her skin is a little too red or a little too blue, etc.

I'm assuming that my issue here is with the surface settings of the model herself--diffuse, specular, and the rest. I've tried using it with the default (Sample Lana) settings, and I've also tried what was recommended in this guide: http://www.dream-lounge.com/dreamlight/club/ebooks/Skin1.pdf . But between the two of them they can't even agree on whether Lighting Model should be set to Skin or Plastic, and the contradictions just kinda go on from there. The dream-lounge guide also makes no mention of some settings like velvet or subsurface, among others. So at this point I'm pretty much completely lost. I'm sure that part of my problem is still with the way I'm trying to light the scene, but it seems like it'd be best to get the character set up in a good, workable way first, then move on to improving my lighting skills. Can anyone offer some helpful tips, or point me towards a good tutorial (that'll work for Gen1)? And please remember that I'm still pretty much fresh off the boat when it comes to DAZ, and right now I'm not looking for anything too advanced. Just something to get me started...

Tramp Graphics

Well, my first suggestion would be to go over to Sharecg.com and Renderosity's Freebie section and stock up on some freebie V4 and M4 characters with textures (Genesis can use V4 and M4 skins, as you've already figured out). Lana is not really that good of a skin texture, so that's probably at least part of your problem.

wile_e_coyote930_c886060b2c

I haven't had much luck finding free characters at either site that include new textures (mostly just morphs with preview pics rendered with $15 or $20 skins). I'll try again, but I really don't think that's my problem right now. Like I said, I've been rendering stuff in XPS for a while with characters whose textures are no better (and in some cases, worse) than Lana's, and with a lighting system that has way fewer options, and yet I was able to make them look nicer than anything I've managed in DAZ so far.

I may not be very pro at this yet, but I think I still know enough to diagnose that my biggest issue here is with the way the character's surface is receiving and reflecting the light, and that's where all these Surface Settings options come in. They're things I never had to deal with in XPS, and other than bump maps I'm still confused about what most of them do. At the moment I could really just use some advice on what to use for the following:

Lighting Model (Skin or Plastic?)
Diffuse (color & strength)
Specular (color, strength, glossiness, and if I should also be using Specular 2 or not)
Velvet (color & strength)
Subsurface (color & strength)
Translucency (color & strength)

I do realize that these settings will probably vary depending on the lighting conditions of each individual scene, but there must be a good "default" set-up I can give to my characters, and then make changes off of that...

Tramp Graphics

wile_e_coyote930 said:

I haven't had much luck finding free characters at either site that include new textures (mostly just morphs with preview pics rendered with $15 or $20 skins). I'll try again, but I really don't think that's my problem right now. Like I said, I've been rendering stuff in XPS for a while with characters whose textures are no better (and in some cases, worse) than Lana's, and with a lighting system that has way fewer options, and yet I was able to make them look nicer than anything I've managed in DAZ so far.

I may not be very pro at this yet, but I think I still know enough to diagnose that my biggest issue here is with the way the character's surface is receiving and reflecting the light, and that's where all these Surface Settings options come in. They're things I never had to deal with in XPS, and other than bump maps I'm still confused about what most of them do. At the moment I could really just use some advice on what to use for the following:

Lighting Model (Skin or Plastic?)
Diffuse (color & strength)
Specular (color, strength, glossiness, and if I should also be using Specular 2 or not)
Velvet (color & strength)
Subsurface (color & strength)
Translucency (color & strength)

I do realize that these settings will probably vary depending on the lighting conditions of each individual scene, but there must be a good "default" set-up I can give to my characters, and then make changes off of that...

Well, default" is just that, it's the default that the material files are set for. I typically stick with default. It should be noted that almost of the characters I've downloaded in the past come with textures.

here are a few I've used for my characters:

Nicholas for M4

Ashlan for M4

Donavan for M3/M4 (texture)*

WM Reebie for V4

Rosa V4

Lin for A4

Ella V4

Elena V4

Sandra for V4

Sonja for V4 Base

Findlay for Genesis

Lin for A4

Tyrese for M4

These should get you started, and most of the female skins come with multiple makeup options too. There are also some set just for eyes too, if you're interested. What you'll notice when applying these various textures if you look at them in the surfaces tab, is that the "default" settings for each will vary somewhat to optimize that specific skin texture. The Luke and Lana material files, however, are very "generic", as are the textures themselves.

wile_e_coyote930_c886060b2c

Thanks--I'm sure those will end up being very useful. :)