New to Daz3d, and trying to decide what models to get
Hello, I am an artist who is intending to use Daz3D to help me with posing and lighting models so that I can use them as a reference for drawings I will do by hand. I don't really need clothes or hair or textures, I just want to use them similar to how artists use wooden mannequins. I want to be able to place multiple figures of both genders into a scene, and ideally have a little variety in terms of body type. I am making comic books, so ranging from super hero style unrealistic types to regular, and overweight, or whatever people. I don't at this time need children or very old figures. I definitely don't need overly specific character traits, like ethnicities or face shapes, or anything like that. In fact, I'd like to keep the models as plain white (as in literally blank white, not as in "caucasian"), and if possible, render them with a mere line drawing shading so that I don't have ambiguous gradients.
I've gone through some tutorials, and I have worked with 3D animation software in the past, so I have some familarity with the principles of using 3D modelling software. (I used to use 3DS Max, Maya, and SoftImage).
Where I am a little confused is on the use of "morphs", poses, and models. If I understand correctly, what I want to do is get a basic male and female model, and then purchase "morphs" that will allow me to alter these basic figures to create a variety of body types (overweight, model thin, physically fit...), and then maybe a set or two of basic poses as starting points to help speed up my process of positioning my figures.
Assuming I'm correct about that, can I just purchase morphs and poses for the generic male and female that come with the Daz software? Or do the more recent models have some greater compatibility or flexibility that would be useful to me? Right now it seems from what I've read that there are levels of models, different compatibilities, and possibly different features - so much so that I've got a bit lost. If I should purchase a more recent or advanced male and female set, which ones should I get?
Also, is there any restriction on how many characters I can add to a scene, and do I need to purchase more models if I want more characters?
I hope my questions are clear, and thank you for any help you can provide.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
DAZ Studio comes with several models which you can download for free. 'Genesis Starter Essentials', 'Genesis 2 Female Starter Essentials', 'Genesis 2 Male Starter Essentials' and 'Genesis 3 Female Starter Essentials' Each of these contain the Base figures (and some extras like Hair, Poses and basic morphs) for Genesis, Genesis 2 Female, Genesis 2 Male and the new Genesis 3 Female figure. You should download and install all of these figures, along with the Default Lights and Shaders as well.
Genesis is Generation 5, Genesis 2 is Generation 6, and Genesis 3 is Generation 7, so the latest figure, which is a morph of G3F is Victoria 7. Morph packs are not interchangeable between Generations. Have a look at what comes with DS, and then it will be easier to decide what you require for the future. There are morph packs for all of the free Genesis range of figures which can be purchased in the store here.
So far as restrictions as to the number of characters in a scene, remember the more of anything (props, characters) the longer it will take to render. Hair can be very slow, and it varies a lot. It's really up to you how much you want to put in a render.
Thank you for responding.
Currently, in my Daz 3D interface, I can only find a model that is part of a dancer woman tutorial. I've searched for "Genesis 2 Female Starter Essentials" on the Daz3D web site, but I keep getting taken to "Victoria 6 Starter Bundle." So I'm having a hard time figuring out how exactly I get these basic models you are referring to.
I found this blog post which shows a graph describing the relationship between all models, but having more explanations is making me more confused, let less.
Part of what I am confused by, is, if the basic models that come for free with Daz3D can morph and change as much as any other models, then why would anyone ever buy other models?
Starter essentials are part of DS, you won't see them in the store. You can download an install them either with Install Manager (DIM) or by going to "My Account > Product library" where you'll see all the DAZ products you own.
The models which come free with DS are a base to build on. They already include a few morphs, and you can add other morphs and characters to have more options.
I wasn't sure if by "other models" you meant "other base figures" (like V4 or Poser figures or something instead of G3F) or if you meant morphs for the free model you have, so I'll address both.
. If you meant why would anyone buy morphs for a model you already can morph: Time savings or lack of ability are 2 reasons that immediately jump to mind. While I could (and do) sit down and fiddle with dials to create a custom character, I have quickly learned that if you aren't just adjusting a small handful of dials, this can take a very long time. I'm also amazed at my ability to create "kill it with fire!"-ugly characters via trial-and-error dial combinations, haha. So while these parameters are obviously quite handy, they also require time and knowledge to use expertly, and having a variety of premade characters is extremely helpful in many situations. Similar to having pre-made poses. I could manually adjust every single joint to arrive at the same pose... but it's SO much nicer to just quick click on 20 or 30 poses to get a rough idea of the effect on your scene and pick one, then fine-tune it, trying to do that by manual adjusting everything could take weeks instead of seconds. Also, although I'm a bit hazy on how character creators do their thing, presumably one could create a morph in a 3rd party program that cannot be done by just spinning the dials.
. If you meant why would anybody buy a different model if you already have free ones: Different models have different capabilities, advantages and disadvantages. Although the brand new models look great and are undoubtably more versatile, they can't wear most (if any) of the clothes and accessories I already have invested lots of $ and time collecting, so I stick to the older ones. If owned nothing and were starting today, I would choose different models, based on the availability and cost of accessories for them and their ability to bend well. If you want stylized characters, or dramatically different shapes (aliens, anime, etc.) you might need to pick a specific model that is already or can handle that. If you wanted extreme closeups you might need to pick a figure that is designed with high definition or subdivision in mind. If you wanted a single figure to be able to wear both male/female clothing items, you might want to pick G1 instead of something else. If you are planning on creating and selling accessories for models, you might need to buy them all, or all the popular ones, or one where there is an untapped market. If you were planning on using them in another application, you might choose figures based on their poly count or other attributes that affect their compatibility with your target application. So, people can choose certain figures for lots of reasons, but many of those reasons may or may not apply to you personally.
if your not planning on texturing your models, adding hair or clothing you can probably render a small army of them without incident provided you have the RAM and CPU power to get the computer to respond when you manipulate them on the viewport.
That's a great reason to use DAZ Studio and techniques. Note that in addition to doing quite a bit with the basic figures you can also create primitive shapes (sphere, cube, flat plane etc.) and you can light them and the figures, and optionally cast "shadows". Even if an experimental "scene" doesn't work out, the various combinations and relative positioning of things is a great idea generator. Best of all, everything will hold absolutely still while you sharpen your pencils or step out to get some coffee.
There is a low cost set of morphing primitives that is nice, and several ground planes which can optionally be made to undulate. I've found and used models of everything from a top hat and leaves or playing cards, to "very large" items like the RMS Titanic.
Some models come with additional features which can be mixed-and-matched: for example Dreamlight's canyon includes a "sky dome" and sunlight; Merlin's church has "distant hills" that sort of resemble a country estate along the lines of Downton Abbey.
Thank you everyone for your considered responses.
Assuming I don't need any accessories at all, but that I wanted a male and female with the most morphs and poses possible, with the highest quality bending and articulation, what would you recommend?
This is exactly my hope. If it were possible, I'd like to replace the heads with basic shapes with lines on them so that the facial structure of the model does not influence my final drawing.
Along similar lines... for a couple of years I've wanted to use DAZ people to set up some funny, satirical scenes that would probably end up as watercolors and/or gouache/acrylic on illustration board. I just now realized that I don't necessarily have to flesh out the characters on the computer — although having some expressions and clothing items in my palette would certainly be nice. I can use computer scene set-ups to work out the layout and story continuity, and then I'll draw in pencil and ink on board and then float in some washes of color for a much "looser" look than your average DAZ Studio or Poser render.
Not having the figures influence the drawing too much can be a good idea, although it's not the goal of digital artists who seek the perfect render and so on.
Sometimes just playing around with scenery can yield interesting results... so far my "favorite DAZ/traditional media/regular photography-and-post-work combined" image is this one. I put a Dreamlight skydome over an Ant Farm scene of some old houses and the result was this wonderful, soft "crack of light" across the street. Then I took a picture of my dog looking like the Artful Dodger (and wearing a real "battered top hat" prop) and I put him in, "partly illuminated" with the light falling on his body.
It's by no means perfect and I still haven't finished taking out the leash, but I got a real chuckle out of doing this one.
Hope this was of interest. - Roman