DS Creative 13

Just which was the best coverCOVER OF THE YEAR

Take our Fun DAZAHOLICS quizARE YOU A DAZ ADDICT

For our 1st birthday we have gone freebie crazyBIRTHDAY BONANZA

The magazine for DAZ Studio usersDS creativeIssue 13 July 2015

REGULARS

FEATURES

44 • Fave FiveOne reader chooses 5 must have items this month Jodie Griffiths chooses.

58 • Competition TimeSummerSummers here so it’s time for a brand new challenge.

76 • GalleryOur second visit to see even more awesome artwork from the DAZ community.

90 • ContributorsOuOur regular round up of all those people who helped to make DS Creative 13 a reality.

04 • EditorialIn this anniversary Phil & Camilla talk all things DS Creative.

06 • GalleryOuOur first journey to see the amazing artwork produced by some of our fantastic reader in the DAZ community.

20 • Cult Classic ContentWWe asked you to pick a Sci-Fi environment that is a cult classic here is the shorlisted four.

30 • Competition WinnersSo maSo many winners for our anniversary competition so lets see who scooped a prize and see just what freebies got used.

50 • VENDOR SPOTLIGHTFor our third vendor spotlight we talk to another texture expert, this time it’s Secretheart.

64 • VENDOR SPOTLIGHTFFor our final vendor spotlight we talk to another DAZ regular and extremely nice and funny guy Dumor3D.

16 • VENDOR SPOTLIGHTFor our first vendor spotlight we talk to long time DAZ regular Fisty.

24 • ARE YOU A DAZAHOLICJusJust how addicted to using DAZ Studio are you? Take our simple fun quiz and find out.

26 • VENDOR SPOTLIGHTIn the second of this month's vendor spotlights we get to know Shox.

38 • ARTIST SPOTLIGHTOuOur artist spotlight and creator of the cover art this month is Eden Clark.

42 • COVER OF THE YEARWe asked you to choose your favorite cover from our first year, now which did you pick.

Issue 13Contents

02 • July 2015 • DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE

TUTORIALS36 • Anaglyphic 3DWe go retro to produce true 3D in a 1950’s anaglyphic style.

46 • Iray for BeginnersDigitaDigital artist Shiba takes us on a beginners journey into the world of Iray image making.

56 • 3Dl Render SettingsMauMauro Bisiani explains what all those settings actually do and helps you to get the best images settings without your render taking forever.

60 • What is IrayTotte Alm attemps to rid the world of all the misconceptions about Iray.

68 •68 • Image Making 101LeAndra takes us from lighting all the way through to postwork in a grand masterclass .

creativeds

creativeEDITOR

Camilla [email protected]

PRODUCTION DESIGNERPhil Thompson

[email protected]

TECHNICATECHNICAL EDITORTotte Alm

[email protected]

NEWS EDITORMatt Allgood

[email protected]

PROOF READERSanyel JacksonSanyel Jackson

[email protected]

TUTORIALS CO-ORDINATORSamir Rouabhi Deleuze

DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE • July 2015 • 03

Phil Thompson • PRODUCTION DESIGNER

So after twelve months I’m here sat at my desk once again, it’s a warm but grey June evening as I stare at a blank page in Mic-rosoft Word trying to find the words to explain all the amazing things that have happened in the last year. While I know, and can recollect most of the hundreds of hours that have gone in to the production, the year has just flown by. Every month, I start with a batch of blank templates and slowly as the days slip past more and more words and images slowly fill the void and each months issue takes shape.

But for me there is so much work involved in the magazine each month, more than just copying and pasting onto blank pages. But for me there is so much work involved in the magazine each month, more than just copying and pasting onto blank pages. From the many decisions that have to be taken with my colleagues, each month, as we try to sort out the hundred and one issues that constantly arise to all the emails. This really is a mammoth task, as we get quite a lot of email each month. Render-ing images specifically for the magazine, the amount of artwork I do for pleasure has dropped dramatically but I still get into DAZ Studio, but it’s usually for a promotional image or for tutorial screenshots. Now that brings me to tutorials or writing generally; my intention at the start was to just do graphic design and not to write, well OK maybe I had a tutorial or two in generally; my intention at the start was to just do graphic design and not to write, well OK maybe I had a tutorial or two in me but it didn’t turn out that way, I have written so many tutorials and articles that I have lost count. I really didn’t think I knew that much. Now all this sounds like a bit of a whinge, at the workload that I volunteered my skills for; it’s not. I love what I do and here is why; I love the fact that what we do is appreciated by you the readers. Here is a message that came the other week with some image submissions and it sums it all up (It has been edited for size).

Hi DS Creative Magazine,

I found your magazine when I was searching for some how-to articles of DAZ Studio stuff. I found your magazine when I was searching for some how-to articles of DAZ Studio stuff. I first started with some of the latest issues and then from the beginning, after each magazine, I learned some new things about DAZ Studio. You have also got a very nice collection of renders from many different people, and it's nice to read articles about some of my favourite vendors.

Thanks and what a great work!

I love reading your words. They tell me that you value not only what we have done, but what we are aiming to continue to I love reading your words. They tell me that you value not only what we have done, but what we are aiming to continue to do. Oh! I nearly forgot, I love the team, without the others it just wouldn’t happen.

I will close by saying that I hope to be struggling this time next year, as I face the task of what to write about, when we are facing our 2nd anniversary.

DS CreativeIssue Thirteen of

ToWELCOME

discount25%

DAZ-MAG-25

To celebrate DS Creatives first birthday DAZ3D will give a 25% discount off anything in the DAZ3D store excluding new releases (Items released in the last 60 days) or a gift cards.

ENTER CODE AT CHECKOUT

The coupon is valid between July 1 and will remain active through to the end of July 15, 2015The coupon will be good for one time use

Camilla Drakenborg • EDITOR IN CHIEF

So our first year comes to an end, and what an awesome learning curve it has been, hopefully our 2nd year will be the same or even better. We have proved that with a huge amount of hard work, determination, and not forgetting all the amazing input from our loyal readers and friends, that anything is possible. So I want to say – let’s give ourselves a great big pat on the back, we did good with what we have managed to achieve and heres hoping for more, far more! Also; a massive amount of thanks and gratitude to all those vendors and prize donors for; making our vision of a DAZ Also; a massive amount of thanks and gratitude to all those vendors and prize donors for; making our vision of a DAZ magazine extra rewarding, with both goodies & knowledge! The DAZ 3D world that we Dazaholics know and love, it wouldn't be the same without you guys, without the community as a whole.

Also, of course, DAZ "loves" us and that they show us every now and then by giving us something awesome, like for this Also, of course, DAZ "loves" us and that they show us every now and then by giving us something awesome, like for this special DS Creative Magazine 1st anniversary, we have a special 25% off coupon! –see the coupon image for full details - From the DS Creative team to everyone at DAZ3D, we thank you for the creative fun you bring to us, helping to connect us to our love for art and for helping us to share our inspiration!

Finally a big Shout out to the entire DS Creative team!

DS Creative1st

BirthdayHappy


SHAYARIN

SHAYARINMarkus BaGermany

ROWING ON THE LAKETotte AlmSweden

KOHRIKOHRIMauro BisianiItaly

creativeds

creative

Gallery

RENDERRENDER

realityreality

LuxLux


ROWING ON THE LAKE

KOHRI

RENDERRENDER

nVidianVidia

IrayIray


STAR CHILDSandra BauserUSA

LUCRETIAKarismaUSA

KOHRI

STAR CHILD

creativeds

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Gallery


LUCRETIARENDERRENDER

realityreality

LuxLux


NISKA

NISKAEstroyerNetherlands

OUTLANDISHMark KappeUSA

JENNIEJENNIEFantail451Australia

creativeds

creative

Gallery

RENDERRENDER

nVidianVidia

IrayIray


JENNIE

OUTLANDISH

RENDERRENDER

realityreality

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RENDERRENDER

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BABES IN THE WOODBowskiUK

TOO HOT TO HANDLEHenrico VisserSouth Africa

JENNIE

BABES IN THE WOOD

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RENDERRENDER

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TOO HOT TO HANDLERENDERRENDER

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TIE A BLACK ROSE

JOHN

JOHNTheresa HerlockerUSA

TIE A BLACK ROSEKerrie ManningUK

SCARSSCARSR.p.CallahanUSA

OHH SHE IS A VAMPIREGran22

creativeds

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Gallery


OHH SHE IS A VAMPIRE

SCARS


HOW DID YOU GET INTO 3D MODELING & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT?Oh gosh... *digs through computer*... I know the first prop I released, to fit a human Oh gosh... *digs through computer*... I know the first prop I released, to fit a human figure, was a necklace for Sadie that I gave away for the 2007 PA Christmas thread. I had dabbled before that, of course I had to learn, but that's the first item I remember. I started out as a texture artist and eventually turned to modeling, as I was getting increas-ingly frustrated with lackluster UV mapping techniques. This was way before the nifty .duf format and including new UVs to go with my textures, just wasn't an option back then. I figured, if I made the items myself, then I knew the UV mapping would be easy to work with. I'm even pickier about it now, than I was back then due to my fascination work with. I'm even pickier about it now, than I was back then due to my fascination with shader presets.

Fisty

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT


WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?Everyday objects and computer games for the most part. I'm not at heart, what I would consider, a creative person; I'm more of a craftswoman. Inspiration comes to me in small doses and for short periods of time, most of my work is based upon seeing something I think is pretty, looking for other similar designs, and then emulating the style without copying any of the specific references I found.

WHICHWHICH PROGRAM(S) DO YOU CREATE YOUR MODELS IN?Primarily Hexagon, some of my clothing designs start off in Marvelous Designer and go through several passes with ZBrush, Hexagon, and finally, UVLayout before they reach their final form. (Just exporting in quads does not a good model make!)

TYPICALLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED MODEL?It really depends on the scope of the project and how inspired I am. I'm still slowly It really depends on the scope of the project and how inspired I am. I'm still slowly working on clothing set for G2M that I started in September of last year. I can make a pair of conforming earrings ready to release, in a single day. Usually my clothing sets take 2 to 3 weeks if I'm consistent with my work schedule.

IF YOU COULD ADD ONE NEW FEATURE TO DAZ STUDIO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?DYNAMIC CLOTH from OBJs!!

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU WHEN CREATING A NEW PRODUCT?Character fit morphs for clothing, rigging for chokers and tight bracelets, and coming up Character fit morphs for clothing, rigging for chokers and tight bracelets, and coming up with enough different variations for shader presets. That's just the creation part though, writing all the stuff for the product pages trumps it all... I don't write well or quickly, I've been at these interview questions for about two hours now.


DAZ: http://www.daz3d.com/fisty http://www.daz3d.com/fisty-darc

what I appreciate most is her utilities like the rigging bases and clothing smoother morphs, products that are not only useful for end users converting older content to the newer figures, but have saved me untold hours of work untwisting the virtual pretzel that the auto morphing makes of mesh sometimes. And finally, Elliandra; she makes great poses And finally, Elliandra; she makes great poses and her work with shader presets really inspired me early on to learn how to make them myself, but most of all because she inspires perfection. A few of you will laugh at that, the rest... smile and nod and go buy some of her poses. ;)

HOWHOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLES ARTWORK MADE WITH YOUR PRODUCTS?Awesomesauce! There are few feelings in the world better.

CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME? AElflaed's Fancy Shaders is an add-on (sort of) AElflaed's Fancy Shaders is an add-on (sort of) to an outfit I'm still working on, the one I've been working since September. Its guy stuff!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT TO MODEL?Jewellery! Big surprise, I know. But all these Jewellery! Big surprise, I know. But all these questions have asked about modeling, shader presets are my other mistress as many know. I enjoy making shaders as much as I enjoy modeling jewellery, I would make more if I didn't run out of inspiration for them much quicker than I do for jewelry. I also really like modeling shoes but they're hard to get modeling shoes but they're hard to get working properly in Poser so I don't make them as much as I would like.

WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT CREATING FOR DAZ STUDIO?Only one? Gah... Make freebies, it's the best way to learn and get useful feedback.

WHICH 3 ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES OF YOUR OWN PRODUCTS? Ghawazee Coat for Genesis 2 Female(s), it Ghawazee Coat for Genesis 2 Female(s), it was one of those projects that took a good 6 months to complete and was one of the most complicated things I've made from a rigging standpoint. AElflaed's Fancy - Shaders for DS and Poser, Creating the original set wasn't very difficult or time consuming, reworking and resaving almost every preset after my and resaving almost every preset after my dear beta tester went through it with a hatchet took forever! It came out as my finest set of shaders so far though so it was worth every minute. Shadow Kin for Michael 5 and Genesis, an older product now but still dear to my heart and one of only a handful of characters I've had a significant role in, usually characters I've had a significant role in, usually I work on skin shaders and add accessories, Shadow Kin was almost entirely my own, he is my avatar on the forums used on Genesis 1 female, and these days he stands to remind me also of a lost friend.

WHICHWHICH ARE YOUR 3 PERSONAL FAVORITE VENDORS?No one ever wants to answer this question No one ever wants to answer this question because they don't want to upset anyone. I will answer because it's frustrating to read these interviews and want to know but not be told! There are lots of PAs that I admire and I can't list them all, but my top 3 are: Fred Winkler Art (I bet you all saw that coming) - he is one of my dearest friends, my business he is one of my dearest friends, my business partner for nearing 2 years now, and without him I would be totally lost... and he makes awesome characters! Sickleyield; she makes great products and shares a lot of my views, 18 • July 2015 • DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC-FJ-G2F.zip

PANDYGIRLPRESENTS JEWELLERY

BEAUTYINSPIRE

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC-Pnd-IB-G2F.zip

VIEW VIEW VIEW VIEW

Welcome to The Loading Dock, your waystation for planetary exploration and ter-raforming.Please note the Main viewing screens on the upper level, secondary viewing screens and data terminals are also located on the lower levels for your convenience.The Station has also supplied The Station has also supplied caged lockers for storing your valuables while here.

Created in a futuristic gothic style, GIS Orion is an interior hallway area with seating that you can remove or rearrange as needed. This versatile 3D science fiction scene might be a starship deck with a view across deep space, or part of a across deep space, or part of a futuristic skyline.

Welcome to Alphabase, the complete science fiction ground base. Alphabase consists of six close perimeter large walls, five gun stations, two individual and vertically adjustable landing ramps, the main gates, the gates upper main gates, the gates upper control room, the big main tower, floors and accessories. There are plenty of sci-fi details everywhere.

Stonemason's Urban Future series reaches its grand finale with a high detail sci-fi/urban street scene,Grungy heritage buildings are retro fitted with all manner of sci-fi goodies and compete with futuristic con-structions. A fitting conclusion structions. A fitting conclusion to one of Stonemason's most popular sci-fi series

THE LOADING DOCKARTCOLLAB

GIS ORIONJACK TOMALIN

ALPHABASEKIBARETTO

URBAN FUTURE 4STONEMASON

SPRAWL BASE FUTURISTIC INDUSTRIAL

We asked you to vote between 6 pieces of content to see which one you reckoned should be called a cult classic, these are your final four.This month Sci-fi Environments

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT


BY THE STREETESAPESA

Choose only 1 answer per question, make a note of the number/letter infront of your choosen answer

1054

3

21

Yes until my partner says No...Hell YeahMaybeNo

5D5C5B5A

YOUR GOING ON HOLIDAY, IF YOU HAD A POWERFUL LAPTOP WITH DAZ STUDIO ON WOULD YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU

All of them3 to 101 or 20

4D4C4B4A

HOW MANY OF THE G2F MAIN CHARACTERS DO YOU HAVE? VICTORIA, AIKO, THE GIRL, OLYMPIA, NINIVE ETC

Go and do something elseShop for more 3D contentPlan your next sceneSit and watch it anxiously

3D3C3B3AYOUR DAZ IS RENDERING, DO YOU

I will wait for the next oneMaybe laterGotta have it nowI'm happy with the ones I have

2D2C2B2A

A NEW FIGURE FOR DAZ STUDIO COMES OUT ARE YOU LIKE

OccasionallyOnce or twice a weekOnce a dayEvery waking moment

1D1C1B1AHOW OFTEN DO YOU USE DAZ STUDIO

TAKE OUR SIMPLE QUIZDAZAHOLICARE YOU A


Now go to page 88 and score your answers and see if you really are a

DAZAHOLIC

10

98

76

DS CreativeA classic fantasyAn autobiographyThe latest ThrillerA nice romance novel

10E10D10C10B10A

YOU FANCY A SPOT OF LIGHT READING BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP, WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE

They should have worked a little more on those morphs, They look unrealistic

Nice haircut

I wonder at which store they bought those clothes at

9C9B

9A

WHEN YOU SEE A PERSON IN THE LOCAL SUPERMARKET DO YOU THINK

Not enoughQuite a lotA few

None

8D8C8B8A

HOW MANY VENDORS ARE ON YOUR FRIENDS LIST

I would be cool throughout3 to 4 daysI could last a dayImmediately

7D7C7B7A

YOUR COMPUTER IS AT THE IT COMPANY BEING WORKED ON HOW LONG TILL YOU START HAVING DAZ WITHDRAWL SYMTOMS

I do it all the timeOnce or twiceNo Never6C

6B6A

HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT CONTENT WHILE AT WORK

DAZAHOLIC


HOW DID YOU GET INTO 3D MODELING & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT?I met DAZ Studio for the first time in 2009. I started to create images and two years later I wanted to learn more about creating stuff by myself. I needed one more year until I had enough skills to start offering my products at Renderosity.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?Inspiration is everywhere! Movies, comics, artwork, dreams and fantasies. I wish I could Inspiration is everywhere! Movies, comics, artwork, dreams and fantasies. I wish I could have enough time to work on all of my inspirations!

Which program(s) do you create your textures in?Primarily I use Photoshop, but I also work with Zbrush and Cinema4d. I hope I will learn more and more about these programs.

Shox

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT


WHICH 3 ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVOURITES OF YOUR OWN PRODUCTS?I do not have a real favorite I do not have a real favorite because I fall in love with every of my creations and I dont stop to improve every new product until Im pleased with it.

WHICH ARE YOUR 3 PERSONAL FAVORITE VENDORS?It is too hard to choose only It is too hard to choose only three! First of all there are other great vendors. I cherish those who work with me ongoing and for a few months now but there are more than three so I cant list all now. This is my way to say "thank you" to all of these "thank you" to all of these vendors because it is really hard to gain a foothold as a texture artist and these people make it possible!

TYPICALLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED MODEL?This always depends on the model itself and how many pieces are a part of it. Usually I need 3-7 days for five texture sets. Hair add-ons need about 1-2 days of my time.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT TO MODEL?I do not have a favorite subject to work with. I love the variety of my work; Hair and clothing, realistic and fantasy products. All is welcome.

WHATWHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT CREATING FOR DAZ STUDIO?Stay tuned! It is a lot of work and a very intensive learning curve to create good and indi-vidual stuff. There are a lot of stunning vendors outside and you have to find your own way in this marketplace. If you have your own style use every promotion you can get. Freebies, Facebook, and Newsletter all can help to find new customers and let your awareness grow.

IF YOU IF YOU COULD ADD ONE NEW FEATURE TO DAZ STUDIO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?This feature is already done! I did the most of my renders in Poser so far, because I like the renders more than my results with Daz studio but now Daz gets a new great feature with Iray!

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU WHEN CREATING A NEW PRODUCT?To find enough time for my work beyond my kids ;)


DAZ: http://www.daz3d.com/shox-designRenderosity: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/?vendor=ShoxDesignRuntimeDNA: http://www.runtimedna.com/ShoxDesign/

HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLES ARTWORK MADE WITH YOUR PRODUCTS?Im always pleased! At the beginning of Im always pleased! At the beginning of my work I didn’t see many artworks with my products but now there are more and more great artists who use my products and Im really happy to see this progress. It’s the best appreciation for a vendor!

CANCAN YOU GIVE US A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME? Most of my time I work on Daz Comis-Most of my time I work on Daz Comis-sions now and Im not allowed to talk about it but there will come great new stuff from Arki with my texture expan-sions. Luthbellina, Tentman, Cute3D and other great vendors also give me new stuff to work and I plan to bring out many hair addons at Renderosity. So keep your hair addons at Renderosity. So keep your eyes open!

Shox DesignPresents

ShoxoloRfor Lorelay Hair

10 awesome new colors for Lorelay hair that was free in issue 11 of DS Creative

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/ShoxoloR-Lorelay.zip

AprilYSH wingsOil barrel Hinkypunk earringsLenore G2FFk-MagicSense RingBest of LL Pose

Penelope Chaput

SUPER 3 Challenge


Cake one body shapeBWC skiesAnteater

Bellatryx

Dual 1st w inners


Silver and Raziel's Lenora for G2FBobbie 25's Free Long GownSarsa's Material for the Free Long GownLilflame'Lilflame's Portrait CollarSwam's Lorelay HairHinkPunk's Swirl EarringsFabiana's Magic Sense Ring

Jeff Thomas

TRIPLE 2nd places

SUPER 3 Challenge


SWAM's Lorelay hairSilverRaziel's LenoreHinkypunk's Earing & Ear Cuff CollectionBWC's Abandoned (Oil Drum)

Charlie McDonald

Lorelay HairAntEaterBest Of LunchLady PosesFree Long GownFree Long Gown Free Long Gown Textures

JENNIFER DRAKE

Silver and Raziel's Lenora for G2FBobbie 25's Free Long GownSarsa's Material for the Free Long GownLilflame'Lilflame's Portrait CollarSwam's Lorelay HairHinkPunk's Swirl EarringsFabiana's Magic Sense Ring

Larissa from FWArtLorelay hair from SwamLong gown from Bobbie25Long gown texture from SarsaDeco Props from Jack TomalinFountain from PandyGirl

SkyDaddyD

Skydome by SedorLenore by Silver/RazielLorelay Hair by SwamFountaiFountain by PandyGirl

Jose Rojas

3rd places


Elegance DressSveva BackgroundsOriental TopDamnation ThroneBest of LL PosesMagic Sense Ring

Deco PropsFW LarissaOil DrumHinkypunk EaringsLenoreMidnighMidnight for Elegance

Todd Kogutt

Lunchlady posesHinkypunk EaringsLenore character

Jodie Griffiths


The sphere represents the point at which there is no 3D effect. Anything closer than the sphere will appear to pop out of the screen and things beyond the sphere will appear distant.

How do you group everything together?I will select all three cameras, the sphere then go to the I will select all three cameras, the sphere then go to the “Create Menu” and choose "Create New Group". I will call it "Stereoscopic Rig". Make sure "Parent Selected Item(s) to New Group" is selected and click, accept.

Why did we create the preview camera?This one we will not render but we use while we set everyThis one we will not render but we use while we set every-thing up. Using this set up we never move an individual camera but always the entire group. Make your scene as usual; making sure you have items closer to the camera, than others, so that you will get that feeling of depth.

RenderingWe need to render images from both the Left and Right camera. Save your renders as Png files and make sure to include the name of the camera in your file name, so that you know which image is left and which is right.

Daz Studio lets us create 3D images; can we make them even more 3D?Yes, we can. We can take them into the world of stereo-scopic images, with a pair of, stereoscopic (anaglyphic) Glasses (Red/Cyan) which you can find online really cheaply.

Try eBay and with a little bit of work, in both Daz and Photo-shop, we can create this unusual effect that really gives your images a bit more depth.

To make our anaglyphic image in Daz studio we need a custom camera rig, the good news is that it is real easy to do. To make a Camera Rig we need to add 3 cameras. I will name the first one "Preview", the 2nd one "Left" and the 3rd one "Right". Now, we need to select these cameras and in the parameters tab we need to reset the X, Y & Z translate and the X, Y & Z rotate. This is fairly quick and easy, you can click the small cog at the right of the parameter and choose reset from the popup menu.

NoNow, we have 3 cameras at the same point in 3D space, all pointing in the same direction. Next, we need to select the Left camera and adjust the X translate to -3.25. Finally, select the Right camera and adjust the X translate to 3.25.

Why have we just moved the cameras?This is to simulate the position of our eyes, which are approxi-mately 6.5cm apart.

This next step is optional, but I find it helps to make the effect better. I am going to place my focal character 5 metres from the camera. First, I will create a primitive sphere 0.1m in size and I change its colour to red, so it’s easy to see. Now, I move its Z translate to -500 (5m). Then, I want both the left and right cameras to be aimed on it. In each of the cameras parameters, in the Misc section, the "Point at" option, I select the sphere.I select the sphere.

Phil Thompson takes back to the 1950’s for some stereoscopic fun

ANAGLYPHIC DAZ 3D


click OK. Do the same for the Right layer but this time un-tick the Green and blue channels.

One final step, because you are off-setting two images, both the right and left edges of your image have a small strip where the effect doesn't appear, so you may want to crop a little off those edges.

NoteSome people find that B&W looks better than full colouSome people find that B&W looks better than full colour, so you can desiderate both layers before switching the color channels off.

CompositionTo create my anaglyph, I open both images in Photoshop and change the names in the layer palette to left and right respectively. I then select the left image, select all (CTRL+A) and then Copy (CTRL+C). I then switch to the right image and paste into place (CTRL+Shift+V).

In the layers palette, double click the icon for the Left layeIn the layers palette, double click the icon for the Left layer. When the layer styles dialogs comes up, in the advanced blending section, un-tick the red channel and then


Since I started using DAZ in February, 2014 I think I have seven, maybe eight images total that I feel were good enough to post online. Still, it took six months for me to put up the first one, so I am slowly getting faster (if that's not an oxymoron).

How do you find inspiration?Normally,Normally, it starts with a vague idea, which I usually immediately toss out because it's kind of silly, or too dif-ficult, or not my style. And I would say that about 90% of those ideas were in fact terrible, and best forgotten. Eventually, however, one will keep popping back up in my mind, resurfacing if you will. After a while I'll decide to make an attempt at it. After that I will become semi-obsessedsemi-obsessed with it. Curiously, the image I eventually end up with usually only bears a faint resemblance to the original idea. I tend to create as I go along.

Which artists inspire you the most?I tend to find inspiration in a lot of strange places; however there are some artists whose work I constantly admire. Jasim Junger (kuschelirmel) is a German 3D artist over at DeviantArt, and she does some really amazing work. Her use of colour is extraordinary. Also at Devian-tArt there is an artist named Anders (Softyrider62) whose work is very different from mine, but really awe inspiring.inspiring. He does wonderful, surreal images with this breathtaking sense of isolation. Finally, Marta Dahlig is another artist I adore, and her work is the first digital art I ran across. In a lot of ways, when I realized her work was digital, that is what inspired me to look into seeing if digital art was something I was capable of myself. I aim to be as good as they are one day.

How did you first get started in 3D art?II became interested in 3D art about year ago, in February, 2014. I have always loved art, and desperately wanted to be a painter when I was younger. Tragically, I was a terrible at it. Also, due to a later injury to my right shoulder, I have poor fine motor control over my right hand and anything that requires me using that hand intensely (such as; drawing, or even writing by hand) causes my shoulder and armarm to spasm and lock up. Being right-handed, I'd given up on making anything that could be categorized as "art" many years ago.Honestly, finding DAZ Studio, and discovering that creating 3D art was something I was actually capable of doing was wonderful for me. It was like letting out a breath that has been held for too long. Because of my arm, and inexperience, I still take a lot longer than most artists to complete a picture.

Eden Clark

Artist SPOTLIGHT


Who are your three favorite vendors?GivenGiven that I rematerialize, destroy and combine a lot of different props from many places it's hard to narrow the list down to just three vendors. Everything made by Merlin Studios is always of the highest quality, and always very versatile. I love dynamic cloth, so I'm a big fan of Optitex. Jack Tomalin, his stuff is amazing and also very versatile. I'm big on versatility.

WhatWhat are your three top product you use currently?RealityReality for DAZ Studio provides fantastic realism, espe-cially when it comes to skin. Even though I tend to heavily Photoshop my renders, I think having such a realis-tic base to start from keeps my characters from looking like Barbie dolls. The Japanese Tea Garden by Merlin is something that I use all the time, sometimes in its entirety, but almost all my work incorporates various props from it. Also I have this Tamati Bed I picked up over at RuntimeDNA that comes with a futon, blanket and morph able pillow that I think has been used in at least four of my images.

What goes into a piece of art for you?IfIf I were to try to describe my art style (or at least describe what I attempt to do) I would simply point to elements I love in all types of art. I love lighting with a lot of contrast. I love art that has an element of the surreal. Oh - and I'm a colour junkie. Completely, and totally addicted to saturated colours. These elements may not be in every piece of work I do, but I try to incor-porate them as much as possible.porate them as much as possible.

The Needleseye sword comes with 3Delight textures but can be retextured with nVidia Iray shaders as in the promo image

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC-NES.zip

SwordNeedleseyePresents the Charlie McDonaldMaster Armourer

ArmoreyDS Creative The

If you would like to appear on the cover of DS Creative as well as featured in the artists spotlight then please do get in touch we would love to hear from you Email us at:[email protected]

YYou never know you could be the winner of next years cover of the year.

One year, 12 covers, we wanted to know which cover art from DS Creatives first year was the overall favourite so we created a poll in facebook group and let you have your vote, and boy did some of you find it difficult.

But what we at DS Creative want to do is give a big But what we at DS Creative want to do is give a big thank you to the 12 amazing artists who helped to make DS Creative look amazing, so a big Thank you to:Matt AllgoodVerica AlzheimerMavrosh StratiotisMario HeyerBowskiBowskiSandra BauserLeAndraSydney Kara AndrewsMary VanAsscheVicki LeversedgeElianeCKShibashakeShibashake

YearOF TheCOVER

YearYearOF TheOF The

YearOF TheCOVER

YearYearOF TheCOVEROF TheCOVEROF TheOF TheCOVER

So our Cover Artist of the year is ElianeCK for our amazing Issue 11 cover, Well done and Thank you so much Eliane

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/BWC-SA.zip

Screwy AxeBWCPresents the Totte AlmMaster Armourer

ArmoreyDS Creative The

If you would like to submit your favourite five just follow the format above, 5 items with links plus your reasons they are must haves, also include a short bio and a piece of your artwork and send it to:

[email protected]

TellUs

Your Five

FAVORITE

I love piercings! So when I saw this set I was ecstatic! The quality is there, every-thing is extremely well made and you are given a huge amount of various piercings to play with. I really use this set a lot in my renders, especially when I'm going for a more realistic look, the metal material of the piercings really adds to the realism!

http://www.daz3d.com/piercing-essentials-for-genesis-2-female-s

PIERCING ESSENTIALS FOR GENESIS 2 FEMALE(S)

05

Outoftouch produce some of the most incredible hair styles I have ever used for Daz. Nicki has to be my favourite! The optional hair blending option gives you SO many different hair colours to blend and create something truly original. I especially like this style as it’s so diverse. It’s modern and stylish, but it also looks good in sci-fi scenes and historical scenes!

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/nicki-hair-and-oot-hairblending/106736/

NICKI HAIR AND OOT HAIRBLENDING04

Danae has a gorgeous selection of skin tones and characters for V4, and it was hard to choose a favourite. I chose London because it is the skin tone I use the most. If you are looking for HQ skin tones with a sense of realism, Danae is the one for you!

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/the-metropolitan-collection---london-v4-2/97977/THE METROPOLITAN COLLECTION - LONDON V4.203

Ninive is a fairly new character, and I have only just got my hands on her. I fell in love instantly. Her skin is beautifully pale, and she compliments any scene per-fectly. I especially love Ninive's soft features, which are perfect for portraits. Ninive is also great for more realistic renders, as she isn’t cartoonish at all.

http://www.daz3d.com/ninive-6NINIVE 602

Bobbie25 is easily my favourite clothing designer for Daz studio. I won this outfit in a Daz creative contest and was amazed at the quality and detail in every part of this outfit. I've used this outfit multiple times already, and I definitely won’t stop. I'd recommend this outfit to anyone, as well as the rest of Bobbie25's collection!

http://www.daz3d.com/study-timeSTUDY TIME01

My name is Jodie Griffiths and I'm a full time psychology student here in the UK. I've been using Daz studio for just over a year now. I began with reality, but progressed to octane render. I love browsing websites such as DeviantArt for inspiration, and even take inspira-inspiration, and even take inspira-tion from this very magazine! My favourite thing to do in Daz studio is portraits. I love how you can focus on each small detail and bring a character to life.

Jodie Griffiths

Five Runtime must havesFAVOURITE FIVE


2. I do Ctrl-A to select all items in my scene pane. Then I Ctrl-click to un-select lights and cameras.3. Next, (a) I click on the Surfaces Tab, (b) click on Editor, and (c) select all the objects within it

4. Now, (a) I click on Presets. Within the Presets pane, (b) I select Shaders > Iray.If you are not using the Smart Content functionality within Daz Studio, you can get at the Iray

shaders through your Content Library by going to Shader shaders through your Content Library by going to Shader Presets > Iray > DAZ Uber in your Daz Studio directory. Finally, (c) I double click on the !Iray Uber Base shader to convert all the objects in my scene to using Iray shaders.5.5. Note that Iray also has specialized shaders for glass, metal, water, fabric, leather, and more. At this point, I identify any special surfaces in my scene that fall into these categories, and assign them accordingly.6. I do Ctrl-double click if I want to keep the original textures of my selected objects. This will open up a pop-up window. I select Ignore, and then click on Accept.

I am starting to play around more seriously with the Iray renderer in Daz Studio. The great thing about Iray, is that we can create realistic looking renders without having to muck around too much with lighting.

In this tutorial, I will describe how to create a simple realistic In this tutorial, I will describe how to create a simple realistic render from start to finish. This tutorial is intended for Iray beginners who are already familiar with the standard Daz Studio Interface.

1. Creating the Scene and MaterialsI create the scene in the same way as I would in regular Daz Studio.

HoweveHowever, one very important aspect of getting a scene to look right in Iray is in using the right materials.In this tutorial, I make a very simple scene with a female In this tutorial, I make a very simple scene with a female figure and a dragon tattoo on her back. She has interesting, long, wind-blown hair and is wearing a bikini. I make sure to use a highly detailed and realistic looking skin on my human figure. In this example, I am using the Bambolina skin by Tem-pesta3d. I also get pretty good results from the Daz3d Elite skins that I got from Michael 6 HD Add-On and Victoria 6 HD Add-On.HD Add-On.This simple scene allows me to focus on learning the basic material and lighting aspects of Iray.After I finish creating my scene, I need to apply Iray shaders to all of my scene objects (figures, clothing, props, environ-ment). One simple way to do this, is to

1. Click on the Scene Tab. Then, right-click on the Scene pane, and select Expand > Expand All.

ShibaShake helps us to create a stunning character study in Iray

IRAY FOR BEGINNERS


As far as I can tell, the Environment Map slider also controls IBL intensity. For example, rendering at Environment Inten-sity 1 and Environment Map 1 gets me the same result as rendering at Environment Intensity 0.5 and Environment Map 2.4. Next, I set Dome Mode to Finite Sphere so that I have more control over how the image map is used in my scene. When I do this, additional controls appear including Dome Scale Multiplier, Dome Radius, and Dome Origin XYZ.

Dome Scale Multipler and Dome Radius allows us to scale Dome Scale Multipler and Dome Radius allows us to scale our environment map, and Dome Origin allows us to reposi-tion our environment map. I set Dome Scale Multiplier to 3 so that I can see more of the image in my scene.5. Next, I want to position the sun in the image map at the right place so that it casts a nice rim or silhouette on my figure. To do this I need to better understand how my image maps onto the 3d-dome in my scene.A simple way to think about it is to divide our image into four segments.

•• Section A maps to the front of the dome (what we see in the scene).• Section B maps to the right of the dome.• Section C maps to the back of the dome.• Section D maps to the left of the dome.Essentially, the left of the image maps onto what we see, and then it goes clock-wise from there.

7. There are also specialized shaders for Genesis 2 males and females. These shaders will use the existing skin textures that we have on our figure. Therefore, I select my female figure in the Scene pane, (a) go to theSurfaces Tab, (b) click on the Presets button, and (c) select Materials > Iray > Feminine. Materials > Iray > Feminine. (d) I double click on the Iray Optimized Genesis 2 Female MAT to apply this shader on my figure.

8.8. Finally, I tweak my surfaces as needed. I find that the Iray skin shaders are a bit too glossy/shiny for my taste. There-fore, I select my G2F figure, go to Surfaces > Editor. Open up Genesis 2 Female and select Skin. Then I change the Glossy Layered Weight to 0.5.This finishes the material setup of my simple scene. As I learn more of Iray and create Iray and create more complex scenes, I will probably want to do more here to get the best render results. However, that is for a later time and tutorial.

2. Iray Image Based LightA very simple way to light my Iray scene in a realistic way, is to use an image based light (IBL). To do this

1.1. I go to (a) Render Settings > (b) Editor.2. I select (c) Environment > Dome.3. I assign an appropriate image to light my scene in the (d) Environment Mapcontrol. In this example I am using Barce-lona Rooftops that I got from sIBL Archives. That is a great site to get free IBL images.


The sun in our image is in section C (back of the dome). Therefore, to move it to the front of my image, I rotate the dome by 180 degrees. This gives me a nice rim or silhouette effect on the left of my figure. Rotating 270 degrees shifts the light-rim to the right of my figure.

HoweveHowever, it looks like there is also too much light in my scene, and there does not seem to be enough contrast between the rim set by the setting sun and the rest of the image. This is because of the camera headlamp.In particulaIn particular, if there are no lights in the scene (other than the IBL), Daz Studio automatically adds a headlamp to the top of the camera to light our scene. This headlamp is adding too much light and reducing the contrast of the IBL that I want. To turn off this headlamp, I simply add a Daz Studio light to the scene, and then turn that light off. In this way, the only light source is my image based light (IBL).only light source is my image based light (IBL).

3. Postwork and Done!Finally, I add some glow to my image, tone it to a more orange sunset color, lighten the figure a little bit, and I am done!

FOR IRAYHEXAGONSPRESENTS

DS Creations

Minor adjustments may be required depending on the G2F figure and footwear

HEXAGONS COMPRISESTHREE HEXAGON PLINTHS EIGHT POSES FOR THE GENESIS 2 FEMALE

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC-Hexagons.zip

HOW DID YOU GET INTO 3D MODELING & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT?In 2001, right after my first child was born, I began using Poser (which I had previously In 2001, right after my first child was born, I began using Poser (which I had previously used in some web design projects) in earnest. At that time, assets for the software were very expensive and I quickly discovered that if I wanted to buy clothing/hair/pos-es/whatnot for use with Victoria 1, I would have to learn to expand the items on my own. I began texturing clothing for use in my little images at that point. Soon I started sharing my creations and in the Fall of 2002 I released my first commercial product at Poser Pros. Thirteen years later, I still love what I am doing and find new challenges in every single thing that I do.every single thing that I do.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?I get my inspiration from all kinds of sources. I try to stay very tuned to what is happen-ing in fashion, particularly Couture, and I am highly influenced by the likes of Alexander McQueen and Elle Saab. I also absolutely love movie/television costuming. The last couple of years have found me studying the costuming of Game of Thrones and trying to teach myself how to bring the amazing details found in those costumes into my textures.

Secretheart

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT TO TEXTURE?I think that when it comes down to I think that when it comes down to it I really love things that I can make beautiful. Sometimes that means that I am thrilled to be texturing an elegant ball gown and other times that means that I really want to dig in and turn models that are intended for a particular genre into intended for a particular genre into something totally different with textures.

WHICH PROGRAM(S) DO YOU CREATE YOUR MODELS IN?For the most part I work strictly in Photoshop as I prefer the "hands on" feel of it, but I also use Blacksmith, Shadermap, Painter and a bevy of other little programs that make some of the things I do easier and faster.

TYPICALLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED MODEL?For me, that depends on where I am drawing my inspiration and what the actual figures For me, that depends on where I am drawing my inspiration and what the actual figures are. I often build a "story" as I am working which helps me to move along with several variations on a theme. Depending on the intricacy of the textures I work between 4 - 7 days on a set of textures. If there are lots of pieces to texture or lots of tiny little details that need focused attention from me it might take a little bit longer. I know a lot of other texture artists work much faster than that, but I want to love every single thing that I do, so I don't rush myself.

IF YOUIF YOU COULD ADD ONE NEW FEATURE TO DAZ STUDIO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?The one thing that I find myself wishing for every single day is a "render queue". I loved being able to set dozens of promo renders up in the queue before I went to bed at night, so that I could wake up to lots of work done with very little waiting around. I hate waiting. I am one of those people that want things in an instant. If I had a render queue I would be a very happy girl.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU WHEN CREATING A NEW PRODUCT?For me, it is finding that first thread of inspiration. What is the story that I see in what I For me, it is finding that first thread of inspiration. What is the story that I see in what I am working on? Where will that story go? How will I take that thread and make it into 3, 4, 5 variations. Usually, by the time I have gotten through the first set of textures, I don't need to think much about it anymore, but that first set can often take me longer than the rest of them combined. them combined.


http://www.daz3d.com/anna-benjaminhttp://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/?vendor=128163http://www.runtimedna.com/secretheart/

WHICH ARE YOUR 3 PERSONAL FAVORITE VENDORS?I have been around for so long that I have a nice big list of vendors that I go back to over and over again.Bobbie25. I love working with Bobbie and Bobbie25. I love working with Bobbie and her models. She is a flurry of inspiration and has no boundaries as far as genre is con-cerned. Even if I wasn't texturing her clothing I would still be buying it to use in renders.Lyoness. Her characters are a staple in my DS Lyoness. Her characters are a staple in my DS library! I find her characters are often just what I need for this, that or the other thing. They are often just my style without any tweaking and they always render beautifully.Fabiana. I don't even know where my renders Fabiana. I don't even know where my renders would be without Fabi's products. I use her jewellery constantly as well as her lights, props and scenes. She has been a staple in my runtimes since the very beginning.

WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT CREATING FOR DAZ STUDIO?Take the time to learn. Really, this is the best Take the time to learn. Really, this is the best advice that I can give anyone. You cannot simply "dive in" and expect to be successful without first knowing the basics. For texturing, you want to know what each aspect of the shader does and how it affects the other parts. If you don't know how DS works from the inside out I think that you'll find frustration the inside out I think that you'll find frustration around every corner. I know that I did until I sat down and gave myself the time to learn.

WHICH 3 ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES OF YOUR OWN PRODUCTS? Ever After is a texture expansion for Ever After is a texture expansion for Enchanted Dreams, which was a collaboration between Bobbie25 and myself. I love this one because I got to play with fairy tales which are one of my favourite things to draw inspira-tion from. This was also the first product that I did from start to finish in DS. Everything from development of the textures/shaders to ren-development of the textures/shaders to ren-dering the promos happened in DS. After switching back and forth between Poser and DS for development for years, I was (as silly as it sounds) really proud of myself for getting it all figured out and starting with DS materials/-shaders then, translating those to Poser as opposed to the other way around.opposed to the other way around.

I have a series of texture expansions for Arki's products, which I fondly call "The Keepers". As a whole these are some of my favorite cre-ations. Keeper of Kings is my favourite. It gave me a chance to really play with my Game of Thrones obsession and led me to study the costume designer and embroidery mistress for the show. I learned so much and really had fun the show. I learned so much and really had fun bringing my vision of these characters to life.

With "The Keepers" still on my mind, I have to say that the third would be Keeper of Beasts (there are actually 2 packs), which is a set of expansions for Arki's Dragon Gear. This was one of those outfits I took the challenge of turning into something different than it was intended. I had so much fun turning this kind of sci-fi inspired set of clothing into something sci-fi inspired set of clothing into something more fantasy driven. My favourite part of these products was the creation of the promo images. If you take a peek (at all 3 versions of the pack) you'll see all kinds of beasties and creepy crawlies. Choosing which version of the texture was the keeper of what was so much fun for me.what was so much fun for me.


HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLES ARTWORK MADE WITH YOUR PRODUCTS?I love seeing what people do with my textures! I particularly love it when they take my story and turn it into something that is totally their own which lets me see my work through their eyes.

CANCAN YOU GIVE US A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME? Lots! There are many new things on my horizon and I am very excited about what the rest of this year holds for me.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU CONTENT TO BUY?I have content in all of the major markets. DAZ I have content in all of the major markets. DAZ 3D, Renderosity and RuntimeDNA.

FREEBIE

SECRETHEART AMAZING FOR AN

TURN THE PAGE

PRESENTSSECRETHEART

for the Elegance gown by Bobbie25

NIGHTSSTARRY

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/AHB-Starry_Nights.zip

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/AHB-StitchBrushes.zip

Stitching brushesBONUS

SHIROI OOKAMICAMILLA DRAKENBORG

RENDER SETTINGS: Filter Filtering increases render time and produces crisper Filtering increases render time and produces crisper images. With filtering, calculations are done on more pixel than specified by the resolution, then the image is reduced to the final resolution, taking into account the values of all the pixels in the enlarged image. For example, for a resolution of 1024x1024 with a filtering of 2x2, calculations are done on a 2048x2048 image, that is later reduced to 1024x1024.

The default value of Pixel Samples (X: 6 The default value of Pixel Samples (X: 6 Y: 6) and Filter (Sync) give the best results in most situations.

HoweveHowever, for lowering rendering time, you can experiment with other Filters and/or reduce Pixel Samples. It's also possible and useful to entirely disable filtering; to do that, set Filter to Box and Pixel Samples to 1, 1. This reduces render time and filtering can be easily done using something like Photoshop or GIMP.

RENDER SETTINGS (Sampling): Shadow Samples When using shadows (either Shadow Maps or Ray When using shadows (either Shadow Maps or Ray-traced Shadows), increase this value gradually; to obtain crisp shadows. Typically, it is required to increase it, at huge ren-dering speed cost, when using "Shadow Softness" in the light parameters, which produce more realistic shadows. Set "Shadow Softness" to 0% in the light parameters and experi-ment with lower "Shadow Samples" value to gain on render speed.

USE SHADOW MAPS WHEN POSSIBLE Shadow Maps are pre-calculated maps. While less accurate than raytraced shadows, they are faster to compute. However, they are not always suitable.As shadow maps are, well, maps that have a limited resoluAs shadow maps are, well, maps that have a limited resolu-tion. Try to use them with focused spot lights and avoid distant lights. The "Shadow Bias" parameter requires some trial-and-error adjustments, as sometimes Shadow Maps create some self-shadowing artifacts (dark areas that should be lighter). Basically, what "Shadow Bias" does is setting an offset for the starting point of shadow calculations; increase it gradually if you see artifacts.

RAYTRACED SHADOWS Raytraced Shadows are calculated during the render Raytraced Shadows are calculated during the render-ing process. The calculations are very slow, as light rays are emitted from the camera towards every point in the scene and then shadow rays "bounce back" toward nearby objects.

The most important parameter is "Render Settings -> Max Ray Trace Depth". It is the maximum number of mediums in the scene that light needs to travel in.

Lower values mean faster renders; higher values mean slower renders. The impact is exponential. Higher values are to be used only when dealing with reflections/refractions. Increase by 1 for every new medium light needs to travel in the scene. For example, in a full glass of wine render light travels across the glass, then the wine, then the glass again. Another example could be the reflection of an object on a metal teapot viewed in a mirroteapot viewed in a mirror.

RENDER SETTNGS: Shading Rate This value dictates how many times the scene is "broken into pieces" prior to rendering. The finer the pieces (higher values); and the finer the render quality, the higher the render time.The impact is exponential. Some typical values are 2 for testing, 1 for production, 0.20 for scenes with very fine details (like intricate cloth patterns).

RENDER SETTINGS (General): Resolution The higher the image resolution, the higher the render The higher the image resolution, the higher the render time. The impact is proportional. Render resolution works in tandem with Shading Rate. The higher the image resolution, the lower (higher values) the Shading Rate required for crisp images.

06

05

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Mauro Bisiani explains what all those render settings are for.

3DL RENDER SETTINGS


http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/ll_DazMagFree.zip

Now that summer is upon us it’s time to head for the beach leaving behind all the dullness and misery of your day to day life, so pack your flip flops, slap on some sun tan lotion and put on those sunglasses and head on down to the beach because summer is here.

Life's a Competition time

All competition submissions are to be sent to:[email protected]

All submissions must be new artwork and must not have been displayed online before

Images can be either portrait or landscape Deadline is 23:59 UTC on the 22nd of July-15

For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook group:For full prize Information and for full term’s and conditions visit our Facebook group:HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/DAZCREATIVE/

Beach


3Delight:This is the same scene lit by the same distant light. As you can see, the light does not have cast shadows on by default in 3Delight, so the distant light passes through the trashcan:

When we turn on the shadoWhen we turn on the shadow, setting it to raytraced, as shadow mapped shadows still has a problem i 3Delight and they do look awful. We can see that the shadow is extremely black, even blacker than in Iray, as in Iray the light bounces off the fence and onto the ground.

As most of us are aware, DAZ incorporated a new render engine in DAZ Studio 4.8 with the name Iray. Iray is devel-oped by nVidia and the render engine is physically based and unbiased, which means it will try to mimic the real world as close as possible. The default Render engine in DAZ Studio until now has been 3Delight, which is a Renderman compati-ble render engine.

The main reason Renderman and 3Delight is very popular render engines in the vex world, 3D Visual effects, is that is a biased render engine, where you can by controlling things like shadows can get very good results that using normal photog-raphy would require very complex light rigs.

Shadows are by nature sharp. The only thing that soften shadows are; light coming from all other directions or are bouncing of other surfaces that will brighten up the surfaces making shadows softer. This is something 3Delight does for you, iRay doesn’t. Iray will let you light up the background using multiple lights (best to use is HDRI images for outdoor scenes), where you cast light from every direction, and also from the “sun”.from the “sun”.

To show what I mean by this, here are a few examples. I did not spend time to change the materials, what is interesting in these pictures is the lights and shadows. The set used if someone is interested is Junk Yard Wall by Imaginary House. For Iray the distant light lumen is set 5 (which is a good number for distant lights).

Iray:This is a small scene lit only by a distant light (lightning set to scene only).

This is the same scene with spree and scene lights turned on, using the built in HDRI image. As you see, the HDRI image (envi-ronment lights) will give the soft shadows by lighting up the scene.

Totte Alm attempts to rid the DAZ Studio world of misconceptions, false information and plain rubbish.

WHAT IS IRAY?


So, what more does Iray gives us, that 3Delight don’t? Iray has three different shade modes, the traditional mode that also 3Delight uses, called PBR Specular/Glossiness, another mode called PBR Metallicity/Roughness which is the default Iray mode on DAZ Studio 4.8, and one called Weighted. Although, 3Delight doesn’t have a PBR (Phyically Based Render engine), the Specular/Glossiness model is what most items setup for 3Delight or Poser uses. By using cranking up the Metallicity 3Delight or Poser uses. By using cranking up the Metallicity slider to 100% and the Gossy Roughness to like 30%, you can turn most metal surfaces into looking like metal. In this example I first used the Polygon Geometry Editor tool and selected all the polygons on the trashcan metallic and make a new surface with then, so I could turn up Metallicity only on that material. Note to PAs, please make metal surfaces separate surfaces in the future as it will make tweaking stuff separate surfaces in the future as it will make tweaking stuff for Iray so much easier.

With 3Delight, we often use UberEnvironment2, which is a surround light which work much like HDRI lights in Iray, but is not at all the same thing. The default setting in UberEnviron-ment2 is “Occlusion with Directional Shadows”, which I use here. With UberEnvironment2 you can configure various image maps and in this example I use the built in HDR KHPark.

Now, if we soften the light from the distant light, what will we get then? We will get a blurred shadow behind the trash can.

But UberEnvironment does have some more light modes, and But UberEnvironment does have some more light modes, and the light mode that is closest to what Iray uses is the one called “GI-Bounce”, which is bouncing Global Illumination. This render mode will really take time though, and will make Iray running on CPU only to look fast, it usually takes about twice the time of an Iray render, unless you have lots of transpar-ency mapped objects, like hair or grass, this will make you stop counting render time in hours, but in days. For this render stop counting render time in hours, but in days. For this render we also turn off shadow softness as this lighting mode mimics real world as close as possible.


For indoor scenes when you create point lights or spotlights, start off with a lumen of between 30 000 and 50 000 and adjust from there. Set the temperature to 6500 Kelvin for white light.

Displacements are handled differently between 3Delight and Displacements are handled differently between 3Delight and Iray. In iray, even if displacement is on and set, you still need to set SubD Displacement Level to something other than 0. Remember though that you should only do this for surfaces where the displacement is visible and close enough to the camera to make a difference, as you will otherwise fill the RAM or VRAM with gigabytes of unneeded mesh data.

If something is too shiny, use the Glossy Roughness and someIf something is too shiny, use the Glossy Roughness and some-times the Diffuse Roughness sliders. You can try to plug in a map there of the item. Have one, for example, for secularity. The results can be quite good.

Since Iray was released, I’ve read so many posts claiming this or that around Iray, and most of them are wrong, very wrong or plain stupid. Every render engine has its way to handle things, and you cannot just take a scene with lights and materi-als and render it in another engine hoping for a perfect result. You need to apply the same amount of knowledge, blood, sweat and coffee to make a scene in Iray shine as you have done making the rendering in LuxRender or 3Delight shine. done making the rendering in LuxRender or 3Delight shine.

Here is a quick list of things to keep in mind when you start playing with Iray and just want to throw your computer out the window.

For outdoor scenes, use HDRI images for lights and also, if needed, a distant light, photometric must be on, and the Lumen to between 5 and 15 for a daylight scene. The default, 1500 is like pulling the sun very close. This is set in the Render Settings panel.

Another nifty thing with Iray and the render window is the render settings tablet/slide out window that you can slide out from the left side of the render window. With that you can adjust most of the settings like filters, tone mapping. settings like filters, tone mapping. If your render is done, adjust and hit resume, otherwise it will just restart the render with the new values, but you will not have to wait for DAZ Studio to send all the mesh and texture to the IRay engine as it’s already there. If you happen to have already there. If you happen to have an nVidia card with enough VRAM to hold the scene, this is very fast


http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/EaJ-ROP.zip

PresentsEmmaAndJordi

PetalsofPetalsRainof

HOW DID YOU GET INTO 3D MODELING & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT?First, I'd like to say hi to all the DAZzies out there, and give heartfelt thanks for your support!

I don't remember the year, but I believe it was 1995? I picked up a program, called I don't remember the year, but I believe it was 1995? I picked up a program, called Visual Reality, which was a 3d modelling program. I did output a few things mostly for the web, such as logos and such. I purchased an upgrade to that which came with a free copy of the new Poser. I installed that version but found the people/figures were just too coarse for my use in CAD. It was a bit too early and computers just didn't have a lot of power to do more back then.

A little over three years ago, I decided to look for people again. I found Poser and DAZ A little over three years ago, I decided to look for people again. I found Poser and DAZ Studio. Studio was free so I thought, what the heck let’s give this a spin and I down-loaded it. I immediately found this virtual world had leaped forward. I was immediately hooked by the great quality of the newly released Genesis.

Dumor3D

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT


WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU WHEN CREATING A NEW PRODUCT?At this point I have most of my At this point I have most of my workflows down pretty good, although I do keep tweaking them. It seems there is always at least one snag along the way, but they vary widely and you just have to be ready mentally when you hit one. I think the one thing I always dislike is think the one thing I always dislike is writing up the descriptions and such for the store page. How sad is that?

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?It seems I was born with it. I've always loved to make things from models to stained glass to woodworking. I have too many ideas for things I want to make for our virtual world in DAZ Studio. Aside from hardware and software cost (yes, and time), this virtual world is unlimited. Lumber, cloth, stone, glass and any other materials you need are all free.

WHICHWHICH PROGRAM(S) DO YOU CREATE YOUR MODELS IN?This is a very long list; I'll hit some of the highlights. Each program has strengths and I like This is a very long list; I'll hit some of the highlights. Each program has strengths and I like to take advantage of those. Before I begin, I visualize the product and decide on a best starting point and try to see the full workflow. As for the mesh, it seems everything I do is at least loaded into Hexagon for some work, if not born there. It may have started in Marvellous Designer, my custom cabinet CAD program, zBrush or Silo. I do most of my UVs in UV Layout, but sometimes in zBrush or Silo, depending on my end goal. For textur-ing I use Photoshop, Photopaint, Genetica, Substance or a mix of the above.

TYPICALLY TYPICALLY HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED MODEL?The time varies widely. I suppose a month is the low end of that scale while the other end is around 9 months. I never really thought about it as having a baby until just now! I rarely work on only one product at a time. The two main reasons are; taking some time to digest where a project is and what might be made better. Also, after a number of weeks with the same item, it's just really nice to take a break and do something different for a while. Call it a mini vacation.

IF YOUIF YOU COULD ADD ONE NEW FEATURE TO DAZ STUDIO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?How about "If I think it, it happens"?

DAZ just hit it out of the park for me with Iray. I suppose my simple wish of the DAZ just hit it out of the park for me with Iray. I suppose my simple wish of the moment would be the ability to put controllers on surfaces/materials. Imagine, being able to have a single slider that could, for instance, vary the amount of rust or dust on an item. I'd like to see this tie in with Substance. It seems I always want this for something in everything I do. Maybe; just for something simple, like a dimmer for an emissive light. Yes, it's easy enough to adjust that in surfaces, but a separate single controller would make it a lot easier for the end user. And, it would be nice if that same controller could control rigging at the same time. For instance, dim the light and the modelled wall control rigging at the same time. For instance, dim the light and the modelled wall dimmer switch rotates or slides in unison with the dimming. This is a very simple example of what this feature could do.And then there is Kinetics.....


DAZ: http://www.daz3d.com/dumor3d

form the art. It makes doing this totally worth-while.

CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME? On the immediate horizon is "Simple Living - Living Room" which is loaded with goodies (and by far my favourite child). It contains a full suite of furnishings, lighting and tons of other props. I know some won't be too happy with me, but I designed this for use with Iray. Many of the very best features take forever to render in 3Delight while Iray eats forever to render in 3Delight while Iray eats them up. The lighting is completely Iray, from the exterior HDRI to the fully functional cats’ eye lights. Many of the props rely on spe-cialty glass or metals, not available in 3Delight. I'm really proud of this one!

I have more HDRI sets on the way. I do like doing heels and have a pair in the works. My "short list" contains 12 items at the moment. The long list I have not counted lately and is a very flexible list.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU CONTENT TO BUY?My products are available exclusively in the My products are available exclusively in the DAZ store under the vendor name Dumor3D.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT TO MODEL?I'm not sure I've decided this yet. You can see in my store a fairly wide variety of items. I guess the only answer is whatever I'm working on at the moment.

WHATWHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT CREATING FOR DAZ STUDIO?Patience, patience, and more patience. Then Patience, patience, and more patience. Then add in a big dose of dogged determination. Be prepared to start over maybe three or more times. Be prepared to hit roadblocks which may take a day, a week or several months to overcome. Did I mention patience and deter-mination?

WWHICH 3 ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES OF YOUR OWN PRODUCTS? Speaking of having babies... are parents never supposed to list their favourites?

Amazing Hat amazed me. I set out to do just a Amazing Hat amazed me. I set out to do just a fedora and modelled that. Then I thought, well if I add this morph it can do this other hat and then that morph to do yet another. Once I finished, it could morph into way more hats that I had imagined. I like surprises like that. It was a totally fun project.

I really like my Spa Sauna and hmmm... only one I really like my Spa Sauna and hmmm... only one more... I guess I'll choose the 'Perfect 10' pose bundle. I use them all the time. But gosh, those shoes! I haven't admitted to myself yet, but I guess I have a thing for heels? I guess, it might be a good thing I'm a man or I might be broke?

WWHICH ARE YOUR 3 PERSONAL FAVORITE VENDORS?OH gosh!!!! Put me on the spot! :) Very early on OH gosh!!!! Put me on the spot! :) Very early on I fell in love with Jack Tomalin's work. Anything new from him is an auto-buy-it. I must however leave the next two slots open. I've made a lot of friends among the PAs and yes, a number of those could fill in these last 2 slots.

HOW HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLES ARTWORK MADE WITH YOUR PRODUCTS?Fantastic! That is by far the biggest reward of Fantastic! That is by far the biggest reward of all! It's neat to have an image catch my eye for the artistic quality. Then during the admiration process, realize something of mine helped


http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/Dumor3D-LaD-HDR.zip

Dumor3D

LightDark&&&Set

Hdr

Since the Ambient Light is going to be coloring most of the scene, choose your color accordingly, typically to match the environment. I chose a dark brownish to get across the feeling of a desert or post-apocalypse wasteland. With my intensity set to 200%, I also made sure to set it to Diffuse only so I could better control my Specular later. If you need even more ambient light, try adjusting the parameters so that you can exceed the limit of intensity. Ocan exceed the limit of intensity. Or, you can brighten the color of your light. Another way of adding additional ambient light, like I have done, is to add another light. For my image, I created an Advanced Distant Light, coloring it a more satu-rated orange color. I used this as a ‘Fill Light’, though I left shadows on when typically Fill Lights do not have shadows.

Once I’ve created my ambient light, I move onto my rim lighting. Rim lighting can be a little tricky to get right in a 3D setting especially if you have background props or want it to hit a certain area. But even though it can be a little difficult to get right, I still highly recommend working with it. It’s worth your time. It’s a great way to separate your character from the background or otherwise have them stand out. Postwork is particularly useful for rim lighting, especially concerning is particularly useful for rim lighting, especially concerning making the character or other focal point to really pop from the background.

You may use any type of light for rim lighting, including point lights and spotlights. This can reduce the difficulty when dealing with objects in the way or if you want to limit where the light hits. However, this tutorial will go over the use of Distant Lights as the rim lights as that is what I typically choose for rim lighting.

Create an Advanced Distant Light (or regular Distant Light) Create an Advanced Distant Light (or regular Distant Light) for your rim lighting. It can be helpful to turn off whatever other lights you may have in order to properly see the rim lighting. Make use of that Aux Viewport as well!

For my scene, I ended up with three rim lights, which is a little For my scene, I ended up with three rim lights, which is a little unusual for me. I usually only have 1-2, typically on either side of the character. This time, however, I wanted to do more work in Daz Studio than in Photoshop, so I added a stronger rim light along just the edge.

Hello! My name is LeAndra Dawn and I am a digital artist that works in Poser, Daz Studio and Photoshop. My specialty is postwork which is what a good portion of this tutorial will cover. By the end, I hope that you will understand more about lighting in both Daz Studio and Photoshop so that you can apply it to your own art!

Requirements: Basic to intermediate knowledge of image Requirements: Basic to intermediate knowledge of image editing software, knowledge of Levels and masking, basic knowledge of Daz StudioSoftware: Daz Studio (tutorial uses 4.7), image editing software with Levels and masks (Photoshop, etc); Age of Amour’s Advanced Light Bundle for Daz Studio highly recom-mended for Daz Studio portion of the tutorial

Before we begin, I think it’s important that I point out that I use Gamma Correction in my images which affects what light intensity I have my lights set to. Keep this in mind when setting the intensity for your own lights. But even if you don’t use Gamma Correction, this tutorial will be perfectly fine for you!

As always, with any tutorial, this is not a ‘correct’ way or the As always, with any tutorial, this is not a ‘correct’ way or the only way to achieve these effects. There is no wrong or right way when it comes to art, just personal preference or style. This is the way I do things and what works for me. I strongly encourage you to pick and choose what works for you to implement into your workflow. Instead of following this tutorial letter for letter every time you create a piece of art, try using only small pieces or think of other creative ways to try using only small pieces or think of other creative ways to use these techniques. I encourage you to look up other tutori-als describing these same topics. Gathering knowledge from several different sources will make your art that much better.

Lighting in Daz StudioAmbient Lighting

For my art pieces in Daz Studio, I almost exclusively use Age of Amour’s Advanced Light Bundle (AoA’s lights), though I do occasionally use UberEnvironment (included with Daz Studio). The Daz Studio default lights can work with these tips, but they are far less customizable.

TTo start lighting, I add an Advanced Ambient Light to my scene. Alternatively, you can use UberEnvironment (UE) here. With UE, make sure you set your quality high enough. As of now, the only disadvantage I see with using AoA's Ambient Light over UberEnvironment is the lack of IBLs or HDRIs, unless I'm missing something.

LeAndra Dawn guides us throughher creative process.

IMAGE MASTERCLASS


The focal point of the image is just what it sounds like, the place that pulls in the most focus or catches the eye. It's important to have a focal point to your image and usually this is chosen when you first start your piece of art. Focal points can be anything, it all depends on your image. It's also possible to have more than one focal point, but be careful not to overdo it or it can make the piece feel overwhelming or con-fusing.fusing.

Focal point lighting will consist of having brighter lights in that area of focus than the rest of your scene. Since brighter lights are more eye-catching then dimmer ones, that’s a good starting point to bring focus to that area of your image.

There are several different ways to achieve focal point lighting, mostly dependent on your scene. For my scene, I had previously planned on a magical effect on her hand as the focal point. The light that the magic will cast will also bring in focus to the girl, specifically her face and upper body.

For focal point lighting, spotlights tend to be the go-to type For focal point lighting, spotlights tend to be the go-to type to use, though any type of light can work well as long as it is lighting your focal point primarily. For this image, I used a com-bination of spotlights and point lights (default Linear Point Light). Coloring it green like my previous rim light, I positioned the point light in her hand and then adjusted the settings. I didn't turn shadows on because I wanted as much light as possible coming from the point light. Additionally, those possible coming from the point light. Additionally, those types of lights can sometimes have unpredictable or undesir-able shadows, so I decided to leave them off. For the other settings, I changed the falloff settings as well as the intensity to better fit my scene.

*Quick Tip*: Falloff – Falloff is a setting used in Spotlights and Point lights. It can be very useful when you are trying to have the light only hit certain areas or to not go past a certain point. The setting can be intimidating if you aren’t sure how it works, but it’s actually exactly how it sounds. Falloff Start is where the light begins to falloff or fade away. Falloff End is where the light stops completely. For example, if you want a bright center to a point light, you would set the bright center to a point light, you would set the Falloff start higher since you don’t want the light to falloff or fade away immediately. With Fallout End, you would set this to right before what you don’t want to be lit.

For positioning, you usually want to rotate them until they only shine on the very edge of the character or scene. Or, the rim of it. Try using the Y-rotation to spin the dial around the subject, but don’t be afraid to use the other rotations as well to get it just how you like it. As for color, try to avoid any eye-catching colors like bright red unless your focal point can overcome that color or the rim light is very minimal. I chose a similar color to my ambient light, but brighter and less satusimilar color to my ambient light, but brighter and less satu-rated. Feel free to set the intensity to whatever will fit your scene. I normally have my rim light intensity set fairly high. For this scene, my intensities were at 200% for my orange rim and 100% for my green. The orange were my primary rim lights with the green being for more artistic purposes.

*Quick Tip* - Don’t be afraid to add things to your image that may not be 100% realistic. Use your artistic license to make your image your own! If rim wouldn’t necessarily be on the part of your image, but you want it there, put it there! It’s your art! I’ve done this many times, so don’t be afraid to stray from realism in order to enhance your image!

As I mentioned before, positioning rim lights can be a little As I mentioned before, positioning rim lights can be a little tricky. When rotating along the X axis, keep in mind that this can sometimes cause light to shine on the ground, which in my case they did. But, since I liked the look, I kept it. The light hitting the ground can actually be useful if your rim lighting is more a large light or the sun. However, when you don't want it to light the ground, that's where it can get a little difficult. There are a couple of ways of resolving it, such as using differThere are a couple of ways of resolving it, such as using differ-ent types of rim lights like points or spotlights, use the special settings included with the Advanced Distant Light or you can render things out separately. For example, rendering out your main focal point of your image with the rim lighting, then render the rest without. Afterward, you can combine them in in your image editing software. For my scene, I ended up with two orange-ish rim lights for For my scene, I ended up with two orange-ish rim lights for her left outer edge and a green for her right. For the orange ones, I positioned so that one was more ‘broad’ across her and the other one tighter. In other words, one rotated a little more toward her back, so even less of the rim is showing and therefore, tighter. After creating those, I then added the green rim light on the other side, the same color as my focal point light that I will create latepoint light that I will create later.

Focal Point Lighting

Levels is typically my go-to for a lot of things in postwork including lighting, enhancement and to bring out the details of the image. Instead of the levels option in the menu, I almost exclusively use the levels adjustment layers. They allow for far more control and can be adjusted at any time. And if anyone has seen my timelapse videos, they know just how many Levels adjustment layers I use!

TTo start, take a look at your image and decide where you need to enhance your lighting. Typically, I start with the focal point which would be the magical effect glyph, but this time I started with the girl herself. Using the lasso selection tool, I select the portion of the image I will enhance via Levels. Next, create a levels adjustment layer either via the Layers Palette or Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels. Adjust the settings as you see fit for your image, keeping in mind that the settings as you see fit for your image, keeping in mind that you can change them at any time. You'll have to have previous knowledge of Levels to get the most out of this or just play around with the settings! Never hurts to experiment. After-ward, you will need to soften the edges of the Levels layer by either blurring or painting with the brush using a soft edged round brush to 'erase'. These Levels layers can be used for anything, can be duplicated and stacked on top of each other. Experiment!

After enhancing the girl, I will then move on to enhance the magical glyph, using the same technique as before. Select via Lasso selection, Levels adjustment layer. Then paint or erase as needed. Be careful when using Levels layers as they can some-times shift colors into other hues or are far too saturated. So make sure to adjust accordingly afterward. My typical solution is to create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer or create a white filled layer surrounding area and set it to layer create a white filled layer surrounding area and set it to layer blending mode Hue.

*Quick Tip*: Levels – Don’t just use the brightening part of Levels when you are brightening for rim or your focal point (the right most arrow). Use the darkening arrow as well. This will provide great contrast between the two with the addi-tional benefit of the darker darks making the brights look even brighter. Contrast between the two attracts the eye just as much as a brighter part of the image.

The three spotlights for my focal point were colored the same green as the linear point light. All three were positioned at or near the ground, but casting the light upward onto the girl's face and upper body. It gives the impression that the magical effect in her hand is casting light on her entire body. Shadows on these lights can sometimes be problematic like the linear point lights, but instead of turning them off, I increased the softness of the shadows. That way, I can have increased the softness of the shadows. That way, I can have some shadows but they are soft enough as to not be totally noticeable. I also had a specular only spotlight to make the materials on the focal point pop (make sure you have specular settings on your materials!)

*Quick Tip*: Materials & Specular

Textures and material settings are just as important as lighting, so keep that in mind when working on your image. If you think you’re doing well with one and you feel your images are still lacking, try practicing on the other.

For example, did you know that everything realistically has a For example, did you know that everything realistically has a specular or shine to it? Whether very low or very high, all materials should have some sort of specular. It allows your scene to have a more coherent look, especially if the specular is receiving the colored light of, say, your ambient or focal point lighting (set your specular color to white). Play with colors, glossiness and intensity to make the best use out of speculaspecular.

Postwork Lighting

Focal PointMy focal point for this piece will be the girl's face and her magical glyph. To that end, I will apply postwork that will bring out those parts of the image while reducing the focus of the rest of the image. For this tutorial, I will cover the lighting aspect of that postwork. The various enhancement settings that I use to really bring out The various enhancement settings that I use to really bring out my lighting consist of Curves, Levels, masking and regular painting techniques. I also make great use of layer blending modes. All of these things have many tutorials on the internet to better understand how they work, so I encourage you to look them up!70 • July 2015 • DS CREATIVE MAGAZINE

Levels

Not unlike the focal point lighting, using levels as rim lighting Not unlike the focal point lighting, using levels as rim lighting can greatly enhance its effect. The process is the same. However, it's very useful to have an alpha channel or mask selection that contains your focal point, like painting with the soft round brush previously. I use the same alpha channel as I mention before, the one with the girl and those things attached to her. With that selection active, I create a new Levels adjustment layer and adjust those settings accordingly. Levels adjustment layer and adjust those settings accordingly. Using this method, I have to erase much of the layer so that it only encompasses the edge.

Advantages: This tends to be a more realistic method of rim lighting. It keeps the underlying colors, just brightening them. Consistent lighting with your scene.Disadvantages: Brightening darks or shadows is problematic because to do so you will have to overblow your brights or highlights (or use multiple Levels layers). It isn't the perfect solution when working with colored rim lights, though there are ways to fix this. Keeping within lines of the masks in order to not brighten the background or other parts.It will depend on your image which method you use, or you It will depend on your image which method you use, or you can use one consistently. Or you can, like me, use a combina-tion in your images. Additionally, you can also use different methods for different parts of your image. For example, the hard round brush would be good for focal points whereas the soft round brush would work well for overall, soft lighting. For this image, I used all three with adjustments according to what I needed for my image.what I needed for my image.

Enhancement/Other TechniquesWhite Overlay

Another consistent technique that I use for every image is the 'white overlay' technique. It is a very simple way of enhancing parts of your scene and letting the details really pop.

Rim LightingPainting - Hard Round BrushThere are three different ways I typically go about enhancing There are three different ways I typically go about enhancing my rim lighting. The first, is to paint or trace along the lines of where I’d like my rim lighting to be. I use the eyedropper/-color picker to choose a color from the image, usually from the rim lighting that is already there (from the 3D render). Sometimes I will then have to choose a lighter or more satu-rated color, depending. With my color now selected, I choose a hard round brush, the size depending on your scene (any-where from 4-8px for a ~5000px width image). Then, I trace the edges of the girl and her weapon, but only those edges that would be hit by that rim lighting (i.e. the left side). Once that is finished, I sometimes need to soften the lines or even duplicate them depending on my needs. If you find it's too bright or stands out too much there are several ways to adjust: reduce the opacity, change the color or blur it via Gaussian blur.

Advantages: Separates well from the background. Provides excellent contrast and thus will be the focal point. Recom-mended for areas that already have bright rim or for focal points (the girl's head or metal/shiny objects).Disadvantages: Sometimes can be too 'sharp' or too much of a separation from the background.Painting – Soft Round BrushThis method can be a little more complicated, but only if you This method can be a little more complicated, but only if you don't work with masks regularly. For me, it is necessary to have an alpha channel dedicated to your focal point. You can work without, but the mask/alpha channel will make every-thing a lot easier. The alpha channel in my PSD consisted of only the girl and those things attached to her (weapon, clothes, etc).

To start, create a new layer. Then, load your alpha channel as a selection (button on the Channel palette). Next, add a layer mask to that new layer. With your chosen rim light color in the foreground, paint along the edges of your focal point. Since you have the layer mask applied to the layer, your color should only show up where you have masked it off (some-times you may have to invert your layer mask to have the proper mask). After you are happy with your coloring, try proper mask). After you are happy with your coloring, try playing around with layer blending modes to get the best look for your image (Color Dodge, Linear Dodge specifically).

An alternative way of using this method is to use white as your color and set the layer blending mode to Overlay. This may be ideal for certain images instead of using color.

Advantages: Much better rim coverage. More realistic since the light covers more area.Disadvantages: Less control, having to erase portions you acci-dentally hit with a large soft brush. If using color, it can some-times look odd (especially if blending mode is set to normal). Keeping within the lines of the masks in order to not brighten the background or other parts.

Levels


Thank you very much for reading my tutorial and I hope you learned something! Feel free to drop me a note or email if you have any questions! Happy arting!

Download the timelapse video for ‘Breach’ here (1.1Gb): http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/Breach.zipMore videos as well as tutorials and tips can be found on my Patreon page

http://wwhttp://www.patreon.com/kaannahttp://leandradawn.deviantart.comhttp://www.leandradawn.comhttp://www.gumroad.com/leandradawnhttp://www.facebook.com/artofleandradawn

Grayscaling - Temporarily grayscaling your image is an excel-lent way to both refresh your eye and check the values of your image. Portions of the image with lighter or brighter values (closer to white) will catch the eye and thus, your focal point should be the lightest compared to the rest of your image. Color can be very distracting when trying to deter-mine if your focal point is, actually, the main focus of your image. This is why I recommend 'grayscaling' in order to properly check your values and focal point. To do this, create a new layer on top of everything else. Fill with white. Set the layer blending mode to Hue. Then, closely inspect your image for distracting values, brightness where there shouldn't be or errors in contrast. It takes a bit of learning to understand values and how they work, especially image to image, but it’s worth it in the long run.worth it in the long run.

Flipping - Flipping or mirroring an image horizontally is another way to refresh your eyes after working long hours on a project or image. To do so, go to Image > Image Rotation > Flip Canvas Horizontal. This will affect the entire image and all of your layers. To revert, repeat that process.

First, create a new layer and set its layer blending mode to Overlay. With pure white as your foreground, choose an appropriate brush for your scene. I use hard round brushes for detailing and large soft brushes for lighting. You can also use textured brushes for more detailing on fabrics, leather, etc. Experiment with this, try using different colors to really make those areas stand out.

*Quick Tip*: *Quick Tip*: Texture Brushes – You aren’t restricted to using soft round or hard round or any specific type of brush for any of these. Experiment with all kinds of brushes. Textured brushes are especially useful for the White Overlay tech-nique. Pick a leatherized texture brush and paint over your leather instead of trying to trace over patterns already there. Use a grungy brush to dirty up a piece of clothing.

Choosing where to apply the white overlay can be tricky when you are first learning this technique. There is no wrong way to do it, whatever works for your scene. However, unless I'm using this for lighting, I tend to avoid covering large areas with it. It is typically reserved for just bringing out those details.

Examples of where you may apply this technique: stitching, Examples of where you may apply this technique: stitching, patterns in fabric, character's eyes, character's features (such as tattoos), metal, highlights in hair, magical effects, etc.

Grayscaling/Refreshing Your Eye

When working on an image for an extended period of time, When working on an image for an extended period of time, many artists know that we can get fatigued from that image. We'll miss errors and details and we won't notice them until we've stepped back for a day or so. If you do not have that kind of time, there are a few ways to 'refresh your eye' in a pinch. I would still recommend stepping away from an image if only for an hour if you can manage it, however.

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/AmyforGenesis3.zip

Next months category is Ultimate Steampunk, if you want to cast a vote check out our facebook group from the 3rd of July onwards https://www.facebook.com/groups/dazcreative/

We asked you to vote for a classic cult Sci-fi Environment

Stonemason - Urban Future 4 Street Levelhttp://www.daz3d.com/urban-future-4-street-level

The Winner

CLASSIC CULT CONTENT


The outfit requires the Army Combat Uniform for V4 available at: http://www.daz3d.com/army-combat-uniform-for-victoria-4The Navy Fatigue cap requires \Runtime\Geometries\DS3D\Clothing\USMC\DS3D_USMCcap.objavailable at http://www.daz3d.com/usmc-marine-for-michael-4

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/MM3D-NCUV4.zip

MM3D NAVY MARPAT COMBAT UNIFORMManiacmayo May

DARBY

DARBYAdrian Schmit

CORNEREDKalinaj SindwellerRomania

FALLENAlexaanaAlexaanaUK

creativeds

creative

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FALLEN

CORNERED


CHARLIE

CHARLIEMario BuschGermany

LUMINAJean MorneauCanada

DESERT EVILDESERT EVILBellatryxItaly

creativeds

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RENDERRENDER

nVidianVidia

IrayIray


DESERT EVIL

LUMINA


DROPAstuce ManFrance

TIREDMithoronUSA

DESERT EVILDESERT EVILBellatryxItaly

creativeds

creative

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TIRED


HOT SUMMER

HOT SUMMERAndreas Küntzer

DEMURE RADIANCEJennifer KitchensUSA

THE PYROMANCERCharlie Mc DonaldCharlie Mc DonaldUSA

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RENDERRENDER

nVidianVidia

IrayIray


THE PYROMANCER

DEMURE RADIANCE


FORGOTTEN ANGELRian Bergwerff Netherlands

SENSUALAnnie AltherrUK

THE PYROMANCER

FORGOTTEN ANGEL

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RENDERRENDER

realityreality

LuxLux


SENSUAL


SERENGETI

SERENGETIMary VanAsscheUSA

NINIVEJodie GriffithsUKSTORMSTORMDaniel WrightUK

creativeds

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RENDERRENDER

33DelightDelight


STORM

NINIVE

RENDERRENDER

realityreality

LuxLux

RENDERRENDER

OtoyOtoy

OctaneOctane


DAZ FATALITYWow if you really scored 500 then there is no hope, just have your salary paid directly to the store of your choice as there is no way you are going to spend it on anything else, now just like back and the doctor will see you shortly.

500 POINTS

DAZ ADDICTYou have it bad, we sense that if someone or something keeps you away from DAZ for more than an hour or two then there is going to be trouble. This is a serious case of DAZ Studio addiction and the only thing you can do is to keep rendering, Iray, 3Delight, Reality or Octane the engine doesn’t matter just render and buy some more content.

350 - 499 POINTS

SUFFERERWhile you don’t have full blown DAZ Addiction syndrome at the moment, you do show all the signs of being well on course and its only a matter of time until you become overtaken by DAZ Studio, while a doctor would tell you to take it easy, I suggest you get back to that scene you are planning because you know you want to, and then subit your final render to DS Creative.

150 - 349 POINTS

MINOR CASEYour score indicates that you are clear of DAZ Addiction syndrome, but in the future it is posible that you will contract DAZITIS and while it will be mild to begin with soon it will have you in its grasp, for now read your copies of DS Creative, browse the 3D content stores and keep rendering.

1 - 149 POINTSHOW DO YOU RATE

5A - 0pts5B - 20pts5C - 50pts5D - 40pts

10A - 0pts10B - 0pts10C - 0pts10C - 0pts10D - 10pts10E - 50pts


9A - 10pts9B - 0pts9C - 50pts9C - 50pts


8A - 0pts8B - 50pts8C - 25pts8C - 25pts8D - 10pts


7A - 50pts7B - 25pts7C - 10pts7C - 10pts7D - 0pts


6A - 50pts6B - 25pts6C - 0pts6C - 0pts

Now you need to check your chosen answers against the score chart then total them all up and look below to see just how much of a DAZAHOLIC you really are

DAZAHOLICARE YOU A


Hidden Corner is a beautiful background image 2827px x 4000pxJust add a gure, pose & go

backgroundbackgroundCornerCorner

Hidden

http://4eyes.code66.se/dsc/DSC_hidden_corner.zip

THE DS CREATIVE TEAM

EVERY MONTH DS CREATIVE NEEDS A SMALL LEGION OF PEOPLE TO HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN, SO TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO HELPED TO MAKE ISSUE 13, A VERY BIG THANK YOU.

CONTRIBUTORS


THE TEAM

Camilla DrakenborgPhil ThompsonTotte AlmMatt AllgoodSanyel JacksonJamie SomersJamie SomersBobbie Brundon JeffreySamir Rouabhi Deleuze

FREE GIFT CONTRIBUTORS

DAZ3DFistyShox DesignSecretheartDumor3DDumor3DPandyGirlEmmaandJordiSilver LunchladyTotte AlmDS CreationsCharlie McDonaldCharlie McDonaldManiacMayo

TUTORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Phil ThompsonTotte AlmMauro BisianiShibaShakeLeAndra DawnLeAndra Dawn

Mark KappeMarkus BaMary VanAsscheMauro BisaniMithoronPenelope ChaputPenelope ChaputPhil ThompsonR.P. CallahanRian BergwerffSaidge42Sandra BauserSkyDaddyDTheresa HerlockerTheresa HerlockerTodd KoguttTotte Alm

IMAGE CONTRIBUTORS

Adrian SchmitAlexaanaAndreas KuntzerAnnie AltherrAstuce ManBellatryxBellatryxBowskiCamilla DrakenborgCharlie McDonaldDaniel WrightEsaPesaEstroyerFantal451Fantal451Gran22Henrico VisserJean MorneauJeff ThomasJennifer drakeJennifer KitchensJodie GriffithsJodie GriffithsJose RojasKalinaj SindwellerKarismaKerrie ManningMario Busch


When its dark and raining outsideI put my feet up and read DS Creative

Artwork by Phil Thompson

DS Creative Issue 14 - 1st August 2015

Date post:	22-Jul-2016
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DS Creative 13

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