Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 11
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An easy cheat (which we discussed in my threads years ago) was to render a DOF scene (set) so it's blurry, and simply put that in as the backdrop in Environment pane. We all did a bunch of examples. It's best to render them to match whatever dimensions you have in the Render pane.
Thank you so much! Yes, I did learn a lot from this! It is taking a while to render but here is a partial screenshot. I changed the water color because I didn't like that murky brown color. Also I think I need more RAM because my mouse and keyboard start getting unresponsive while rendering. This only has 16 GB...
Cool! I guess I missed that! That's great news for my CPU only computers!
I'd call that a success! Read through the Fern Lake threads that Novica linked, to learn even more.
Yes! Good reminder about having the backdrop image the same aspect ratio as your render size. It doesn't have to be the same exact pixel dimensions, but if the aspect ratio is different, the backdrop will be squished and look strange.
Yes, I will, thanks! I can see having a lot of fun with this now! Changing colors of leaves, water, adding more foliage, etc... Now I just have to learn how to use LAMH in IRay so I can add animals! I think I got very lazy in the past just doing people. This opens a whole new world! (But I really think I need more RAM!)
Also, should a 1667x2000 scene of Fern Lake above take over an hour on a 1080 ti? I was thinking, renders would zoom with this. Is 16 GB enough RAM?
@icedragonart I noticed you had a gallery entry Lavender but there's no eyebrows showing, and when I click on brows, none are loading on her. Do you remember having problems? Anyone else tried Lavender? There's gallery entries so I'm wondering why I'm not getting any brows. I tried several.
Someone test this too please- When you do Smile, then Smile Open, then back to Smile, they stack when I test it. Will someone check that too? There is a smile remove but you should NOT have to do that when you are doing expressions.
Lavender is under DeviousDolls in the Genesis 8 characters in Content Library.
I have a render going at the moment but I will check as soon as I can.
Okay I just loaded Lavender. Her eyebrows show in the third icon in the top row . Double click to apply. I did have to double click twice for some reason. The icon is an eyebrow and a green eye and is labelled Lavender 1 apply.
I recenlty discovered a couple of options in the Environment tab menu. One option will change the aspect ratio of the dimensions, (in Render Settings,) to match the backdrop image. The other will change the actual dimensions to that of the background image. I can see that being useful in some situations.
@Wonderland, I would recommend upgrading your RAM before any other hardware purchase. I started out with 32GB, and when I ran into problems with the LAMH Catalyzer product, I bought more RAM and brought it up to 64GB. (I also bought a made-to-order computer with the capability to use up to 128GB.)
I'm glad barbult was able to help, supplying the scene file. My render isn't nearly as nice as hers. (Just a test render, anyway.)
On the subject of memory, how do I figure out if I can add more memory and if it can, by how much?
https://www.geek.com/tech/geek-basics-what-type-of-ram-do-i-have-in-my-computer-1465999/
They go from most difficult (shutting down the computer, grounding yourself to avoid short circuiting it and then opening it up to see what's in side) to least difficult (download CPU-Z).
Haha I think I will go with option 2 first lol.
Thank you!
Yes, I wish I had ordered it with more RAM. Now I think I have to remove the 2 8GB RAM and replace with higher ones which I can't afford right now and I will have to figure out how to do it myself because this thing is too huge and heavy to bring it in anywhere!
Also this is not rendering nearly as fast as I thought it would. I'm rendering a girl in a bra and panties with hair in a bathroom and at 25 minutes, it's only at 4% which is about where my old laptop would be!
There should have been one or more manuals, along with other odds and ends, in a plastic bag with the computer. Or you may have a url you can go to, but there should be a manual, either physical or online. Look for specifications for the motherboard in your computer. That should tell you what the maximum RAM capacity is. Also, it's very typical for the motherboard in a "desktop/tower" computer to have at least 4 connectors for RAM. (Mine has 8!) You may be able to just purchase another 16GB and plug them in along side the two already in there.
Downloading and installing CPU-Z may also help, as @Odaa suggested. However, I have no experience with that utility.
Download GPU-Z and use it to monitor your GPU memory usage and GPU load. Make sure you are really rendering with GPU.
Edit: Note GPU-Z is not the same aas CPU-Z. They serve different purposes.
OK thanks. I'll check it out. First going from Poser to DS was a big headache (and still is!) and now from Mac to Windows... My brain hurts.
So these apps came with my computer, does anyone know what they are or what they mean? Almost an hour and only at 13%... Sorry Novica, if I'm taking over your thread! Hardly anyone comes to mine and hopefully others will learn from this...
@icedragonart Come on, don't you want a (ZAP!) permanent? Frizz is in.
Memory checker. crucial.com
Landscapes like Fern Lake have huge numbers of polygons and lots of textures. I've got a 1070 and a 1080 with an i7 with 16GB of RAM... and it still brings my system to its knees.
Ha ha not, I get enough frizz with the humidity here in the summer. I actually am perfectly cabable of taking the tower apart, I'm just being lazy. I have to move stuff to get to it lol.
No problem :)
The set is props from Ancient Temple Courtyard. If you need stairs, columns, and just a wall, remember that set. If your computer labors with big sets, the props and walls are separate and you can use only what you need. Behind Helena is the Front Entrance only, then I added a couple columns and the planter (which are all in this set.) Inside the entrance is gold, I darkened it to a gray (and it went black, which is fine.)
I think FWSA Helena HD for Alexandra 8 would be a good starting model for Melania Trump. Sharpen her nose, square up the jawline a bit, and elongate (squint) her eyes and she'd look a lot like her. Wearing Short Wet Hair (Gen8M/F) The gallery image is here.
And now I'm going to get on a soapbox (and poke at me, not the vendor.) (Even if this has been mentioned elsewhere previously, and I might have just forgotten.)
Listen PAs, when you do something stellar, point it out. Really. It's okay. Put it in the product description PARAGRAPH, shout it to the world. Because I am guilty of:
1. assuming what is shown in the promos is not necessarily included, because often, it's not.
2. skimming through what's included (the list), particularly if it's a good vendor whose products I frequently buy. I already know their clothes, or hair, will have a lot of morphs.
3. reading just the paragraph because if you've done something unusual, using common sense, you'd mention it in the paragraph, almost first thing. It's called babysitting those of us who are idiots.
4. needing a second reminder even if it's on the main promo. Breeze right past that print all the time or forget what's on it when I click and get to the product page and start looking at thumbnails. Totally on me.
So, I probably am the only one on this planet who would NOT assume that a hair product INCLUDES THE WET SKIN LOOK. And not seeing it blaringly on the main promo being pointed out. Yep. I'm just that clueless. @linday went above and beyond to include a wet skin geometry shell, with MULTIPLE OPTIONS! You want the sheen? Just the drops? Bingo. Linday gives you the total package. Wet hair and wet skin. Kudos!!!!
So for everyone else who of course already knew all this, it's just a reminder. I can't believe I either forgot about this product or didn't know to begin with. None of this is on Linday, it's my DUH.
Okay, moving on. For the Beauty and the Beach (Gen8F) using dForce, it was just plain fun to watch the outfit move around the figure and the stairs, when I adjusted her pose and did it again, it was fun to see the magic again. One thing I agree on though- dForce clothing should also have morphs to tweak things, and those shoulder straps can't be adjusted and do not fix snugly against the skin. You can even see it in the promos. The easy fix is simply erase the shadows. (takes about 10 seconds, really. Not hard.)
For lighting, this is DA Real World Lighting. Has so many options! If you're not good with lighting or feel overwhelmed with too many options, don't worry, this is click-and-play-and-make-your-day easy.
Still testing DA Real World Lighting. I wanted to see how it did with vegetation and I like it. This is Nature- Bush Rosa Majalis What you'll like about this product is the ten options for the bush, and it easily can be potted because the trunk(s) are long. It allows elevation so the leaves aren't going through the pot. You know what that's like, trying to rotate and scale to no avail. Well, this bush is easy and looks good potted, keep it in mind for background props. I also like this planter from Ancient Temple Courtyard because it has a wide surface area and makes it easier to avoid the immediate contact with leaves on the lower stalks.
This took 8 minutes to render so not resource intensive. I didn't remove the columns, stairs, etc so that was rendering the partial set from above too.
One thing I did for 2018 which I should have done MUCH sooner is to make individual folders, one for each render. With my thread progressing quickly at times, and always 100 pages, it's easy to forget what has been rendered. So I have a main folder (like previous years) !Daz 2018 Renders (the ! puts it at the top of the file list) and then I make the file name in this order: Character/Hair/Outfit/Lights (sometimes) and if it's a set, it's Character/Set/Hair/Outfit. Easy to skim and see what I've used. If someone has a question on a character or set, easy smeezy to zip along alphabetically in the folders and see if it's already done.
Example: Helena AncTempCtyd Shrt Wet BeautBch
She actually reminds me of Linda Grey, the actress, who played Sue Ellen Ewing on Dallas.
Jolie Hair (Gen 3F / Gen8F) Beauty Shop for Jolie Hair Romi (Gen3F) Savona Roma DM's Plaza Romantica
For Pix-Solaine Bramble, Blackberry, and Briar Plants (Daz Studio/Iray) Woodland White Flower Plants (Daz Studio)
Note- The ReadMe goes to a not found page, there's no Content Library Character icon so you have to go to the files, and the _ in the file name moves this "S" character down in the file names and not with any other "S" characters you have when looking in the Pixeluna folder.
When I saw the Savona Roma materials for the Romi outfit, it reminded me of the blackberries so Solaine is picking them. Her expression is, "Yes, I know what I'm doing. No, I won't get stuck." I always was amazed at how Nova could pluck blackberries off the stem from around his pasture, and not get pricked. Stetson merely gets them from the store as there's none in his pasture and they're a good treat for him.
I'm not sure I like the forehead hair line on the Jolina Hair. That one section which comes down further just doesn't appeal to me. I tried the scaling morph, etc, and it's properly fitted. You can also see in the promos that the hairline is varied (and should be) but I'm just not sold on one section of it which is on the forehead. For closeups I personally would do postwork to blend it a bit. Otherise, the hair is quite lovely and you get a lot of options.
1100 px so click to enlarge, click again. This did take 2 hours to render, so the vegetation may be a bit more intensive on slower machines. It did move at a steady pace though and it's a larger render.
@Novica
Reminded me of my wife picking Brambles last September :)
@fishtales Wow, those bushes look loaded and huge! I haven't seen anything that size around here, I think the largest was waist high and not very dense.