Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 12
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As a potential public service :) I'll mention that topazlabs dot com is having a sale (expiring in like 5 days, there's a countdown ticker on the product page) on Topaz Labs DeNoise AI which is AI-trained software designed to ...denoise... your images. Because it works on images -as a whole- rather than performing rote filtering at just a mindless pixel-level, it can be much more powerful than most. You can download a trial, I did, because I hoped it would be useful in cleaning up dirty and grainy and color-artifacted HDRI areas in my renders. So many of the hdri skies are just a mess. One of the tricky parts of successfully blending renders that use photographic parts and wholly 3-d produced parts is that the photo bits have grain or camera noise etc and the 3d-pure bits don't, making a distinct visual discrepancy.
I tested a few of my finished render images that have hdri skies or backgrounds and/or photo-based props along with the 3d-pure stuff, and DeNoise AI did a pretty good job of cleansing the grain & color artifacts etc in the photo-based areas of the renders. The software can run as a standalone app, plug into photoshop or run as a plugin in Topaz Studio, but read the system requirements to make sure that your machine is compatible. If you have Topaz Studio running on a machine already, then DeNoise AI will also run, since the requirements are the same for those.
Posted here is a test render (of an HDRI set I'd bought here at Daz) I had done looking for the dome rotation I wanted, shown in the DeNoise AI workspace with the SPLIT-SCREEN preview showing on the LEFT SIDE THE ORIGINAL RENDER and the RIGHT SIDE THE DENOISE AI treated side. This is how the software automatically adjusted this image, BTW, but you can use the sliders you see at right to fine tune your individual corrections as wanted.
Additionally I tried some small web pics with really bad jpg compression and realized that if you have to dial up corrections to fix one resistant area it may affect another area badly, but you can always layer in photoshop or gimp and erase or mask out to keep the good and eliminate the bad areas of correction -BUT- that scenario didn't come up with any of my render test images, just crappy web pics. For the renders I tried, I got nice results in the skies and details of hdri areas in the blink of an eye, certainly better than I can get manually in photoshop after lots of time!
Anyone interested, I urge you to read the system requirements, download the trial and give it a go yourself, so you can take advantage of the sale price if you decide to buy. It's still expensive at SALE price $59 USD (normally $79) but I found it effective for fixing a problem that really bedevils me, so I'm going to buy.
~Gen
[EDITED TO ADD] PS: This can be a near-instant help for the speckles in under-cooked iray renders, too!
Thanks @genaris Will take a look.
Will be gone all day, jury duty. Just the initial "Do we want you or not" day. :)
I had bought a couple of the AI's, DeNoise and Gigapixel, recently, but hadn't thought to use it for that! Thanks for the reminder, since I was able to grab the parts of the AI bundle that I didn't have already. There was also a coupon offered that I had to choose to apply that gave me another $20 off. I love everything Topaz, except how confusing it is that they have so many versions of things: Photoshop plugin, separate Topaz program, and adjustments in Topaz Studio. At least it gives me a choice on how I want to use them. ;)
Is anybody having VYK Dorthie for Genesis 8 Female?
I have a problem when using her body morph. It shortens her body but the eyelashes don't follow. Thank you!
I don't have that problem. The VYK Dorthie Body morph doesn't shorten her body for me, and the eyelashes follow her eyes OK. What character did you start with when you dialed in her body morph? I just started with Genesis 8 Female.
Edited to add: I am using DS 4.11.0.335.
I started with G8F and I am using 4.10.0.123.
If you don't have that problem then it has to be linked to my comp. I recently transferred some Genesis figures, that could be the culprit (gives me a duplicate formula warning but I do have that with G3F and never had any problem).
@Xmasros I believe a lot of people are having the duplicate formula warning come up when using G8F of late. I put in a ticket for that problem, and other related issues, yesterday. You may want to do the same.
OK, another review of older products mixed with newer products. This review is for mainly the two old products Scottish Kilts - Prince Charlie Outfit and The Church.
a) Scottish Kilts - Prince Charlie Outfit https://www.daz3d.com/scottish-kilts-prince-charlie-outfit
b) The Church https://www.daz3d.com/the-church
c) Ryan Hair for Genesis 3 and 8 https://www.daz3d.com/ryan-hair-for-genesis-3-and-8
d) Super Natural Brows Merchant Resource for Genesis 8 and 3 Male https://www.daz3d.com/super-natural-brows-merchant-resource-for-genesis-8-and-3-male
e) Maxx HD Mega Pack for The Brute 8 https://www.daz3d.com/maxx-hd-mega-pack-for-the-brute-8
f) Realistic Grass Evolution https://www.daz3d.com/realistic-grass-evolution
g) M3D HD Hero Shapes for Michael 8 https://www.daz3d.com/m3d-hd-hero-shapes-for-michael-8
h) Caleb for M4 & M5 https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/caleb-for-m4-m5/89884/
i) Texture Transformer https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/texture-transformer-version-2/120633/
j) Colin for G3M - https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/coilin-for-g3m-/123142/
Now the example render I made using these products. I did the 'godrays' thing according to a SickleYield tutorial on DeviantArt. I have to say the light sources, parameters used on the Godrays cube surface, the size of the room being rendered and the distance of the camera are very important to getting good looking GodRays like in SickleYield's example. I got there partially but not completely to my satisfaction. Could be the geometry of the area I render is not conductive to that Godrays effect, I don't know.
The 2nd image is the original post-worked 3DL render used in the product. It was this image I wanted to emulate as near as possible using only a 1-pass iRay render. I think it came out neighbood ballpark decently similar.
@firewarden - LOL, I was like that, but the other way: I was thinking ONLY about using DeNoise AI for my renders... it was like a couple days before the obvious thought entered: gee, I could use this on the (literally) thousands of iPhone photographs i have/take, (My camera roll is 67k + images) many of which have the low-light rashes etc. :)
~Gen
Same here. No problem even if I scale height down to 90%. DS 4.10.0.123
Thanks Worlds_Edge and Taoz. Then it has to do with my system. Will look into it.
In conjunction with all of the baby renders of late, there was a lot of talk about Angel_wings' child characters over at Rendo. I decided to pick up her character, Tiffany, which has child, pre-teen, tween and teen pre-sets, as well as a pretty hair included with the character. I wanted to see how the character mixes with Caryn. I decided to go ahead and show some of the character pre-sets as well as a mix with Caryn. By the way, child poses are hard to come by and it takes a lot of fiddling to turn most adult poses into acceptable child poses (at least for me). I found that the shy flower poses by divamakeup seem to work great for children/early teens.
Tiffany child:
Tiffany pre-teen
Tiffany tween (this is not a full render, just a "save draw") as Daz crashed:
Tiffany teen:
Finally, Tiffany with 55% Caryn (came out pretty darned cute imo):
edit to add: Ack, just noticed the finger poke throughs on the non-rendered one. Sorry about that. I don't have the original or I'd re-render with that part fixed.
World's Edge, there are child poses avaiable in the Renderosity Freebie section; look up 'BBarbs' who offers them. I don't use them, as I do my own posing, but BBarbs' poses look okay.
And your Tiffany/Caryn mix looks very cute.
Thanks @dragonfly_2004!
@worldsedge Those characters are wonderful!!!!
@dragonfly2004 Thanks for the tip. Will look those up.
So what are you folks getting in the grab bag at 70% off?
Mine are (at the moment, going for most bang for the buck, aka higher prices)
https://www.daz3d.com/cyborg-generation-8-female
https://www.daz3d.com/dark-knight-horse-bundle
https://www.daz3d.com/nam-terror-set-for-genesis-8-female
https://www.daz3d.com/the-secret-series-bundle
https://www.daz3d.com/opus-magnum
https://www.daz3d.com/esprit-d-autrefois
And on the 50% off
https://www.daz3d.com/1950-s-era-motel
https://www.daz3d.com/1970-s-era-motels
https://www.daz3d.com/the-old-railway
Anilip2's the only high dollar item in my grab bag currently, but that could change: https://www.daz3d.com/anilip-2
@nonesuch00 Thanks for the detailed reviews. Some great points/things to consider, and very helpful.
Thanks, I will be reviewing a couple of (3DL era) products from The Ant Farm next, so more toony styles.
I just picked up RPublishing's Adinna Hair over at Rendo, where it's currently on sale (not for much longer though). I've been thinking about this one on and off for a while until today - if anyone else has been indecisive over it, it's well worth having and certainly worth the current price. I'll see if I can get a render up later, but I thought I'd mention it now for anyone thinking about it because I think the sale on it is over in a couple of hours. Apart from all the jewellery and associated options that come with it, what sets it apart for me is that I'm finding the blonde textures look a lot more convincing than usual. I seldom find these usable straight from the box, but I'm quite happy with Adinna hair's.
My Picks for the 70% off:
https://www.daz3d.com/anilip-2
https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-multi-dress-system-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/yvoire
This one isn't on my list because I already have it but at $30 (after 70% 0ff) it is a real steal and can save you a fortune in textures: https://www.daz3d.com/filter-forge-80-professional-win
I'm still debating whether to get anything for the 50% off coupon.
Great pick! I was shopping there and was pleased with the 50% sale. I had gotten the Ammy Hair, Jenny Wild Summer Hair, Lizanna Hair, and Janet Hair.
The render of RPublishing's 'Adinna' hair from Rendo, as promised. Or rather two, as the first might give the erroneous impression that I wasn't taking this entirely seriously :)
Come on Barbie, let's go party...
This figure is simply GF8, with Krista's textures, no shaping. This combo reminded me so much of the hours of fun that were to be had from arguing over dolls with my sisters when we were kids that as soon as I saw it I just couldn't leave it. I ditched Krista's fibremesh eyebrows in favour of the LIE brows for a 'painted on to the face' look (about the only time I'd ever do this) and reduced their opacity to 50% to make them look a bit less startling. Krista's skin has it's limitations, but I thought that the fibremesh brows I didn't end up using weren't bad and had quite a few colour options. Anyhow, the creature is made of parts from different sources, but it lives. FrankenBarbie.
I'm quite pleased with the blonde texture of the hair, and although the pink stones in the jewellery are supposed to be Rose Quartz but don't particularly look like it to me, I like those too.
In a bid to be taken seriously, I decided I'd show a darker version of the hair on Aisling, who is a much more refined and cultured girl who wouldn't dream of indulging in frivolity. Unless she's suddenly overcome with the need to prove that she's a riot at parties too. Oh well :)
When I was deciding whether to buy the hair, I did notice that there were no images of the back of it. I stuck a mid-brown colour on this one so that it would show the lights and shadows more easily - I didn't have time to let it render fully, but it should be a help to anyone else wondering the same thing.
Poses and expressions used are from the Fashion Editorial Poses and Expressions for Genesis 8 Female set, and the lighting is Painter's Lights, which I don't think are in the store anymore but are about the only portrait set I use.
It's a tricky one.
Do you go for things that are really expensive at full price to maximise your discount? The problem is that 30% of really expensive is still expensive. Or do you go for things which are cheap, to make them almost free?
In the end, I did both - This has been in my wishlist for ages, and won't come up at this price again: https://www.daz3d.com/mick-2-gothic-pack . But I couldn't afford much else after that. It seemed a shame to miss out on two 70% off slots though, so I bought https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-peasant-dress-textures at the other end of the price range. I like to keep a few low-price Daz O's in my wishlist to use my PC+ coupons on - that one was the cheapest.
@blueirene I like your Barbie! Thanks for showing the back. One thing I don't like though is the transparency at the nape of the neck. That hair is almost see-through.
@chris2599934 I have that wishlisted, that was a good buy for you! I didn't see it or probably would have considered that one as it is indeed pricey!
oh the humanity! That 70% -but ONLY 3!!! :( items!! grab bag deal. This was the occasion of the most violent, brutal Daz Cart Thunderdome I've had yet! Such a HUGE SWATH of my wishlist was at play among the Grab Bag offerings, so my first, *judicious* cartload of contestants was 78 ITEMS totalling just under $1,800 bucks, and then, the carnage began. ;) So many things that are wonderful but that I really just don't have a need for, especially at the moment, versus things that are topical for me right now, versus things/vendors that less frequently go on sale (or at such strong discount) so it was a g o n y of second-guessing and eliminating. Products fell...one by one... til here's what survived my Daz Cart Thunderdome:
https://www.daz3d.com/mec4d-hdri-abandoned-industrial-megapack
https://www.daz3d.com/cc-shave-this--body-hair-for-genesis-8-males
https://www.daz3d.com/1stb-layered-rocks-outcrop
LOL.
~Gen
PS: Though I'm still a little teary about not making room for one of the ArchDetails volumes, especially was feeling https://www.daz3d.com/archdetails-vol3 because it just looks so gorgeous.
@genaris Dang it, I would have gotten the Arch Details had I seen it.
@Robert Freise - I have that 1970s motel set by 1stB you just got in the grab bag, and am quite happy with it. It really captures the look of a certain type of place (I bought it to duplicate an old, small motel in a town near me for a scene) and is made of separate bldgs etc and is therefore pretty useful and versatile. For my scene's needs, it looked fine in iray, and with a little set-dressing with other props, people etc, you can really work it! Of course, nowadays those flat textured grass parts don't usually work well enough, so it's easy enough to throw down some grass patches from the many great grass and plant products. Hopefully you'll be as happy with it.....
~Gen
@Novica - yes, that is the 1 product out of all 75 "fallen" contestants in my Cart-Dome that I'm still angsting about; it isn't the visual setting for anything I'd normally do, but it is just *so beautiful* and looks (like all their products) so impressive and well-done I realize that I should have just "listened" to my inner voice and bought it instead of being too pragmatic. So, of course now I will totally be waiting for any sort of discount on it.... ;)
~Gen
I felt the same way about that transparency. I'm not sure whether seeing it would have put me off buying or not as it's something that can be fixed fairly easily in postwork and I render the back of hair so rarely anyway, but I can see why there was no rush to display it in the promo images. Fairly typically, what's not shown says as much there as what is. I hope all is well with your mum and with gorgeous-boy Stetson :)