It's actually 2 copies of the Quiet Sidestreet facade at right angles to each other, with the garbage can from Backstreets. I think that they are both by the very talented Stonemason.

Sam just barely fits in that alley. I forgot to put her gloves on so I updated the image on DA. Stealth 102 is going to be in a sewer freebie called Corroded City I got from DAZ.


Nice lighting effects.

hey KK would This one maybe work better for your one younger character?

edit: hey poserworld.com has a pool table in their free stuff

Experiment with martial arts poses: Fist Fight

The guy in front is about to get a broken nose and kneecap...


Yeah. I'm working it into a scene. I just need to find pool table poses. If not it will just be background scenery.


Would this work? It's a .75 meter cube primitive with a wood texture applied that I got from Google Images ==> Crate Test

...yeah, she'd work pretty good. Would look great in the the Hippie Chick clothing I got for Aiko 3. I find the Aiko model (both 3 & 4) to be an excellent base for doing younger characters using "American" morph because of her more delicate frame. Have to get the Hiro model for male figures as well.

For Leela the Ashely Teen model a good base particularly because of the hair and basic facial features and the base poses. I Just wish the Joint rigging was the same as V4.2 for other than the clothing which came with the AT bundle there is nothing else that fits well. The only other Ashley based clothing I have seen was unfortunately designed for Poser only. I put this on the V4.2 wish list thread on the Daz Forums as well.

it's really too bad that only Poser can do joint rigging. Otherwise, I would be designing my own clothing files (& putting out a lot of freebies on ShareCG) as I have all the other tools necessary for doing textures & such already.


...that is perfect. Is that from Google Sketch Up?

As to the MA fight, good placement (I like Sam's scowl) but her pose seems a bit static for what would be a fairly fluid combination move. I would check out some comic books that feature Martial arts such as Shi or Kabuki. If you have Aiko 3 there are also some nice MA poses for her to work from (I've successfully used these with V4.2 characters).

It is the wood texture about half the way down this page.

As for the MA fight.. yeah, I need better poses, I was just trying some free ones I found last night. She should already be breaking his beak...

Speaking of his beak, I made 4 new hero heads for the low poly soldier ==>Patrol searching for Sam

The chin strap for the helmet is part of the soldier's head, so I had to switch the helmet out for the cap. The orginal model is on the far left, just behind the guy on point.

...Thanks. I'll load those after I get home tonight. Also came across a nice 225 L barrel freebie on Renderosity. that might work along with some Radioactive material canisters. One thing is with props D|S isn't as picky as there is no fitting involved. About the only thing that may go wrong is the texture MAT may not load with the object.

Of course now that I am beginning to understand how Blender works I will be able to start designing my own objects & texturing them with Gimp (just downloaded the new update).

BTW, kind of stumbled onto discovering that Backstreets also has interiors behind the windows . I am really beginning to love Stonemason's stuff a lot.

My next challenge.. Figuring out how to create poser objects. Figured out the D-Form last night to fix some poke through issues.

Looking at that I was just thinking about how she may get the guy in front, but the guy behind her is gonna knock her out with a rabbit punch.

When you say make, did you simply morph them and add beards?

But can you make Poser files from blender?

Absolutely amazing stuff... I bought his crates 2.0 and 2.5 also.

The Low Poly guy does not morph very well. Unfortunately he comes with exactly one head. He's got some mouth and eye movements (about 20 or so) and that's about it for his face. You might be able to use a D-Form, but I have yet to get them to do anything. I wanted a little more diversity in my mercenary force, so I started this m3/low-poly hybrid project.

I morphed Michael 3, hid his body, loaded the low poly guy, hid hid head and body (everything but his neck). I had to resize the low poly neck a little bit to get the original model's skin to be inside the new head, so he didn't look like he had a skin disease. Then I exported the head as a .obj file with textures attached and exluding hidden parts. I made 4 total (1 of african ancestry, one of asian ancestry, one of european ancestry, and one of mixed ancestry - african and latino). The beards were in the texture maps I used, to save on polys (Griffin - shaded dark brown and Digger James). Then I had to load a low poly soldier, hide his head, eyes and neck and then load a new one and parent it to his invisible neck.

Some poses need slight adjutment to hide M3's skin from coming through the back of the uniform, but other than that they look pretty good.

...don't know for sure about .ps files, but it does create .obj files which for props is all I really need as there is no rigging to worry about.

I considered getting the Crates, but am looking more at Urban Sprawl, the Warehouse District, and Faded Industry (great safehouse setting).

Most poser files are .obj that are "boned" and IK programmed. There are a few files to inset dial values and some Tex and MAT files to worry about.. I think there are instructional on doing this somewheres...

...yeah but I have Blender already & not about to shell out 250$ for P7 (rather get more Stonemason stuff). I would think that as long as the item had the texture included, did not have any articulations to worry about, and was saved as an .obj file it should work in D|S.

I made the scene a little more dynamic. Sam has already kicked the guy in front, and is in position to block the incoming punch from the back. Also fixed the back guy's right arm position.

unarmed fight

Every poser file I've worked with has worked fine in D|S. The things you need to worry about are the .cr2 and ..something I can't think of off hand.. files. These are the ones that translate IK boning into dials. Really though, you should move away from rendering in D|S and start using one of the render clients in Blender if you're going to start heading that way. Steeper learning curve, but more applicable to how the industry works with models (get to like programming though )

...Gray

Much better. The mook behind her still looks like a stiff dolt. Don't know how easily poseable these guys are but if he had more of a "reactive" stance he'd look more a part of the scene.

BTW, nice background.

Caine, a little confused about rendering in Blender instead of DS. Are you referring to full scene renders or just objects? I wouldn't think that Blender could handle D|S figures very well. I also have been working with Bryce which dovetails with D|S and looking to eventually build and render my final scenes there. Programming is something I would like to stay away from, burned out on that years ago (back when the acronym IBM really meant something). Just wanting to make cool pictures more from an artist's POV.

As to issues with poser files, I've been experiencing issues of .ps based clothing files not fitting D|S models properly (even those sold on the Daz site).

[edit]

...forgot I had this open yet.

I fixed the rear mook, he's now in motion, and I gave him one of my hero heads (my favorite, I call him Sarge). He's getting ready to do a right knee upside Sam's head. I added the front mook's hat, and it is flying off. They take standard M3 poses, as well as the 3 poses that came with them.

The background is from one of the Cyclorama bonus packs (grave yard).

Mook Fixed

..ahh there we go. Now it looks as if he's going to (or at least attempt to) clout her. His mistake...

I like the hat flying off too, lends more to the action.

So, although I've gotten a few models done, its all practice stuff as it stands... however I might do a render in glass of some of the stuff on my new system in the next few days. If I seem to disappear however, its mostly cause I can't get the thing working fer shit In the mean time I offer up one of the last renders to come off my system.

King Willie, Ork voodoo man

okay so Im supposed to have "97% off one of seven bundles for new DAZ Studio Users" but I have no clue what the bundles are

anyone else have an idea?

Here is some of them==> DAZ bundles

...now he is just too cool. Beautiful work, love the Edwardian look.

I'll be posting the A4 draft of the Short One tonight. I think she looks spot on compared to the first one (still need to work on her Kabiuki makeup & tats).


...if you don't have anything for backgrounds I'd go for the Sci Fi Sets and Vehicles Bundle. Barring that go for the cats, cats are always cool and if you already have the Bridge pack you have the basic Mil Cat.

hmm
Im wondering if it would work on the character bundles, like the vic4 pro bundle
I dont have any of the morphs beyond what comes with the free base and pretty much anything you get reqs them
Im trying not to spend money or as little as possible until I can really get in and can basically justify the expense to myself.

oh hey have you seen this backdrop maker. I just ran across it.

Ugh...have i expressed my frustration yet with all this 3d stuff??

So i believe i have figured out how to manipulate DAZ3D and "most" of it's features.

the troubles i am running into now are...

getting some of the content to load in properly
getting lighting to work correctly so the figure looks "good" after being rendered.

I will assume the lighting / rendering is going to be lots of trial and error on my part, and i'm ok with that; however the difficulties i am having getting the objects to recognize is giving me ulcers.

Anyone else had similar issues? Now, it could be that i have messed it up through item organization. When i get home tonight i'll go back to having everything placed in their "default" areas and try it again. Just curious if there is something else i am missing besides the obvious only use the objects created for the specific model figure and such...

BTW, good work on all the pics i've seen so far. It fuels my desire to achieve the same.

ugg I feel your pain
literally
I'm having similar issues. I apparently got some stuff and didn't notice some of the reqs. all I have so far is the free things you get. I got the free vic for doing the artzone thing, and i have the free aiko,michael and hiro you can get.
I think i screwed up my aiko by accidentally saving something wrong
ive tried reinstalling her but i think its a daz setting
Im considering removing it all and reinstalling it all to make sure its correct and start over.

and yes great work so far guys, sorry ive been too busy whining to encourage
lol

...Yeah, lighting can be a challenge. I was fortunate in that I actually did theatrical lighting in RL while in college so the concepts are kind of old hat to me. I can PM you a brief tutorial this evening to get you started when I can have D|S open (at work right now).

For Content, If you used the Install routines everything should be in the right places. If it's freebie content, that is another matter as you have to place it in the proper folders manually. Don't always trust the Unzip to place these in the right locations (I have a lot of cleanup to do of my Content/Runtime folders because of this).

The biggest issues I have experienced (besides system memory which is not Daz oriented) have involved clothing fit. For some reason I cannot get the clothing files to work well, even on the models they're designed for, without a lot of effort.

I would like that too, that would be awesome!

...no problemo...I could just post it in spoiler tags here.

I would welcome a lesson in lighting as well.

swirler: i'm going to blow everything out, and reinstall from scratch tonight along with having the items install into their default locations and see if that makes a difference. i backed up my runtime folder, so if that doesn't change anything i'll at least get to keep my folder structure the way i like it.

jd yeah I'm doing that too
though its being weird now, the install.

...when I get my memory upgrade, I'm thinking about doing the same then running a defrag on the drive again. Got a lot of files I need to backup beforehand first just in case.

okay yeah it looks like only those bundles on that page are eligible for my coupon. Im thinking of either the freak bundle or the scifi one. Is the freak useful for trolls or orks at all? anyone tried?

The scene is definitely getting better!! I especially like the "oomf" look and the flying hat.

Yeah, I know it's poor form. I get my black belt soon. It just looked dramiatic. They were some freebie martial arts poses I used. Sam is untrained in unarmed combat, but she has an Agility of 6. . She is planning on taking a self defense class at U of W.

I need to get the Karate basics poses from Renderosity, and have her break the front mook's knee cap from a horse stance. Or try to fix these.

Ok. removed all DAZ3D content, the application, deleted the folder it was installed in, removed all entries in the registry where it was hiding, and rebooted.

then reinstalled daz, and started loading in the content one at a time.

I created myself a "dummy" runtime folder, and moved the stuff over in waves. ran Daz to make sure everything worked.

So far so good. i now have LOTS more content then i did before. and it actually loads into the viewport which it wasn't doing before.

Now let's see if i can force my computer into rendering hell.

...uhhh, guys...not that your credit line or wallet needs another bludgeoning , but a whole bunch of stuff just went on sale at Daz including Stonemason's Backstreets, Quiet Street, Urban Sprawl, and Urban Living as well as Fog Tool III, and Lightwork's Lightdome (Pro & LE) & Studio Light. Looks like March madness has gone into insanity mode. The rub, the sale is on for one to two days (depending on the item).

...ohh, and a lot of the hair content as well.

do you have a link?
i need hair
i have like zero excpet that small aiko hair

[sarcasm]There goes my lunch money for the week. [/sarcasm]

Seriously, I controlled myself and only bought 3 things: the Licorne ship, the fog tool and Urban Sprawl.

I was sick with the flu so I didin't get much done today, but I did fix the form on Sam's kick, and added her necklace and gloves... ==>Corrected side kick posture

Gah!! wallet... can't...handel!!!!!

Guess I'll be picking it all up tomorrow

Writing this from my new system, damn this thing cooks now, and I haven't even gotten into the overclocking. Gotta play with the memory a bit, as its the lowest rated thing here.. plus I have the "reloading" pains coming for the next few days

...here's the page with all the sale stuff

Daz March Madness Blowout

Also have a link to a studio lighting freebie download from Dreamworks that may be useful.

Dreamworks Studio Light Freebie

the D|S one is the second one down. The first is for Poser. There is also a set of useful of .jpeg backgrounds on this page as well.

...waiting for a reply on the Daz forum to a question I fielded about Lightdome Pro vs. Bryce.

...as Arnie said: "Ill be back"

Must... cut... up.... card......


Isn't it a one day sale?

Oh man is four cores so nice....

...so what did it cost to build? I'm re-considering doing a standalone just for 3d work as I have heard of even more horrific render times by Bryce users...like 5 days... I'll just have to get a separate dehumidifier for the system.

[edit]

...oh BTW, here is the Aiko 4 based version of the Short One. Same basic clothes (finally she has her hat), different pistola (more wild west looking), and her trasnpo (rollerblades). Kind of disappointed the Kunoichi set wouldn't fit, I guess it doesn't handle the body-builder morph But I did use one of the Wakasashi and modified one of the fighting poses. This is a "proof" render so there are no shadows or reflection on the blade.

KK 2.0

[edit deux]

...well, ended up getting the Fog Tool III, City Streets, Light Dome Pro, and...ok don't laugh... Classic Fairy Wings, Fairy Wings Deluxe, Dreamtime Wings, and the free Places of Summer (plan on doing some scenes of Leela's time at the Grande Country Estate - it's all in the story, really).

BTW check out the Character Art thread on the Shadowrun Forum. While Digital 3D is cool and all, the traditional stuff still has soul (still misty eyed over Stormwatcher's rendition of my little Leela. I couldn't have done better, in any media).

For lighting, I usually just create a spotlight, then switch point of view to it, and place it by using the camera controls. Works very nicely, and makes it easy to judge the area by switching between camera and spotlight perspective and varying spread angle and intensity. If some areas are too dark with that light I use pointlights, with reduced intensity, to light those spots.

...for working on a model I usually use three spots and occasionally a point light. Two of the spots are at roughly 60° to each side of the frontal view and the third is behind. I use about 50 - 60 % intensity and back away some and slightly up from the figure before creating them. I also use slight colouration (Lt blue & straw to keep things from being too garish).

Well it came out to close to 1400$ for what is considered a good Mid-range rig. got quite a few components for decent deals and spread it out over time, so I really didn't notice the hit til I just added it up.. Better make sure I have the money for those sale items..

Looks like Stonemason's stuff goes through 10pm or so tonight, so I have a few hours to sell some organs to buy a few peices.

I think once I get Bryce loaded I'll take the Dolphins scene that too 24 hours to render and see what that is cut down too

I spent less than $850, reusing my case, my DVD-Drive and Windows. Even if I had bought those I would be ~$1000. While Caine's PC may out benchmark mine, it won't do it by 40%.

24 hours? Oh my god.

...hmm, 850$ - 1400$ for a raging machine spread over time, and I have someone who is more hardware literate than I to put the thing together. Not a bad prospect.

We'll see about that after all my overclocking is done

Really, its funny we're mentioning all this though, Tom's Hardware is running their semi-annual builds articles. Mine is almost spec on the midrange, with the exception of using a GT vs a GTX card, and doing the 6600 vs the 6700 chip. Hopefully tonight I can get the chip up to 3 Ghz

...ack! I may Play a Decker in Shadowrun but when it comes to the nuts & bolts in RL, I have about the same technical savvy as the Short One.

I made you a crate object. It is made up of individual boards, and it even has nails in it.

alley cat sitting on a crate

Here is a link to the .obj in a Zip file crate.zip

I have no idea how to make it DAZ friendly, but I just import it into a scene. I included the textures I used (all from Google Images), in case the textures do not load.

...thanks. Looks nice. I DL when I get home.

...& cats rare always cool...