In life, we are measured more by our faults, than perfections, and how we deal with them.

Faults in a perfect form make it look more realistic, because the real world is a gathering of faults.

It's easy to lose that sense dealing with machine-like perfections in a machine. Good job so far.  She seems to have gotten a bit heavier since the beginning, but that adds to the realism. :laugh:

Quote - I don't mind V4's prettiness. It's the fact that most people make her look to be the same woman over and over that gets a little old.

But I like to sculpt rather than playing with distributed morphs, especially when it comes to the head. I'm looking forward to seeing how Antonia functions as clay. :)

I think you will find she is fun to sculpt with. I've played around with some sculpts just to get aquainted with the mesh ( from ODF's file locker ) and I must say the way her topology is layed out and her default shape she's really fun to sculpt on. I see lots of possibilites with her. I love the fact that she doesn't have too much detail which can be hard to get rid of sometimes. I also like that she's not very poly heavy. I find that on models with high poly count It's much harder to mix shapes without getting strange pinching or odd shapes that just don't work to well together at high positive and negative morph values.

I have 8 pieces now, someone else must think to the others 1992 missing pieces  :biggrin:
but it's difficult to go further without the setup, so i try to do some UV mapping

yay! NORMAL clothing! Really like that outfit 2nd from the left.

Wow, those look greatt, rjjack.

I'll have a first preview of the rig up very soon, I promise.

Thanks, i don't know how to make fantasy stuff :biggrin:,  all the models are based on real stuff from a fashion catalog

WOOHOO! Real looking clothing for a real looking woman! That is a winner in my book. I'm so sick of the 'whore-wear' of the V#'s found in the market-place.

those cloths are looking great!

Quote - WOOHOO! Real looking clothing for a real looking woman! That is a winner in my book. I'm so sick of the 'whore-wear' of the V#'s found in the market-place.

Exactly my thoughts!!!!

I am getting close on finishing my first texture. Just the feet left to finish and make sure there are no seam issues. I'll post a full un-postworked shot soon. :)

Quote - I don't mind V4's prettiness. It's the fact that most people make her look to be the same woman over and over that gets a little old.

But I like to sculpt rather than playing with distributed morphs, especially when it comes to the head. I'm looking forward to seeing how Antonia functions as clay. :)

I think the biggest problem with any new version release of any of the DAZ figures is that many people either just stick to using the LE version or are to in-experienced to inject the character morph dials, or too lazy to go through them all and change her looks. I have seen this time and time again on all the forums and galleries.
Then you find the very few individuals who come up with one character or purchase a pre-made character in one of the stores and flick a switch to always turn the mesh into that pre-packaged figure and use it almost for every image. Makes you wonder if the character is a self portrait or an ideal the hold firmly in their own minds (sorta a wanna-be avatar!) or represents someone they know or love.

I for one play with those damn dials ad infinitum...I get more out of creating a new character than I do rendering it in a new scene. But that is just me. Because I can't figure how to adapt the default character pose clothes I usually keep these new creations as they were born...naked!
Being on a Mac there are no utilities available to me to adapt or convert clothes to fit. :(

This is a strange community indeed.   :)

At any rate, I've decided to put a first preview of the rigged figure up for testing and feedback this weekend, no matter how far I get with these final touches.

Quote -
At any rate, I've decided to put a first preview of the rigged figure up for testing and feedback this weekend, no matter how far I get with these final touches.

Good idea, i really need to check my clothes in poser and DS 

Attached Link: Full Preview Antonia Texture

BluEcho, a wee little hint: don't use spaces in filenames when posting to the web... tends to break links. :)

Check the material on the toe cap. The Transparency Falloff should be 0. If it isn't, you'll get funny business at low viewing angles.

BluEcho, a wee little hint: don't use spaces in filenames when posting to the web... tends to break links. :)

Link worked all right for me.

patorak,

Doesn't work for me. I tried fixing it

Tried replacing %20 with a space

Tried replacing %20 with +

Tried removing %20

After you successfully reach the item in your browser, what does your location bar say?

Ooops, I need to edit that. give me a bit to do it right.

After you successfully reach the item in your browser, what does your location bar say?

Mostly Sunny,  High of 24 degrees...

Attached Link: Full-Body Preview AntoniaTex

Attached Link: Full-Body Preview AntoniaTex*

Hmmm, can't edit that posting so here I'll try a new one..

Works fine for me.  Your texture looks awesome!

Have you gotten rid of the rings around the ankles yet?

No, the rings are still there. I don't know why. The first time I worked on her they weren't there at all so I know I'm doing something wrong. Just have to figure it out I guess. Could be my map has gotten corrupted so I'm going to try to do it again all new and see what happens.

Do you mind sharing the WIP map, as is? I'd like to use it with VSS and see how it looks with GC and SSS.

*No, the rings are still there.
I don't know why.
The first time I worked on her they weren't there at all so I know I'm doing something wrong.
Just have to figure it out I guess.

Could be my map has gotten corrupted so I'm going to try to do it again all new and see what happens.*

Have you been using the same obj?

Yes. But I had a problem with some of my files after I installed my server's security software. It locked me out of things, including control of my system, corrupted a bunch of files. Wouldn't let me re-configure the security setting at all. I had to create another login profile with full administer rights and delete the security software from there. Then Charter had to come out and reinstall the network. A lot of my files still won't work and I have to do a complete system restore this week. Means reinstalling everything...sigh. Then I'll just re-install Antonia and her maps to be sure. It's Avast and ZoneAlarm for me from now on.

Man-O-Man,  what a pain!  I hope you have back ups. 

Yes, I back up anything important. fortunately it's just the main drive and not some virus attack affecting everything. The stupid security software treated most of my stuff as malware and locked it down. It has little links where you're supposed to be able to edit the setting to accept your programs and files but they refused to work. It only affect my main computer profile so by creating a new one, I gained access. But can't repair it so only thing left is complete restore...sigh. My texture worked fine on Antonia until I installed that software. BTW:There was a commercial on TV last night that had a gal who looked like she was the model for Antonia, right down to the nose. The likeness was awesome!

*Yes, I back up anything important.

Excellent!  You know,  when I first saw the rings,  I thought they were tattoos.  

BluEcho: There's a trick. Try to make the material 'invisible' invisible as well. There's a little extra bit of geometry at the end of the toecaps that I added to make the normals on the toecaps match the normals on the feet. It also helps with subd and such. But it's not supposed to show up in renders, so I had to assign it a new material zone, called 'invisible'.

I don't think I ever mentioned that special material zone here, so you couldn't have known. It's probably one of those things that should go into a file 'README-VERY-IMPORTANT-INFORMATION-SERIOUSLY-DOITNOW.TXT'.

Love the texture. Can't wait to try it. One little thing that irritates me, though, is a little bit of shadow where she would have pubic hair if she didn't shave. Is that some leftover stubble?

PS: I need to see that commercial. Would love to know who the actress is. :biggrin:

BTW:There was a commercial on TV last night that had a gal who looked like she was the model for Antonia, right down to the nose.
The likeness was awesome!

I hope he got her permission.  I'm still waiting for a certain someone to give me her OK,  and I wrote her back in jan. lol.

Quote - BTW:There was a commercial on TV last night that had a gal who looked like she was the model for Antonia, right down to the nose.
The likeness was awesome!

I hope he got her permission.  I'm still waiting for a certain someone to give me her OK,  and I wrote her back in jan. lol.

Well, I can't ask her for permission if  I've never seen her and don't know who she is, right? 

But seriously, I'm hoping to do some morphs for Antonia based on real (non-celebrity) people at some point, and I'll definitely ask for permission then.

Quote - Hmmm, can't edit that posting so here I'll try a new one..

I must say this is looking to be a very nice texture. Good work! :)

Yes, the texture still has a few issues, seams and such. That little bit of shadow is pubic hair but it's very light. The finished texture won't have that. I think using trans maps for that and the eyebrows is wayyy better. :) And in keeping with the spirit of the thing, this texture will be FREE! But I have a fantasy tex in mind that will need to wait until she is fully read to go. :) On the "invisible" thing, I just automatically assumed it should be invisible and made it transparent...lol. Wondered what it was for though.

Quote - Yes, the texture still has a few issues, seams and such.

Ah, okay! Silly me thought is was all finished and stuff. Lovely work! I'm very excited that there's a texture for Antonia now. Let me know how it goes with the seams.

Quote - I think using trans maps for that and the eyebrows is wayyy better. :)

Speaking of which: I made a little "genital cap" the other day that I considered including with the mesh much like the toecaps. I ended up deciding against that, but I think the geometry could well be used as a basis for creating panties or pubic hair props. So I'll try to remember to include it when I upload Antonia this weekend.

Quote - And in keeping with the spirit of the thing, this texture will be FREE!

Awesome! That's the spirit.

Quote - But I have a fantasy tex in mind that will need to wait until she is fully read to go. :)

Sounds great.

Quote - On the "invisible" thing, I just automatically assumed it should be invisible and made it transparent...lol. Wondered what it was for though.

Well, it looks like it's not fully transparent. Could be the transparency falloff, as bagginsbill suggested. Also, I ended up setting the intensities for diffuse, specular and ambient to zero for invisible things. Not completely sure it influences the render, but maybe worth a try.

I can post the settings I used for making things invisible when I get back home tonight.

Specular definitely makes something visible that would otherwise be completely transparent.

Poser does this in case you're trying to do speculars effects on something that is clear.

To stop that behavior, (and get the "nothing here" behavior) you have to set Specular_Value = 0.

The others don't matter.

Ah, yes that was the problem. I had made it transparent but forgot the specular setting. The first render I did remember and that's why it was different. Thanks for jogging my poor memory. :)

ODf, I was just doing a bit of final touches on the head texture and when I did a render check I noticed something. She has mini-flaslights up her nose! There is no "nostril" material to darken that area. Is there a way to fix that?

Quote - ODf, I was just doing a bit of final touches on the head texture and when I did a render check I noticed something. She has mini-flaslights up her nose! There is no "nostril" material to darken that area. Is there a way to fix that?

Yes! It's called ambient occlusion. I really, really recommend using it.

No, seriously, do people still use nostril materials? I wouldn't really mind adding one, but it seems such a clunky way to fix the glowing nostrils problem.

Hmm, I don't fully understand ambient occlusion. How would I apply it to the nostrils? Or is it applied to the whole figure? When I do renders and want soft shadows I use it with ray trace shadows. If it gets rid of nostril glow without that darking the nostril whole on the maps, I'm ready to use it. :)

Poser has clunky lights, and Ambient Occlusion sometimes leaves undesirable artifacts.  For animations and such, having a nostril material is just quicker to render.  Also...A LOT of Poser users still don't know how to use the lights for diddly-squat. :laugh:

It's something that should have been fixed a long time ago.

JOELGLAINE: You have a point or three. I'm just afraid bagginsbill will beat me up if I support darkening nostrils per material zone. :biggrin:

PS: How can we fix Poser users? Where do we file the bug report. :tongue2:

I don't THINK that Bagginsbill will come to your house and beat you to death with a baseball bat! :laugh:  I still want to know why the EARS don't glow, too. :lol:

I just did a little test with ambient occlusion. The settings have to be adjusted a bit but it gets rid of the glow. It also adds depth to the upper eye crease for a more natural look. But it darkened the lacrimals to almost black. Eeeeeek! I just typed in loook instead of look, good thing I caught that or you might think I had one beer too many...lol. Time to get some sleep. Got to go after my B.D. cake and frozen yogurt in a few hours. I am gonna pig out on that stuff, yummmy. :)

I don't really know that much about the correct use of ambient occlusion, but bagginsbill's shaders made me a believer. You'll probably find lots of good advice if you search for "ambient occlusion" in this forum, so I'm not going to repeat what little I've picked up.

I'll add a nostrils material if people think it's necessary. But there won't be an ear canal one, no matter how much you guys beg me. :tongue2:

Where's my bat?

Nostril glow is entirely because you didn't set up shadows correctly on your lights. I wrote a detailed tutorial about this 3 years ago.

Proper and realistic depth-mapped shadows require a larger shadow map size than the default 256. Further, the depth-map should be concentrated on the areas we see in the scene, particularly in a face portrait. Also, ray-bias settings, when too high, can cause the geometry of the nostril to be ignored.

For directional lights, if you use ray-traced shadows, with a correct value for bias, you will not have nostril glow.

When using IBL, if you use AO as well (material-based or light-based), you will not have nostril glow AND the reset of your figure will actually look real as opposed to the crap flooding the gallery.

If you use depth-mapped shadows and you increase your shadow map size and focus your shadow cams on the face you will not have nostril glow.

Those are the correct ways to combat nostril glow.

I'll admit that tuning AO requires some learning and practice but you don't need to learn these things. My free VSS shaders have very sophisticated AO settings built into them already. Just use them, its a few clicks nothing more.

There is only one other legit technique for nostril glow. Burn the darkened area into your color map to begin with, or better yet, layer a mask on top of the face shader that has two little texture map "plugs" that darken whatever texture is being used. I wrote about that technique as well and I provided a free gray-scale mask for V3 that took care of it for that figure. I can provide a similar mask for Antonia.

The reason I oppose the nostril material zone is the same reason I oppose a lip zone. Material zone boundaries do not have a smooth transition. If you put a different shader on a nostril zone, the darker skin forms a hard-edged line where the nostril joins the upper lip and that just looks wrong. And the amount of darkening is usually wrong except for specific and rare lighting situations, so all in all its just a bad idea.

Have a look at this render I did:

The nostrils are not glowing, but they're not uniformly darker either. This appearance here is correct, given the angles of the lights I'm using. And obviously I did it without the use of a separate material zone.

Minitut - Dramatic light and shadows for portraits - NO NOSTRIL GLOW

Nostril Glow in Poser 5 (no-shadow fix for V3 using shader node with mask supplied in thread)

I'm reminded of something pakled said at the end of one of those threads:

Quote - I must be missing something, I just found something in the Material room that lets me texture the nostrils black, and it works for me..;)

He's referring to simply darkening the nostril material on the V3 figure.

Don't tell me stuff like that because it falls on deaf ears. I've spent HOURS explaining how what "works for you" is embarrassing to the Poser community in the context of the larger CG community. Bad posing, bad expressions, no shadows, hard edged lipstick, hard edged or glowing nostrils - these all go together and they scream NOOB.

i really hate when we have a lip zone on the figure. the edge is so hard that its not practical. so now for V4 you still have to make a matte for the lips and then change two materials.

I rest my case.