One of the main reasons I have not purchased these products is that, at least in the promo images, they all look very flat. There is no detail such as bumps, etc. Take the newest, Cherry Pie product. I can taste cherry pie when I look at the pictures , but they have no depth, no surface detail, no moisture.
http://market.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?ViewProduct=75142&WhatsNew=Y

Now has anyone developed bump maps, displacement, or whatever it takes to make these look more real?  They also look dry. they need some moisture added to them somehow. OR, how can I do this with what is given in the product ...

Overall, I feel  I'm really not getting my point across clearly with words.,so here's a pic of a pie for example.

Let's look at this in perspective.

Is it really so difficult to whip up bump / displacement / specular maps in Phototshop or something? Realistically will the pie be a hero object or incidental? Granted, there is a short supply of food in the Poserverse, but the fact that it already exists puts you 90% of the way there. Is there really that much complacency or "technical fear" among the users here? Not belittling anyone, I'm just saying.

It's not only the crust - even the filling looks flat compared to the pic above. The point is - you know that the product doesn't look like the pic. Once you identify what the weaknesses are, you add some nodes and voila, your perfect pie. I only say this because I spent several hours earlier this week creating the perfect glass.

I like the real world type stuff by Pappy too but never buy because as you imply it is for lo-res work which is fine but not something I will buy at that price point. For low-res I will pay maybe $5 while if the stuff was modeled with mesh detail and had specular maps etc I would pay the asking price. I feel bad not buying the Pappy stuff though since I really wish the market had forty times more banal everyday props and forty times less 'ho' couture.

Thanks guys....I really appreciate the input.  It helps quite a bit.

Pappy

I really do like your work. Only bought one product however I always check to see what you have new out. I was indeed tempted to buy this product but could not do it at $9.99. In this case a bump or displacement map made from the diffuse texture would go a long way to make the cherries and the cracks in the crust more realistic and a specular map would permit the filling and any glazing to shine while the crust had a more dull look... a little noise on the displacement would also help the crust texture.

If you do not want to do the metal and plastic shaders for the pie plate and pie knife there are merchant resources I believe that can give you better metallic textures etc. Finally, the pie is very regular or perfect and some morphs so that you could have a couple of pies that were slightly irregular but different from each other would help in this regard. In Poser 7 or Poser 8 it is quick work to make such morphs with Morph Brush. As you can see, these details are all easily fixable it is just that some people like me won't pay full price if we know we are going to have to put in the time to make the product match the style/quality of other aspects of our render.

I feel very bad actually discussing this stuff in a forum... better for private communication but I really am glad you make and sell the variety of interesting props you do. I just can't afford to buy them at their full price given the time I would have to put in changing the MATs and creating bump and specular maps for them. They are always on my wishlist for the day I have the money to spare though!! Things like the breakfast eggs, sliced bread, and vegetables not to mention the middle eastern food often make it right into my cart when they are on sale but then I just don't hit the button at the last minute.

Still I very much encourage you to continue with your interesting and unique work and it is clear that people who can afford it do buy it... but yes, maybe some work on bump maps and specular maps would be good or if not that a collaborator to do those.

a couple ball primitives suitably colored could be embedded in the sides of the cut pie to be cherries falling out of the filling.  A specular map to have differing degreess of shiney on the juice might help.  Bump map for the crust should be fairly easy to do.  

I think the thing looks fine as a scene filler.  There are a few free items available  for cakes.

It would be interesting to know the number of artists who use these products as fillers vs close-ups and pro vs hobbyist..

I doubt if that would ever be known though.

As for the price, I doubt if many artists/ animators mind it given the time and effort it takes to create the objects, UV map, and textureing.  It is a time saver for them and pricewise quite a bit less than having it commisioned.

The 3D object considered perfect by all at a low price will undoubtedly never happen.  I feel many merchants at Renderosity underprice their products as it is.  Some are very much what could be considered a masterpiece and I hope someday to be able meet their abilities.

Quote - I think the thing looks fine as a scene filler.  There are a few free items available  for cakes.

I do too.

There is always the option of Turbosquid ....

High Quality Cake

Cake   Texture not included!!

i was going to pm pappy directly as I didn't feel right discussing it here, but then thought it would be a good discussion and perhaps a learning situation to do what it is I said.

The price is indeed decent, considering if you look at 3D sites other than Poser related, you will soon learn that the Poser world models are priced extremely low compared to the rest.

The work that has been done on pappy's models is superb. I would just like to see more detail for closeup work, and I , quite frankly, do not have the texturing skills to do it, but it may be a great learning opportunity for me, as well as others.

I was really happy when pappy started releasing his work. It fills a needed area for sure.

how's this for fate...one of Pappy's products, Ice Cream Social, was just on the popup ad :)

I'd like to see it rendered with some bumps as people have suggested.

hmmmm ... nice and pricey isn't it ? :)
that's what i meant in my second to last post.

Quote - > Quote - I think the thing looks fine as a scene filler.  There are a few free items available  for cakes.

I do too.

There is always the option of Turbosquid ....

High Quality Cake

Cake   Texture not included!!

Quote - I , quite frankly, do not have the texturing skills to do.

Me neither. Well, I probably do because I am pretty good inside PSP, but I just find texturing too darn tedious and I don't have the patience for it.  Maybe if you could texture in 3D and spin the object around instead of working on a flat template, it would be easier to match up straps, seams, waist belts, designs etc on the front and back when they come together inside Poser. I just don't have patience to go by basically what seems like trial and error and back and forth frrom Poser to graphic program to make adjustments so that things match up.

isn't that what Blacksmith 3D always you to do ?
plus its at 50% off for the current version in lead up to the soon new release of version 4

Quote - > Quote - I , quite frankly, do not have the texturing skills to do.

Me neither. Well, I probably do because I am pretty good inside PSP, but I just find texturing too darn tedious and I don't have the patience for it.  Maybe if you could texture in 3D and spin the object around instead of working on a flat template, it would be easier to match up straps, seams, waist belts, designs etc on the front and back when they come together inside Poser. I just don't have patience to go by basically what seems like trial and error and back and forth frrom Poser to graphic program to make adjustments so that things match up.

Just my 0.02:

I find his work eminently useful, but then my genre -- stylized cartooning -- doesnt demand high quality textures or deeply involved bump maps. As they stand, right out of the box, they're perfect for my needs.