Quote - Whats the best realistic lighting setup for Daz that would incorporate realism with render time thanks?

As a new user I cannot be sure about this; however, I like to create my own lighting and position it to create interesting shadows. The contrast of light and dark is a great way to add dramatic atmosphere to a scene. I learned this long ago when I was in art classes for painting and drawing. Yes, I am an artist in other mediums besides  the digital ones.

For Shadowing in DAZ Studio I turn on the Raytraced and fiddle with the setting a small amount. You won't see these shadows during the scene composing phase so set you render size to a small image to test render and see if the shadows look the way you want them. When you have everything looking the way you want, reset the render size to the size you want your final image or animation to be and then render. Understand that the size of an image or frame determines how long the rendering will take. Also know that  rendering takes longer when you use extreme light and dark colors or you have a very complicated scene to render. If you have a 64 bit operating system on your computer and more that 2 gigabytes of RAM, you can speed up your render time by having the 64 bit version of DAZ Studio 4 installed. It will access more that 2 gigabytes of RAM while the 32 bit version only accesses 2 gigabytes.

I hope this is helpful. If not, I suggest looking for tutorials on lighting for DAZ Studio.

Thanks for the information so best to do some tweaking on a much smaller render size great idea!

Been using a distant light and a spotlight that is raytraced tried another type lighting but  long render times. Guess a backdrop of some sort adds some depth to the realism?

Does Reality 2 plugin really help ? Or does it take even longer time to render ? Thanks for the info

i agree with agent0013 about tweaking your lighting but with one variation of course.  you will have one thing in your render that is the focus of the image, if you start with that figure in your image then you set up your lighting with that figure in mind.  you could set up your lights right after you have the figure in the scene so that you get the shadows and highlights as you want them even b4 you put anything else in the scene.  i usually make at least 3 distant lights set one to illumination on and the other two on to spec only that way you have the specular highlights illuminated more so it is more like natural lighting.

Quote - i agree with agent0013 about tweaking your lighting but with one variation of course.  you will have one thing in your render that is the focus of the image, if you start with that figure in your image then you set up your lighting with that figure in mind.  you could set up your lights right after you have the figure in the scene so that you get the shadows and highlights as you want them even b4 you put anything else in the scene.  i usually make at least 3 distant lights set one to illumination on and the other two on to spec only that way you have the specular highlights illuminated more so it is more like natural lighting.

Thank you for that tip in lighting. I have been wondering how to do exactly that. Now if we can find out how to do ambient lighting, I think we will be doing great. Don't quote me on this, but I think ambient lighting has something to do with the underlying surface glow. It sets the mood of the piece. A good example is how a spooky setting is lit. Like I said, I don't know this for sure.

The additional distant lights seemed to add more realism in the skin textures as well

what would be some recommended settings for the lights and spotlights as well as for the most realistic lighting say for instance outdoor lighting or studio lighting thanks.

Realize theres lots of tweak settings to obtain the best result

Also the placement of the distant lights where would be the best area to place them?

Thanks!

Quote - The additional distant lights seemed to add more realism in the skin textures as well

what would be some recommended settings for the lights and spotlights as well as for the most realistic lighting say for instance outdoor lighting or studio lighting thanks.

Realize theres lots of tweak settings to obtain the best result

Also the placement of the distant lights where would be the best area to place them?

Thanks!

As I understand it, and from what knowledge I have gleaned from tutorials, Distant Lights work without having to be moved from their original position. All you need to do to get them to look as though the light is coming from a certain direction is aim the lights to point in the direction you want. If you zoom in on a distant light you will notice that it has three arrows all pointing in the same direction. This indicates the direction the light is travelling in. As Distant Lights are parallel by nature, all of the light that is associated with one is travelling in the direction the arrows point. Use this to help you figure out where you want the light to point. As far as placing a Distant Light is concerned, I don't think it is really necessary to move it, although you can if you want to. For more about Distant Lights in DAZ Studio, visit YouTube and type in the search box: "DAZ Studio Tutorial - Distant Lights". You should be able to find several good tutorials on the subject.

yes distant lights can be set in the middle of the scene and left there and just pointed in the directions you want to have them point.  the main distant light you have it it's an outdoor image sould be set to the direction of the sun or moon of course.  also it would be set to 100% to >100% if you want it too unless you are using a darkerr bunch of lighting which you could either lessen the % of light or darken the color as needed.

the two set to specular only lighting would be set around 25%-85% depending on how much you want the specular lit up.  also set darker than your main light so that it doesn't over power the rest of your scene.  if you need an ambient light you could set up another distant light set to difuse only set to about 1/2 or less of your main light percentage.  set that light to a bit darker than your main light.  you'll have to play around with the settings to get the image lighting you want but that should get you started.  for those using spotlights as their main lighting like for torches and other lighting sources, you set your spotlights to 100% and use the two specular lights like with the distant main light.  and use the third distant light as your diffuse only light for ambience.

Thanks for all the help will be testing those later tonite it can get rather complicated but that seems simple enough.

Was reading up on Reality 2 but seems like the renders may take forever also one last thing using 3d delight whats the setting for anti alaising seems one render i did the object wasnt curved or you could detect polygon seams or the object wasnt smooth and countoured.

oh another note on your shadow settings for your lights if you are having shadows only hav eyour main light source with raytracing and have the rest with deep shadow maps

Quote - Thanks for all the help will be testing those later tonite it can get rather complicated but that seems simple enough.

Was reading up on Reality 2 but seems like the renders may take forever also one last thing using 3d delight whats the setting for anti alaising seems one render i did the object wasnt curved or you could detect polygon seams or the object wasnt smooth and countoured.

As for anti aliasing, I have not encountered any problems with it. I just use the default settings. Of course there may be some recommendations I don't know about concerning this.

Quote - oh another note on your shadow settings for your lights if you are having shadows only hav eyour main light source with raytracing and have the rest with deep shadow maps

I have sometimes created a scene with two separate light sources, each of which could serve as the main light. Since I wanted to have two shadows for my objects in the scene, I would set both with raytraced shadowing. In my first version of DS4, I could not get this to work, but the Pro version seems to have solved that problem. That being said, I would like to know more about the deep shadow map settings, as I think they may work better for what I just described.

Thanks.

the most i know of deep shadow maps is that DS calculates the area that the shadows will fall and maps them out which it does before it even startes to render which makes, the rendering faster than the raytracing but would also maybe require the use of the shadow bias settings.  so that your main shadow hits a little harder

Quote - the most i know of deep shadow maps is that DS calculates the area that the shadows will fall and maps them out which it does before it even startes to render which makes, the rendering faster than the raytracing but would also maybe require the use of the shadow bias settings.  so that your main shadow hits a little harder

That seems to make sense. I know that when two different colored lights are present in the real world, and someone is between them, the part of the shadow that lies outside of the overlapped area of both shadows will be the color of the light that is not casting that particular shadow. Example: Say there is a red light and a blue light. You are stand in a position that puts you at the apex of a triangle formed by yourself and the two lights. You look at the shadow you are casting from the red light and see that where the other shadow does not overlap the one you are looking at it is blue. This is because blue light shines on that portion of the shadow from the red light. This is the type of effect I want when I use two or more lights for my scenes. I have not tried the deep shadow maps with this yet. I plan to do that in my next rendering in DAZ Studio 4, and I'll let you know how it works. If the scene is decently great looking, I'll upload it here so everyone can see my results.

Hello to all.

I have a question.

How to set up the camera (focal length, focal distance, f/stop) etc in DAZ 3D so that I can have a nice and sharp image rendered. Without checking the 'Depth of field' button, the render is working fine, I want to know how to setup cameras with depth of field button on?

Thanks.

the best way i've found is create your camera and move your perspective camera viewto go to one side or the other or over the scene.  then go into your camera settings, and set your focal distance so that your focus of the image is in between the two DOF panels.

i am having trouble removing 2 sets of noses and 2 sets of lips when I load a mat into a scene...what am I doing wrong and how can I fix this?

It sounds as if you might have the wrong UV set.

Which figure are you using and which texture set are you using.

If you are using Genesis with a M4 texture applied you need to set the M4 UV.

In the Surfaces tab select Genesis at the bottom (or with some shaders its at the top)of the section you will find a UV Set, in the drop down box select the correct choice for the texture set.

Hope this helps.

I'm a brand new user of Daz Studio 4...  and a brand new member of Renderosity.  Frankly, I don't have a clue where to start.  Not even enough tofollow the DAZ videos (which seem a bit hard to follow).   I think my main problem right now may be that the install was not properly completed.  

Would it be best to uninstall and start all over?  Or is there something obvious I'm missing...

Peejay

What happened with the installation?

Do you have the shortcut icon on your screen after you logon? If you do then it is most likely installed correctly. I suggest you contact the support desk at DAZ 3D's website and put in a request for help. You will need to give information about your PC or Mac, its operating system, and the program your request is for. Then write a short message describing your problem.

I know that the support desk has its ups and downs, but the people there will generally try their best to aid you with your problem. My most recent request involved products that were not installing into DAZ Studio. The person that helped me stuck with me until we were able to narrow it down and solve it. I think that is real dedication.

I have a few questions. I have been creating content for some time now. Mostly for poser I have tried to keep my stuff DS freindly but I am missing a trick or 2 and want to create stuff that renders well in both (with out all the texture faffing) by starting to do 2 versions of models/ props. But being as thick as a brick and not having much time to find the tutorials I thought you guys would know.

I'm fine at adjusting the textures in DS3/4, Up until now I have just saved a DS scene file with the adjusted mats and added that to the product but its not a great way. What I would like to do is save the Character, Prop or Material/material set but can't seem to workout how to save them. Yeah Yeah I know dumb f...

Also another thought can a poser scene be loaded into DS?

Anyhelp would be great, ABC steps even better.

Actually more accurately I know how to save them just not where too and how to use them after.  For example I saved a materials file but It doesn't show up in the libraries?

Put the Studio mat file in with the Poser pz2 mat and give it the same name as the pz2.  Studio will execute the DS file instead of the pz2.  You know you did it right if the file icon changes by having a little scroll added to the upper left corner.

Here is one I could use a little advice for: 

There are several clothing items that were made for the Victoria 4, or the Michael 4 character bases, that are in my content library. Supposedly, there is a way to fit these items to the Genesis character base. I have followed the procedure laid out in some of the tutorials, but the fit is (more often than not) a bad one, with poke through in several areas of the figure, especially when I pose the character. I have watched the videos that talk about how to use the transfer utility tool, and followed that as well, thinking it would fix the problem. I still get poke through in certain areas of the figure.

Maybe there is someone here that can tell me what I am doing wrong. I know that there is at least one extra bone in the Genesis torso that is not present in the V4 and M4 torsos, but this problem occurs with clothing that is not for the torso, such as boots and shoes. I may be wrong but it seems that those types of clothing should not be affected by an extra bone of the torso.

Can anyone tell me what the problem could be?

Quote - Put the Studio mat file in with the Poser pz2 mat and give it the same name as the pz2.  Studio will execute the DS file instead of the pz2.  You know you did it right if the file icon changes by having a little scroll added to the upper left corner.

Is this the same for props? This is what I did

Load the poser prop, adjusted textures, "File>Save as>Support Asset>DSF Figure or prop file" gave it the same name as the original. But it doesn't show up.

I checked it, Its in the folder, opened it with wordpad and it looks to be correct as far as I can tell (found references to the geometry, the jpgs etc)

So what am I doing wrong?

Quote - Here is one I could use a little advice for: 

There are several clothing items that were made for the Victoria 4, or the Michael 4 character bases, that are in my content library. Supposedly, there is a way to fit these items to the Genesis character base. I have followed the procedure laid out in some of the tutorials, but the fit is (more often than not) a bad one, with poke through in several areas of the figure, especially when I pose the character. I have watched the videos that talk about how to use the transfer utility tool, and followed that as well, thinking it would fix the problem. I still get poke through in certain areas of the figure.

Maybe there is someone here that can tell me what I am doing wrong. I know that there is at least one extra bone in the Genesis torso that is not present in the V4 and M4 torsos, but this problem occurs with clothing that is not for the torso, such as boots and shoes. I may be wrong but it seems that those types of clothing should not be affected by an extra bone of the torso.

Can anyone tell me what the problem could be?

Boots and shoes are absolutely terrible in transferring from Gen4 to Genesis. Autofit and the transfer tool usually botch the operation. When this happens to me, I try the 'fit to' for the character and outright hide the feet in the scene tab. At this stage, it's just a crappy fact of life kind of thing.

There is a way around this, but it's fairly complicated and not terribly cheap. You'll need to get a hold of a tool called  'GenX for Genesis' and the 'm4/v4 shapes for Genesis', both at Daz. Combined when not on sale, it's a $50+ issue, which is why I haven't got it yet either. The short story is that the tool uses your Gen4 figure and converts the shapes, morphs and any clothing into a Genesis figure. Its a great idea but a bit spendy. 

Honestly, (personal opinion warning!) I haven't been sold on all the Genesis hoopla, though I certainly appreciate what it is. I've just got too much content for Gen4 that will not work on Genesis, and beyond that, I haven't seen any significant increase in performance for what I use the gen4 characters for. If I were a monster/creature person, then yes, Genesis is 'all that' and a stick of butter. But I like realistic characters, and I know precisely how to get what I want/need out of the old stock. Long story short, if it isn't broke, don't fix it =D

Add: I forgot to add this, but when I have that unavoidable poke through where you can't hide the problem part, it's just a few adjustments in the morph or scale panel that can fix a thigh that's too big, or a bicep popping out of a suit or what have you. I know, tedious, but a quick fix is to save the character as a preset scene with just the character and whatever items are attached when you get it set up to perfection. Easy work around that you can later merge into any file/scene and he/she/it is already set up with no issues.

My fix for poke through is hide the part underneath if possible or creat a transparency map if you know how.

Quote - > Quote - Put the Studio mat file in with the Poser pz2 mat and give it the same name as the pz2.  Studio will execute the DS file instead of the pz2.  You know you did it right if the file icon changes by having a little scroll added to the upper left corner.

Is this the same for props? This is what I did

Load the poser prop, adjusted textures, "File>Save as>Support Asset>DSF Figure or prop file" gave it the same name as the original. But it doesn't show up.

I checked it, Its in the folder, opened it with wordpad and it looks to be correct as far as I can tell (found references to the geometry, the jpgs etc)

So what am I doing wrong?

I don't save props or characters too terribly often, but in your above post, the process I recall is just that.

One thing I do know is that Studio has issues using certain poser mat files. The .mc6 definitely doesn't work, and occasionally, the .mtl5 or .mat5 (I forget which was the old poser format, but I believe its the .mat5) won't load or even show in the content directory. You can convert them and most of the time get something cooking, either by changing the extension manually to .pz2, or using a little freebie calle 'file extension changer'. It's really handy for converting bulk mat5's to work with Studio.

Also, for editing problematic files, there's another freebe called notepad++, specifically made for opening files where you might need to do some hardcore editing. It's tons nicer than notepad and lets to edit line by line, which are also numbered. You can batch convert files types, change extensions within several files, etc.

Ermm.... I am just getting no joy.  I am back to trying it as mat file again. I save the materials , that all looks good it asks which surfaces to set (check the correct boxes), save it in poses (.DSF) change the extention to (.pz2). It shows up in the library. I load the original Poser version, Select it, find the .pz2, click it, It applies it (well something flashes up, its too quick to read) but nothing changes. Any other ideas?

A DSF file won't auto load when you double-click the Poser file, you need to use the deprecated script-based formats (.dsa etc.) for this. You should also save a Materials preset rather than a prop or figure for this, and put it in the Pose (or Materials if you don't mind not supporting DS3) folder with an identically named Poser file (ideally the Poser material settings, if you provide them. So you'd have something like PropsMYPropsMyProp.pp2 and PropsMYPropsMyProp.png in the prop library, and PoseMYPropsMyPropMat.pz2, PoseMYPropsMyPropMat.png and PoseMYPropsMyPropMat.dsa in the pose library. It is possible to make a script that will apply materials when the prop is loaded, but it requires (minor) hand-editing of the script file to get it.

Thanks RHaseltine ill give it a go. It should be easy why has it been made so fiddly, some money making going on somewhere no doubt.

I am at a lost here..

I purchased Stonemasons Winter Kingdom and didn't think about the format.. thought it was for Poser..

I am so confused in Daz..

Can someone help..

Thank you!

~alice

Quote - I am at a lost here..

I purchased Stonemasons Winter Kingdom and didn't think about the format.. thought it was for Poser..

I am so confused in Daz..

Can someone help..

Thank you!

~alice

I am new to this myself but here are my thoughts:

If you click on the Content Library tab and look at the list at the top of the pane that appears, there are five different things in the list, (this is at the beginning of the library). They are as follows:

1. DAZ Studio Formats,

2. Poser Formats,

3. Other Import Formats,

4. Products,

5. Categories.

You may notice that Products and Categories are headed by a different icon. The only parts of this list you need to concern yourself with at this time are the first two; DAZ Studio Formats and Poser Formats. I suggest you explore both of them all the way to the last folders. Look at every folder and all the products that can be found in the last of each hierarchy. 

If you don't understand what I'm trying to tell you, the following is how this works:

Click on DAZ Studio Formats. This is the main folder for all things that can be found and used of this type. The next part of the hierarchy opens, where you will find two folders; My Library and Studio3. 

Click on My Library. The next part opens. You will find several folders in this part with names like aniBlocks, Animals, Content, People, Props, etc.

Click on People. You may have more folders in this next part than I do, but I have only one named Genesis. If you have DS4 you will have this folder as well.

Click on Genesis. The next part has at least six folders in it, each with a descriptive name like Characters, Clothing, and Hair.

Click on Characters. At least two icons appear in the bottom section of the pane; Basic Female and Basic Male. If you double click on one of these it will load a character into the scene.

Now each part you clicked to get here corresponds to a folder that exists on your computer. The first folder, DAZ Studio Formats, contains all of the other folders. As you click on a folder name, it opens that folder, which will have the next set of folders within this particular one, until at the end you open the deepest folder containing the actual items you want to use. So you have a main folder that has secondary folders within it, which in turn have folders within them, and so on until the final deepest folders. This is how all five main folders are set up. It helps the software keep everything organized in a way that it can understand. The name for this setup is "Hierarchy", (basically just folders, within folders, within folders, etc.)

Now when you buy or acquire a 3rd party product to install in DAZ Studio or Poser, make sure it comes with a readme that gives clear instructions on how to install the product. This is important because it must be installed to the correct folders in order to work with your software. Otherwise you may not be able to use the product.

One thing I will suggest to you is to make sure you do not remove the product from your computer's harddrive even after in has been successfully installed. If you need the extra memory space, save the product on an external memory device that can be accessed by your computer if the need should ever arise.

I hope this helps. I am still learning myself, so let me know how you do.

Why can't this just be made in poser too!

ugh..

There's an OBJ you can import into Poser, but you will need to set materials up yourself - Winter Kingdom was an experiment with materials, so it wasn't given a full Poser version though Stonemason usually does provide both.

I tried to do it in Poser..but it doesn't work very good. I knew the obj would be HUGE and would have to resize them and apply the mats.. but all the time is just not worth doing one render.

Thank you for all your help.

~alice

I have a question on backgrounds....

In the Freebie section of Renderosity, a background is often referred to as a "planar" so is this different from a background for Poser?

And can Poser backgrounds also be used in D4?

Thanks.

R

Quote - I have a question on backgrounds....

In the Freebie section of Renderosity, a background is often referred to as a "planar" so is this different from a background for Poser?

And can Poser backgrounds also be used in D4?

Thanks.

R

I think planars are actually just images that can be used as the background of whatever scene you are creating, as opposed to the skydomes that come with certain product packages for DS and Poser. The planars will be in one of several formats, such as .bmp, or .jpeg.

I have use some of my own photos, backgrounds I created in Bryce, and photos or background images I downloaded from the internet. It would seem to me that any image you can import into the scene could be called a Planar. Of course if you use an image in this way, you need to make sure you know the aspect ratio of the image in order to set that as your rendering aspect ratio. This will prevent distortion of the background image. I like to use a 16:9 aspect ratio. This will fit most wide screen monitors.

If you want to try this, let me know and I will gather all of my information on how to do it and post it for you. One thing I will tell you now: you can use any image you can find in this way, as long as it is in a format that DS or Poser can recognize. If the image is in a format not recognized by DS or Poser, there are several good programs available that can be used to convert the image to the correct formats. Some of these are probably already on your computer. Others are free to download, or you can purchase one of them if you prefer.

Quote - > Quote - I have a question on backgrounds....

In the Freebie section of Renderosity, a background is often referred to as a "planar" so is this different from a background for Poser?

And can Poser backgrounds also be used in D4?

Thanks.

R

I think planars are actually just images that can be used as the background of whatever scene you are creating, as opposed to the skydomes that come with certain product packages for DS and Poser. The planars will be in one of several formats, such as .bmp, or .jpeg.

I have use some of my own photos, backgrounds I created in Bryce, and photos or background images I downloaded from the internet. It would seem to me that any image you can import into the scene could be called a Planar. Of course if you use an image in this way, you need to make sure you know the aspect ratio of the image in order to set that as your rendering aspect ratio. This will prevent distortion of the background image. I like to use a 16:9 aspect ratio. This will fit most wide screen monitors.

If you want to try this, let me know and I will gather all of my information on how to do it and post it for you. One thing I will tell you now: you can use any image you can find in this way, as long as it is in a format that DS or Poser can recognize. If the image is in a format not recognized by DS or Poser, there are several good programs available that can be used to convert the image to the correct formats. Some of these are probably already on your computer. Others are free to download, or you can purchase one of them if you prefer.

Agent, thank you so much. 

That is a good help to me in understanding this better.

Yes, I would appreciate you sending the information you mentioned to help me in this.   I seem to do images with no background and I would like to try to improve this.

I have a related question I think... In Daz 4 the background is default white. Can this be changed to black or gray, and if so, how is it done?

Again, thank you so much.

Randy 

Quote - > Quote - > Quote - I have a question on backgrounds....

In the Freebie section of Renderosity, a background is often referred to as a "planar" so is this different from a background for Poser?

And can Poser backgrounds also be used in D4?

Thanks.

R

I think planars are actually just images that can be used as the background of whatever scene you are creating, as opposed to the skydomes that come with certain product packages for DS and Poser. The planars will be in one of several formats, such as .bmp, or .jpeg.

I have use some of my own photos, backgrounds I created in Bryce, and photos or background images I downloaded from the internet. It would seem to me that any image you can import into the scene could be called a Planar. Of course if you use an image in this way, you need to make sure you know the aspect ratio of the image in order to set that as your rendering aspect ratio. This will prevent distortion of the background image. I like to use a 16:9 aspect ratio. This will fit most wide screen monitors.

If you want to try this, let me know and I will gather all of my information on how to do it and post it for you. One thing I will tell you now: you can use any image you can find in this way, as long as it is in a format that DS or Poser can recognize. If the image is in a format not recognized by DS or Poser, there are several good programs available that can be used to convert the image to the correct formats. Some of these are probably already on your computer. Others are free to download, or you can purchase one of them if you prefer.

Agent, thank you so much. 

That is a good help to me in understanding this better.

Yes, I would appreciate you sending the information you mentioned to help me in this.   I seem to do images with no background and I would like to try to improve this.

I have a related question I think... In Daz 4 the background is default white. Can this be changed to black or gray, and if so, how is it done?

Again, thank you so much.

Randy 

Okay, here is how this works:

Make sure that the Actors, Wardrobe & Props tab at the top of your work window is the active one. Active tabs are darker in color.

Beneath the tab title you will see a series of icons. Hovering over them with your mouse will cause a small label to appear that tells you what can be done if you click on that icon.

Click on the icon that looks like a sun and mountain.

In the small window that appears, click on the bar next to the word Image. A drop down box appears.

Click on the word Browse in this drop down box. A window will appear that lets you navigate to anywhere on your computer.

 If you know where the image you wish to use is located, go to it and click on it. The image will appear in your scene.

The original small window will still be open. Click on the Accept button if you want to keep this image as your background. If you wish to change it, click the Image bar again and browse to find another image to replace the first one. When you are satisfied, click on accept. If you do not want to use any images at this time, click on the cancel button.

If the image you wish to use will not load into the scene, it is probably not in a format that DAZ Studio can use. To get around this, I suggest a separate program that you can import the image into which will allow you to save it as either a .bmp or .jpeg format. There are others that DAZ Studio recognizes, but these are the most common formats I have found useful.

Some good programs that can be used to convert the format of an image are listed below:

1. Microsoft Office PowerPoint – if you have any version of this program, it is excellent for this purpose. I suggest creating a PowerPoint file just for this task. You can set the size, aspect ratio, and several other things in this program; and there is even a way to create images. To save images in a desired format in a separate folder, use the Save As feature.

2. Photo Shop – I do not know much about this program, but from what I gather, it is also an excellent one to use for this purpose. There is post production work that can be done as well, and you can use it to create or alter materials.

3. Gimp – This is much like Photo Shop with similar tools. I have Gimp 2, which is free to download. Like Photo Shop, it can be used for post production work, and material creations and alterations.

Now to address the other question you posted. Yes, you can change the scene viewport default color. Here is how:

At the top of the scene viewport on the right side you will see a small icon with a tiny triangle and four horizontal lines. Hovering over it will cause a textbox to appear that has “Options: Display the Viewport Options” in it. Click on the icon.

In the drop down box that appears click on Change Background Color.

A window will appear with the familiar colors table in it. Choose the color you want and click on the OK button.

Your background color in the viewport is now the color you have chosen.

I hope this helps. Let me know how you do, and don't be afraid to ask questions about anything you do not understand concerning this explanation.

Agent 0013.

This will be a very simple question, and display my ignorance. When I am doing an image in D4, the default seems to be a white background. How can I change the background, for example, to black, or any other colour?

Thanks.

R

My appologies to everyone. My question has been answered and I did not know... I must have missed the notification, So sorry for that, and thank you Agent 0013, so much.

Very sincerely,

R

Quote - My appologies to everyone. My question has been answered and I did not know... I must have missed the notification, So sorry for that, and thank you Agent 0013, so much.

Very sincerely,

R

I am happy to be of service. As a fellow artist, I want the experience of creating to be an enjoyable one for you and all.

Stay awesome.

Agent 0013.

P.S. 

If you have not done so already, you can highlight the text in the explanations I posted and copy it. Take it to a document program and paste it, then save the document. That way you will have the instructions on how to do this ready for access when you need them.

Hello again, and thank you Agent0013.

I can't believe I missed this earlier, but I did..... so dumb of me.

I will do as you suggest, copy it. Thank you so much again.

Sincerely.

R

Okay. I have DAZ Studio 4.0 Pro. I just upgraded from my original version 3 months ago when they offered the pro version for free. Now I see on the DAZ 3D website that 4.5 Pro is being offered for free. 

Here are my questions: Is there much of a difference in my version and the new 4.5 Pro version? Is it worth upgrading so soon after my last upgrade?

From what I am seeing, the latest upgrade is free for a limited time only. It supports certain extra software that allows developers to create content for DAZ Studio 4.5, which kind of fits in with my goals of making things for the software that I can upload to various sites for sale. Of course i already have the Content Creator Tool Kit installed in 4.0 Pro, so I'm wondering what to do.

Well, 4.0 was free for a limited time only too - DAZ is just making sure it can end the offer when it wants, not setting, as far as I know, a specific limit. And it will go on working once you have it - the end of the free period won't disable your serial number. As for whether it's worth getting, 4.5 fixes a lot of bugs and adds some useful features (instancing, for example, which is useful for populating a scene if you want multiple copies of an item, and AutoFit now preserves morphs), as well as having a finalised and documented version of the DSON format which will work with Carrara 8.5 and should, in theory, open the door to other tools working with native content.

Quote - Okay. I have DAZ Studio 4.0 Pro. I just upgraded from my original version 3 months ago when they offered the pro version for free. Now I see on the DAZ 3D website that 4.5 Pro is being offered for free. 

Here are my questions: Is there much of a difference in my version and the new 4.5 Pro version? Is it worth upgrading so soon after my last upgrade?

From what I am seeing, the latest upgrade is free for a limited time only. It supports certain extra software that allows developers to create content for DAZ Studio 4.5, which kind of fits in with my goals of making things for the software that I can upload to various sites for sale. Of course i already have the Content Creator Tool Kit installed in 4.0 Pro, so I'm wondering what to do.

I have downloaded 4.5 but hesitate to install as it will uninstall previous versions. I have saved many scenes (to redo when the time comes) and I am thinking that they probably will not load in 4.5. There is a forum dedicated to discussion about 4.5

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/5343/P690/#94257

Thank you all for the responses to my query. I have already downloaded it and will be installing it today. With all the bug fixes it should work a lot better than my current version, which crashes when I use the bridge to Bryce 7 Pro for moving certain large object files. I hope this bug has been addressed and fixed, because when I export my objects as .obj and import them into Bryce, there is a lot of materials a textures files that have to be manually loaded to get everything I want in. Tedious.

Unfortunately, I have no version of Carrara at all, which I have heard is a fantastic 3D art software program. Still I have several already that serve me quite well for now. 

I will look in on the discussion thread for 4.5, and see what is being said about it. Thanks for the heads up.

HeatherT: old scenes should open in 4.5. Some may "explode" when saved as .duf and reopened, but saving the .duf file again seems to fix that (I haven't encountered the problem at all, but that's what has been reported by several users).

Quote - HeatherT: old scenes should open in 4.5. Some may "explode" when saved as .duf and reopened, but saving the .duf file again seems to fix that (I haven't encountered the problem at all, but that's what has been reported by several users).

Wonderful news! Now I can go ahead and install. I just found a reply at Daz similar to yours....Thanks so much!