Attached Link: http://www.thegrc.com

The events of Sept. 11 delayed the posting of this press release a bit, but Dina is available and getting rave reviews from Poser users that have purchased her. The included image shows a comparison of Posette (model and standard texture included with Poser), DSI's Dina V ($30 with texture included) and DAZ3D's Vicki 2 ($114.85: Vicki 1, $39.95; Vicki 2 upgrade, $39.95; hi res texture, $34.95) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit, Michigan, September 08, 2001 -- DSI: Digital Media, inc., formerly known as Dark Soul Images: Internet Media, inc., announced today that the long awaited 3D Poser Character, known as Dina V., will be released for sale today. Dina V. has become the flagship for the numerous future product lines that DSI plans to release to the 3D Graphic Community and promises to be like nothing youve ever seen before. Unlike other conventional figures that have been available in the past, Dina V. offers to users the kind of quality detail that can be found in such Hollywood movies as Final Fantasy. Much of this is attributed to the fact that Dina is an ultra-hi-res figure sporting over 110,000 polygons, which is around four times as many as the current typical figure for Poser. says Dan Cortopassi, DSIs Product Manager. [Dina] is based on a 3D scan of a real person. Her face and body is real, not some average [figure] designed by a committee of artists and modelers. None of this wouldve been possible, had it not been for Dick Cavdek [President of Cyber F/X] and his 3D Scanning Service Bureau out in Glendale, California. admitted Jack D. Kammerer, President of DSI. Dina has become a major launching pad for a very solid relationship between Cyber F/X and DSI: Digital Media, inc. When asked about the extent of their relationship with Dick Cavdek and Cyber F/X, Everyone is going to have to wait and see, Jack replied smiling, we [DSI & Cyber F/X] are exploring several options at the moment. Both Jack D. Kammerer and Diane Griffith, DSIs Online Store Manager and DSI Partner, stated: We felt that it would be really important to offer a product that would be more advanced than any Poser figure currently on the market and to do so at a price that would be affordable to the common users of Poser Dinas features include built in Joint Controlled Morphs (JCM) for realistic knee and elbow movement and a greater range of motion without [the] breaking the mesh as is typical for most Poser figures. Dan Cortopassi explained. Dina is also fully anatomically correct and comes standard with a photo-realistic, hi-res texture by renowned Paul Hafeli. When combined with Dinas ultra-hi-res mesh, the realism is astounding! I am confident that Dina will not only prove to be a benefit to DSI, but also for the entire 3D Graphic Community that use her. Jack added. By constantly creating affordable advances in 3D products, it will help to enhance both of Curious Labs programs [Poser 4 & Poser Pro Pack] and the artwork created from the use of their programs. The 3D Graphic Community will also be able to benefit from the use of our products as Brokered Artists will be able to add more of an income potential for themselves and for the 3D Community, as well as, the many Web Sites out there that help to house that Community. In observing their promise of keeping their product affordable, DSI will be releasing Dina for the retail price of $30 US. Sale of the figure includes -- The ultra-hi-res figure. A photo-realistic hi-res texture [done by Paul Hafeli], MAT poses and a standard low-res version of Dina which will be shipped to Dina buyers upon completion. Dina will have extra content available and sold separately when she is released, which will include -- two other hi-res textures [done by Pam Cresswell and Diane Griffith], a basic clothing pack [done by Dan Cortopassi], Amythest Mermaid figure using Dinas mesh [done by Dan Cortopassi], a Valkyrie Costume and props [done by Dan Cortopassi] Face poses and Hand poses [done by Diane Griffith], Dina Pose Set [done by Fyrdrak] and Hot Pants [done by Pam Cresswell]. DSIs Dina V. figure can be purchased through both of their Online Stores which can be found at http://www.thegrc.com and http://www.renderotica.com #### About DSI: Digital Media, Inc. DSI: Digital Media, inc., is a privately owned company, dedicated to providing valuable product and services to the 2D & 3D Graphic Community, which includes hosting an Adult Web Site and a Family Web Site both which focus on providing forums, galleries, free downloads and online stores geared towards Graphic Artists from all over the world. Their company is located in Royal Oak, Michigan. For more information, visit their Web Sites at www.thegrc.com or www.renderotica.com [Renderotica is for adults only] About Cyber F/X, Inc. Cyber F/X, inc. is the only service bureau of its kind in Southern California, and is committed to providing affordable, world-class, imaging technology. They proudly use the world-renowned Cyberware digitizing process to service a wide variety of clients in the entertainment and design industries, such as: Animators, Film and Prop makers, Designers and Sculptors. They are located in Glendale, California. For more information, please visit their Web Site at www.cyberfx.com About Curious Labs, Inc. Curious Labs, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of egi.sys AG, designs, develops, and publishes software tools such as Poser, which focus on 3D human and character visualization for artists, designers, and web developers. Their company is located in Santa Cruz, California. For more information, please visit their Web Site at www.curiouslabs.com. Dina V. 2001 DSI: Digital Media, Inc. Poser 2001 is a registered trademark of Curious Labs, Inc. and egi.sys AG.

Dina looks a little like she ought to try out for rugby. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So when can we expect a male character as well? Frankly, I can put that to more immediate use than yet another female model.

Let me guess... she doesn't have any clothes and can't wear P4Fem or Vicki Clothes, right?

No, she can't wear Vicki or P4 fem clothes, but she does have a pretty good compliment of clothes already. Dacort has done his extremely versatile basic pack (2 morphable tops, morphable pants, skirt and shoes) for her which is availlable now. There will be a corset pack that comes with garters and stockings, lace up boots and long skirt and separate overskirt out in a few days. This pack offers several lingerie options as well as ball and fantasy gown looks. There is also a Valkyrie "costume" by Dacort available now, as well as Pam's "hotpants" which is actually a pack of 6 shorts and panty styles for her. Catsuit and other items to come soon. BTW, all of Dacort's clothes come standard with the same body morphs included in Dina. A male model is next on our list. No estimated release date at this time, though.

The nice thing about "average" figures is that they are morphable into a lot of other figure and facial types. The closer you get to a certain specific human being, the less useful a character becomes. Like Mosca, I do wonder what happened to her upper body, though? Carolly

First I want to point out the really bad job done on the texture.

She has a very masculine (aside from her breasts) body shape with her shoulders wider than her hips. While undoubtably there are women shaped like that in real life, unless you want to do artwork with Xena-like warrior types, you're probably better off with P4 or Vicki IMHO.

now the REALLY ugly face...

The hideous most definately unrealistic, body...

more of that hideous body...

now lesse what morphs targets there are to change this hideous body...

I'm not usually one to talk bad about other people's work but this has to be the ugliest most un-realistic model of a woman I've ever seen. And as far as being movie quality, well that appears to be a lie as well. I say stick with your, Posette or Vicki, atleast you won't have nightmares from looking at them. BTW: All pictures I've posted are completely default, the pictures were sent to me by a friend, who bought it after reading how "great" it was. My friend is too afraid to post about it for fear that they will be hated by the "named" people here.

If these are "the pictures were sent to me by a friend"... Man, that's childish. It strikes me that you have an agenda by posting this in the manner you did. In addition, I see no other posts in any other forum by you, nor do I see artwork posted by you. The only reasonable conclusion is that you've gotten yourself a new identity and that you're the same person who's been bashing this character on other forums and at other sites because of a personal agenda with the creators of this mesh.

I take it your complaint is with the arm bending? Dina and Victoria bend much better if you split the difference in an upward bend between the collar and shoulder. The illustrations are images exported directly from Poser, no postwork, no textures. As you can see, Victoria does not perform any better when you don't bend the collar and only bend the arm. This is a problem area with any Poser figure. The human shoulder has an enormous range of motion and Poser's joint setup has limitations. And please, spare me the drama BS. No one at DSI is going to hate anyone for not liking Dina. As if we have nothing better to do. I am suspicious, though, of user names that I've never seen anywhere on this site before suddenly showing up just to rebut a post about Dina.

BillTheFishFishyBill I would be careful of the words used in describing this model since a REAL WOMAN was scanned in order to get the mesh for Dina.. i know i would NOT like being called hideous ugly or unrealistic.. Now as to dina.. IF She was ugly as you claim.. (NOT saying she is or isn't..) devils advocate here.. If she was that ugly.. what would that compare to? hmmmm yeah Vicky.. comes to mind. who can be morphed into a pretty woman or ugly one as time and patience allows. Now i happen to like dina. Very natural.. easy to work with and i do think she is pretty.. Not ugly as you claim she is..then again i have a love hate relationship with vicky too

I'm not bashing Vicki here, but posting some images done in the same "default" poses to show that virtually any model is not going to look very good this way. If you want to truly get an idea of what can be done with Dina, please see the images in the galleries on various sites and look at the ads on Renderotica or theGRC. The ad images were done with no postwork whatsoever except on the hair. Bill, if your friend is not happy with their purchase, I do wish they would contact me. DTHUREGRIF@aol.com And there is absolutely no reason for them to be afraid to post here themselves. Renderosity has no stake in this model.

by the way.. the above image.. was done with no postwork on Dina.. just on the hair, and special effects added.. One of Schlabbers poses for posette.. slightly tweaked *VERY * Slightly tweaked

front. arms only raised.

Side

and the body morphs that came with Vicki originally.

I don't have Dina, but I have to comment on the picture with the "bad texturing"... if she were wearing a hairprop you'd never even notice that was there... and I guess someone could argue (well what if I wanted to do a bald chick), well... the make a texture that has stubble on it, or just don't make pictures from the top like that... I dunno, that to me seems like a non-issue, especially since the texture comes free with Dina (I think it does anyway, please correct me if I'm wrong).

And here's a very simple render with the eyes from the included texture and the rest being my texture (also available) for an idea of how different Dina can look. Dina is definitely not a doll like figure, but she is pretty.

Cin- Yes, that texture is included with Dina and we pretty much thought the top of the head was not much of an issue for the very reasons you stated.

One comment on the this new model: the increase in mesh density looks to be a bit indescriminant - a lot where it is not really needed. This is not a problem if the computer using it has the CPU and RAM to handle it. I mainly wish to comment on the two of the "tests". The seam at the top of the head: Vic has a problem here. The head is mapped with the front and back separated. The problem is that the area devoted to the back of the head is about half that of the front. This is the same Material, so the same texture must be used. This fixes the number of pixels per head area as at least twice as high on the front as the back. The resolutions do not match,indead, cannot match, so there will be a seam, even if identical skin is painted on both areas. The alternative is to devote valuable texture space to an area that does not rate the highter resolution. I have not seen the texture template, but I am guessing that this model is mapped in a similar way. The shoulder joint: bend up, & front-back - the collar and the shoulder groups should track 1:1 for the first part. up - should go to ~40 +/-5 and the collar go on up from there alone. front - same range, but the shoulder should go it alone beyond. buttock/thigh the same 1:1 except the buttock stops at ~ 40 (for it, 80 total) and the thigh takes it to 150-160 total. To have done the pose by bending only the shoulder - the person doing it is either a hopeless amateur or is purposely trying to blow the test.

I had a thread going below where I was looking for this sort of discussion. Some of the fish's points seem to be valid, but most are not. When I bought Vicky I didn't by her for what she could do in default, but what would eventually come. When you buy a model, you're really buying potential. IT is very nice to hear that clothing models for Dina will include her available body morphs! DAZ always drops the ball on that. Certainly with all those polygons the limits are nonexistant to what can be done with this model, and rather then just being made by one individual, this seems to be a true team effort and can be trusted to be maintained, supported, and continued if met with much success. Such a model will certainly prove itself to be useful in time. I will definately be getting this model on the basis of having seen the wire mesh alone. Nice work, DSI! -WTB

Jaager, since you mentioned mapping, Dina's head is basically cylinder mapped, which is why the scalp is mapped separately, otherwise there would be strange distortions at the top of the head. The alternative is front-back mapping, but as you pointed out that has its drawbacks as well. The general feeling was that the scalp is usually under hair anyway, and having the head cylinder mapped pretty well eliminates any seams otherwise. The polygon density may seem a bit high in some non-critical areas, but this was done to avoid any abrupt changes in polygon density. I have found in making morphs for Natalia and other models (and maybe this is just a Lightwave issue, since that's what I use), trying to use the Smooth command over an area where the polygon density is very different tends to have poor results. Also, we have been getting feedback from users, and the high poly count hasn't really proven to be an issue. One user reported that she could use Dina on her PC with only 64 megs of RAM. She said it was a little slow, but still workable. More is better, of course, but this hasn't been as big of a problem as even we thought it might be. We will also soon be releasing a lower-res version of Dina which has the identical head, but a lower-res body mesh. This will be made available at no charge to everyone who has purchased Dina. I am working on a new area of my website which will have more qualitative information regarding Dina, in a format similar to the illustration above. I hope to get this online within a few days.

MUUUUUUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAH !! Flame War in renderosity !!!! Which I can say, I have Vicky AND Dina and I am happy. Mazak

I was actually refering to the fact that her upper half isn't propotionate to her waist, she looks like an ugly barbie doll. The waist is to small and her chest is too large, the only morphs she has only make her rediculously size upper body even bigger.

I'd really like to see the REAL woman DinaV was modeled after, because I think it's a big fat lie. As far as her being ugly, and comparing her to vicki, Vicki has alot of morphs to make her very beautiful, DinaV's morphs all make her even more ugly. Her nose is wider than mine, and I'm a guy with a pretty large nose.

She does sort of look like a linebacker... I'd like to see some kind of independant group get a copy of all the gals available and let the chips fall where they may, and see which figure they thought was the best. It takes more than big boobs, and high mesh counts, SMV says

go to " will the really D please stand up" there you can see her.

I agree Jim, I'd take SMV over DinaV any day!

Well, the real DinaV looks at least human. I think the 3d scanner stuff they used has some serious problems. LOL Or maybe they just thought it would be a good idea to turn up the "wide nose", "large breast", and "tiny waist" dials way too much and then made it irreversible.

My post above was maybe a little too self-serving, forgive me Dcort... I also have the Natlina (or whatever she is called) and find she is a good value for the money, and her joints work better than Vickie's. But you get me started with "most advanced". Howeve, I will freely admit that SMV's joints creak, just like Vickie's!

Well, since this is one of the few Dina threads so far - I've got her and I like her. She does have a different look from Vicky & that is fine with me . . . My only gripe is that I can't seem to do an automatic import into Vue with her --- I have to export to .OBJ and import that into VUE to get things right. Anyone else having that problem ??? I suspect that this is a VUE problem and let me add that I have had no problems in Poser . . . The picture above is a straight PZ3 import into VUE . . . This VUE effect does give an interesting surreal quality . . . I might have to use this! lol!

I note the way "BillTheFishFishyBill" completely ignores previous comments about suspicions that he is someone with a chip on his shoulder, well known to the Poser community, who has taken on a new ID for the purposes of Dina/DSI bashing. I repeat: No posts in the gallery I repeat: No posts in any other forum I repeat: No freestuff uploads By ignoring these points you've confirmed them.

"Me too": to set the record straight, a careful reading of the two sentences of my post will reveal that I neither endorsed nor panned the model, I simply stated that I thought dcort had turned a very nice phrase, and that I feel that the more alternative crayons an artist has, the better. If one truly believes that Vicki represents the complete box, then a lot of hard drive space could be saved by dumping Posette, Eve, etc etc. Dan http://www.zenwareonline.com/cr2edit/cr2edit.html Sorry Win only for software http://www.zenwareonline.com for ZenPaint, ZenTile, ZenGrid and VueMaster

well, i wouldnt exactly say 'most advanced'. i generally dont comment negatively about people's work, but the people pushing this dina fad have displayed enough arrogance to warrant a response. just because a model is 'high-res' doesnt mean its better. dina has many times the polys as vicky2, yet i dont see a need for them. balancing detail with polygon count is a difficult process, and a what makes a truly skilled modeller's talent apparent is when they can create a model that is highly detailed yet makes efficient use of poly count. dina does not do that. she looks like what youd get if you imported posette into max and applied a meshsmooth modifier. sure, shes high poly, and in extreme closeups you will see less angular edges. but the difference is hardly noticeable. i dont believe that her high poly count is justified, since she shows a disappointing lack of detail. her arms and legs are just cylinders. apart from that, her body type isnt exactly appealing, nor is her face. im sure she can be morphed, but im hearing that its quite difficult to alter her default appearance. i wouldnt buy her simply because i dont believe the poly count is justified, and even though i have a powerful system i would rather make use of an efficient and appealing model than a high-poly one just for its 'high-res' propaganda. as for the default body shape/face - if it were aesthetically pleasing i wouldnt complain. im extremely happy with jim burton's supermodel vicky, because even though she has limited morph abilities in her body, there is hardly a need for them because it just completely blows me away. she has an amazing abdomen, legs and butt that you could never accomplish with vicky, dina or posette. i wanted a different face on her, and since she is vicky based, i could simply transfer the morphs from vicky 2 -- it took less than 5 minutes. with dina, you cant use vicky morphs. the most advanced, versatile model would definitely be vicky2, she combines amazing flexibility and detail/realism with a poly count that is very efficient. the most stunning model would have to be supermodel vicky, hands down.

Not that I want to get involved in an argument but.. If there are morphs to make dina's chest bigger, than if you were to take those morphs into the negative wouldn't she get smaller? But I will agree that dina's default body shape is very man-like. A woman's torso shape should be more like 2 equally sized triangles with their points together. Daz can also be said to be guilty of this, but to a lesser extint. For a woman to have breasts that size she would generally have the hip (and butt) to match.

here is an example of making efficient use of poly count. if i were to take this model and meshsmooth it, the poly count would go through the roof, but the model wouldnt have any more detail, and it wouldnt be noticeable. people have to realise that high-poly is bad, not good.

I think what DSI and DCort were striving for with Dina was to get away from the "idealized" or "perfect" woman: thus the approach was taken of scanning a model, a real woman: This is not a (::chuckle::) "big fat lie". I'd also like to add that when gifted artists like Jim Burton and DCort introduce their characters to market, they do not lessen each other, it is we who are collectively enriched by their efforts. However, when others skulk about by assuming a new identity to product bash, we ALL become... how can I say this...amused. Displaying any avatar without hair, for example, does not enhance their "beauty". It is for this very reason that wigs are made and sold, because the same holds true for women the real world (at least in our culture). These derogatory efforts are simply childish and transparent. I freely admit that dCort is a friend and an artist I respect, and the value of this model is superb. The work on the joint params and the overall modelling is absolutely superb. If she doesn't appeal to a user, my advice to the user would be simply not to buy her. However, purchasing and using a 3D product is really the only way to see if that product performs correctly and as advertised.There have been times I've been dissapointed with purchases, and far more times where I thought I'd paid too little. As one of the beta testers, I've seen this character's development, and the amount of work and refinement that went into her is absolutely staggering. No character, no avatar, is going to be perfect; no model will be "one size fits all". It is the sheer variety of characters available that makes Poser so appealing. This is truly a case, I think, where beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

And...how can I repeat this? The poly count has NOT proven to be a problem, but does indeed add detail and morphing abilities to Dina.

Attached Link: http://www.dinarotica.com

im sorry, but look as hard as i may, i dont even see a passing resemblance to the dina on dinarotica. it seems to me that this "approach [that] was taken of scanning a model, a real woman" is simply an afterthought, a gimmick. besides, in less than an hour i could make vicky look more like the real dina. again, im not bashing, just trying to counter the arrogance and overwhelming bias of these posts with some reality. i agree that if one can afford it, then by all means buy every model because its good to have a wide variety of body types and styles - but to say that this model is much better than vicky2 or even eve.v4 is rediculous, i dont even know if its on par with posette.

@shadowcat Yes DTHUREGRIF has a morphpack made. Special for Dinas chest and face. Mazak

ok. mazak, now look at the two pics you provided - even though she has an insanely high poly count, much higher than vicky's, she doesnt even have half the detail that vicky does. and when you are comparing models, its not right to post images with postwork. the image of SMV i posted above is a direct poser render without a smudge of postwork - yet i see postwork clearly on your image. i expect those 'lucky' ones who have beta-tested dina to bleat nothing but praise for her - of course youre biased, and so you should be. but respect the opinions of those who disagree, for this is a discussion forum. those such as 'billythefish' have just as much right to post their opinions and thoughts as you do, and shouldnt be attacked for it.

A agree with Blackhearted insofar as the mesh density is ridiculously high. Vicky has easliy enough polys for most shots, and only does she start showing edges in extreme closeups. Smoothing the mesh to this degree is completely wasteful and uses up valuable system resources needlessly. I myself cannot see much of a resemblance at all to the "real" Dina, at least in the face ;-) However, I must admit that the JCMs do looks very interesting, as the joint deformations on vicky and posette are awful.

//besides, in less than an hour i could make vicky look more like the real dina. // It's 12:38 EST by my reckoning. You're on! I'll check back in an hour.

OK the one in the middle is ugly, What's up with her shoulders, She look like Bette milder on chunky beef.

There is no postwork on the Image. I use a special light set yes. The High Polycount save a lot time for me (no post on kneels and elbow). I am not a Betatester. I bought Dina a week ago. sorry my english is not well. Mazak

lol dendras. id take up your challenge if i had any interest whatsoever in making vicky look that nasty. i have pretty limited time, which is also a reason i wont pick up dina. i want a model that i can load and get looking more or less like i want it in as short a time as possible. sure, maybe dina has mysterious, untapped potential, but it seems that getting her there is a very long process. i just disagree with the whole 'dina is the best model ever made' approach, and i also think that this 'scanned in from a real person' approach is a crock. and as for her being more 'realistic' than vicky? she sure doesnt look realistic - and if that was the purpose all along, why choose a silicone-stuffed broad who looks like she could have starred in a sleazy low-budget porn flick 10 years ago. if you want realism, model mary jane from down the street. and this 'scanned from a real person' mystifies me. just how exactly do you do that? please explain the process in detail. im sorry that i dont buy into the hype. im sure id make a lot more friends here if i did, or if i just shut my mouth. but i believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and noone has the right to censor others opinions or to impose their own upon them. think about that before you post another thread like this, bashing other models openly, then bash those that disagree. cheers, gabriel