You know, I hate to be the person to say it, but I'll take anything. :D  At different times I've needed just about every type of set (or related elements) under the sun, and it's always a scramble to try and find something that matches any given scene in my head.  The idea of doing construction kits of any kind is simply awesome and bound to be a help.

As for actual themes... well what about shooting for something fitting the season when you plan on getting the first set done?  We're past the Christmas card season now, and a little late for New Year's, so maybe something aimed for our Valentine's or Easter renders?  Like romantic dining sets, restaurants, settings perfect for moonlit walks, fields for easter egg hunts, or other general late-winter/early-spring settings.  I know I can't be the only person who works pretty much seasonally!

Thanks so much for asking our opinions!!

I'm sure the question as to whether the models were premade vs homemade is one that the judges consider when rating each entry, regardless.  If you'll look at last year's winners in the 3d category, the first one with -any- easily recognizable premade Poser figures is the 4th runner up. 

I would guess that amongst the factors of how well made a scene is, how apropos for a holiday card, how creative or humorous it is, that they also look at the effort put into it.  I know that if I see a scene that shows a complex and thought-provoking theme subtly hinted at by the careful configuration of store-bought Poser figures, I would rate it higher in my own personal esteem than a simpler cute card made from scratch.  It's all about how they use the tools they have, not which ones they use.

Attached Link: Amarseda Hair

http://www.daz3d.com/shop.php?op=itemdetails&item=4794&cat=350

Quote - Just wanted to let everyone know that our Contest Manager, cartesius [Anders], will be posting the Halloween contest winners this evening.

Thank you all for your patience during the extended judging time. This contest had an enormous amount of amazing entries.

Thanks,
Lillian

Thank you for the update so we didn't go nuts refreshing the page all day long!! :biggrin:  It helps, a lot.  Now that I know to check back this evening I can actually plan on getting some semblance of work done today!!

Good luck to everyone! :thumbupboth:

This is the mesh as it looks now -- be kind, I know it needs a LOT of work!

With the exception of the bangs and short spirals near the hairline, every lock of hair on this is a 4 x Somethingorother plane.  There's probably under a dozen differently sized locks on the model.   (I was actually wishing I could make it more curly somehow, but it is looking like I will need a lot more practice before I'm able to accomplish that.)

Thank you guys so much for your feedback!  I've been sitting here and taking apart various sets of hair to see how they were made, and base this off of those findings, but there's so much to figure out!  I have a feeling I'm looking at an -awful- lot of pologons here, too, and I'm hoping once it's actually finished that I don't end up crashing Poser when I go to use it or anything.  Erg.

This is one of the few forums I subscribe to, too.  Not  much I can make, but I'm always interested and curious in hearing what folks need.

I actually find myself constantly wishing more people would post their wish-lists. :biggrin:  I know mine is about ten-yards long, but so few post to this forum with more than an item or two that it makes me wonder if anyone else is the same.  Heck, so few post to this forum WITH an item or two.

So, if you're going to say...

Quote - As a wish for this forum I would wish... MERCHANTS TO READ THIS FORUM...

 

 
...simple and essential

Then I'm going to say...

"Post more!" :tongue2:

After reading this, this morning, I bounced around the house and hugged everyone I saw! My cat is now looking at me -very- funny, but even that doesn't faze me. :G: Thank you so very, very much! I am glad you liked the picture, especially since I worked on it so much! Congrats to everyone else, too!! If anyone wants me, I'll be out and about bouncing around the house some more. Hee! I'm so happppeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

For an example, this is David's Wedgecut 2.0 at X-Scale 108.5%, Y-Scale 100%, Z-Scale 104%, X-Trans 0, Y-Trans -0.05, Z-Trans 0.01.

"I entered - didn't win lol never do but I keep entering as these contests force me to do something I wouldn't normally do" Same reason I keep entering. :) It makes me stretch my mind in ways I normally wouldn't, and have fun while doing it. Glad to hear someone else has a similar turn of mind.

I know this is going to come out completely mercenary, but rather than returning the prizes you won, why not simply pass them on to someone else who can use them? I didn't see anything in the rules about others being bumped up on the list or new winners chosen simply because the prize is declined. Nor do I believe that simply returning your prize will change the personal opinions and criteria by which the contest was judged -- but it may make it so that some of the sponsors are not so willing to sponsor more contests in the future. Some of those prizes would make really nice Christmas presents, too. I know that some of the pictures I had thought would place -way- above me didn't get chosen, but I simply chalk that up to the fact that no two people will ever come away from looking at any one piece of artwork in the same way. Their own experience and preferences are what they'll depend upon in making what is believed to be the best judgement call, and with so very many entries submitted it must've been a tough decision for each of the categories. I for one was very, very happy and proud to make 9th runner up in the 3D area and was planning on stowing my $10 GC away so I could either get my best bud something for Christmas, or get something to help me make a really spiffy surprise picture for her. :) - Mary PS: Allibaba, how did you get the snowfall to look so pretty? I've always wanted to learn animation and the way the snow was falling looked very much like what you see in movies. (It doesn't snow here, so I rarely see it for real.)

The inability to save due to out of memory errors is definitely something that goes away after installing the first service pack. Watch out -- if you were trying to save over an old file, the old file could be toast now too. The SR1 fix is awesome. I am having a lot more troubles of other kinds after installing the second service pack, though, so be careful.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com/shop.php?op=itemdetails&item=2342

A good example of the thinking out of the box is the equestrian outfit at DAZ: http://www.daz3d.com/shop.php?op=itemdetails&item=2342

I really, really like the free lights at RDNA. In a lot of ways they're like poses: even if there isn't one you like perfectly, they give you a starting point. At the moment I've got my Poser set up to start with one of their SoftLights (Flesh) that's been moved about slightly and totally desaturated. Gives a good bit of global illumination to work with while the scene's being built. :)

Thank you very much, you guys!

Ahh, sorry for the misdirected questions! Thanks for the info. :)