What have I been learning lately?

What have I been learning lately? A fair question and quite a valid one, considering how quiet it’s been for the most part. Well, since books have hit a standstill, I’ve been learning new things about lights and cameras. Grabbing every tutorial on the subject I can when I can. Anyone who’s read the earliest Dream Angel books will agree those are indeed weaknesses. True fans wouldn’t have those early books any other way, considering the visible evolution of the art through the books. Improving the art has always been and will always be a goal of this artist.

Now, I’ve noted that a leading complaint about CGI art is that it’s “stiff and lifeless.” Well, alongside the lights and cameras, I’ve been on the hunt for ways to solve that problem, as well. On the one hand, the stiff outfits with morphs are much easier to control and less taxing on the computer when rendering. Although, sometimes, a realistic drape is far more dramatic. I figure I might be able to use both at appropriate times to achieve the effects I want in the scene. Sometimes, a dynamic drape just doesn’t cooperate the way you want it to and it’s not an easy thing to control. I do wish to get some tutorials to help with mastering it, of course! So, the stiffer object with the morphs can take over in the meantime while I’m learning. Fair enough, right?

Taking time to learn new things is just as important as releasing new books, right? Admittedly, it’s been a couple months now since the last book was released, but I believe you’ll find the wait well worth it as books to come will benefit from what’s being learned. So, to finish up, I’ll share a couple of the recent renders and let you see what’s been going on behind the scenes.

Let’s have a look at those new

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Now, let me point out a couple things.

  1. Starting with the first image, lighting is good, but could still use some dramatic flair.
  2. Second one, there’s some drama going on. I’m willing to bet some color adjustments or other tweaks would take it over the top.
  3. The third one, with Techwarrior and his villain Cryptolock going at it is pretty dramatic. I’ll bet there’s some room to tweak it further. You’ll also notice that cape of Cryptolock’s is pretty stiff compared to the
  4. next image and its dynamically draped cape. Between the two, his scenes may well be considerably more dramatic and with dramatic lighting to match… Well, I think you can imagine the improvement.
  5. The next one has Techwarrior in his new dynamically draped outfit. Not so “stiff and lifeless” is he?
  6. The last is the newest with the “chibi” figure I recently found. Nothing dramatic here, just Dream Angel and Nyxus showing off with the new figure. This new figure is quite good, but there’s still going to be some hand-drawn chibi figures for comedic emphasis throughout the books. They’re intentionally cute, but good for the overly emotional chibi style of character infamous to manga.

As you can see, despite being quiet around here, there’s still plenty going on behind the scenes. So, what do you think? Any ideas, tips, suggestions?

Good news, Techwarrior fans!

Good news, Techwarrior fans!

A rough script for Techwarrior #5-12 has been completed. When the series was started, a 12 book run was proposed, so having the script complete makes it one step closer to rendering. Now, before you get all excited, note that this series is a collaboration. The script has to be approved before rendering can start, and that takes some time sometimes.

Once the script is approved, however, expect books to begin appearing regularly through the 12th book. This is good news for Techwarrior fans, is it not?

What about Dream Angel and Hillbilly Hoot?

Dream Angel at this point is a larger collaboration. Getting the minds involved to do their part has been a slow process I’d hoped would be done long before the book’s time to be rendered. It hasn’t happened that way. The current story arc has been more than a year in the making. Having fellow creative minds involved has in fact slowed down the usual pace for rendering and releasing. Fortunately, things are beginning to pick up gradually and the writing may soon be completed for the arc.

Hillbilly Hoot is another collaboration and health issues have been slowing it down. Life has kept the minds involved with these books quite busy, so it’s difficult to keep a regular schedule at times. Fortunately, these are independently created and released, so there’s no publisher schedule to keep, merely a personal one.

Still fun to be had!

Have you checked out the activity streams page lately? There’s some cool blitz art challenges going on there! Even if you’re not the artsy type, the idea’s to draw what you see and I like to think anyone can do that, no matter how bad they might think they are at drawing! So, come on! We don’t judge! Just have fun with it and enjoy! Despite what people might think, even tracing can be artistic and I can say from experience, it helps with learning to draw, as well.

Let the triple party begin!

We’re having a triple party and it’s lasting through Monday! Hillbilly Hoot #1, Techwarrior #4 and Dream Angel #23 will all be released for the party, one each day of the party!

So, who goes first? Drumroll, please!

Today’s release will be….

Techwarrior #4!

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It’s true CryptoLock’s a sneaky virus, but what about his favorite pet Infiltrator? What secrets does this lethal-looking mechanical snake hold? You won’t want to miss today’s release to find out!

Less than 2 1/2 hours from the time of this post, this page goes live!

What about the other two books? Well, there’ll be another toss-up tomorrow to see which one goes live for day 2 of the triple party.

These have been longer than usual for production. Especially Dream Angel #23. A lot has been learned along the way, too. Some of the new techniques have been employed in these books, others will possibly  be put to use in later books. One important lesson has been just how many characters can go into even the simplest of scenes before the program crashes! Even with the upgrades done to the computer, it still has its share of limitations. Fortunately, I know ways around those limits to create the scenes I want.

The beauty of these books – particularly compared to the earliest ones I’ve done – is staggering! If you’d told me in 2007 I’d be making such beautiful 3D art, I’d have laughed! You see, I was just beginning to explore 3D with Poser 7 and still doing my comic book art by hand. Nothing against hand art, but it took 3 days to do one page and unfortunately, the art still needed a great deal of work to look very realistic. Don’t get me wrong, the art looked good at the time, but looking back at it now, it looks like a 5-year-old did it… well, to me it looks that way, anyway.

I didn’t formally discover DAZ Studio until 2012 when it was suggested by a fan that I do a new version of Dream Angel #1. The new second edition blew me away – and I rendered it! I’d added 6 new pages that, while dark, still printed with breathtaking results and the story seemed enhanced by the new art. Well, it doesn’t take much guess work to realized I was hooked and promptly started fixing character models to work in DAZ Studio. The first group turned out good and some have since gone through a few light changes, but nothing drastically noticeable.

A year ago, a friend suggested taking his logo and making him a comic book character… well, that would be Techwarrior and he’s seen more of the experimenting in new techniques than Dream Angel. If you haven’t seen Techwarrior #1, you ought to because it was the first time I lit a scene myself. Why’s that significant? Well, I’d nearly always used light sets for scenes and sometimes they simply didn’t do what I wanted. With Techwarrior, I wanted to utilize the studying I’d been doing on lighting to create the right mood for the story and it worked. Since, there haven’t been too many non-custom lit scenes in Techwarrior and Techwarrior #4 has some that really add to the mood of the story in a way I only dreamed of a few years back! Don’t take my word for it, get the books from right here in the shop!

Triple release party coming soon!

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Come join us at the Facebook party! It’s been a lot longer in the works than usual, but finally, we’ll see a triple release party for Dream Angel #23,

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Techwarrior #4,

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and announcing the all-new Hillbilly Hoot #1!

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Although the latter two have been largely ready for a couple weeks now, the idea was to have a big party for all three to celebrate the new series.

Dream Angel was supposed to be done a couple weeks ago, but other things ended up taking priority. Nevertheless, it’s rapidly approaching completion with a good possibility of the party being this Saturday. This is one party you won’t want to miss!

These books are all amazingly rendered with great care and attention to detail. Well, don’t take my word for it, check them out for yourself when they’re released!

In other news, the redesign of Daybright and Firebright plush characters has turned out adorable. The sample Daybright I made has a full armature even inside the ears and wings. The plan is to finish off Dream Angel, have the triple release party and finish off the last of the details for the sample before posting pictures, so keep your eyes open for those to appear and beware: He’s a thief! He’ll steal your heart at first glance!

There’s plenty of charming darlings just waiting to be adored in the shop. Not forgetting key chains, travel mugs and other assorted goodies! There’s lots of cool stuff to do and see on this site, so don’t be shy!

Opinion time!

Are you excited about the triple party? What do you think of the redesign for Daybright and Firebright with the armature? Granted, you have yet to see it, but be imaginative for a moment. It’s a blue Pegasus unicorn with a complete armature that makes it poseable. Here’s Daybright in the shop as he is currently. Now, imagine a more realistic redesign with the armature.

Cool news!

Cool news for anyone eagerly anticipating Dream Angel #22 and the printed edition of Techwarrior #3: Dream Angel #22 will be released tomorrow morning live in the shop and Techwarrior #3 has been submitted for listing in print on indyplanet!

What of Hillbilly Hoot? Well, that one’s gradually coming together. It’s good to know that these books are getting back on track and looking absolutely breathtaking!

If you’re wondering, I’m just getting warmed up for the year. You might have noticed I missed the February and March releases for Dream Angel. Well, that just means I was gearing up for bigger and better than ever stuff. New toys for making rendering faster and better, learning new tricks and coming up with all sorts of awesome goodies you’ll love.

So, the year got of to a sluggish start for book releases, you’ll find it’s worth the wait and if you stick around to enjoy the fun, you’ll find some very impressive visitors popping into the story of Dream Angel. I don’t dare spoil it, of course, but you’ll find some fun surprises just around the corner as the excitement builds!

Techwarrior #3 is live!

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Techwarrior #3 is live! I know this one’s been anticipated for quite a while now and it’s finally ready. In this book, we see the scope of Techwarrior’s world and meet a new friend. Well, instead of spoiling the story, it’s a far better idea to encourage you to just go get it in the shop! If you’d prefer a print version, it’ll be a few days before that’s ready, but it’s coming soon!

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What news for Dream Angel #22? Well, with the completion of Techwarrior #3 comes the halfway point of Dream Angel #22. This time, Nyxus has made a bold move in the form of a mass capture of Dream Angel’s friends and family. Will she be able to save all of them? This one is looking at an April 7th release and has some incredible scenes in it.

The story of this cover is almost a funny one. See, that background was a birthday present from me to me. Ironically, it’s a scene I’ve wanted since Dream Angel #6. If you haven’t read that one, you ought to, as it has a quite interesting earthquake in it. At the time I was rendering Dream Angel #6 and Dream Angel #7, the scene was far too expensive to afford sadly. Thus, as readers of the series will find, I had to improvise. Not that it’s a bad thing, just that this scene would have been seriously impressive for those books. It’s ironic since this scene didn’t go on sale until my birthday this year which was fortunate since I did actually have the money to get it finally.

You might also be interested in the third series that’s coming along gradually. Yep! Hillbilly Hoot is beginning to come together. The script is written, the character library still needs to be completed, but it should be ready for production soon. Curious about the cover of Hillbilly Hoot #1? Here it is:

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So, three fabulous series all very enjoyable and all-ages friendly. That’s hard to beat, is it not? What do you think of these covers? Discussion’s open to polite, helpful comments! If you’re not sure, read the rules, please!

3D is lazy?

I’ve heard it numerous times from critics: “3D is lazy! You should do it by hand!” Really? I wonder if they’ve ever tried to use this medium. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not point-and-click. It’s hours of minute adjusting, extreme attention to detail, fussing, tweaking, arguing and sometimes even swearing to get a scene just right. All so a reader can enjoy it for maybe 2-3 minutes as they read the page.

Lazy. Unrealistic. I get a laugh at the complaints when I think of how far this “baby” medium has come. Then I laugh louder when I can prove that even industry professionals use this medium with extremely impressive results. A fantastic example sells things right on the DAZ3D website: John Van Fleet. Here’s his story on the site of how he found DAZ and has put it to incredibly good use for both DC and Marvel! The renders shown on that article page alone are enough to be a total knockout for just about any “lazy” argument I’ve heard.

For someone like me, it’s a matter of learning, getting better tools, studying professionals and improving over time. I have little doubt even John Van Fleet’s earliest renders weren’t near as good as they are now. It takes time to learn, just like any other medium.

So, instead of the useless insults of calling someone lazy for using 3D, how about encouraging them to learn and improve? It’s like comparing a stick figure to the Mona Lisa. I doubt Leonardo DaVinci got that good at painting overnight. Take that into consideration before insulting someone that’s learning to be artistic. Perhaps then instead of being insulting, you’ll be more helpful with what you say to them about their art so they’ll grow and improve.

All-ages friendly comic books

All-ages friendly comic books. What does that really mean? Well, it means parents and kids alike can enjoy them, much like a classic Disney movie. Granted, The books found on this site are a pinch more mature than your common Disney movie with their writing, but they’re still a lot of fun for parents and kids alike. There’s no swearing, sex, blood or seriously over-the-top violence. There’s fighting, sure, but it’s just exciting enough that it’s fun for all. A balance of fun and violence that makes the stories more character-driven instead of driven by the fighting.

Add in the realistic CGI art (which is constantly improving!) and you’ve got a fun, engrossing, enjoyable, playful and charming story that’s worth reading time and time again. These stories have wit, a good pace and a lot of interest. Why should you care? Well, if you’re a parent that values classic morals and ideals, you just might. The idea of friendship, loyalty and will to overcome hardship is central in these books. There’s even a pinch of romance.

Like many others, I grew up with the common morals: friendship, loyalty, the joy of helping others – yes, I was a Girl Scout, too. Though that didn’t last long, I still live by the Girl Scout Law which, if you want the truth, is pretty much exactly the same as the Bible’s Ten Commandments. There’s no harm in faith and those commandments ought to be common sense, but so many don’t follow such simple ideals. Well, getting away from any political implications, I favor using these classic morals within the stories and despite the heart-pounding action (particularly in the Wyvern Wars story arc of Dream Angel) you’ll still find characters fighting cleanly and in a respectable way. This keeps the story family friendly and enjoyable for everyone. Characters offer playful wisecracks while they’re battling to help ease tension.

 

 

Where do I find 3D stuff?

Where do I find 3D stuff for my library? Looking at my library, you’d find an incredible array of… well, stuff! Characters, animals, sets, props, lights, cameras… I’ve got an impressive library that’s taken years to build up mostly. While DAZ3D is indeed my primary source, I’ve got a long list of other sources I tend to exhaust first and I thought it might be interesting to share a few of them here.

  1. http://www.most-digital-creations.com/freestuff.htm Now, I have to warn you about this one in particular: It’s quite adult-oriented. Plenty of the stuff is obviously for… well not to put too fine a point on it, porn-type art. If you can ignore that, you’ll find other stuff that is quite good. The ferret model I use for Breezer came from here.
  2. http://www.sharecg.com/ I’ve been known to spend hours digging through this one, but file format can be bothersome at times. The other bother is license. Not everything is able to be used for commercial use, and sometimes that can be quite the headache when you find something good.
  3. http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/9443/ If you’re like me and looking for superhero stuff, this forum article has no shortage in the slightest. Did you know Stygere borrowed Power Girl’s cape for a while? If you check the books carefully, you’ll notice I recently changed it to a similar model that’s not Power Girl’s cape anymore.
  4. http://www.runtimedna.com/ Not all of these are free, but it’s quite a nice collection of 3D stuff anyway.
  5. http://www.optitex-dynamiccloth.com/FreebieDownload01.php I love disproving the “stiff cloth” complaint when it comes to 3D, but it takes a lot of power. This site has a wonderful collection of dynamic soft cloth items that work extremely well in DAZ Studio. Just keep in mind that you’ll definitely need a strong computer to handle the dynamic calculations involved in making natural-looking cloth.

This is only a few of my favorite sources, I’ve got a lot more and I’m always on the hunt for new ones. Know of a good source I might not? Tell me! I’d love knowing about it and exploring it! If you’re on Facebook, you’re welcome in my group where I have a complete list of all my favorite sources. If you know of one that’s not on my list, I’d love to know about it!

There’s learning happening!

Taking a break and learning new things

In taking a break from rebuilding this site, I’ve been learning new tricks. The shop’s ready, but this site’s still got a long way to go before it’s once again able to become a thriving community of fans. Along the way, a few snags have been hit and the extra time is being put to good use for other things on the “to do” list.

What would I be doing if the site hadn’t been hacked? Well, the plan was to study up more on DAZ Studio and start learning some of the finer features. One such is shaders. Admittedly, I’d dabbled with them a little before, but didn’t fully understand them and found myself frustrated, so I moved on in my projects instead of taking the time to learn. Well, now I’ve taken the time to learn a little about them. Want to see? Yes? Okay, take a look:

fur shader learningfur shader learning fur shader learningAs you can see, I was playing with fur. There’s still some kinks to work out, as evidenced by the third image and the character’s eyes being covered so it looks like “Cousin It” from Addams Family, but a promising prospect for improving the look and feel of the feline characters in particular.

Adding to the learning, is more RAM for the computer. This opened the door a little more to slightly more complicated rendering. For instance:

lighting learningThe lighting used for this would’ve made DAZ crash before the additional RAM. It’s a special rig of lighting that uses 12 lights. Any more than 1 and DAZ used to slow to a crawl. These might not look like much, but they’re also simple tests for new things. With the added RAM, I’ll be learning as many new tricks as possible before beginning rendering of Dream Angel #21 in January.

There’s been one more new thing that’s helped DAZ work a bit faster as well and that’s been to eliminate some of the duplicate files in the Library along with extra empty folders that really didn’t belong that clogged things up and slowed it down. Happily, things are moving a great deal faster as a result.

Ready to see the result? Yes? Okay, here it is:

You can watch it here, if you’re on Facebook. Oh, and while you’re watching, feel free to join the group! Why just a link? Unfortunately, it appears videos posted in a group can’t be embedded on web pages like this one.

If you pay close attention to the clip, you’ll see that outfit and cape are dynamic cloth. That is, they have natural cloth simulation to look as realistic as possible. Initially, it was a full scene with a complete background, but the background slowed down the render considerably. That is to say it took 2 hours to render 14 frames. If you start doing the math for a 298 frame render, that’s a very long render time!

Without the background scene, it was about 4 hours for the 217 frames that did render. Why 217? Well, I forgot to adjust the timeline to include all 298 frames. Nevertheless, the test is quite successful since the lighting used would’ve caused the program to crash before the upgrade. With the upgrade, I took some creative licence and rotated a series of 14 lights on a rig for a very colorful effect on the character. The character’s nobody in particular, just a quick test subject.

Happily, I can announce the shop is fully available and now login capabilities are as well.

You’ll find a small set of buttons on the left side of the page in the sidebar that enable you to login to the site. Definitely a long way to go before the rebuild is 100% complete, but at least the key capabilities that are important are ready for use.