This time, we have a Bryce native booleaned furnace prop. I made this some time ago for my surrealistic stuff, I don't think I ever got to using it =/
Industry is a set of props and mats that are great for scenes where you want to replicate objects to give a mechanical look and feel... Simple objects, when multireplicated, can make extremely complex designs and imagery, this set is a great start =)
I remember when Bryce trees were all the rave =P I made some, and damned good ones too, set includes some photo-based trunk and leaf mats as well...
I love Bryce, always have, always will. It's truly a great renderer, and does a lot in the right hands. I like how a touch of creativity can yield awesome results. And the point, is that I love the way Bryce renders have a "look and feel" to them... That dreamy fantastic quality each image has gives a natural artistic look that other 3d programs lack... I think it's the atmosphere =P
There are tons of tricks and methods that can be used to render cityscapes, this is just one of them. I use a 2D heightmap in the terrain generator, and replicate that over the plane... Change the camera setting, add some atmosphere, apply some materials, render a separate distance mask to use in Photoshop to create the distance blur, and that's pretty much it =P Sounds complicated?!? Thats exactly why you should study, play with and experiment from the included scene file =)
Now you have a scene to work with and study from..... Try different camera angles and settings, test out some of the included Bryce cityscape materials, add volume slabs and proceedurals at varied heights, or even play with some of my "Technocracy" materials and atmospheres to get you started in your mad lab experiments =)
Greatly impact the visuals, render high resolution and apply postwork, you can generate intense imagery with the greatest of ease...
I don't even remember when I made this guy (I know, the date is on the file =P), just that I can not for the life of me think of "when", nor with what program =P
Still, a 2 material object, prolly great for Sci-Fi space scenes or abstract underwater fantasy renders...
Enjoy friends =)
I found that "innerd" in my archives too, I'm pretty sure I had a set of "Knotplot" objects floating abouts somewhere =/ Keep an eye on my freestuff section at Renderosity =P
I have tons of stuff that I still need to upload, it's taking a lot longer than I had thought... Just a bit busy with other things, but nonetheless, keep an eye on my Renderosity free Stuff section...
This time, I uploaded a bedroom set I made some time ago. It uses Bryce primitives, so it should take to the materials nicely. Included is a bed-frame (I forgot the mattress =P just dupe the base, raise it and increase its thickness), an armoire, a vanity dresser, dresser drawers and the nightstand.
The Standing is probably one of the most creative products I have ever made, but sadly was submersed in controversy before I was able to bring my vision to full capacity =( Admittedly, I was hurt by its initial response, there was a very nasty thread at Daz which I felt gave it undeserved bad publicity... The most sales I have ever made in a week by far in my entire "career", and what pretty much started my downfall as a merchant =/
If you use Poser or it's family of 3d programs (Daz Studio, Carrara, Bryce, Vue), I'm sure you have had that moment where you simply want to focus on the figure and the immediate environment or even better, enclosure, rather than build an entire scene, adding dozens of props to fill the room only complicating your creative workflow. Even further, following the popular trend of HDR/IDL/IBL light set ups, you want to use a background or backdrop, eliminating the need for intense atmospheric settings. Or maybe you want a ground in your scene where you don't have to hide your characters feet? The Standing does all this and more, and is way more than just a common "stage prop"...
The Standing is a High Density/Resolution UV Mapped Background/Backdrop "figure" for Poser. The dense mesh allows seriously extreme morphing, and can hold a texture well enough to avoid *most distortion issues... The original set includes several "MatMorphs" (morphs that have complimenting texture sets "baked" into the shape), and a plethora of varied shape and form morphs to give the user extreme versatility and control over the look and feel of the backdrop... Also added to the package were basic texture materials that can be added while customizing using the various morphs... An extremely versatile product, with high re-use value... I actually have it set as my default Poser scene (preferred state), with all morphs added...
One of the issues that shrouded the release of this awesome product was how the product actually rendered with the included MatPose/material Presets =( Again, I offer my most sincere apologies, but please understand at the time I was "still" using Poser 5, relic software at the time of its release. Material setting and nodes just did not match up to what most people had/used at the time, and that was a serious cause for its negative reaction. I couldn't even figure out "why" for a while, just not being able to mimic the render issues in Poser 5 that people were getting with the more advanced versions... I had to use some "tricks" to get the normal and displacement maps to work/render correctly in Poser 5 (as Poser 5 could barely utilize them), but those "tricks" did not translate well to the more current releases =P
Another problem people had with the product was the filesize =/ The density (polycount) of the mesh itself, and the amount/dimensions of the included diffuse/normal/displacement maps... I can understand how it must be frustrating for some, making a purchase only to find that your new item is unusable or too harsh on system resources... The Standing was meant to push those boundaries, just a bit..... The high polycount is necessary for the "fluidity" of the morphs, and as the creator of this awesome product, I "Stand" firm on that decision =P Seriously, look at the amount of variation the figure can achieve, and the level of detail embedded in the morphs. It is only possible because of its density... Normals and displacement are not necessary to maintain detail, this means your backdrop will react and render better with your scenes light and shadow settings.
Admittedly, I am spoiled, and have come to neglect texture filesize... I render large output and have always used as large a texture as possible, so when originally released ALL texture, displacement, normal and specular maps were baked at 4096x4096. You calculate 5 material surfaces, diffuse, normal, displacement and specular maps, and yeah, you have a monster on your hands =P I'm sorry folks, that's just how I roll. BIG textures will always render better, and have less chance of distortion/pixelizing... They can be killers on some systems, and some programs... Honestly, as I have become used to Carrara as of late, I was shamefully "unaware" of most of the limitations of the programs...
The products initial delivery of instructions wasn't the best either =/ I'm terrible at explaining the stuff I do, you guys see me in the forums, I'm all thumbs =P I'm way more creative than I am technical, please do not mistake that for merchants arrogance... Getting the idea in your head is one thing, creating a package available for sale online is quite another, LOL!!!
I will say a few things myself... I had to go back in and revamp the uv mapping, and that caused some MAJOR issues on the technical side of things... Some of the MatMorphs and texture sets you see in the video were put on hold due to this, but I am working on it. Would have been awesome to include all in the original release, that was the plan... Also, I may switch the direction of the normals on some of the material zones, I want to incorporate something of a "secondary" morph (for things like extrusions, veins bulging through skin, etc), but currently the mapping/normals will not allow. That's a real quick and easy fix, and the benefits will be -awesome- =D
This was a HUGE project, and I may have been somewhat overwhelmed by my own expectations and inexperience of such a product, but as of late I have become "quite" comfortable, and am looking to not only rectify all issues, but exponentially increase the value of this already awesome set.....
I am still proud of the product I have created, and think it should be in everyones library =P Great for science fiction, horror, gothic, abstract, and of course fantasy art, this is something ANYONE can make great use of... I was "hoping" at some point other merchants would release add on packs, customizing their own "MatMorphs" and light/texture settings... Who knows, maybe some of you guys are just marinating on the prospect =)
Coming soon to >> my Rendersoity Free Stuff section << you will find an all new and totally free MatMorph, with proper material settings, made for and in Poser Pro 2010 =)
To sweeten the deal, keep an eye on my Daz3d Store, where you will be able to grab this incredible package at a HUGE discount =) Look for exciting add-ons and other awesome freebies for this, and many other packages in my Renderosity Free Stuff section...
If you like this package, try some of my other, similar morphing environmental sets/backgrounds/terrains for the "Poser-Verse" community =)
I have "yet another" Bryce must have on its way my friends =) Critters features one of my earliest model packs ever created, sporting organic models generated using Amapi 6 (it was free w/ some magazine some time ago, and was my very 1st -nonfreeware- modeling app). I could extrude and smooth to my hearts desire, and that's exactly what I did =) Having just been introduced to Wings 3D, Amapi was an awesome grab, and allowed me to explore some very interesting and unique shapes/pieces.....
I added to that exploratory modeling practice run some Bryce materials and atmospheric settings, and BOOM, we have a seriously complete Bryce package, for your rendering needs =)
The shapes can be used in a variety of fashions, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, surrealism... Use them as abstracted pieces multi-replicated to generate awesome forms and 3D fractals. Apply arrays of them for geometric experiments, or add some diversity to your "sphere over water" renders substituting a singular "macro-array"... The possibilities are endless and infinite, I encourage you to use this set to push the boundaries of your own creative genius =)
Happy Rendering =D
* I "believe" that Amapi is now "Hexagon", and is offered (limited time only!) for FREE at Daz3D *
Actually, I don't remember if this ever made it to the store =P That shows how old I am, lol......
The Fantastic Empire is a MASSIVE collection of architectural props, materials and atmospheric presets to help Brycers create renders that will use a consistent style based on the included structures. The structures are native Bryce Booleans, and I grouped them by color for easy material selection and editing. 42 Architectural structures, 18 terrains, well over 100 materials in different "styles", and over 170 atmospheric presets are included in this set.
Mix and match various components of the set to create full scenes, cities and "villages. Manipulate through robust environments with ease and maintain a consistent style, great for the screenplay visionary or storyteller... Add your structure, apply materials and atmosphere, populate and render, it's that easy =)
Imagine rendering 3D waterfall landscapes in Bryce... That was the "concept" behind the Awesome Valley set. You see plenty of pre-rendered backgrounds, but the ability to make them in an actual 3D environment is something totally different. Your characters and other scene objects can interact with them in ways that just arent possible using 2D manipulation and postwork (and believe me, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong w/ postwork, trust me, I use it all the time =P), but it does make a visual difference...
This set contains pre-constructed scene files, materials, terrains, atmospheric presets, and waterfall "alpha" maps, which I found to be CRUCIAL in mimicking the effect of "flowing water"...
While old (the set was originally made in Bryce 4), I know the included presets can prove to be dealy in the right hands. Yield to experiementation and exploration of landscaping concepts, and you can produce some "Awesome" imagery for sure =)
You guys are going to be seeing PLENTY of my VERY early release products seeping their way into my Renderosity Free Stuff Section =)
My very 1st attempts at online marketing were done under a name I dare to mention, =P many failed experiments and practices for my "big" run. By the time I became comfortable w/ my limited toolset at the time, I choose the persona "MatCreator", as most of my products were indeed Bryce "Mats" (materials =P)... I sold quite a bit of unusual, unique and brilliant proceedural mats, but for some very odd and terrible reason I began noticing "glitches" in my saved proceeds (sadly, an issue I never resolved), and when i could no longer trust proceeds, I began using photos, only deepening my love for photobased texture results. What started as a need for good presets to use, actually became the strong point of my very early surrealist imagery.
Anyways, I am very pleased to announce the re-release of the products that launched my "career" =P
I would like to take a very short moment to honor and give tribute to a very dear friend of mines, "Wawa Dave", a very unique and outstanding member of the Bryce community who sadly lost his battle to diabetes some time ago. He literally put me on the map, always pushing my products and gave whatever assistance he could, even using a signature banner with a link to my stores/products... You are deeply missed friend..... I will forever embrace your creative genius and remember to push the limits and boundaries of my own creativeness. Good journeys friend.
If you frequent the Poser forums at any of the popular 3D graphics communities within the "Poser-Verse", you must have come by an "outstanding member of the community" named "hborre". This is truly a great guy, always offering help and assistance to newcomers and experienced veterans alike. I like that he uses an avatar of Superman, very fitting =)
Before we even continue, let's take a look at this guys gallery, an awesome exhibit of his skills and knowledge he shares with the Poser-Verse...
You may have seen some of my new texture skins popping up in the Renderosity FreeStuff section, before they were released I had some issues w/ the normal maps and displacement, and to help me better understand what was going on HBorre took my textures and generated a Poser Pro 2012 Material file, and here is what he has to say about it:
"The render scene is composed of a skydome (I prefer BB envsphere), one infinite light, raytrace (80% intensity), and SAMS3D free pagoda (color textures modified using an HSV node connected between the image and PoserSurface). My render settings includes IDL, SSS, and raytracing; I tried to go as sub optimal as possible to render quickly. If you study the mat room node setup, you will notice that both displacement and normal maps are connected; this is not truly necessary for this scene. Because of the portrait nature of the render, I would have disconnected the normal map and rely primarily on the displacement. If I were to place the character at a distance, then I would opt to use the normal mapping instead".
So just where is this file you ask?!? Keep an eye on my >> Renderosity FreeStuff << a few things in que ahead of it, but it's on its way =)
A HUGE shout of thanks to HBorre for creating the files, and a tremendous praise of thanks to all who responded to this thread: >>> Help w/ Normal Maps <<<
When I have a better understanding of setting up the render settings for displacement, I will generate a full scene file, the kind you keep as a "default" opening state =)
***note***
please reference previous blogs for information regarding BagginsBill (aka "BB"), his environment sphere, and his VSS system, another truly remarkable member of the Poser Community (the guys name is on the "opening credits" when you load Poser =P)
Going to be uploading a host of new items this week, all available in my Rendersoity FreeStff Section
Had a little fun w/ voxels this morning, thought it was good enuff for some renders. Comes w/ a pretty nice stone style color map, hope you can make use of it =)
Tormented Soulz now available in my freestuff section at Renderosity, was a set originally created for the Daz3d Victoria 2 figure. It was meant to serve as a surreal/fantasy aid, giving the end user options to help create that style of art. The set included insane head props, lights, poses and MATPose options, all meant to be mixed and matched in a number of ways. Used by the creative individual, this set can prove very useful.
Eons ago, I found my way as an online merchant under the name of "atom" something or other... I made many friends, made many things, and that was my initial run... Soon after getting Bryce, I became deeply infatuated with it as a tool for digital art, my "Mats" always getting nice compliments, I started this "2nd" run of online "merchanteering" under the name of MatCreator............
I hope you take advantage of some extremely early releases of my stuff, now seeping their way into my Renderosity freestuff section =)
You guys may be noticing some new/old stuff trickling down into my Renderosity freestuff, and let me assure you, it IS to entice you to take advantage of my huge May sale, going on at Renderosity and Daz3d =) Enjoy 30% off all my products at Daz3d, and grab those single items from Renderosity at 25% off. But the best deals would be to take advantage of the Bundle sets, while the bundles are 30% off, you are actually getting "more" than 30% per single product, and my special bundles are made to cater to everyone's specific needs... Stage environments, full Sci-Fi and Fantasy sets, V4 gear, all on sale through May =)
Another shout of thanks to my friend Justynn Tyme for pushing me to my creative limits =)
This is the Bryce version, using same props as yesterdays post... I like the feel of the atmosphere in this one, and the water reflection is just awesome, as always for Bryce =)
I love when I'm pushed to extend my creative bounds..... I haven't had much of an artistic challenge lately, and DaliKrab day is one of my favorites. The long and short of it is that it is a celebration of surrealism and dadaism, when creative artisans unite and collaborate on artistic efforts in total surreal/dada style.
Not having had the proper chance to "play" in far too long, it was awesome re-acquainting myself with Bryce and Carrara. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the plastic/fantasy dream like style of renders that Bryce can produce, and how awesome it is to go totally ape-ass into a frenzy of mathematical artistry in Carrara.... Clones, replication, GI, edit models while in scene mode, load direct from my Poser runtime, the infinite possibility of the shader tree....... I get goosebumps, LOL!!!
What I like about this project was that it incorporated several programs and modeling techniques. The base figure is Miki 3 voxelize, cut up and "tortured" in 3D coat. Voxels rule, and are even better when the model si for your own use, no worry about quads, poly count or nasty UV map,s LOL!!! The claws were modeled in Hex, imported and attached to the voxel, and then auto-mapped and painted in 3D Coat. The final image is rendered in Carrara, and the other prop to the left is another Voxel Model
Hello again my friends =) Forget my ranting and raving, but it IS growing, I think the content creators of the Poser-Verse would benefit immensely by incorporating the Second Life Community in their creative marketing efforts... From my short experience of Second Life, I can't stress how awesome it is when used as a short distraction, but being able to add another creative outlet for my graphic endeavor$ is always a plus =)
Let's peek at the stats, which show a growing number of Mesh users... These people are in need of content, and we can easily oblige.
70% of online time is with a mesh viewer over the past 3 days.
65% of all sessions are launched with a mesh enabled viewer, over the past 3 days.
73% of unique residents logged in with a mesh enabled viewer, over the past three days.
I need your Votes people, Mesh is an awesome thing, a "bridge" of creative expression and communication...
If you guys really know me, you know I stress and struggle BIGTIME over lighting, regardless which program I use... In Carrara, even though my major scenes are made starting w/ scene presets made SPECIFICALLY for lighting, I still tweak and edit my lighting. In Bryce, I learned to fake lighting, but at best, my attempts were only half descent, and ultimately that pushed me from Bryce. I could never get around the unconventional lighting, and sadly, at the time my system was not capable of handling the GI set ups used to create awesome renders. Thomas Weiss, aka "Beton" from Renderosity, would disagree, LOL =) I tried and tried and tried with Poser for years, but as I never really used it for renders, I was ok to not grasp lighting... That dissapointment carried over to Daz Studio, at which even from its first release, I never even bothered, I use presets... Between Dimension Theory and Lantios, you're all set =/
However, I started doing some tests, and am glad to say I have had some awesome results...
A while ago I started a >>thread<< in the Poser forum and was privileged to get the advice of some outstanding members of the Poser community... I learned about how to set up and manage a scene for IDL, Gamma Correction, to make use of a sky dome and to utilize this awesome utility called the "VSS" created by Bagginsbill...
While I am in no shape form or fashion able to explain the details of the VSS, I can say it is priceless (actually, it's free, lol)...
So what I'll do here is post screencaps of my render settings and other things as best I can....
If you know how to set up the VSS, it's a simple process, and more than likely you prolly already know what I'm posting here =P But for those who do not know what the VSS is, this will be a great start to making awesome renders w/ great lighting...
Just to say, this may seem rather advanced, but if you paid for Poser Pro 2010, it will surely help you make good on your investment... Scripts, installing them, an using them is for the most part WAY over my head, but if I can do it, anyone can, LOL!!!
Start w/ a blank and empty scene... Set your render settings like so:
You'll want to add some type of background/backdrop prop. I'm not posting this to push my products, but I do have some of the very type of items available =P
The "point" of these items is that they provide an enclosed terrain, something like an "environmental room". They help focus the attention to the character, concentrate the light to a single point, and hide that troublesome horizon line, so you need not fear rendering your characters feet, lol... As far as cheesey marketing, my products are extremely versatile, simple to use, and will aid in countless renders through the years =)
You will also need an atmosphere dome, it just so happens I have one of these awesome items for free. You can grab it >>here<< in my Renderosity freestuff...
Lastly, you will need some .HDR files... There are TONS free on the net, but most likely you already have some... Any will do, and of course, experiemnt and test them all to your hearts content. Do NOT use probes, youy know, those .hdr's that have a sphere in the middle of a square w/ the black edge... Use the FULL image kind that looks like a warped and pinched landscape/panoramic shot squeezed into a square.......
If you have these items, it's ready to roll... Again, the blank scene... Load the backdrop prop, the VSS prop, the atmosphere dome and your figure into the scene... I wont get into posing and all that, you get the picture (npi =P). Set your render setting as shown from the 1st screencap, and then give the dome these properties in the materials room... I'm pretty sure this is some derivative of BB's dome set up, if not his very own?!?!? He also has one for free, along w/ light sets to compliment his practices...
Use these properties:
Don't get me wrong, I got the name "Mat"Creator from my mastery of the DTE in Bryce EONS ago, it has nothing at all to do w/ Poser Mats, so please understand while I can manage in the material editor, Poser nodes drive me bonkers... I blurred the .hdr to protect the creator, but any descent .hdr will do just fine =)
Between the Sky Dome, the VSS and the render settings, that's pretty much it, easy right?!? I have been rendering all different types of lights and find that once the set up is "done", pretty much ANY light preset will do. I've gone through dozens and all yield great results..... Not off the hook, but damn good enough for me that I can feel "comfortable" posting and further exploring using Poser as a rendering tool as opposed to just grabbing figures from it =P
I suppose you want to see these results eh?!?
You can experiment with different light preset and different .hdr files, but it's a great staring point in my opinion. Hope this helps some of you guys, please don't hesitate to contact me w/ questions, comments, or snide remarks =P
Almost forgot... Make sure you use the Gamma Correction Script (changeGamma in the materials room/wacros panel). Set to 1, then all props and figures, then all of the the above. This is also a critical step, don't forget!!!
Had to go thru some forums and poke around and make a pest of myself =P
I really do enjoy interacting w/ other graphics geeks, I wouldn't be anywhere w/o you guys, all the help and info floating abouts is amazing, we have to stop for a moment to be able to appreciate it...
I think my arsenal is all up to date and ready to go, didn't take long to re-acquaint myself my my tools, which is good, im ready to roll... I got around to doing some Poser lighting tests, don't know if I'm ready to upgrade as yet, I want to find out if the weight painting in Poser Pro 2012 is something I can bank on, Carrara has a pretty sweet toolset for weight painting, but I don't know if the "communication" of files is a Collada glitch, or something else, but so far, I not having much luck moving .daes around. I guess, I haven't given myself closure over the SL rigging thing, and it's just BOTHERING me =P I did test a Make Human Collada export which came into Carrara w/ -few- problems, very minor at first glance, which is good. It's getting the model RIGGED into Second Life which is the real drama, and for that Blender still seems to be the way to go. I;m not too fond of Blender, but I must admit, the new release (2.62 I believe) isn't bad at all =) I might actually start enjoying it. I can rant about this in my other Blog, lol, let me not get carried away here =P
It's been 6 full months since I last turned on my desktop, that's my graphics "powerhouse" that I do all my main and serious work on. I've just been itching to do "something", and it always calls you back in.
That said, I spent the better part of a day upgrading, fixing, cleaning and re-familiarizing myself w/ old habits and my core software, and I'm pretty much "ready" to go again. Some real nice upgrades have come up, ZBrush, Blender, Daz Studio, Genetica, Make Human, 3D Coat... A lot of new tools and advances to exploit =) It's going to be fun, already I have 2 products in the "lab"...
Anyways, I'm trying to see where things stand w/ Second Life, a nice distraction but I'm sad to say I "abandoned" my land and deleted my Marketplace store =P I want to see a strong presence AND demand for more -Mesh- related content before I invest more eggs to that basket, that's dependent mainly on the reliability of the Collada file format, my willingness to push my Blender skills (as is, and to the best of my knowledge, neither Carrara, Poser or Daz Studio are SL friendly as yet, Blender still seems to be the best way to go), and my overall mood =/ I believe SL can be so awesome and easily integrated into the Poser-Verse Community, but no one seems to agree... Digital artists meeting in an interactive digital environment, how cool is that?!? It combines all our geekdom, in harmonious synchronization, LOL!!! I have to admit, I'm rather embarrassed at how my poll went, I REALLY needed you guys =( The ease at which Content Creators could deliver free content and share knowledge would have been insane, and to the communities greatest benefit... Maybe it's not too late?!?
All this character "stuff" that seems to dominate my passion, I'm looking into picking up Quidam w/ the Carrara export option and Creator Creator, 2 awesome programs that have been on my drool list for far too long.....
