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 =)
HUGE discount$ for the Holiday/Summer Season =)
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