R&D: Exploring DAZ3D (Patreon)

Introduction

Hey all,

As a part of the WIP tier, I thought I'd post here whenever I do some R&D.  When I say R&D, I mean anything from learning software to practicing a skill.  This is the kind of stuff I do between animations, with no finished product in mind.

Since this is my Patreon and it's purpose is to give you guys a peak behind the curtain, I thought I'd make a post any time I had a tangible result of this research.  For the last year or two I've poked and prodded at plenty of software, from 3DSMax, to Substance Painter, to Blender.  It's only now that I can understand the broader scope of these programs and their advantages over each other.  I'm a slow learner after all.

To get to the point, the last couple of days I looked into DAZ3D primarily as an asset creation tool.  Primarily: a tool to create characters.  I've been working with someone who uses DAZ and it sparked my interest.

(You can find the rest of the pictures in the 'by-product' section.)

Treatment:

Character creation is a challenging part of 3D modeling.  People make whole careers out of doing just that.  Creating human beings from scratch with my level of anatomical understanding and artistic skill is infeasible within the next 5 years.  If the desire to ever produce original material arises, an alternative program would be needed in place of outside help.

Question: Is DAZ3D a worth-while tool to create models with?

Surface Analysis:

Pros:

- DAZ3D strikes balance between creative liberty and learning curve.

- Gives surface level tools to change model shape, like advanced version of video game character creator.

- No need for editing of vertices or mesh painting.

- Various models come with high resolution textures in a variety of maps, editable afterwards.

- Modern rendering engine despite age of product, see: active userbase, active developers

- Sufficient tool for rigging and weight painting, further research required.

- Premium content easily bypassed through third-party website, large quantity of content available from no investment.

- Little memory and CPU allocation required prior to rendering; easy to run, easy to start.

Cons:

- Lack of in-depth tools causes easily spotted DAZ style, lacks professionalism.  Work required in external programs to touch up models, moving further towards stylization or realism.  In short: hard to personalize models.

- Easy to use tools encourage laziness, don't use this program excessively.

- Animation tools insufficient, easier animation in Blender and SFM.

- Posing tools slow and insufficient, easier to pose in Blender and SFM.

- Lighting system archaic compared to modern Blender systems.

- Camera controls and options inferior to modern Blender systems. 

- Lacks versatility, only made for a few purposes in mind.

- Difficult to change and adjust textures and materials in-engine, must be done in blender.

By-Product:

Here is an album of some of the renders I made while experimenting with the engine:

http://imgur.com/a/EGEK6

Verdict:

This tool shows promise, but only during auxiliary use.  My focus is animation, and there is still much improvement to be done in that department.  There may come a time where I will move on to larger projects that consist of original stories, and when that time comes I do not wish to be pinned as a 'DAZ3D Artist'.  More experimentation is required to determine whether or not this program can create models sufficiently unique enough to the point where it is difficult to ascertain their origins.

Answer: DAZ3D creates a quality base-product to work with, but touch-ups will most likely be required in other programs.

Conclusion

So that's a little write-up on what I've been up to since the 2B animation, aside from working on the Triss x Ciri cumshot animation.  This series helps me organize my thoughts and helps give this Patreon a little more purpose.  In the words of the great prophet Abathur: "Never perfect.  Perfection goal that changes.  Never stops moving.  Can chase, cannot catch."

In other news, I'll have a monthly update up soon where I'll address everything else that's going on.