I’m a cross-eyed from copious amounts of work on my computer this weekend.

It took virtually all weekend, but I have finally got my DAZ setup where I want it. Plus, I managed to resolve a couple rendering quirks, like a wrong surface shader messing up some of my fancy skin textures,  I organized my assets and materials so they actual make sense. I also figured out how to use morphs to change my base model so all my girls don’t look the same. Woop.  Also? Look at her skin in the first image, how amazing is that?  It’s one of the Elite textures that DAZ sells (Lana I think?).  Beautiful, huh? I might have to invest in a few more because it really is stunning.

Wow, that was a whole bunch of techno-babble gobblity goo. 

Anyway, once my set-up was where it should be, I was able to play around a bit last night. Nothing major. Mostly experimenting with posing and light.  I have a long ways to go before I’m a master of this, but I was pleased with the results.  I also have to invest in backgrounds. Or at the very least learn how to create my own backgrounds.  A dark black background is nice and moody, but it doesn’t give one very much variety.   Realistic hair is also proving to be a challenge.

There are more images after the jump but  there are more boobies and other girl parts so needless to say, NSFW.

read more »

Lookit! I rendered!  Well, I rendered again and this time I will let you see because it is pretty and doesn’t look like assballs.   

Using DAZ Studio is proving to be a lot easier than I thought. Sorta.  I am still trying to understand the use of materials and assets and that type of thing. Sometimes when I add a material to a model it doesn’t show up and I’m not sure why.  I have probably set the add-on up wrong. But generally, I think it is going to be a fabulous reference tool for me. Woot!

I mean, look at her! With some proper lighting and maybe some hair (or not), I could totally draw that! I am pleased.

Speaking of hair, it is also proving difficult to find hair assets that don’t look like ass.  Most of the ones I have found aren’t very realistic and mostly look like stripper hair, which itself isn’t bad, mind you, but I would like some variety.  I’m also hoping to familiarize myself with adjusting the models specifications and posing on my own. Right now, I am relying on presets and material assets to do it for me.  It’s the lazy, easy route.

But rendering is fun!

I’ve also posted a couple additional rendered images under the cut. But there are boobies involved and you may not wanna open it at work. So consider this your warning!

read more »

Last night was DAZ Studio night.  I created my first rendering – which you will never see because it sucked balls – and completed a couple really basic tutorials from their YouTube Channel.

The goal was to get used to the interface, loading models, and perhaps learning a thing or two about positioning.  So far, so good.  Though, I will admit to spending the better part of an hour organizing a lot of my assets.  I’m not convinced that DAZ does this very well.

In my anal-retentive head, each asset should have its own category – People, Clothing, Morphs, Hair etc.  And when they are installed, the new assets should be populated in the appropriate category. Somehow, the different install packages do not file the assets by category. It’s really annoying.   If I wanna select a person, I just wanna go one place, not six.

Tonight, I wanna finish my asset clean-up and maybe do a couple more tutorials.  Perhaps I’ll even have something to share.

Title: Untitled
Size: 8½ x 11″
Medium: Prismacolor Marker on Aquabee Manga Artist Paper
Time: 3.0 hours
Status: Work In Progress

I worked on my self-portrait for the show last night. I am extremely pleased with my progress so far.  And I am completely and totally enamoured of using markers for portraits. I think it looks fantastic, but more than that, it makes me fast.  Under normal graphite circumstances, what I did last night would have taken me about five or six hours. Last night? An hour and a half. Woot!

Though, I really need to invest in the rest of the Prismacolor greys methinks. Right now, I am only functioning with (maybe) five different shades of cool greys. It would be nice to have a larger repertoire to choose from.  It would probably allow for less contrast and more subtle shades.

read more »

I didn’t do much in the way of art making this weekend.   Well, that’s not entirely true. I worked on a couple sketches revamping the pinup girls I did for SMc last Xmas.  I have improved a lot since I did them for her – so much so that I actually cringe when I look at them. Eeef.

Not entirely sure how I feel about the revamped versions. They have an obvious Katie Cook style influence to them – especially the new She-Ra.  Mostly because they are more voluptuous than their previous incarnations.  Soft and squishy.  But I won’t lie, I’m a bit worried that there is too much influence in them – if that makes any sense?  Not a flat-out copy, but enough that it makes me take a pause. Do. Not. Like.  While the influence of other artists is a given, I want to discover my own style, not rip someone else’s off (which isn’t to say that I feel I am in Katie Cook’s league – I am nowhere close – she is awesome).  I guess it’s a work in progress – this style finding thing.

Beyond some sketching, this weekend was actually for a project – creating my own lightbox!  I found several sources on the internets that I used for inspiration, but overall, the entire build was of my own creation.

I’m pretty proud of it. Is it perfect? No. Is it fancy? No. But it will work for me. The lights give off approximately 50w each and I think that it should be sufficient. It allowed me to trace through some pretty thick bristol and that is the basic paper I use. So I think it will be sufficient.
read more »

Last night was supposed to be DAZ Studio night. I was going to work though a couple newbie tutorials that I found on the internets.  That was the plan.  Only, a five minute cat nap turned into a two and half hour nap and I got nothing done.

I’d like to say that tonight will be better, but  W and I will be going to a movie instead. To be fair, we could both use a legitimate night off. W has been killing himself in school (it’s only been a month!) and I have been pretty busy my own self. It’ll be nice.

Title: Bettie
Size: 8½ x 11″
Medium: Prismacolor Marker on Aquabee Manga Artist Paper
Time: 1.5 hours
Status: Completed

I am discovering that sometimes.. less is more.  Especially in the case of this current piece.  In previous ones, I had added layer upon layer of markers, but this one? Not so much. I am pleased with the result. Though, the shine on her hair probably needs work. And her skin also seems a bit patchy, but it doesn’t look that bad on the original piece.

I tried some colour calibrating in Photoshop, but I think I might need to tweak it a bit more.  I should also work on my scanning techniques. Hurm.

In other news, I found a bunch  of DIY lightboxes tutorials on the internets yesterday (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).  Most of them seem relatively simple enough. But I suspect I will need to get W to help me with the actual lighting bits.  Once I figure out which one I would like to build, perhaps I will make a trip to the mighty Home Depot this weekend!