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!

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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: 11 x 14″
Medium: Graphite on Bristol Smooth
Time: 14.75 hours
Status: WIP

Before I start blathering on about today’s update, please excuse me for a moment…. FINALLY. Finally, a post that contains images that are almost accurate. And all I did was tilt the drawing as I took the photo so the light from my studio didn’t cast a weird highlight on the paper. Woot! I am very, very pleased with my update photos this morning. Can you tell?

But getting back to the actual update, his righteous eyebrows are almost complete! Though, they might need a slight touch-up here and there. And I think I was right. I certainly think the drawing looks like Colin Farrell much more now. Go team me! Very, very pleased.

My next challenge is going to be that bloody hand. I have always had a troubled relationship with hands (and feet for that matter). Normally, I don’t drawing either. I draw meaty sausages that are in the shape of hands and feet. Now, I try to rationalize this as transference. I, myself, sport stubby, meaty sausage fingers so maybe I am just “putting some of myself” into my drawings, so to speak. What a nice little artsy-fartsy thought, right? In all reality, I know that its just ineptitude, plain and simple. I always avoid drawing them because I don’t have any confidence in drawing them. And since I have no confidence (or experience) in drawing them, when I do draw them, they look like ass.

Oh, what a nice vicious little circle!

Thankfully, I know I am not alone in this. A figure drawing instructor, IB, once told me that most figure artists struggle (initially) with those particular extremities. I guess I just need to give the same attention to hands and feet that I do to faces. I mean, I know how to look at faces and draw them, so if I gave someone’s digits the same amount of attention then, in theory, I should be able to draw them quite reasonably. Right?

Yeah, or something.

I told W last night that I was tempted to ignore the hand and just give the drawing to CJ without it. He suspects that she would not be pleased. Heh.

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I’ve been avoiding my current portrait WIP. Well, that’s not entirely true. I have done a crapload of work on his clothes and I have even started his hair. I just haven’t had any time to take update photos. So let’s blame it on laziness. Hopefully, I can post something substantial tonight.

However, despite that, I have an update! After AVD’s suggestion of digitally colouring my circus freaks, I went back and spent a little more time on the line work of the first drawing. It’s not 100% where I want it to be, but it’s getting there. I just want to make sure all of my line work is pretty solid before I attempt to colour it.

I have found a few tutorials on the internets that might help my big n00b ways out. So we’ll see. I’ve even been using my tablet. Woop. And let me say this, its amazing how much using the tablet in front of you, like a sketchbook can really improve your skillz.

Thanks to everyone who participated in my education poll! I’ve been giving a lot of consideration and re-consideration to whether or not I really do want to go back to finish my degree in a few years. There are many reasons not to and only a couple valid ones that support returning to school full-time. So its kind of a no brainer.

Really, it comes down to the fact that returning to school to complete my degree won’t necessarily make me a better artist. I can take courses here and there and still grow as an artist, expand my craft and be completely (or mostly) satisfied with my creativity and my skills. I don’t need a piece of paper to prove that. I know, I know, this is something that my peers have been telling me for years. I’m just a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

From a pragmatic point of view, given my current aversion to selling my artwork, the time and financial commitment that I would need to invest in completing my degree could never, ever be recouped so it doesn’t make a whole lotta sense to do it. Especially since I could be perfectly content in taking evening and weekend courses/workshops and having the same type of satisfaction.

Plus, I won’t lie, the idea of returning to art school at the age of – what – 37 or 38 does not appeal to me. I remember how arrogant and annoying art school students can be when I was 18, I can’t imagine how much I would loathe it at almost 40 (gah, did I just type almost 40?! Christ.) No, thanks.

There are other ways to experience creative and artistic community. WetCanvas, for example. And I might even try to join a local group or something.

Unless something outrageous happens, I believe I’m just gonna keep truckin’ and leave the degrees to lawyers, doctors, archaelogists, and all those fancy smart folks.

In other news, I have posted a shiny new poll to the right. It’s directed mostly to those artists who work digitally (or have worked digitally). My pal, AVD, suggested that I give digitally colouring a try for my circus freaks series, which might be kind of appealing to me. But I’d like some suggestions about software packages from those who are more knowledgeable.