3D Archives

My notes on 3D apps I use: ZBrush, Hexagon, DAZ Studio, Poser, Carrara and many others.

Using Iray Canvases in DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #13

In this live event I’ll tell you everything I know about Iray Canvases in DAZ Studio. It’s a huge topic, and admittedly I don’t know everything about this subject, but it will cover how to get started with multi pass rendering and the principles of creating separate images from your scene. About Depth Passes There’s …

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Animating Numbers with Blender and DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #12

In this live event I’ll show you how to create 3D Text Objects in Blender 2.8, then bring them in to DAZ Studio to animate and render. We’ll animate a single number first, then apply the same animation to the other numbers and add small variations using aniMate. Other than that, I’m happy to answer …

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DAZ Studio Test Scene – share your Iray Render Speeds

I’d love to see a decent Iray render speed comparison between the current NVIDIA graphics Cards, specifically for DAZ Studio performance. All we need is some data from a static test scene, render it on a variety of systems and compare the results. Well here’s such a scene! Please download it and render it on …

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Building a Creepy Corridor Scene in DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #05

In this live event I’ll build a creepy “survival horror” type scene: an unsuspecting janitor is working the night shift, while a bunch of super intelligent bugs have escaped and try to take over the facility. I’ll start by modifying the stock corridor to make it longer, then I’ll setup a camera with an extreme …

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Converting older Skin Shaders for use with Iray in DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #04

In this live event I’ll explain how we can use an existing Iray skin shader and apply it to an older character like Staci. In my last stream I’ve shown you how to apply existing Iray materials from the library to various surfaces, and this time we’ll create a whole shader (almost) from scratch. I’ll …

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Using Older Content in DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #03

In this live event I’ll show you how to utilise some of your older content in DAZ Studio and make it compatible with the NVIDIA Iray render engine. Specifically, I’ll take two 3D Universe characters from 2004, pose them in a brand new set by Danie and Marforno and create a riveting Sci-Fi scene. I’ll …

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Where does DAZ Studio save Morph Files

I have recently explained how we can create morphs for DAZ Studio assets with external applications, and how to apply them to characters and clothing using Morph Loader, or something like the GoZ Plugin. You can watch those videos here and here.

One of my viewers was asking – quite rightly – what to do with the applied morph, and how to save it. The answer to that question is a little in-depth, and depends on what you’d like to do with said morph. I thought I’d expand on the answer I gave Scott in one of the above videos with this article.

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How to use Reference Images in DAZ Studio

In this episode I’ll show you how we can use Reference Images in DAZ Studio. This is not a built-in option, but with the help of a Plane Primitive and a dedicated camera we can use references to help us build scenes, poses and shaders. We can create as many planes and cameras as we …

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About that Denoiser in DAZ Studio 4.11

There’s an article by Phil Miller that explains NVIDIA’s philosophy about the new interactive Iray Denoiser.

Thanks to deep learning, NVIDIA’s own DGX-1 AI Super Computer and a lot of trial and error, this machine developed an algorithm that can predict how accurate the final result will look like when only a limited amount of ray bounces are available.

In a nutshell, their Artificial Neural Network went ahead and compared a partially finished render with a finished one, and each time it made a prediction that was not looking handsome, it learnt from it. Eventually they came up with what’s currently integrated in the latest release of Iray, which has made it into DAZ Studio 4.11, and that in turn is available for us to beta test right now.

I’ve run some tests with this new toy, and I’m excited to share those with you today.

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Building an Indoor Pool Scene with DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #02

In this live event I’ll build a scene with the Hotel Indoor Pool product from DAZ and Imaginary 3D (available for free this week for Platinum Club Members). I’ll explain how to walk through the scene to explore the the whole set, pick a good camera angle, convert existing objects into light sources and add …

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DAZ Studio 113: Using Cameras

In this episode I’ll tell you many interesting things about how to use cameras in DAZ Studio. It’s a rather complex topic, which is why this episode is a little longer than usual. We’ll create a simple scene together from the latest Platinum Club Freebie product, frame up a shot, and create a couple of …

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Creating a Turntable Animation in DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #01

In this first Live Event I have planned for y’all I’m going to explain how to create an easy turntable animation in DAZ Studio. We’ll dress up a character, pose him (or her), set some lights and create a 360 degree slow spinning animation of it. This technique is a nice way to show off …

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How to create DAZ Studio Morphs with ZBrush

In this episode I’ll show you how to create morphs for DAZ Studio using ZBrush, thanks to a free plugin called GoZ for DAZ Studio (it’s like a ZBrush Bridge). I’ll also explain the prep-work necessary for GoZ to work properly and how to install it. For Allan. https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1901-DAZ-to-ZBrush.mp3 Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:48 — 11.7MB)

DAZ Studio 112: Content and Smart Content explained

In this episode I’ll explain the differences between the Content Library Tab and the Smart Content Tab. I’ll also show how to bring content into your scenes, and touch on the different types of content (for example, a shirt fits on a figure, but a material preset fits on a specific shirt). https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1906-DS-112-Content.mp3 Podcast: Download …

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Display all Keyboard Shortcuts in DAZ Studio

I’ve recently found out that there IS indeed a way to show a list of all DAZ Studio Keyboard Shortcuts. Sadly this functionality is not built in to DAZ Studio (as of 4.11 as far as I know), but we can convince the app to use the following script to show us a handy list. …

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My Rig(s), Devices and Rendering Workflow

From time to time I get asked what hardware and GPU I’m using for my 3D adventures, including video games. Rather than typing it out every time, I thought I’d make a handy post that I can refer interested parties to, and update as my configuration changes.

This is that post.

It may contain more information than necessary, but I thought I’d add it all here, including a bit of history on how this setup came to be and what it cost. I keep this page updated as my configuration and workflow changes.

TL;DR

These are the main systems that I use for work and play. They run the Adobe Creative Cloud, games, 3D apps. Most systems are CAT-5 wired with a 1000Mbps connection.

Main Workstation / Presentation PC

  • HP Z840 Workstation
  • 2x Xeon E5-2670 CPUs (48 threads)
  • 48GB of DDR-4 RAM
  • 2x RTX 2080 GPUs

Streaming PC

  • HP Z600 Workstation (Rev B)
  • 2x Xeon x5675 CPUs (24 threads)
  • 24GB of DDR-3 RAM
  • RTX 3060 GPU
  • Elgato HD60 Pro HDMI capture card

Render Node 1

  • HP Z800 Workstation
  • 2x Xeon x5675 CPUs at 3.07 GHz (24 threads)
  • 48GB of DDR-3 RAM
  • 2x GTX 970 GPUs

Render Node 2

  • HP Z600 Workstation (Rev A)
  • 2x Xeon x5560 – 2.80 GHz CPUs (16 threads)
  • 20 GB of DDR3 RAM
  • GTX 970 GPU

Email / Coding / Chat PC

  • Apple MacMini 2012 Server Edition
  • Intel Core i7CPU at 2.3 GHz
  • 16GB of DDR-3 RAM
  • Intel HD 4000 GPU with 1.5GB of RAM

The Longer Story

Most visitors are probably content with the info above. However, if you’re interested in how all this equipment came to be, and how I’m using it in my home/office, read on below. I’ll tell you how I acquired most of the parts and how I’ve built them from older technology that still packs quite a punch.

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Where is the Symmetry Option in ZBrush

No matter how hard I try, I just never remember where the Symmetry option is hiding in ZBrush. At least I remember this website, so when I search here next time, this post should come up. Which tells us that Symmetry in ZBrush is in the Transform Menu. Here’s a link to the official documentation, …

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How to use SOUL REFLECTIONS for DAZ Studio

In this episode I’ll show you how to use my new lighting product SOUL REFLECTIONS – Vol. 1. I’ve had so much fun exploring the eye reflections I’ve explained in my previous two videos, importing several interesting shapes and turning them into reflective surfaces. SOUL REFLECTIONS is the result of my endeavours. I’ve compiled presets …

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DAZ Studio 111: Installing Content in a Second Directory

In this episode I’ll show you how to install 3D Content with Install Manager into another directory of your choice. By default, Install Manager will use a folder called “My DAZ 3D Library”, but sometimes you may need a second directory to install content in. For example, to keep pre-release files separate from “release versions”, …

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DAZ Studio 110: Object Hierarchies, Grouping and Parenting

In this episode I’ll show you how parent objects to one another, and how to create groups, and the implications either of these actions has on your scene. I’ll also explain the Null object and when/how to use it. Understanding these concepts means you’ll be able to build scenes more efficiently: hierarchies let you move …

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DAZ Studio 109: Adjusting the Pivot Point and using Multiple Viewports

In this episode I’ll show you how to change the location of the Pivot Point in DAZ Studio. It’s the point at which the 3D manipulator gizmo shows up and from where objects are translated and rotated. Blender calls this the “origin point”. DAZ Studio uses the Joint Editor to manipulate this point. While I’m …

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Adding Materials to our Objects in Blender (Cycles)

In this episode I’m giving our objects some colour with simple shaders: I’m making the grass green, give the ground an earthy brown and add a shiny golden touch to our logo. I’m also covering the logo with another replicator, simulating an interesting effect. This is part 4 of a mini series about how to create …

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DAZ Studio 107: Manipulating Objects with Tools

In this episode I’ll show you how to manipulate objects in the viewport using four tools: the translate, scale, rotate and universal manipulator tools. I’ll also explain the concept of world vs local/object coordinates and touch on screen coordinates. These are tough concepts to grasp, but with a bit of practice, you’ll be flying around …

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