People keep submitting comments to my various feedback forms, asking for 3D advice and tips. Thanks dudes, I think I’ve peppered advice throughout this blog tbh, but I’ll dump a few things here because it’s fun and exciting!!!
Software I use:
Poser Pro, with the Victoria 4 character (a very old 3D character by Daz), the Blackhearted GND morphs (which turn the V4 model into a recognisably human shape), and the Morphs++, ditto.
3D sets I use:
Sets can get you halfway with no effort, good freebies on Renderosity’s freebies bit, and vanishingpoint.biz – good paid places on Daz/s store, best are from people like Stonemason. Then I use a basic 3ds/nurbs application to make basic objects like beer bottles or decent books or whatever I need that isn’t in the stock poser library. Or you can cheat and use someone else’s free stuff!!!
Lighting:
Poser has planar lighting now in Superfly, so I use two or three sidelights, rather than tons of spotlights or point lights. Light your characters from side angles rather than from near where the camera is.
Skin:
Skin depth is what it’s all about. Textures ditto. Google it – lots of Bagginsbill tutorials on Renderosity forums. It’s hard work. Or you can cheat and use someone else’s free skin setup!!!
If I was starting from scratch with some cash:
I’d use Daz3D with two or three bought characters and get to know that rather than start with Poser, because Daz has some amazing characters these days and Poser has none. Sorry Poser, I love you but your business model didn’t work and it needs to change if you want to live … good luck!
If I was starting from scratch with zero cash:
It’s all about Blender. Personally I find Blender really difficult to understand and I got nowhere with it, but you could get into it if you’re going to play with 3D three-four nights per week.
How much time:
If you are going to get into 3D, know that it takes a long time to get good at it, so decide now what your limits are. This is the equivalent of playing with Barbie and Sindy dolls, which is fine, but how much of your life do you really want to dedicate to that? If it’s more than 20% then I’d say alarm bells should start ringing and maybe this won’t help you. What is life about? What privileges do you have that you could give away instead?
Avoid traps:
How are you going to avoid getting into those traps that people fall into – creating increasingly grotesque / violent 3D and getting hooked on your own work and disappearing into a vicious cycle of fantasy and self-hatred? Sounds dark but it’s an important question, sorry.
How I do it:
Hahaha, good times, good times … personally I started with the desire to get good at 3d and maybe work through a few ideas, and I’m glad I did because it has been helpful in my life; but then it’s also been risky; there’s a fine line between hobby and obsession. I decided I would never make content which dishonoured either men nor women, which fuelled neither misogyny nor misandry. And that decision has guided my work for years, and it has led me to understand equality and my own real-life relationships in a better way. So your early decisions are important.
Don’t do it:
If all you want to do is create a booby female character and tear her apart and create gruesome scenes of destruction with her as the pinata in your misogynist rant work, do me a favour: don’t.
Don’t do it. That won’t help your issues, it will make them worse and that message will affect others online. You will become increasingly addicted to your own (and others’) dead-end pornography. It will affect your relationships: firstly with yourself, then with all … other … humans. Don’t do it. Find another way to address root issues. Please.
Fun hobbies are fun!
Destructive hobbies are destructive!
How we play with our toys is important!
My comics have tens of millions of views online, each, and I’ve spent zero effort marketing nor distributing them. Something in them resonates with humans at all levels of society, so there’s a chance that I know what I’m talking about. How we play with our toys is important, because who we are and how we connect is important; if we get this stuff wrong then we become fragmented, then alone, then we die. Good luck everyone!
(Want more 3D advice? Check out Part 2)
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