Lighting add-ons/plug ins
Brotherlobo
Posts: 495
Any suggestions to a lighting plugin/add ons that are easy to use and/or understand for a newbie?
I've had the program for a bit but getting the right mixture of lighting w/ shadows seems to be one of my major problems and/frustrations. I have very limited time to work/play with DAZ and would love to discover an easier way to manipulate lights & shadows.
Suggestions?
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Most of the lightsets in the store are good, some are more specifically aimed at certain types of renders tough.
It depends a little on what you want to achieve. If you want a good overall light for a scene, if you want a light and a skybox or if you are looking for portrait light for close up shots of a character.
Also, it depends on if you are willing to suffer render time in favor of quality.
For exterior use I love Cloud Nine for Daz Studio, the nice thing is it also comes for other popular programs. They are Here.
For other types of renders Lantios makes several sets that are very nice. They are HERE.
And for others look in This Section.
why buy light sets from the store when you get UberEnvironment2 and UberArea for free with DAZ Studio? Can't really see the point
why buy light sets from the store when you get UberEnvironment2 and UberArea for free with DAZ Studio? Can't really see the pointHas it ever accrued to you that not everybody wants to use Uber any anything in every render?
Sertorial, on the one hand you are on to something: DAZ Studio does come with all the "ingredients" needed to create effective lighting for any render. But learning how to do it well is much more complicated than, say, learning how to bake a cake from scratch. (And yet cake mixes still sell well ;-) )
There are other reasons, too:
- Some lightsets come with HDRI images, or a variety of backdrops you can use in your renders, or other extras
- Seeing how a professional lightset is put together can help you learn to make your own
- Not everyone is interested in learning 3D lighting...some people would rather focus on other aspects of rendering, but still want great-looking lighting
To answer AE's original question, I often use Lantios Lights 2, but there are plenty of good choices in the store. If you're looking for something that's flexible, has elements that are easy to change around, and will help you learn, I'd recommend taking a look at these (with the important caveat that I haven't tried any of them myself...yet!):
http://www.daz3d.com/inaneglory-s-photo-studio
http://www.daz3d.com/d-i-y-daz-studio-lights
http://www.daz3d.com/fashion-lights
DimensionTheory's sets (Cloud 9 and others) also come highly recommended by many.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I am looking in to some of the products suggested.
Hopefully I can find one that I like and has an easy learning curve that will improve the qualities of my renders.
Yeah. sorry. Don't know why I said that. It was a bit silly.
Inaneglory's new Ring of Light is well worth considering.
I was wondering, what does Ring of Light bring to the game that the other products aren't already covering pretty well?
I recently purchased Ring of Light and Cloud 9 for Daz. Here are my impressions of them:
Right up front....C9 for Daz is much easier to work with, I just add in the light set that corresponds to the shadow direction I want...and poof, time to hit render.
Ring of Light - is a little trickier. There are alot of options and not a lot of documentation - but I believe in the long run, it will be a great addition.
Attached are two images, same set up and camera -- the only difference the lighting.
The top one is Cloud 9 and the other is RoL.
http://docs.daz3d.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/public/read_me/index/15836/15836_ring-of-light-userguide.pdf
http://docs.daz3d.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/public/read_me/index/15836/15836_ring-of-light-userguide.pdfYou tell them Inane. When in doubt RTFM!!
LOL...I stand corrected. But I will also stand by my earlier statement....Cloud 9 is easier but Ring of Light is more involved.
After reading the documentation and playing with it a bit, I do believe that Ring of Light will be my 'go to' lighting choice. I still need practice but here's one I did last night right before I went off to bed.