Project idea and figuring out what I need

Subtropic Pixel

Hello. I have a project idea for a series of stills (for now). Involves animals big enough to ride and one or two human-like characters to interact with said animals. Undecided at the moment, but I'm thinking either horses, pegasus, unicorns, dinosaurs, or dragons.

I have Victoria 2.0, 3.0, and 5.0, as well as Michael 5 and a bunch of "stuff" that goes with them. Whichever character I choose, they will need some riding gear, maybe a harness or saddle for the animal, and anything I am forgetting.

I'm a bit at a loss for where to begin, and that's why I am posting here.

I sometimes see things like clothing, accessories, or poses in the store for Michael 4 or Victoria 4 (neither of which I believe I have). I also see some of these such products saying that they're maybe Poser and DS compatible, but often Carrara is not mentioned. I have Carrara 8.5 Pro and would like to try using it for this project if possible.

I'm just not sure where to start, except that I have realized that a lot of this is all about "Project Management" in a way, yes?

For some examples,
* I need to figure out the story or an emotion I want to convey (or just let the viewer's imagination have fun?)
* I need to decide on the actors
* I need to be my own propmaster and either make or purchase what I need
* I need to design and um... "breed" the animals I'll need, right?
* I need an animal handler/trainer for those scenes (ie, poses, movement if the scene calls for it)
* I need a location for the shoot
* Music, foley, and special effects (for video)
* I've seen some YouTube videos that have some rather lengthy and detailed credits, which I think is cool.

Man, this is like making a movie!

For this project, I want to keep it simple and manageable. One human first for mostly face still shots, maybe with a fairly simple background and lighting. Eventually to add the person's animal(s) and then later more characters and animals, to impart the feeling that all are part of a larger group.

I know everybody eventually develops their own workflow, and I expect that I will too, but for now, would anybody have some suggestions for things to consider for still scenes?

I'm just .. aaaah, groping around in the dark a little bit; any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Canary3d

Hi, just saw this - my advice for starting is to dig around your runtime (I see you've been here a long time, so if you're like me your runtime is probably full of odd stuff you don't remember getting!) for some rideable animals, and do a few scenes where you just toss a person onto an animal and render to see if it "feels" right. If you don't have Tawhak, it's probably worth picking up: http://www.daz3d.com/tawhak - it's an oldie but goodie, a dinosaur with a saddle. Nerd has an ostrich in the store, I think, and Mil Horse 1 was given away free a lot of times. Poser 4 had a bunch of animals, too, and the storybook dragon in the store has a smooth back, good for riding.

Anyway I think if you do a couple of low-effort renders to get a feel for things, then you will find the core images you want to build and you can start with those. From that point I'd start building the environment/village/farm around those key riders & animals, and start sticking cameras into the different places you want to show.

Subtropic Pixel

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!

I was starting to worry that this wasn't going anywhere and yet it's the most important topic to me at this point.

I have a horse and I've been considering Millennium Dragon 2.0 plus some stuff to go along with that. I'll have a look at Storybook dragon; thanks for the tip!

I'm also rummaging around in the store because I saw the V4 and V4 Pro bundle freebie sales. I could so jump on that with not too much trouble because I have very few scenes and accessories anyway.

But there's always a wrinkle, isn't there? Yep, I see there's also the V4 pro suite which also includes Elite and a lifetime's worth of clothing. Simple math tells me that the PC price for the pro suite is cheaper than getting V4 Pro bundle for free and then adding even just Elite and some clothes. Precisely the same thing is true for M4 Pro "Free" (with 3 PA purchases) and then having to add Elite, muscles, clothes, etc when I could save money and just buy M4 Pro Suite and be done.

And of course I know exactly what will happen if I buy either V4 Pro Suite or M4 Pro Suite. The very next day, they will each go free with the purchase of 5 PA items (which I could SO easily do)...LOL. No matter what I do, I suspect it's gonna cost a pretty penny!

Chohole

The Pro Suites were put together precisely for those people who were new to Daz 3D and hadn't yet purchased a lot of content.

I cannot see them going on sale as an offer of the sort you postulate, but that is just my opinion, and not an official answer at all.

And welcome to the world of frightened, overworked,Credit Cards hiding, screaming, in obscure dusty closets. :coolgrin:

Subtropic Pixel

LOL, my credit card mostly just used electronically. Physical use is primarily being swiped at gas stations and grocery stores, those filthy filthy scanners!

Thank you for the tip about the Suites. I will probably just use a monthly coupon and get them separately over time. And one never knows; Christmas is coming up. Come on, DAZ!

And it looks like neither Victoria 6 nor her sisters Gia 6 and Girl 6 have a "Suite" yet, only Pro Bundles there. But some of the stuff within each of those have compatibility with each other and even downward to Genesis and Gen4.

These prices...they're like paper towels and toilet paper at the grocery store. You really have to get out a calculator and do actual math to figure out if a "deal" really is so, or if a better deal can be had by doing nothing (waiting) or by going for a non-deal that has more value in it anyway.

And I would say that I've figured out that it's never worth it to just jump on something, even if you think a sale may be ending.

Jaderail

BIG TIP: As I do large Projects that take many days, months, and now one maybe a year, the Story concept needs FINISHED before you start. If that is not solid before you begin you will find yourself changing things as you go. Well you think that's okay It gets better the more I do. Not really, when you go back and look at the start a month in and then go, OMG it does not match the stuff I just did at all you will understand the need for a solid base from the first render on.

SGCBearcub

The Horse 2 Pro Bundle is on sale 70% off in Fast Grab right now. And Muscleman has some Horse 2 and Genesis poses at 50% off today as part of the PA sale.

Poses

Horse 2 pro bundle

Subtropic Pixel

Jaderail said:

BIG TIP: As I do large Projects that take many days, months, and now one maybe a year, the Story concept needs FINISHED before you start. If that is not solid before you begin you will find yourself changing things as you go. Well you think that's okay It gets better the more I do. Not really, when you go back and look at the start a month in and then go, OMG it does not match the stuff I just did at all you will understand the need for a solid base from the first render on.

What you're basically saying is that any project needs some sort of project management, and big projects maybe more so because having to redo major portions of them can cost a power of magnitude more time, labor, and rendering time to make changes so that the project doesn't end up being disjointed like a bad Hollywood B-movie, right?

Even voice actors might need to be called in for re-recording, or the music might need to be reconfigured or remixed with the added dialog to match the new scenes. If you're using motion-capture, then that talent might need to be recalled for additional recording.

Yes I see what you mean about how poor planning can get very expensive.

jaxprog

Canary3d said:

Hi, just saw this - my advice for starting is to dig around your runtime (I see you've been here a long time, so if you're like me your runtime is probably full of odd stuff you don't remember getting!) for some rideable animals, and do a few scenes where you just toss a person onto an animal and render to see if it "feels" right. If you don't have Tawhak, it's probably worth picking up: http://www.daz3d.com/tawhak - it's an oldie but goodie, a dinosaur with a saddle. Nerd has an ostrich in the store, I think, and Mil Horse 1 was given away free a lot of times. Poser 4 had a bunch of animals, too, and the storybook dragon in the store has a smooth back, good for riding.

Anyway I think if you do a couple of low-effort renders to get a feel for things, then you will find the core images you want to build and you can start with those. From that point I'd start building the environment/village/farm around those key riders & animals, and start sticking cameras into the different places you want to show.

I recently purchased Tawhak and really like him. I am working on a scene where Barliecorn is riding him. However I am not too keen on the saddle design and I am thinking of creating a new saddle for him in zBrush. Tawhak is very very cool and unique animal mount.