March 2020 - Daz 3D New User Challenge - Posing and Posing II

Linwelly

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Linwelly said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Linwelly said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Version c here, with some tweeking of his pose, moving the laptop so that he wasn't overlaping the screen, giving him an ear peace so he was in contact with someone else, texture work on the floor chair and table, and render/replace the screen 5 times before rendering a 6th time with next to no hint of the origional screen.

I certainly love the efford you're puttin in this and the idea is lovely but as usual I really want to have this with more light, pretty please! You can brighten up the image you're placing in the screens map in some image manipulation program (Gimp photoshop etc) and lighten up the last iteration setting in DS, so you don't have to go through all of them again. More light will speed up you render time as well

Spent yesterday making one last version. Changed out the lighting settings on the overhead lighting rig, and redid the six renders that I did on the previous version to keep consitancy on the lighting, though I used the last render of the previous version rather then the defalt texture that came with the laptop.

This works much better with the new lights now! He's got a bit of a goofy look like surprise, so now I wonder what maked him look like that.

How do you think you'd react if you were checking camera feeds and came across one that was looking right over your shoulder at the screen?

that's true as well

 

alex86fire

Linwelly said:

imissmylung said:

Hi again guys, I'm entering a second image for the intermediate category (if possible) I know its last minute but i hope you enjoy!

- Image Title: Super Hero Slam - Software used: DAZ3D 4.12 - link to the reference i used.

That's another very dynamic pose combination. I think the feet of the orange person could use some more contact to the floor. In the moment it looks a little as if the orange person has no weight. As well the left foot need more bending at the toes to give the figure the drive forward for the blow she strikes.

 

Linwelly said:

alex86fire said:

 

Here are my final versions of the poses:

Beginner challenge (for easier access here is the reference ):

Intermediate challenge(for easier access here is the reference ):

 

Very well done on both! I like the better light for the first one but I think you tilted your camera a tiny bit, so the floor became uneven. Maybe you van correct that still (cut out in post?)

I'm amazed by the flipping over pose there, that's kind od a better match than the original ;)

regarding the other topic about using presets to work from, it's always a bit of the question what kind of challenge do the users want to pose to themselves. Of course using a premade pose without changes is no challenge at all, and you learn way more gouing from skretch. But that's why we've got this idea of trying to emulate poses found on photos/images on the net. It would be rare to find those ready premade.

Thank you for the comments!

I got very invested in the advanced challenge pose. I even adapted their bodies with shaping to match more to the original picture.

My initial setup was the pose picture as the background to try to match it as much as possible in the viewport. After I got very close, thanks to your tips as well I decided I should not look at it anymore but try to make the pose as natural as possible because as you noted, the original seemed photoshoped.

Here is the final version for the beginner challenge.

There was a combination of a weird camera tilt + some ground tilting as well.

 

c.loth1975@googlemail.com

Hello,

here are my last minute changes. Thank you again for the critique @Linwelly. "Romanovance" V3 for
the Beginner's challenge.

Edit: Oh, forgot to give the reference again: https://themarcus.com/getmedia/ab93b124-3e5c-4e76-85d2-377f682514ab/5550R3.jpg?width=1300

Best regards,

LaPartita

This challenge has given me a whole new level of appreciation for PAs who create pose packs!!

My entry for the intermediate challenge. Click for full size, and see below if you want to read an (extensive) description of my experiences with this month's challenge.

 

I picked what I thought was a relatively simple pose for reference (see attached, from Pixabay), since I decided to try out the Active Pose tool, and I wanted to focus on learning a new skillset.

At first, I really liked using Active Pose. It put the model in much more organic-looking positions, and I didn't have to worry about keeping bones aligned. The parameter/dial systems drives me more than a little nuts with that.

The frustration with ActivePose set in when I started trying to fine tune my rough positioning to match my reference. Figuring out which bones to pin (not to mention finding them in the heirarchy!) was frustrating. I lost track of how many times I'd pin the hip bones only to find both legs were still moving because I hadn't pinned the rotation on the pelvis, or I'd inadvertantly move the model along an axis, or ... well, you get the idea.

Then I tried using PowerPose. Again, I really liked it at first. My biggest problems were remembering which mouse button to push, and tending to move the mouse at an angle instead of purely side-side or up-down. But again, fine-tuning was an issue (although ActivePose was harder). I had the most trouble with her arms and her neck. Trying to figure out which "joints" to move in the collar/shoulder area was tough, and getting that area to play nicely with the shoulders was a problem. This is where I started to have a lot of trouble figuring out what issues stemmed from the tool's limitations, what stemmed from my limitations, and what was due to the pose. After a lot of wrestling, I got her in what I thought was more or less the same pose as my reference. Then I rendered the image and found that her pose somehow made her look like a bobblehead toy. The image is attached below, if anyone's morbidly curious.

Ultimately, I took advantage of participating in the intermediate challenge to modify the pose into something that didn't end up looking like it was straight out of a funhouse mirror, and I'm reasonably happy with the result. I can definately see areas I wish I could tweak, but I'm really happy with it overall. I'm particularly proud of the way her shoulder curves - I had a lot of trouble getting that right while not rotating her arm in such a way that her hand went through her face.

This challenge was a great learning experience for me. Personally, I find that posing is one of the most difficult skills to master, so being able to use more posing tools can only help. I plan to keep practicing with both tools, that's for sure, and I'm looking forward to figuring out how to combine the different tools for the best results!

alex86fire

LaPartita said:

This challenge has given me a whole new level of appreciation for PAs who create pose packs!!

My entry for the intermediate challenge. Click for full size, and see below if you want to read an (extensive) description of my experiences with this month's challenge.

 

I picked what I thought was a relatively simple pose for reference (see attached, from Pixabay), since I decided to try out the Active Pose tool, and I wanted to focus on learning a new skillset.

At first, I really liked using Active Pose. It put the model in much more organic-looking positions, and I didn't have to worry about keeping bones aligned. The parameter/dial systems drives me more than a little nuts with that.

The frustration with ActivePose set in when I started trying to fine tune my rough positioning to match my reference. Figuring out which bones to pin (not to mention finding them in the heirarchy!) was frustrating. I lost track of how many times I'd pin the hip bones only to find both legs were still moving because I hadn't pinned the rotation on the pelvis, or I'd inadvertantly move the model along an axis, or ... well, you get the idea.

Then I tried using PowerPose. Again, I really liked it at first. My biggest problems were remembering which mouse button to push, and tending to move the mouse at an angle instead of purely side-side or up-down. But again, fine-tuning was an issue (although ActivePose was harder). I had the most trouble with her arms and her neck. Trying to figure out which "joints" to move in the collar/shoulder area was tough, and getting that area to play nicely with the shoulders was a problem. This is where I started to have a lot of trouble figuring out what issues stemmed from the tool's limitations, what stemmed from my limitations, and what was due to the pose. After a lot of wrestling, I got her in what I thought was more or less the same pose as my reference. Then I rendered the image and found that her pose somehow made her look like a bobblehead toy. The image is attached below, if anyone's morbidly curious.

Ultimately, I took advantage of participating in the intermediate challenge to modify the pose into something that didn't end up looking like it was straight out of a funhouse mirror, and I'm reasonably happy with the result. I can definately see areas I wish I could tweak, but I'm really happy with it overall. I'm particularly proud of the way her shoulder curves - I had a lot of trouble getting that right while not rotating her arm in such a way that her hand went through her face.

This challenge was a great learning experience for me. Personally, I find that posing is one of the most difficult skills to master, so being able to use more posing tools can only help. I plan to keep practicing with both tools, that's for sure, and I'm looking forward to figuring out how to combine the different tools for the best results!

Welcome to posing!

I like your final pose. Especially the expression, the smile looks pretty nice.

Funnily enough it has become really fast one of my favorite pasttimes in Daz.

I actually enjoy figuring out what bone to move.

What I can share from my experience:

1. Whichever tool you use (powerpose, activepose, pupeteer and so on) use it to get a rough position of what you want fast

2. For fine tuning individual bones are still the way to go, it gives you so much control

3. If sometimes it's hard to figure out which bone to move (expecially in the arms) try doing the pose with your own body. Try understanding the mechanics behind the movement you do and see what bones you move/rotate.

4. There are additional tools created by PAs which come to help you out with posing. https://www.daz3d.com/ultimate-pose-master is one and is very good to get the hands and feet into the position you want without. It's kind of like active pose but without having to figure out what to pin. A second one is https://www.daz3d.com/pose-architect-for-genesis-8-females with the add-on. This is not a tool per say but a collection of dialable poses. They are very good as in shifting the bodyweight if the character stands on one leg and so on. They are so good they could easily be used for animations as well.

5. Keep at it and you will succeed in the end. Sometimes a break is necesary to give you some clarity and a new perspective but perseverance just like you displayed will go a long way.

I hope I didn't ramble too much and what I wrote above helps at least somewhat.

Happy rendering!

Smoerebroet

I like to participate in the Beginner's Challenge. I had a lot of trouble with this picture. Posing was quite ok with "power pose" and fine adjusting with the bars, but it's still not perfect. My main goal was to get close to the original pose picture as much as possible. But you see it isn't. The girl has strange hidden bending somewhere at her hips and waist. The ice cone is, well its ... I don't want to talk about. ;) My tries to make a passable shirt ended in to many errors. But I might test it later again. Maybe in another challenge. I thought i have more time since corona, but noooo ... less. This challenge was full of tries and errors for me.

The pose picture:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-red-spaghetti-strap-top-holding-orange-icecream-3469226/

AZDigitalArtist

Pas de Deux.  Pose picture.

 

 

AZDigitalArtist

oops sorry

Linwelly

This challenge is now closed!

Thanks a lot for participating, everybody and see you in April challenge (no fooling)

Smoerebroet

One of my try and error:

XD

Linwelly

Smoerebroet said:

One of my try and error:

XD

the classic dforce explosion... usually my computer decides to take a leave at that

Smoerebroet

Oh wow, really? Maybe my computer has more humor than he should have. 
I got this in a simulation with 35 frames. On Frame 30 the right Pose, on Frame 35 that nice 4 dimentional shirt.
Cloth was very stiff, very shrink and a little bit less strech( i think). Just like a cardboard. xD

DAZ_ann0314

March 2020

Showcased Participants for the March Beginners Posing Challenge
 

Smoerebroet

 

cloth1975

 

dennisgray41

Showcased Participants for the March Intermediate Posing II Challenge
 

alex86fire

 

imissmylung

 

ariochsnowpaw

New User Welcome
 

wmiller314

 

zaid_pixelpro32_10c9fe201f

 

Linwelly

congrats everyone! well done!

0996ps

Congratulation everyone!

alex86fire

Congratulations to all and thank you!

ariochsnowpaw

Great images from everyone.  Congrats all!

AZDigitalArtist

Congrats all!!!!  :)

 

LaPartita

Awesome images - congrats!

Smoerebroet

*Oi* I didn't expect to be choosen with that picture.  Thank you and congratulations to everyone too!