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Torrie Wolf's DAZ Intro to DAZ course -- recommendations pro and con?

rnollmanrnollman Posts: 310
in The Commons

Anybody have any comments on this course? I don't mind spending the $97, because I am completely frustrated. I am impressed with the samples of her (his?) work because they represent the kind of images that I want to create and show a high level of sophistication.

Every so often I get excited about getting back into DAZ Studio,thinking that I can overcome the steep learning curve with the many new products that make it easier. However, I end up going down the same rathole of just not being able to make the leap from what I see in the promo ads and what it takes to actually produce that kind of quality result.

I tried hiring a tutor online and that was a disaster. I tried the DAZ tutorials and found that I with every tutorial that I got to some point in the tutorial where the things in the tutorial did not match up with what I was seeing in my DAZ application. And because there were not adequate explanations to that point, I was lost, and could not go on. And simply loading a character and trying to put clothes on it can be a daunting experience. I attempted to do this with Aiko 6 and failed miserably. I do not want to give up again, but I once again find myself at the crossroads. The problem is that there are not very many useful tutorials that provide the reader/viewer with a complete enough understanding of DAZ Studio, even at a basic level. DAZ Studio's design is just too complex with too many moving parts.

I guess the bottom-line is that I see the promo images for products that I want to buy and get really excited, only to find out that to create those promo images takes a very high degree of skill. What I have found is that in the 2D world, with products like Photoshop, most of the tutorials can be followed and the results produced relatively easily (for example, understanding layers and masks). I have not found that to be true in DAZ Studio.

I want to use DAZ Studio to create images as a starting point for paintings in acrylic. There are so many enticing products in the DAZ marketplace with beautifully rendered images in the promo ads. However, in many of the promo ads, the products that were used to created the promo images are listed. The list is often 10  to 20 products long. And looking at the additional products that were actually used in the creation of the promo ad is an education in itself and has helped me to understand the categories of products that must be mastered (such as environments and lighting products) to create images the mimic the quality of the promo ads. I keep thinking it is doable, but I wonder if that is just a pipedream. Add to this the fact that to create the quality of images in the promo ads, you need to buy lots of other products, which also have other required products. I have no problem buying the required products, but hesitate because I do not have eny idea if it is realistic to assume that simply buying the products will end up with my producing the same quality result.

What I am looking for is a tutorial or course that leads the viewer by the hand, step-by-step, in doing projects with a defined result. I am hoping that Torrie Wolf course is designed this way -- a course that helps the viewer to incorporate more complex aspects of DAZ Studio with each new project.

My feeling is that once I have been through that process with multiple projects, it can reduce the learning curve substantially. If you can recommend the Torrie Wolf course, I would appreciate it. If you cannot, can you suggest some other regimen of courses that would be helpful to reduce the learning curve and get me up to speed relatively (?) quickly. 

The DAZ user interface is IMHO, overwhelming to a new user. I have read comments by expert DAZ content creators that it takes from six to twelve months to become somewhat proficient using DAZ. I am beginning to wonder if the journey is worth it. I have started the journey in the past, and each time, roadblocks have forced me to give up.

Comments

  • lilweeplilweep Posts: 2,561

     

    rnollman said:

    Anybody have any comments on this course? I don't mind spending the $97, because I am completely frustrated. I am impressed with the samples of her (his?) work because they represent the kind of images that I want to create and show a high level of sophistication.

    Every so often I get excited about getting back into DAZ Studio,thinking that I can overcome the steep learning curve with the many new products that make it easier. However, I end up going down the same rathole of just not being able to make the leap from what I see in the promo ads and what it takes to actually produce that kind of quality result.

    I tried hiring a tutor online and that was a disaster. I tried the DAZ tutorials and found that I with every tutorial that I got to some point in the tutorial where the things in the tutorial did not match up with what I was seeing in my DAZ application. And because there were not adequate explanations to that point, I was lost, and could not go on. And simply loading a character and trying to put clothes on it can be a daunting experience. I attempted to do this with Aiko 6 and failed miserably. I do not want to give up again, but I once again find myself at the crossroads. The problem is that there are not very many useful tutorials that provide the reader/viewer with a complete enough understanding of DAZ Studio, even at a basic level. DAZ Studio's design is just too complex with too many moving parts.

    I guess the bottom-line is that I see the promo images for products that I want to buy and get really excited, only to find out that to create those promo images takes a very high degree of skill. What I have found is that in the 2D world, with products like Photoshop, most of the tutorials can be followed and the results produced relatively easily (for example, understanding layers and masks). I have not found that to be true in DAZ Studio.

    I want to use DAZ Studio to create images as a starting point for paintings in acrylic. There are so many enticing products in the DAZ marketplace with beautifully rendered images in the promo ads. However, in many of the promo ads, the products that were used to created the promo images are listed. The list is often 10  to 20 products long. And looking at the additional products that were actually used in the creation of the promo ad is an education in itself and has helped me to understand the categories of products that must be mastered (such as environments and lighting products) to create images the mimic the quality of the promo ads. I keep thinking it is doable, but I wonder if that is just a pipedream. Add to this the fact that to create the quality of images in the promo ads, you need to buy lots of other products, which also have other required products. I have no problem buying the required products, but hesitate because I do not have eny idea if it is realistic to assume that simply buying the products will end up with my producing the same quality result.

    What I am looking for is a tutorial or course that leads the viewer by the hand, step-by-step, in doing projects with a defined result. I am hoping that Torrie Wolf course is designed this way -- a course that helps the viewer to incorporate more complex aspects of DAZ Studio with each new project.

    My feeling is that once I have been through that process with multiple projects, it can reduce the learning curve substantially. If you can recommend the Torrie Wolf course, I would appreciate it. If you cannot, can you suggest some other regimen of courses that would be helpful to reduce the learning curve and get me up to speed relatively (?) quickly. 

    The DAZ user interface is IMHO, overwhelming to a new user. I have read comments by expert DAZ content creators that it takes from six to twelve months to become somewhat proficient using DAZ. I am beginning to wonder if the journey is worth it. I have started the journey in the past, and each time, roadblocks have forced me to give up.

    I googled Torrie Wolf's DAZ Intro to DAZ course​ and nothing came up, if that helps.

    Anyway, I'm poor so just watched youtube videos. And also dumb, and found some helpful.

    I dont know about course/regimen, but if you just immerse yourself in various youtube videos im sure it will all click into place? Parmy Baddhan has some aimed at new beginners.

     

    i also question the value of making something in Daz and then painting it, but whatever, that's between you and your 'process' i guess.

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,850
    edited October 2020

    I hadn't heard of the course so  I copy/pasted your thread heading into search and found a Tonnie Wolf course on shift.  The images are okay. You could certainly buy a lot of content for $97. There are plenty of tutorials for free on the net. The single most important thing to learn is LIGHTING. Classic portrait - Photographic lighting. Light shadow composition.  If you under stand the principle of lighting your artistic compositions will be better. You don't have to pay for that knowledge.  It is out there. Learn how to create your own lighting setups,  that will take your artistic creations to the next level.

    Post edited by FirstBastion on
  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,489
    edited October 2020

    Do you mean "Intro to Daz Studio with Tonnie Wolfe" (at shiftart.com)?

    I have no experience of it myself, but if you correct the name in your thread title you may get some more replies. (I had to try several google searches to find it)

    ETA: Oops, FirstBastion beat me to it by a few minutes!

     

     

    Post edited by MelanieL on
  • SummerhorseSummerhorse Posts: 684

    I know many artists who can't afford live models, that use Daz to get porportions and play with perspective and composition before making a painting.

    You don't need a perfect render to work with for painting- but using photoshop actions to change the render is key. If you are doing figures, I suggest getting a few good lighting sets ( Boss lights is a great one with good tutorials on how to use it  https://www.daz3d.com/boss-pro-light-set-for-portraits-promos) and then watch photoshop tutorials on U tube  ( to get familiar with it) you should then be able to get all the information into your render that you need to paint from.

  • lilweeplilweep Posts: 2,561
    edited October 2020
    MelanieL said:

    Do you mean "Intro to Daz Studio with Tonnie Wolfe" (at shiftart.com)?

    I have no experience of it myself, but if you correct the name in your thread title you may get some more replies. (I had to try several google searches to find it)

    ETA: Oops, FirstBastion beat me to it by a few minutes!

    Actually you still win for spelling the full name correctly.

    Post edited by lilweep on
  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,850
    lilweep said:
    MelanieL said:

    Do you mean "Intro to Daz Studio with Tonnie Wolfe" (at shiftart.com)?

    I have no experience of it myself, but if you correct the name in your thread title you may get some more replies. (I had to try several google searches to find it)

    ETA: Oops, FirstBastion beat me to it by a few minutes!

    Actually you still win for spelling the full name correctly.

    And we all win with the effort of helping each other!

  • TheKDTheKD Posts: 2,703

    And we all lose because it's 2020 :P

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