Book Cover Designer
dakotapadgett
Posts: 0
in The Commons
Hello! I am currently studying book cover design as a hobby and I know that a lot of designers are using this program for 3d models. It can be really hard to find great poses with stock image alone. As I'm very new to Daz and the 3d world, I was wondering if there's a place that 3d artists are selling their art or if I would need to learn to make the models myself? Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, I'm just genuinely new to this.
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Designers buy 3D assets (characters, clothes, poses, places, etc) from Daz (and other stores), use those assets to create a 3D scene in Daz Studio, and render 2D images of that scene, which can be used for book covers.
I can only add, if you acquire some pose packages, then it is much easier to customize them for your needs, than start from the scratch.
You have already thousands of ready made models available here at daz3d.com store and most of them are highly customizable.
I use DAZ to make artworks and I sell them on Fiverr,
Okay, thank you! I will try learning the program and making some myself. I've just seen so many designers using the models lately that I thought maybe they were buying them already made. I appreciate your responses!
I'm not sure how you meant that... DAZ Studio itself isn't actually a modeling program... it's more of a sophisticated(ish) "studio" for setting up scenes using 3D assets (models) and rendering them as still images or animations.
You can use Hexagon or Blender (or any of a number of dedicated modeling programs) to create your own assets to use in DAZ Studio, but depending on what images you are looking create, there is a good chance you can find the items here or other stores that sell DAZ / Poser assets... there is even a ton of quirky unique stuff at ShareCG that works with DAZ Studio.
Remember there are no dumb questions... any question asked is seeking a right answer which is a smart thing to do.
Well, technically, there are dumb people who ask questions, so the question they asked is probably based on something pretty stupid, so I guess that kinda makes the question kinda dumb too... I guess technically there are dumb questions...
But your question wasn't dumb.
Incidentally, there's a similar thread on a this topic stretching over fifty (!) pages that you might find of interest.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/57390/book-covers/p1
Hopefully you'll find much useful information there as well (though please note that the OP, Kathryn Loch, passed away some time ago.)
Oh, that's really sad. I wonder, how many interesting threads, I have not approached yet on Daz Forums.
Yes, I have similar approach, to the different kind of questions , but your further explanation is both wise and hilarious.
It can be tough to try to create artwork good enough for book covers when you're first learning how to use a program like Daz Studio. Depositphotos and Shutterstock both sell 3D renders created by Daz Studio enthusiast. Some are better than others. Search by the type of figure you're looking and ad 3d render to the search term. For example: fantasy woman 3d render
You'll get lots of hits. Depositphotos is probably the cheapest way to go if you can take advantage of the deal Appsumo is currently running. I believe it expires in 5 days. You get 100 credits that don't expire for a reasonable price. Otherwise you'll have to deal with whatever the subscription plans either Depositphotos or Shutterstock has of which I think Shutterstock is the more expensive one. But both certainly have subscription plans. I'm not sure if you can just buy individual credits or not. I usually just do the Appsumo deals when they come out.
You'll find a mix of images on both stock sites, some with backgrounds and some on a whilte background. I think both sites only deal in jpgs so nothing with transparent backgrounds unfortunately. However, learning to remove backgrounds is a great skill to master when dealing with book covers.
The thread for book covers in the Art Studio that was linked above is also a great resource. There are lots of tips in there. There are also a couple of good Facebook groups that deal with cover design for beginners. Just search for Book Cover Design 101 or Beginners. They'll probably pop up.
Good luck!
A great deal is going to depend on who you are publising through. I don't know about ePubs, which are certain to have different requirements, but if you are intending an image for print, be prepared to have a raster image editor available for postwork. Postwork will be necessary. Some publishers require that covers be submitted in CMYK rather than RGB, and you will need to convert them.
I can also remember a particularly frustrating episode regarding a cover that was being submitted to LSI (LightningSource) where I was using an image that the client provided and it was next to impossible to get the colors to comply with their limitation of no more than 240% ink coverage.
When you are working in CMYK it is surprisingly easy to end up with colors which require more than 240% coverage from the four color fountains of a printing press to produce.
As for looking at free things at places like ShareCG, be aware that some freebies come with a non-commercial-only limitation on their usage, which would (probably?) preclude using those items in a book cover if the book is meant to be purchased (rather than the book being offered as a freebee itself.)
When you get the Daz program, you get the base models for Genesis 2, 3 & 8 male and female versions, for free, with the program. You also get some clothes for all of them, as well as some scene's to start you off and to practice with as you learn the program. There are many products you can buy or get for free depending on where you look. Daz, Renderosity and other sites also have christmas giveaways and sometimes for halloween as well. You might want to check out most digial creations for poses, he has tons of them for free.
There are many people and sites where you can find information on how to use Daz. I recommend the forums here and Fantasy Attic, as well as some youtube Channels like WP Guru.
Any render you make is your's, no matter what you used to make the render. What can not be done is distribute and/or sell non commercial items in any way, shape or form. So they are safe to use as book covers without any trouble, though do suggest giving credit, it's only fair.
No. Nobody can give you rights they do not have themselves. If they say "non-commercial" that IS what it means, no making money with renders made using those particular freebies.
As well, some freebie makers will make their free product(s) available for use commercially IF an additional license is purchased from them. Those individuals normally state that information pretty clearly.
It's not just characters. A lot of free stuff incorporates company logos that are trademarks of the respective companies. The artist gives them with a non comercial license, but if you try to use them commercially, you could get a nasty letter from a corporate lawyer.
Yup. Or stuff from popular franchise-fiction. Insert a Star Wars droid or insert the Starship Enterprise into your commercial image and you'll likely get Disney and CBS, respectively, breathing down your neck.
There are book cover artists making use of Daz Studio for their artwork. The figures {Genesis clans} that come with Daz Studio plus their character morphs that are sold in the Daz3D store can be used for commercial 2D artwork with no problems. To pose them, there are "many" pose packages available plus individual morph packages to further enhance your characters, making them 'your' characters.
For eg.: https://www.daz3d.com/200-plus-head-and-face-morphs-bundle-for-genesis-8-female-s-and-male-s
Hey! There are a fair number of renderers who have a store for rendered assets, ready to use for book cover an game art. I have one, for example. Link in signature (Kick-Ass Reder Stock).
Oh, and I use my own renders in a lot of my own book cover designs. Always awesome to be able to make exactly what you want ;-)
