Art
scouseaphrenia_c6c3d26832
Posts: 74
in The Commons
What constitutes good digital art of the Daz Kind? I know there are composition rules but uploads on the gallery seem to be arbitrarily popular... Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?
This discussion has been closed.
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
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Probably lighting because of the value changes you can make with it?
In drawing it's underdrawings and in writing it's organized outlines. Underdrawings are how form is organized so you can keep refining the drawing with each draft and in writing organized outlines organize and keep track of everything and have their own drafts
What constitutes good digital art of the Daz Kind?
Doesn't matter what kind it is; it is either good art, or not good art. Obviously, art is subjective, but my first two statements still apply.
If can be great art, some of the classics couldn't be displayed in the gallery because they would not conform to the rules.
The rules about what can and can not be displayed have no bearing on something being art or not.
... And yes, beauty, is imo, in the eye of the beholder.
That's an interesting idea... cumulative revisions that produce better and better images. I'm only in this for the fun of it and looking for ways to better my efforts.
So the way forward is just to follow my muse...
Well, that depends on what your goal is. Far and away my best performing render in the Daz gallery is Private Commodus, where I reproduced a frame of Saving Private Ryan as an exercise in lighting. Following my muse and making renders that interest me and that I am actually proud of making rarely gets much of a reaction. If you're interested in doing big numbers in the Daz gallery, you definitely need to dial in your lighting and learn how to do artistic postwork, and probably focus more on portraits than more narrative scenes. If you're more interested in your own artistic fulfillment, do whatever moves you, and maybe people will like it, maybe they won't.
I suppose I'm just hoping for that elusive render that will tick all the boxes. I should just continue doing it for the pleasure of it.
That is a great image, nice work.
I have had a few images in the banner over the years, but more and more it seems to come down to 2 things in the DAZ gallery, lots of postwork (which I don't care for ) and popularity so I stopped uploading here.
do you recommend any other places?
The Daz Gallery is a poor place to try and measure artistic ability ... there are too many variables. Back when the gallery was more active you could see the posters who had a folloiwng, there were certains times of the week or month that were better than others (for instance, aiming around the bi-month daz pro model release). I had some incredibly complex images that did not fare well, some really simple, out-of-the-box items that did quite well, and some of my best ranked were items where I just took and object and showed what happened with different render engines or lighting - purely a technical / non-artistic item. Oh, and yes, you can say beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... easily down to certain genres or render styles, etc. Just keep working at developing your own skill. When you see something you really like, challenge yourself to try an dmake something like it just to help your own skill.
Yes, this is not a game with rigid rules. For most people it is a recreational activity, with satisfaction being derived from various things - the use of skills, the creation of content and then showing it off, the inventive use of third-party content to achieve an effect, the technical results, the aesthetic results, the narrative results - while for others it is an adjunct to something else - ilustrating their stories, for example - and for still others it is a job. There is no one true path, nor any one true measure of worth
there's so much more to this than meets the eye then. A whole world to explore.
That is properly one of the best explanations i ever heard on what constitute as good art. very well put
I would wholeheartedly recommend sending what you consider your best or most favourite render to Matt Belshaw, aka Thundorn, and ask him to review it. There are some rules to follow with your submission which you can find on his website. Nothing too complicated, apart from the recommended format, I would say anything that passes for Daz Gallery passes there (no too naughty or gory stuff, etc.).
Among many other very useful videos on his Youtube channel, he reviews a few renders every couple of weeks, explaining what he thinks could be improved and why. I sent a render of mine to him and I got some very valuable advice:
DeviantArt and if you have any supremely great stuff, ArtStation. I only put my absolute best on ArtStation.
It's good art every time I sell something. :-)
+1 This is so true... good art is not always popular, whereas popular art is not always good. Also, a good artist knows when to say enough is enough and stop working on an image - it's very easy to ruin by overwork.
+1 Great work!
I've unfortunately come to a similar conclusion. I can't really speak about the popularity, but it definitely seems that effective postwork, and often extensive postwork, makes a huge difference for the gallery here!!
My current favorite gallery is DiviantArt. It's a huge community that draws people with a lot of different interests, not just 3D. It does take a bit of work to "get noticed" on DA, Yo get a lot more feedback there because they also record how many times your image has been viewed. DA has a lot of people who just enjoy looking at images, and don't make art..I also tend to look at the accounts of people who favorite my images. This really helps to judge how/where my work is being accepted. For example, if an image gets a favorite by someone who seems to prefer digital painting or photography, I consider that a huge compliment and an indication that my images are bridging gaps (or a least that's my story and I'm sticking to it).
I'm not a very good artist, but a pretty good technician.I've had four images make it to the top banner here. In general, if an image gets more than 10 favorites here I consider it a success! I was trying really hard to make images good enough to make it to the top banner here for a while. Due to lack of success (and not placing in several contests) I had no desire to make images for a while. Then it dawned on me that I was trying to fit a round peg in a square hole, and lost all inspiration. I went back to making the images ("art??") that inspires me, and not only found satisfaction, but an increased interest from people on DeviantArt. To give an example for differences between the two galleries, the last image I posted at the gallery here got 8 favorites, the same image has 98 favorites and over 4,000 views at DA. Now I'm not trying to it's good, just that the response to it was much different on DA. The important thing is that I enjoyed making it, and that many people on DA obviously enjoyed seeing it.
As for improving, I don't have a lot of answers, I try to improve with every image. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes (based on responses) I fall flat on my face. I use art that I like and is a style I can achieve as inspiration and training (trying to mimic elements that I really like). I do know that trying to make images in a style or genre that you don't enjoy will make it a lot less fun. Follow your muse, do what you really like/enjoy. Actively compare your work to the work of others that you really like/admire, and you will improve (and study their work). There are seeral people here, and a lot of people on DA who are willing to help you improve if your open to honest criticism.
I also post on DeviantArt, and one of the funniest things to me is the difference in reaction my work gets on the two platforms. The things that do well on DA rarely do well in the Daz gallery, and vice versa (specifically, most of my followers on DA are centaur/mermaid fetishists). I've also done a number of commissions for DA followers, and would consider commissioned work coming from the Daz gallery unlikely, because I can't imagine that many people look at the Daz gallery who are not themselves users of Daz, specifically DS.
...as others mentioned I also post on DA. been doing so since 1007 when I was still posting scans of sketches and photomanips (before I got into 3D)
I sort of feel my better work is behind me which was rendered in 3DL. I feel it allowed for a lot more "in render" effects that cannot be done in Iray (particularly motion blur). The few works I have in the gallery here were rendered in 3DL.
Still poking around at Iray but in some ways I feel it doesn't give the flexibility that 3DL did I also don' t do much postwork as I don't have a steady hand for digital painting nor am able to use a tablet. My drafting skill has taking a bigger and bigger hit as years go on.
I remember the old Galleries here where you had to put your best foot forward to have a submission posted. As a reward and incentive, submissions accepted offered one a credit voucher. Looking through the galleries was also not as much of a chore as it is today and works weren't immediately "buried" shortly after submission (also a situation at DA which has worldwide participation).
Wow, I guess DeviantArt is a lot older than I thought it was.
...oy shouldn't be watching news and typing at the same time.
(2007).
Devianart seem good start if you`re using DAZ Studio a lot , but honestly it doesnt matter because some peoples I`m following also have awesome 2D arts or Smart enough to tell stories using simple shape or objects . Interaction with artist you`re admiring seem easier in DA than in more serious places like ARTSTATION .
And above all that I`m just happy in there because DA help me land some freelance gigs LOL
All very interesting comments. Thanks for all the suggestions! More musing ahead...
Does make one wonder what sorts of computers could have existed in the 10th century, though.
...abacus.
64-megalith stone circles.
there is not such a thing called good art
craftsmanship: yes
art: no
Yes. Always.
There are 3 different things that make any piece of art "good" - #1) if you can sell it, it's good art; #2) if other people like it, it's good art - the more people who like it, the better the art is; #3) if it gives you, personally, joy and/or satisfaction, it's good art. The BEST art, is art that you sell for a fortune, that is so popular that it is famous, and that gives you profound joy and satisfaction.