The issue with most DAZ Studio male characters: no bones

msep_aec684d3fd

In trying to render characters, I have repeatedly found that male characters tend to be the least convincing. The reason is quite simple--no bones. Most DAZ figures look rubbery in part because the human body is not just comprised of muscle and fat but also of bony areas visible on the surface. This issue is present in female DAZ characters as well but isn't as noticeable due to expectations about the female appearance being softer. Men typically have more prominent bone structure. In a human male face, the bony ridges of the skull along the side of the brow, under the brow line, along the side of the nose, along the clearly visible bottom of the eye socket, etc., are missing from most DAZ figures. It is especially around the eyes where male figures fail, especially in views from the back of head, where the featureless mass of the brow and eye region have no landmarks of underlying structure. This situation also appears to be the case with the Genesis 9 figures judging from the images I've seen. It would probably be difficult or impossible to simulate these bony surfaces due to the nature of 3D figures being made of mesh and not organic material. Bones in the upper face don't move, but a 3D figure's facial expressions require areas of the mesh to move, so even artificially simulated bony areas would change positions in unnatural ways. Just an observation. 

memcneil70

Check out Elijah 7. Very bony and rangy character.

nonesuch00

There is an emanciated dial if you buy the "body morphs" products for G8 &, soon enough, G9.

I think that the bones and muscles are overplayed in DAZ models for reasons of avoiding uncanny valley. Especially in the face as those always almost look like folk at 10% or less body fat and between 30 & 50 and "professionally fit". I understand though why they'd do that for realism to hide that modeling realistic wrinkles and fat is not really possible without adding a whole other two of three sets of trigged morphs to move with poses and expressions to position the fat & wrinkles as appropriate. They have definately improved that sort of thing in Genesis 9 though.