FairyFantastic
Awesome
chair ;looks great eclark well done hun x
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Poser props in DS and some basic DS How-to
- Thread starter eclark1894
- Start date
The chair is looking quite good.
What happened that makes you think you broke Studio?
What happened that makes you think you broke Studio?
eclark1894
Visionary
Well, primarily the fact that I couldn't get out of full screen mode. I just quit and started anew. But as far as I can tell, I did save the prop. i can even load it in the scene. Still can't figure out how to change any thing like the color though. I can't even FIND the surfaces tab. I swear I don't see how there are people who think this is easier to understand than Poser's material room. Hell, at least I can FIND the material room. Look it's right there on that tab just as plain day..."Materials".
eclark1894
Visionary
Hey what do you know? I think I found the surfaces tab. I think the ambient level was set at 100 percent.
One thing about Daz Studio... there are a host of different interfaces/UI's available. It's highly customizable in terms of what tabs are "open" and what tabs are not, as well as where those tabs are placed, whether they're docked on the left, right, top of the screen, or left to float.
That being said... if for some reason you can't find a particular tab in your main interface, you can locate the tab from the menu at the top of the DS window, here :
By doing it this way, it will give you a floating tab to work with. I know some folks are okay with that, but for me, personally, I hate, HATE having a zillion little things floating around my screen and frankly, cluttering up my workspace and getting in the WAY.
So another way to open a tab, and this way, to have it DOCKED so it's placed somewhere convenient and not getting in your way is to RIGHT click along one of your tab rows, in an "empty/grey" space not currently occupied by a tab. This will ALSO bring up the Panes/Tabs menu, and you can select the tab you need. This time, when it opens, it will dock itself right in that row of panes :
Now, when done this second way, if you exit Studio normally (as in through the Exit menu option, not a task manager process-kill), then the next time you open Studio, the tab you added to your interface should still be present, and docked in the row of tabs with the others.
That being said... if for some reason you can't find a particular tab in your main interface, you can locate the tab from the menu at the top of the DS window, here :
By doing it this way, it will give you a floating tab to work with. I know some folks are okay with that, but for me, personally, I hate, HATE having a zillion little things floating around my screen and frankly, cluttering up my workspace and getting in the WAY.
So another way to open a tab, and this way, to have it DOCKED so it's placed somewhere convenient and not getting in your way is to RIGHT click along one of your tab rows, in an "empty/grey" space not currently occupied by a tab. This will ALSO bring up the Panes/Tabs menu, and you can select the tab you need. This time, when it opens, it will dock itself right in that row of panes :
Now, when done this second way, if you exit Studio normally (as in through the Exit menu option, not a task manager process-kill), then the next time you open Studio, the tab you added to your interface should still be present, and docked in the row of tabs with the others.
In regards to the UI setup and the layout of your DS window. I mentioned previously that there are multiple different UI/layout designs available for Studio. Those can be found by going up to the top of your DS window and clicking on Window --> Workspace --> Select Layout, as seen here :
You click on "Select Layout," and it will open a new options window :
In here, you can preview each layout option, and when you find one that you like, you just click the "Accept" button, and it will apply that UI to your DS window. Provided you exit the program normally, the next time you open Studio, it will open with whatever layout you chose.
I prefer to use the "City Limits" layout, as I really do have a preference for a larger scene window, and I like having all my tools tucked away on the sides and top, out of the way so they aren't floating all over the place.
Another UI customization is also found under the "Window" menu. That is the user Styles. These are color themes, as opposed to UI organization layouts. So if you don't like the bright whites of the default DS, you click on Window --> Style --> Select Style, which is seen here :
This will then bring up an options window, where you can select the colors you prefer for your interface. This only affects the colors and font style/sizes, NOT the arrangement of your UI elements :
By default, Studio has three Styles available to choose from. There are ways to create your own and save it for use, but I've never done that myself, and have no idea how it's done. The Darkside style is good enough to allow me to work without being blinded by bright colors.
Select the style you like, click the Accept button. Exit studio normally, and the next time it opens, it will open with your chosen Style in effect.
You click on "Select Layout," and it will open a new options window :
In here, you can preview each layout option, and when you find one that you like, you just click the "Accept" button, and it will apply that UI to your DS window. Provided you exit the program normally, the next time you open Studio, it will open with whatever layout you chose.
I prefer to use the "City Limits" layout, as I really do have a preference for a larger scene window, and I like having all my tools tucked away on the sides and top, out of the way so they aren't floating all over the place.
Another UI customization is also found under the "Window" menu. That is the user Styles. These are color themes, as opposed to UI organization layouts. So if you don't like the bright whites of the default DS, you click on Window --> Style --> Select Style, which is seen here :
This will then bring up an options window, where you can select the colors you prefer for your interface. This only affects the colors and font style/sizes, NOT the arrangement of your UI elements :
By default, Studio has three Styles available to choose from. There are ways to create your own and save it for use, but I've never done that myself, and have no idea how it's done. The Darkside style is good enough to allow me to work without being blinded by bright colors.
Select the style you like, click the Accept button. Exit studio normally, and the next time it opens, it will open with your chosen Style in effect.
I use the City Limits layout, with the Darkside style... I've also done my own customization as far as what tabs are placed where, but this is what my interface looks like every time I open Studio :
(Minus the contents in the viewport, anyway. Hiro 3 doesn't come out of his house much these days.)
I'll try to go over some of the stuff in the Surfaces tab now. Sorry for taking this long to get to it; we've had a kind of hectic day on this end.
(Minus the contents in the viewport, anyway. Hiro 3 doesn't come out of his house much these days.
)I'll try to go over some of the stuff in the Surfaces tab now. Sorry for taking this long to get to it; we've had a kind of hectic day on this end.
eclark1894
Visionary
Sorry to hear that, Seliah. Hope every thing is okay now. Hey, I even found some of the stuff I did before that I thought didn't take. Like Dawn's riding outfit and Dusk's Beach clothes. Doing a few baby props for Luna today, which is kind of wierd seeing as how I don't even have Luna. I just can't justify the cost of buying her since I rarely if ever do baby renders. Fortunately, I do have the Poser baby and Milbaby 3, and since props are non-figure specific, they'll do as stand-ins for Luna.
Doing a few baby props for Luna today, which is kind of wierd seeing as how I don't even have Luna. I just can't justify the cost of buying her since I rarely if ever do baby renders. Fortunately, I do have the Poser baby and Milbaby 3, and since props are non-figure specific, they'll do as stand-ins for Luna.
Okay... now that I've (tried, at least! LOL) to cover where to find tabs that you need - onto the toolbar and then the Surfaces tab...
In the above screen shot, you have the Surfaces tab, currently open on the right side. Part of it is seen here, part of it didn't make it into the crop.
Before I get into that, though, look up above the tab... up near the top of the DS window. There is a row of icons that ends with a camera. These are always visible in the interface, as far as I know, at least under the City Limits layout.
So, I'm going to just cover what each icon is, starting from the left and going across to the right.
1.) The first icon, which looks like a square of bricks, toggles keyboard navigation of the scene. This is the Keyboard Navigation tool. That is what you turn on or off if you want to move around the scene the way you would in a video game. If it's "lit" (showing as yellow), it's turned on. I guess mine is enabled, though I've never used those keys to move around my scene. With this enabled, you use the W, A, S, D, Q, and E keys to navigate left, forward, right, up, backward, and down in the scene. I, J, K, L, U, and O also allow for some looking around the scene, and the P key will "level" the scene in the viewport. This tool is activated and de-activated by clicking on it.
2.) The next icon is the Scene Navigator tool. You activate this by clicking on it (it will turn yellow, or "light up"), and you de-activate it by clicking on one of the other tools in the tool bar. This icon allows for a click-and-drag mouse navigation to rotate the view in the viewport in the same way as a first person video game would do it.
3.) The next icon, the arrow, is your Node Selection tool. This is a generic tool to click on things in the viewport and get them selected. I also find it helpful to have this tool active when I am posing small body parts, such as fingers or toes or eyes, as it removes the bounding box/arrows and such that the rotate and translation tools have, which can sometimes block your view of what you're posing when the parts are small. This tool is activated by clicking on it, and de-activated by clicking on a different tool in the toolbar.
4.) The next tool is the Universal manipulator tool. This allows for rotation, translation, and scale directly in the viewport without the need to go into the Parameters tab. This shows how each part of the Universal manipulator is used :
Basically, to use this, you left click on say, the arrow, and hold the mouse button in while dragging it, and the object/body part will translate (arrow), rotate (the small half-circles), or scale (the small boxes) along the axis selected. While dragging, the manipulator tool will disappear. Once you release the mouse button, the manipulator tool will reappear. This tool is selected by clicking on it in the tool box, and de-selected by choosing another tool from the tool bar.
5.) The next icon is the Rotate tool. This works in the same way as the Universal tool, but affects ONLY the rotations of the selected object or body part. This is selected by clicking on it, and de-selected by choosing another tool from the bar.
6.) The next item is the Translate tool. This works the same as the previous two tools, except that it affects ONLY the translations of the selected object or body part. Select it by clicking on it, de-select it by clicking on another tool from the toolbar.
7.) The next icon is the Scale tool. Same as the previous couple of tools, but it affects ONLY the scale of the selected object or body part. Select it by clicking on it, de-select it by choosing another tool.
8.) This next one that looks like a bone is the Posing tool. I find this tool more trouble than it's worth, so I never use it. But it's somehow supposed to aid with posing figures by click-and-pull/drag with the mouse in the viewport, rather than dial spinning in the Parameters tab. Somehow. I hate it and find it more a hindrance than anything else, so I don't use it. Ever. Select it by clicking on it, de-select it by choosing another tool.
9.) The next icon looks like an "M" in the tool bar. This is the AniMate tool. I think it's animation specific, which would by why I've never used it, as I don't do animations. Click on it to select, de-select it by choosing another tool off of the bar, and I have absolutely no idea what it's supposed to do. LOL
10.) This next one is your Surface Selection tool. This is a big one when you're working on materials in Studio. I use this one a LOT. What this does, is when selected, you use your mouse to click on things inside of the viewport, and it will select those surfaces. To select multiple surfaces at one time, press and hold the CTRL key, and then click on all the surfaces you want to select. Then, when you open your Surfaces tab, whatever changes you make, will be made to all the selected surfaces simultaneously. I love this tool. Select the tool by clicking on it, de-select it by clicking on a different tool.
11.) The next item, which looks like a human, is the Region Navigator tool. And now you know all I know about that one. I've never used it, and have no idea what it actually does. Select by clicking on it, de-select by choosing another tool.
12.) The next icon is the Joint Editor tool, and has to do with rigging, I would assume. Select it by clicking on it, de-select by choosing another tool.
13.) This next icon is the Node Weight Brush tool. Again, has to do with rigging, I would gather... but as I've never rigged by hand, I have no idea how it's actually supposed to be used. Same selection/de-selection process as the other tools.
14.) The next icon is the Geometry Editor tool. This has to do with altering the mesh, I think. Again, I've not delved this far into things myself yet, so I don't know how it's supposed to be used.
15.) This next icon looks like a camera with an arrow cursor in the upper right corner. This is the Spot Render tool. This is used the same way as you would use the spot render tool inside of Poser. Click and hold the left mouse button, drag to create the selection that you want to render, and release the mouse button to let Studio perform the spot render. Click on the tool to activate it, de-select it by choosing another tool.
16.) The next icon is what you click when you need to alter the settings for the tools. Click on it, and it will open an options box where you can edit the settings for all of the tools on the toolbar.
17.) And the final icon, the camera. This is just your Render tool. When you have everything set up in your scene and are ready to perform a render, you click the camera icon and the scene will render.
-------------------
The Surface tab will be the next post. I'm sorry if this seems a little tongue-in-cheek; I'm sure you probably can figure out what the tools are yourself, but I thought it was safest to just run down each tool in order just in case.
In the above screen shot, you have the Surfaces tab, currently open on the right side. Part of it is seen here, part of it didn't make it into the crop.
Before I get into that, though, look up above the tab... up near the top of the DS window. There is a row of icons that ends with a camera. These are always visible in the interface, as far as I know, at least under the City Limits layout.
So, I'm going to just cover what each icon is, starting from the left and going across to the right.
1.) The first icon, which looks like a square of bricks, toggles keyboard navigation of the scene. This is the Keyboard Navigation tool. That is what you turn on or off if you want to move around the scene the way you would in a video game. If it's "lit" (showing as yellow), it's turned on. I guess mine is enabled, though I've never used those keys to move around my scene. With this enabled, you use the W, A, S, D, Q, and E keys to navigate left, forward, right, up, backward, and down in the scene. I, J, K, L, U, and O also allow for some looking around the scene, and the P key will "level" the scene in the viewport. This tool is activated and de-activated by clicking on it.
2.) The next icon is the Scene Navigator tool. You activate this by clicking on it (it will turn yellow, or "light up"), and you de-activate it by clicking on one of the other tools in the tool bar. This icon allows for a click-and-drag mouse navigation to rotate the view in the viewport in the same way as a first person video game would do it.
3.) The next icon, the arrow, is your Node Selection tool. This is a generic tool to click on things in the viewport and get them selected. I also find it helpful to have this tool active when I am posing small body parts, such as fingers or toes or eyes, as it removes the bounding box/arrows and such that the rotate and translation tools have, which can sometimes block your view of what you're posing when the parts are small. This tool is activated by clicking on it, and de-activated by clicking on a different tool in the toolbar.
4.) The next tool is the Universal manipulator tool. This allows for rotation, translation, and scale directly in the viewport without the need to go into the Parameters tab. This shows how each part of the Universal manipulator is used :
Basically, to use this, you left click on say, the arrow, and hold the mouse button in while dragging it, and the object/body part will translate (arrow), rotate (the small half-circles), or scale (the small boxes) along the axis selected. While dragging, the manipulator tool will disappear. Once you release the mouse button, the manipulator tool will reappear. This tool is selected by clicking on it in the tool box, and de-selected by choosing another tool from the tool bar.
5.) The next icon is the Rotate tool. This works in the same way as the Universal tool, but affects ONLY the rotations of the selected object or body part. This is selected by clicking on it, and de-selected by choosing another tool from the bar.
6.) The next item is the Translate tool. This works the same as the previous two tools, except that it affects ONLY the translations of the selected object or body part. Select it by clicking on it, de-select it by clicking on another tool from the toolbar.
7.) The next icon is the Scale tool. Same as the previous couple of tools, but it affects ONLY the scale of the selected object or body part. Select it by clicking on it, de-select it by choosing another tool.
8.) This next one that looks like a bone is the Posing tool. I find this tool more trouble than it's worth, so I never use it. But it's somehow supposed to aid with posing figures by click-and-pull/drag with the mouse in the viewport, rather than dial spinning in the Parameters tab. Somehow. I hate it and find it more a hindrance than anything else, so I don't use it. Ever. Select it by clicking on it, de-select it by choosing another tool.
9.) The next icon looks like an "M" in the tool bar. This is the AniMate tool. I think it's animation specific, which would by why I've never used it, as I don't do animations.
Click on it to select, de-select it by choosing another tool off of the bar, and I have absolutely no idea what it's supposed to do. LOL10.) This next one is your Surface Selection tool. This is a big one when you're working on materials in Studio. I use this one a LOT. What this does, is when selected, you use your mouse to click on things inside of the viewport, and it will select those surfaces. To select multiple surfaces at one time, press and hold the CTRL key, and then click on all the surfaces you want to select. Then, when you open your Surfaces tab, whatever changes you make, will be made to all the selected surfaces simultaneously. I love this tool.
Select the tool by clicking on it, de-select it by clicking on a different tool.11.) The next item, which looks like a human, is the Region Navigator tool. And now you know all I know about that one.
I've never used it, and have no idea what it actually does. Select by clicking on it, de-select by choosing another tool.12.) The next icon is the Joint Editor tool, and has to do with rigging, I would assume. Select it by clicking on it, de-select by choosing another tool.
13.) This next icon is the Node Weight Brush tool. Again, has to do with rigging, I would gather... but as I've never rigged by hand, I have no idea how it's actually supposed to be used. Same selection/de-selection process as the other tools.
14.) The next icon is the Geometry Editor tool. This has to do with altering the mesh, I think. Again, I've not delved this far into things myself yet, so I don't know how it's supposed to be used.
15.) This next icon looks like a camera with an arrow cursor in the upper right corner. This is the Spot Render tool. This is used the same way as you would use the spot render tool inside of Poser. Click and hold the left mouse button, drag to create the selection that you want to render, and release the mouse button to let Studio perform the spot render. Click on the tool to activate it, de-select it by choosing another tool.
16.) The next icon is what you click when you need to alter the settings for the tools. Click on it, and it will open an options box where you can edit the settings for all of the tools on the toolbar.
17.) And the final icon, the camera. This is just your Render tool. When you have everything set up in your scene and are ready to perform a render, you click the camera icon and the scene will render.
-------------------
The Surface tab will be the next post.
I'm sorry if this seems a little tongue-in-cheek; I'm sure you probably can figure out what the tools are yourself, but I thought it was safest to just run down each tool in order just in case.
Sorry to hear that, Seliah. Hope every thing is okay now. Hey, I even found some of the stuff I did before that I thought didn't take. Like Dawn's riding outfit and Dusk's Beach clothes.
Yes, everything is fine, thanks. It was just really busy and I wound up out of the house more than in it, and on the road quite a bit today.
There's nothing wrong with baby props. LOL. They can be used for any kiddie figure anywhere. I've even been known to download some of the toon prop items to use as "toys" for my kiddie renders. ^_^
Great stuff Seliah...just wanted to add that if you load it as a floating tab you can also drag it and dock to the panes. Just like when you move tabs in Chrome. I normally just load it and then drag it to where I want to place it. Also when you have it set up how you want you can save the layout via Window/workspace iirc. Then if ever you muck it up it's easy to reload.
That's a good point, Pen... I keep forgetting about the drag and drop docking, mostly because it broke on my installation for some reason and I just haven't had the gumption to reinstall the bloody thing to fix it. LOL
Yes, I actually vastly preferred the drag and drop method for docking... but somehow it broke on my installation. It just does not work anymore, and I'm not sure what happened, when, or why. And I just haven't had the gumption or the time, to uninstall and reinstall 4.8 to fix it. At this point it's been broken so long that I just plum forgot about the drag-drop docking.
eclark1894
Visionary
Hey, Seliah, thanks again for all your time and patience. This post turned into quite a DS tutorialdidn't it? Which is why I'm going to ask Lisa B or Alisa to move it to the Software discussion Forum.
I suppose it did kind of turn into a tutorial thread, but that's okay, and you're quite welcome.
I don't mind doing it. I'd rather help someone figure out where things are and what does what, than see them flailing at their screen and hissing forever-curses at the program when I think I might be able to help. It'll probably be my turn to do the flailing when I dig into getting Nataani's Poser conversion done! LOLI ran out of steam last night, I'm afraid. I've only had about three hours of sleep here since then, so it may take me a little bit to get my brain engaged, but I'll try to cover at least some of the Surfaces tab for you today. Do you have a particular area in there that you need me to focus on? If not, I'll probably just do a general overview, and we can get to more specific things later on if you need it.
eclark1894
Visionary
I think a general overview will do. I'm not really interest in the Iray stuff yet, so preferably I would like you to concentrate on the 3Delight engine, but I won't complain if you decide to go into Iray.
THAT is not a problem at ALL. I'm a 3Delight-only artist, so I am NOT the one to talk to when it comes to Iray stuff in any case.