can you explain more about the daz studio thing? costs and stuff etc thanks so much

bloodydamnit:

Yes! Okay. So I’ll split it up. 

What is Daz?

• Daz is a free, 3d rendering program. It is an extremely powerful program that can cross many different platforms such as zbrush, maya, marvelous designer, the list literally goes on. 

Costs?

• The base program is 100% free. It already comes with a good amount of things to get you started. Anything extra like special clothes, hair, figures, etc, you can buy from the Daz Studio Shop or other websites like Renderosity. (or you can make them yourself, if you know how. i’ve dappled in making clothes but beyond that, i’m blind)

Pretty fuckin sweet. I know. 

Now, if you see yourself committing to this program and really diggin in like I have, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BECOMING A PLATINUM MEMBER (PC+) on their website. I have saved SO MUCH FUCKING MONEY from doing this. It’s literally not a cashgrab (well it is) when they say that it literally pays for itself. IT FUCKING DOES. 

Again, any extras cost. but the actual base program DOES come with a good handful of things that can get you started. So long as you’re creative, you can actually end up creating a lot of dope things just from the base program. 

Learning curve?

• Ho ho ho yes. But once you figure it out, its an extremely simple program. But it will take a while to learn. Once you do, its so rewarding.

Anything to be aware of? Yes.

• This program takes up a LOT of space on your computer. For me, my laptop (with everything I’ve bought, created, and was making with large photoshop files and downloads for this program) could not handle it. So just keep in mind, if you are planning to commit, this takes up a LOT of memory. 
• with that being said, if you are just using it for its base uses, you’ll be perfectly fine on a standard laptop/computer. 

And just as some extras for those that want to get started, here are some of my most versatile and favorite pacts – along with what i use them for. Keep in mind that the shop literally has sales every single day. If something I list is not on sale when you look at it, i guarentee it will be sometime during the month. ALSO, renderosity has a lot of clothes and other things for a lot cheaper than the official shop. However, downloading these things can be a bit difficult.*

Also, keep in mind, these things I suggest are because I end up painting all of my renders and changing things around. These are what I find to be the most versatile when it comes to references while I paint.

***Daz = automatic 30% off discount with membership. its. worth. it. also when daz goes on sale for everyone else, thats usually an extra 25% off. so with a membership and during the sale, things can go from 55%-65% off. its worth it. dont buy things on impulse. every single creator, even outside of daz, goes on sale. so literally, just wait. i guarentee within the next month that artist will pop up. 

Here are some of my favorites from the official shop ( these will be split into ‘male’ and ‘female’. It’s just how it is on the website to make it easier for you to navigate this list): 

Figures: 

• Drusilla (f)
• my favorite skin pack for characters. There are ways to change skintone, etc. which I can explain in a video. but there are such beautiful colors in this skin. it is absolutely ridiculous. Beautiful reds and it renders like a god damned dream. I use this for males and females. 
• Molly HD (f)
• Another gorgeous skin pack. I use it for males and females. It also has a ‘no eyebrows’ option, which Drusilla does not. Very very handy, especially with their ‘fibermesh’ eyebrows and shape options. 
• Michael 7 & 8 (m)   DAZ
• I end up using this a lot. Though I will admit – mainly for the body it comes with. YOU DO NOT NEED IT. AND IT WILL GO ON SALE
• Darius 8 (m)  DAZ
• Beautiful darker skintone. I got this so I can use – THIS WILL GO ON SALE AS WELL. 
• Tyrone for Darius 8 (m)  DAZ
• STUNNING skin for dark skinned characters. Comes with a lot of amazing options. Highly recommend. 
• Genesis 8 UV Swap – Male / Female skins
• HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 
• Allows you to use female/male skins on opposite figures. this expands sooooo many possibilities. I personally prefer female skins over the male. they’re usually more luminous when painting. 

Figure Shapes:

• 200 Plus Head and Face Morphs for Genesis 8 Male and Female Bundle
• you need this in order to customize characters. 
• You can also buy them separately. 
• Genesis 8 Male Body Morphs  DAZ
• You need this, and the female one, to customize character shape. 
• Genesis 8 Female Body Morphs  DAZ

Hair:

there are so many. here are just some of my favorites and most customizable, imo

• Backlight Shader for Iray
• highly HIGHLY recommend for hair color. 
• Osher Hair M  DAZ
• I use this constantly. Very customizable. I’ve used this for laurent, dorian, oc characters, andrew, the list literally goes on. 
• Morley Hair M DAZ
• Also very customizable. Use this constantly for Neil. 
• Short Wet Hair Genesis 8 (m/f)
• HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Not only does this come with wet hair, but it also comes with wet skin. I used this for my Mermay painting. highly, highly recommend. 
• this will also go on sale. just keep an eye out. 
• Perrin Hair Genesis 3 & 8 (f) DAZ
• I use this along with the next hair all the time. (can make a tutorial on that, if yall want patreon)
• very versatile, comes with loads of different styling options
• Linda Pony Tail Genesis 3 & 8 (f)
• use this constantly. pretty versatile. it’s good for a front base and using any other ponytail option from other pacts (like braids, etc)
• ALSO GOES ON SALE ALL THE TIME. JUST WATCH OUT FOR THEM.
• other hairs by this maker are always amazing. 
• Pascale Genesis 3, 8 (f)
• AMAZING CURLY HAIR. I CONSTANTLY use this for a lot of my oc characters. 
• AGAIN. WAIT FOR THEIR SALE. JUST KEEP CHECKING ON THEM. 
• Classic Side Part (m/f) Daz
• I use this all the time for male characters. I’ve used it many times for Andrew. 

Clothes are completely up to you. most things are highly customizable with a few tricks. so i’m not going to list specific packs. but look out for ‘dforce’. dforce is a software (idk what its called) that daz studio uses to conform the clothing to the figures body under the ‘simulate’ tab. can be a bit tricky but highly rewarding. also when looking for clothing, make sure its compatible with the figure in order to make it look the best. (genesis 8 – genesis 8, genesis 3 – genesis 3, etc. i can make a video in the future to show how to make those things cross)

Accessories – same thing. just depends on what you would like.

as well as Environments. some things come with more than most. I would look on the ‘product pages’ for everything you look up. see what it comes with. and think ‘can i use this for something else in the future?’

Lighting: 

Not NECESSARY but i feel make the render look best. these are my favs –

• ElianeCK Iray Dramatic Light Volume 2
• Fast Production Lights for Iray

*I AM THINKING ABOUT MAKING A PATREON. On there, I can make Daz tutorials, painting tutorials, etc. Because I find a lot of videos online are literally so long winded with all these fancy ass terms that I literally ended up just slaving away and figuring everything out on my own. So if yall would like that, let me know!