United3dArtists Archive

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 22 Apr 2014, 02:52

From Storyteller's idea here.

This be a slow project, probably. I think I'll texture a Daz character or use one as a base to spread leaves on for a plant-person and make a throne with Ivy Generator and the technique I used for the bench or "Q-tip" columns in Golden Age. Likely with a Bryce background or HDRI for rendering in Daz.

Step one: install Daz on my new computer.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 22 Apr 2014, 15:44

Wow. I installed the 64bit version of Daz on my new computer. Fast!

The plan so far is to have a stump throne with an arc of trees behind it, resembling a manufactured throne, with a humanoid character on it. This will be in a meadow with Spring flowers and and such. The character will be made of leaves or vines or maybe flowers.

There could be an area of the picture representing Winter in the distance. I thought about using symbols or figures representing Ullr and Odin or Demeter and Persephone but I'll use a figure unrelated to mythology and leave out the winter.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 25 Apr 2014, 04:24

I can't change the UV of a Bryce tree trunk in Hexagon or Daz. I did that before on my old computer. That might mean rendering in Bryce but I want to render in Daz.

I'll try running Hexagon in win 7 compatibility mode.

Edit: Compatibility mode for XP: the UV's still don't look right and I have to modify the mesh (sds etc.) before UV works at all and I can't close the holes in the shape either (crashes). The close tool works fine on other shapes and worked before on my old machine on Bryce trees. In early versions of Banquet Hall, I exported trees from Bryce as obj, imported into Hexagon and modified, then sent to Daz. I really want to render in Daz but Bryce is good too. I'd try Kerkythea but I don't know it that well and I'm saving learning time for Blender. Bryce to Daz bridge does not work.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 26 Apr 2014, 15:39

I used Hexagon's tool to merge vertices at identical locations. That greatly reduced the number of vertices. The edge and poly count stayed the same. Then the close (closes holes) tool worked and the UV tools worked better.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 27 Apr 2014, 17:57

I got a Bryce tree into Daz with good results. Process:

Export tree from Bryce as obj with 100% trunk resolution.
Import into Hexagon, merge identical verticies, decimate (polygon reduction) trunk and leaves to much lower poly counts, export as obj.
Import into trueSpace (with LUUV plugin), apply cubic UV to trunk, export as obj.
Import into Daz, texture, render.

I wasn't going to install TS on my new computer unless needed to convert some cob files or get things from scenes. But Hexagon's UV wasn't suitable.

This tree has 70K polys. I couldn't use SSS or translucency on the leaves because they have no thickness. Hexagon's thickness tool doesn't work on the leaves. I gave them a little transparency for a similar effect. Render time 1.5 minutes with distant (parallel) light and HDRI/GI (uber environment light).

The plan now is to make an arc of 3 or 4 trees with roots or branches or probably vines creating a throne seat between them. A stump throne seems like one for Winter. A plant man built from a Daz character will sit on it. An HDRI sphere made in Bryce will be the background. Plant Studio for some flowers and grassy plants. Ivy Generator for vines.

Draise · Post by **Draise** » 27 Apr 2014, 18:55

I want to make a tree, lovely tree you got there.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 28 Apr 2014, 16:19

Thanks Draise!

Spring is a teenager full of energy and action. He would not sit on his throne. He would stand ready for action at any moment or leap and run and play around it.

Although I want to avoid TS, it is time to move to other software, I might use its geometry paint to apply leaves and flowers to Spring. He won't have a texture like this but will be 3D objects. Maybe vines. I decided to make his throne less obviously a throne and not confining like a big chair. There will be some grassy plants and flowers making a low back behind it. I'll make a few different kinds of trees for the foreground.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 03 May 2014, 23:03

I added some plants from Plant Studio. Then I got Plant Factory PLE and used a tree from it. Plant Factory looks good. The tree is 16Mb as an obj. The leaves can be objects or billboards. This one had leaf objects with a shape and also used leaf textures with transparency. A little of both. I exported with single sided polygons. It might look different with double sided.

Plant Factory starter tutorial http://youtu.be/JzjAy1EbQvU

Rendered in Daz. Render time about 2.25 minutes. Bryce tree on left, Plant Studio plants in middle, Plant Factory tree on right.

Edit: I found that the tree has geometry for leaves. The PLE version (free) of Plant Factory omits 1 in 5 polygons from exported meshes and that has a large effect on the leaf shape. PF plants

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 08 May 2014, 04:39

Needs terrain. I'll get that from Bryce. Daz render about 20 minutes. Fifteen minutes of that was in the upper right in the tree leaves. Have to check the texture.

Any ideas for ways to represent Spring with a humanoid figure? Leaves? Flowers? Fur? I spread leaves on a simplified Daz figure to make Spring using the Particulator plug-in from Cool Powers 2 in TS 7.6 model side. He needs a different pose so it is obvious he is a humanoid.

Daz is 64 bit but the memory use leveled at 2.6 GB and cpu use a little over 50%. I tested that 7+ GB could be used by running 11 instances of Bryce rendering and some videos at the same time. I want programs to use available resources to go faster.

Draise · Post by **Draise** » 10 May 2014, 15:31

I like what you did with the leaves in your character! How did the Cool Powers plugin work, what did it do?

Concerning Spring, I would think there would be.. more blossoms?

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 10 May 2014, 19:08

Particulator plug-in places copies of an object on the vertices of another object. There are several controls for randomness etc.

More flowers in the finished picture. Flowers on the Spring character? That might help.

spacekdet · Post by **spacekdet** » 10 May 2014, 21:22

Makes me think of the Green Man.

froo · Post by **froo** » 11 May 2014, 23:01

Pretty cool, Finis.
Y'know... since I'm in Colorado and all... a variation of this could be.... wait for it...

Marijuana Man!

Yeah it's legal here; I'm not 'in the group', though.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 13 May 2014, 04:12

Thought of Green Man too Spacekdet.

Froo, have to give him a "laid back" pose for that!

Review: Plant Factory (form EON, makers of Vue):

I've been trying the PLE (free) version. As far as what it does, I like it. You can make very realistic plants. It is not easy to learn the inner workings, the graph editor, but that is where the power is. With existing plant components there are easier ways to make plants like drawing or assembling. It can grow plants on objects for vines or roots on rocks. You can buy plants from Cornucopia but they usually cost $25. It can randomize a plant for different variations of the same species. It integrates very well with Vue (so they say). The plants can be animated for wind and such. Some modeling, in other software, would be needed to make custom parts like leaves for a really hand made new plant. Cheaper versions plus buying plants might be an option for pro architectural rendering folks.

The problem is cost. The cheapest version that I think is worth having, studio version, is $1000

. That has all the custom building things like the graph editor. The (free) PLE version I've been trying is like the $1400 producer, top level, version. Vue Infinite costs $1300 so that is some strange pricing. IMO this program (studio version with almost everything) might be worth $200 for people who need great plants for work or enthusiastic hobbyists who can afford that.

I'll stop fooling with Plant Factory now since it is unattainable for me and use Bryce and Plant Studio plants in this project. Too bad, I thought I might learn it for plant making to complement Blender.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 16 May 2014, 18:06

Tried NGPlant, a free plant making program. Not impressed. I've seen pictures with good plants claimed to be made with it but I don't see the ability there.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 02 Sep 2014, 00:40

I want to finish this but there are problems.

Spring is not very recognizable as a Human form in most poses with modeled leaves on him. Possible solution: Use textures in stead of modeled leaves.

The throne, a rock with plants arranged to imply the back and sides, is not "throny" enough. It should be apparent what it is without knowing the title. Possible solution: tighten the grouping of plants, use more grassy plants, make the top edge they form more obvious.

Not enough focus on the main objects and it is difficult to get trees from Bryce into Daz. Possible solution: move the camera closer and use just a few foreground objects and make most of the background an image rendered in Bryce.

Translucency. Daz/3Delight has that but the object must have thickness. The Bryce tree leaves do not and they don't react well to attempts to use Hexagon to give it to them.

Should there be some cold looking clouds on the distant horizon and the sun shine from in front of Spring symbolizing Winter behind him and Summer coming after him?

I have little time so work on this will be slow.

Any suggestions? Artistic, practical, technical?

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