Jay Versluis

How to open a layer as a new document in Photoshop

May 26, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Sometimes it’s nice to extract a layer from an intricate Photoshop document and turn it into its own isolated document. Here’s how to do it: Select your layer and head over to Layer – Duplicate Layer… This will bring up a menu that lets you choose what you’d like to call it, and most importantly …

How to move the pivot point of an object in DAZ Studio

September 27, 2018May 25, 2015 by Jay Versluis

The pivot point is the location at which the universal manipulator gizmo is shown on a 3D object. From this point you can usually move the object, or rotate it around this very point. Blender calls this the “origin point”, while Carrara calls it the “hot point”. I’m not sure if DAZ Studio refers to it as anything in particular.

The location of the pivot point is of strategic importance, and it may not always be where you want it to be. New primitives and figures usually have it at the centre bottom, which works well for positioning the whole figure.

It can however be undesirable when you’re trying to rotate an object (like the cube below) around its centre. We’d need the pivot point to be at a different position to pull this off.

Screen Shot 2015-05-21 at 16.19.50

But how do we change its location in DAZ Studio? Let’s find out.

Murano Textures for Seana Dress – now available at Renderosity

May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Murano-Main-Promo

Inspired by our Bayside Bikini Textures, Julia has been busy last week and made some textures for the beautiful Seana Dress by Nikisatez. It is with great pleasure that I give you our second ever Rednerosity product: Murano Textures for Seana Dress!

The dress fits all Genesis 2 Female characters, such as Victoria 6, Stephanie 6, Aiko 6 and all the other Generation 6 figures. Take’em out for a stroll this summer with a pretty dress and 8 new additional textures from us 🙂

How to use Smart Objects in Photoshop

May 24, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Smart Objects are a great way to employ non-destructive editing in Photoshop. The idea is that Photoshop “remembers” what was applied to a layer rather than apply an effect. Take a background image with a blur effect applied for example. You could simply select the layer, head over to Filters – Blur – Gaussian Blur …

How to lock objects in Carrara

May 23, 2015 by Jay Versluis

It happens to me time and time again: I want to select an object in a busy scene, move it from a far away view, and it turns out I’m actually moving something else – perhaps the ground plane, or vital objects in the background. Wouldn’t it be nice to lock objects that you never …

How to reset surface materials in DAZ Studio

May 22, 2015 by Jay Versluis

When texturing an existing model, I find it helpful to start from scratch and apply a simple basic material to an object. The same is true if I’ve been modifying something so much that I forgot where things went awry, and a “reset surfaces” button would be handy. The good news is that there is …

How to reload image textures in DAZ Studio

May 21, 2015 by Jay Versluis

When you edit textures outside of DAZ Studio and save them, they won’t show up on your models until you reload them. In DAZ Studio, the command to do this can be found on the Surfaces Tab. Find the context menu at the top right corner of the tab (three lines and a triangle). Select it …

How to subdivide an object in Hexagon

May 20, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Hexagon doesn’t really have a subdivide function that quadruples the number of faces of an object (like ZBrush for example). But there is a trick we can use to add this functionality. Take Hexagon’s cube primitive here. All we can do is to specify one without subdivisions. If we need more, we’re stuck. There is …

How to reload image textures in Poser

May 20, 2015 by Jay Versluis

When you edit textures outside of Poser and save them, they won’t show up on your models until you reload them. In Poser, the command to do this can be found under the Render Menu – Reload Textures. I don’t think there’s a keyboard shortcut for this. Poser has the option to display Photoshop PSD files …

How to populate the Custom Tools Palette in Hexagon

June 3, 2015May 19, 2015 by Jay Versluis

On the very right hand side of the Hexagon’s toolbar is the Custom section. It sits there unnoticed and unpopulated by default. We can turn it into a handy modelling companion by populating it with a few select tools that our overworked brains can never remember where to find. To add your own tools, simply …

How to use sunlight and moonlight in Carrara

May 18, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Carrara can provide realistic sunlight and moonlight as ambient light sources. To use either of them we need to set the scene’s atmosphere for those to come to life. Here’s how to do that. From a default scene that comes with a distant light, select the scene itself, and under the Atmosphere properties, choose either Sky or …

Slicing and Dicing: Tessellation Tools in Hexagon

May 18, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Tessellation is a rather abstract term in the 3D world. All it means is to “add more edges” to a polygon. There always seems to be a complex technical term for things, and a more human one (like “polygon” and “face”). Tessellation can be used to subdivide an object in controlled places. Say you had a …

How to apply Materials across all parts of an object in Poser

May 17, 2015 by Jay Versluis

The Material Room in Poser can be a tad intimidating. It actually looks more complicated than it is: knowing what does what is key to success here. Today I’ve setup some new materials for a dress which had several material zones. Applying my maps to the first zone, it would be very tedious to apply …

How to apply textures in Blender (Cycles)

October 16, 2016May 16, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Adding textures in Blender depends on which render engine is used. In this article I’ll discuss how to do this for Cycles. I’ll explain how to do this with Blender Render in this article.

First we need to make sure that Cycles is our render engine. Select it at the top of the app. This will change how materials work, so if you’ve got anything interesting setup with Blender Render, you’ll have to rework it all.

Screen Shot 2015-05-10 at 18.12.24

Now select the object you’d like to assign a texture to and find the Materials Tab in the properties palette (it’s the little orange round checkerboard icon). By default the material only has a diffuse colour assigned.

Screen Shot 2015-05-10 at 18.16.28

Under Surface, select Use Nodes. This will require us to work with the Node Editor in another viewport. I understand that there’s a different way to setup materials and textures in Cycles, but I find the Node Editor much easier to grasp.

Getting started with UV-Unwrapping in Blender

August 23, 2016May 15, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Unwrapping UVs is tough – no matter in which application (apart from ZBrush perhaps, where everything else is really difficult). Here’s how to get started with UV Unwrapping in Blender.

Load an object and make sure you’re in Edit Mode. This is only allowed with a single object selected. Disable any subsurface or smoothing that’s applied on the object so that we have less vertices to work with.

Next switch to the UV Editing workspace (UV View on the left, 3D view on the right). It looks something like this:

Screen Shot 2015-05-10 at 17.13.19 On the right hand side, make sure the Shading/UV tab is showing – it contains some vital tools for this endeavour. Choose edge selection and start marking seams for your unwrap. It’s easy to ALT-RIGHT-CLICK to select edge loops, or use the Select Menu for more funky options.

How to use the 2D Symmetry Tool in Hexagon

May 14, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Hexagon has a 2D Symmetry Tool that allows us to mirror curves and other 2D shapes. It works a treat, it’s just not very intuitive to use. Try it out: select the curve or 2D object you’d like to mirror and select the tool. It’s under Lines, the icon with two quarter circles and a line in the middle. You’ll …

Getting started with Bullet Physics in Poser

May 14, 2015 by Jay Versluis

RigidBody2

Bullet is an open-source physics engine which was integrated with the release of Poser 10 and Poser Pro 2014. It allows us to use soft and rigid body dynamics in our scenes.

Rigid bodies are solid objects that do not deform when they collide with other objects. Think of bowling pins that are hit by a ball. Soft bodies on the other hand deform upon impact, like cloth or rubber.

I had always assumed that Bullet Physics has something to do with projectiles being fired from guns, perhaps for use in game engines. Turns out that it’s just the name of the engine itself, which is also part of many other 3D applications like Blender.

Here’s a quick overview on how to use this thing in Poser.

How to create primitives in Poser

May 13, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Primitives are simple 3D objects such as cubes, spheres, planes and cylinders. Most 3D applications can create them – but Poser cannot. Therefore, trying to hunt for a menu such as Object – Create Primitive will be in vain. Hence, you cannot create a primitive in Poser. At least not that I know of. There …

How to import 3D objects into Manga Studio 5

May 12, 2015 by Jay Versluis

There is a (completely undocumented) way of importing 3D objects into Manga Studio 5 scenes. While you won’t find this described in the handbook, or even anywhere on the menu, it does work – if you know how. This works with both the EX version and the non-EX version of Manga Studio 5. It’s as …

How to remove old renders in Poser

May 11, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Poser likes to keep old renders around in what it calls the Render Cache. It allows you to pull up a previous render and compare it to another one. In the Render Tab, at the bottom of the screen, you’ll find a black and a white triangle icon that let you select previous renders. But …

How to join or connect objects in Hexagon

May 10, 2015 by Jay Versluis

The Bridge Tool allows us to join two parts of an object together, either by selecting polygons or vertices. Simply select the parts of each object to be joined, then hit the Bridge Tool under Vertex Modelling. You can also select the Bridge Tool, then select both faces or points in question and hit validate. Predictable …

How to use the Edge Tools in Hexagon

May 11, 2015May 9, 2015 by Jay Versluis

We can do rather amazing things using the Edge Tools in Hexagon (under Vertex Modelling). The options are slightly confusing though: The first option is a combination of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th option. You can create a new edge, extract inwards, outwards, filet around or move existing edges of your object. Here’s how to use it: select …

Bayside Textures for Victoria 6 String Bikini – now available at Renderosity

May 8, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Main-Bayside-Promo

I’m very pleased to say that a texture pack I’ve made for the V6 String Bikini is now available on Renderosity.com! It’s called Bayside Textures, adding 12 beautiful new materials for both DAZ Studio and Poser users (the latter thanks to the DSON Importer).

This is my first ever Renderosity product – and hopefully not the last 😉

Most of the patterns were created in Manga Studio back in 2013, and it took me two years to turn this into a product. As my wife says, better late than never.

How to change Node Selection Highlighting in DAZ Studio

May 10, 2015May 8, 2015 by Jay Versluis

When you hover over any object in your DAZ Studio scene, surfaces highlight orange by default. This is a nice feature, but it can get annoying when all you see is bright orange and you can’t see any other objects anymore. DAZ Studio 4.7 and earlier In DAZ Studio 4.7 and prior, this behaviour …

How to use First Person Keyboard/Mouse Navigation in DAZ Studio

January 10, 2019May 7, 2015 by Jay Versluis

1st person style Keyboard/Mouse navigation is a new feature in DAZ Studio 4.7. It makes finding the right vantage point for a camera in larger scenes much easier. In the above video I’ll show you how to use it. Much like in 1st person shooter games, use your left hand to move the camera, and use your mouse …

How to change the background colour in DAZ Studio 4.7

May 6, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Contrary to what the documentation wants you to believe, and unlike DAZ Studio 4.6, the background colour can no longer be changed from the Viewport Properties menu at the top right. In DAZ Studio 4.7 and 4.8 the option has moved to Window – Style – Customize Colors. There’s a whole lot we can amend here, …

How to setup shortcuts to load figures in DAZ Studio

May 5, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Even with Smart Content it can be tough to find a single figure from your library. If you find yourself loading a particular character a lot, you’ll be pleased to hear that there’s an easy to way to setup shortcuts on the menu bar for such things. In this article I’ll show you how to …

How to avoid Figure Relocations when applying a Pose in DAZ Studio

May 4, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Some poses are meant to relocate the figure to somewhere other than the scene centre. That’s nice if the pose is part of a set: imagine a wardrobe in a large room from which a figure is supposed to take something, and the figure is moved to said wardrobe. But sometimes that can just be …

How to apply a Shader in DAZ Studio

September 10, 2016May 3, 2015 by Jay Versluis

Shaders are an important component in many 3D applications, but I never knew that DAZ Studio understood that concept too. I was under the impression that the relatively simple Surfaces Tab would be how to tweak what an object looks like. Turns out, DAZ Studio has Shaders! And here’s how to apply them. Pay attention …

Getting started with UberEnvironment in DAZ Studio

February 12, 2019May 2, 2015 by Jay Versluis

UberEnvironment is a shader based light, available exclusively in DAZ Studio. It brings image based lighting to DAZ Studio when using the 3Delight render engine. It has been around for a while, but it has been a bit of a mystery to me for the last 6 years. I think I’ve finally grasped some of its basics – time to write them down before I forget.

Unlike traditional lights in DAZ Studio, UberEnvirnoment creates a sphere in the scene onto which a HDR image is projected. The sphere itself then emits light, creating some very realistic looking ambient light. UberEnvironment can be used on its own or in combination with other lights for nicely balanced results.

Historically, the UberEnvirnoment product had to be purchased through DAZ by a vendor named omnifreaker. It has since been updated to UberEnvironment2 and is now included for free in DAZ Studio 4.x (as part of the “Default Light and Shaders” – make sure this installed).

The product itself is difficult to find in the Smart Content tab because it appears mixed in with some other scary items. It’s much easier to access it via the Content Library tab: navigate to

DAZ Studio Formats – My DAZ 3D Library
Light Presets (not Lights!)
omnifreaker – UberEnvironment2

You’ll find the following icons:

Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 16.00.47