All posts by Jay Versluis

About Jay Versluis

Jay is a medical miracle known as Super Survivor. He runs several YouTube channels and websites. He's also live on Twitch sometimes. To support him on his mission to make the world a better place, check out his Patreon Campaign.

Editing DAZ clothing using a reference figure in ZBrush

3D,

Even though I own it, I know very little about ZBrush. It may forever remain a mystery for me – like driving a car or getting excited about Team Sports. It’s just… not for me. Be that as it may, I’ve often wondered how clothing manufacturers use a character as a reference to make or update clothing geometry in ZBrush. Perhaps a jacket that doesn’t quite fit, or some boots that need a quick adjustment.

The challenge here is that both the character and the clothing need to be imported into ZBrush, and we need to be able to adjust the clothing only, while seeing the character in the background as a reference so we can work around it.

While the art of sculpting in ZBrush entirely eludes me, I believe I have finally understood the overall workflow. Before I forget it again, I thought I’d share it with you and my future self. Let’s see how we can transfer a clothed Genesis 3 figure from DAZ Studio 4.11 into ZBrush 2019.1, make adjustments on an item, and then bring it all back with a few clicks.

Continue reading Editing DAZ clothing using a reference figure in ZBrush →

Building a scene with dForce Magnets – 3D Shenanigans #23

3D, 3D Podcast, Screencasts

In this live even I’ll show you how to use the dForce Magnets by Esha and Riversoft. I’ve had this question many times, perhaps my approach to using them helps to inspire you.

I’ll start with a demo of how to add magnets to an plane object and explain how this product differs from a regular rigid follow node. Then I’ll move on to building a bed scene in which I’ll drape a duvet/sheet over a sleeping character.

Enjoy!

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:05:07 — 59.6MB)

DAZ Studio 114: Introduction to Lighting

3D, DAZ Studio 101, Screencasts

In the following episodes I’ll tell you everything I know about lighting in DAZ Studio. It’s so much that I’ve decided to split this section into multiple smaller parts.

In this part I’ll explain the different types of lighting we have at our disposal, touch on surface properties as they apply to Iray and 3Delight, and I’ll explain how the default lighting works that we get with every new scene (and also how to remove it).

Podcast: Download (Duration: 27:24 — 25.1MB)

Going Shopping in Ironman13’s Clothing Boutique – 3D Shenanigans #22

3D, 3D Podcast, Screencasts

In this live stream we’ll take two Genesis characters shopping in Ironman13’s Styling Clothing Boutique. We’ll build the whole scene from start to finish, including lighting and depth of field. This will bring some of the techniques together that I’ve shared with you recently, including how to spin the sundial.

PS: The stream dropped out towards the end. You can watch the second part here:

Here’s a list of products I’m using in this video:

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:29:36 — 82.0MB)

Measuring DAZ Objects with Blender (Distance and Circumference)

3D, 3D Podcast, Screencasts

In this episode I’ll show you two ways of measuring the metrics of objects from DAZ Studio using Blender. We can measure the distance between two arbitrary points using the new Measure Tool, while we can measure the circumference of an object with the MeasureIT add-on.

DAZ also offer a plugin to do this, but it’s $50 and looks a tad intimidating to use.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:05 — 11.1MB)

How to bring back Selection Toggling in Blender 2.8

3D

I’m so used to pressing A to select or de-select everything in Blender. It’s been so ingrained in my brain that I cannot easily get used to the new default behaviour in Blender 2.8. Thankfully there’s a simple tick box in the Preferences that will bring this option back, so there’s no need for my brain to get confused any more.

Here’s how to do it:

Head over to Edit – Preferences and choose Keymap. Towards the top you’ll find a tick box called Select All Toggles. It’s slightly misleading to read out loud, as it doesn’t mean “select all toggles”; it rather means that the “Select All” function will now “toggle”, as it did in Blender 2.79 and below.

Now the A key will behave in Blender 2.8 as it always has.

Building the “Fluffy Disco Kimokawaii” Animation in Carrara – 3D Shenanigans #21

3D Podcast

In this episode I’ll explain how I’ve made the Fluffy Disco animation that I’ve posted last week.

I’ll start by building the animation in DAZ Studio using aniBlocks, then import the file into Carrara and add the hair. Once applied, we’ll drape it and have Carrara simulate the strands as the figure dances.

You can buy Carrara here (it’s often on sale and available for $60 or less).

Here’s the animation I’m referring to in this stream:

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:17:33 — 71.0MB)

Upscaling while preserving details in Photoshop

2D

I’ve received a great tip from Patrick Schoolderman a couple of weeks ago, about how to upscale images in Photoshop with a new algorithm that Adobe call Preserve Details 2.0. I wanted to make a quick note about how to do this and share it with you.

The workflow is as simple as opening your image, then choose Image – Image Size. The big mystery then is to choose the right Resizing Algorithm at the bottom of the dialogue. Rather than Automatic, choose Preserve Details 2.0.

Enabling this feature

Currently (June 2019) this is a “technology preview” feature, which means in order for it to show up in the above dialogue, we need to enable it first. If you don’t see the option, head over to Preferences – Technology Previews and make sure the tick box is checked. Once enabled, restart Photoshop and try again.

While it doesn’t mean we can now shoot 640×360 instead of 4k images, or in other words “turn lead into hold”, this feature can drastically improve image quality when compared to the bicubic method.

It may even help os cut down on render time. I’m thinking of animations that would take much longer to render at higher resolutions, for which an upscale from 720p to 1080p might work well. I’ll do some tests and let you know.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Patrick 😉

An Overview of Strand Based Hair in DAZ Studio – 3D Shenanigans #20

3D Podcast, Screencasts,

On today’s live stream, I’m giving you an overview on how to get started with the new Strand Based Hair feature in DAZ Studio 4.11. It’s only been released to the public yesterday, and we have not many details on how to create handsome looking hair with this tool, but I’ll let you in on what I’ve been able to gather so far, including how dForce fits into the picture.

I’ve made a quick animation with this tool this removing, here’s a standalone version of it.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:23:06 — 76.1MB)

Step into The Light – 3D Shenanigans #19

3D Podcast, Screencasts

On this episode of 3D Shenanigans, I’m creating a character animation in which our protagonist steps out of the dark and is gradually revealed with light. We’ll do the walk, light and camera animation in DAZ Studio, then add my Patreon Freebie fog assets to the scene in Photoshop.

Join me on this creative journey with plenty of user input, and a technical hitch halfway through.

Products I’m using in this demo

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:58:41 — 108.7MB)