Daz Blender Assets suck, mostly...

[coffeeaddicted]

So, this is a rant but also a question.

My journey with assets is a strange one.
What i want, mostly, from assets is flexibility and function.
There are lots of room assets and they do look nice. Though some (like poor condition housing assets) sometimes appear to be just a cube with some textures. (well, probably a little more than that)
What i mean is, that mostly doors are not actually doors.
For my purposes i always looked for in between scenes where figure would open a door and something meaningful happens in that scene.
The only useful asset for and apartment i found is EuroApartment which allows you to have open doors, everything is customizable and high quality.
But, where are staircases. Even if you live in the US, their are flats that have staircases. DAZ hasn't any meaningful staircases.
So where to get one? I am not sure where i got the one i have, i think

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. It's simple.



This isn't what i had in mind but it comes close.
As i am from Europe, it is more common to have staircases that look gloomy sometimes. When i browse DAZ store, everything (or at least mostly) looks like from Barbie world.
This isn't really what i had in mind. So i have to broaden my searches and look really everywhere. Though on pitfall seems licensing. Can you use it in naughty settings.

Anyway, now i am working more in Blender but it's not that easy as i am not familiar with Blender. Though some things are easy to figure out, other are not so much.
Having to look for some guides. There are lots of them.

As a bloody amateur i already stumbled over one problem. Importing.
When importing to DAZ my asset is tiny. Like Micro and not upright but vertical.
And i realize that even a simple staircase takes a lot of time to fit and make it look and emit the vibe i want it to be.

So why do i need such an asset. Of course for naughtiness. Plus it makes everything more believable as you can pretend that people walk out of a door and go walking stairs to go from point a to b.

So now, i realize that relying only on DAZ is a dead end. You really need to use other tools like Blender to make unique things fitting your story or imagery.

I have seen some games having some rubbish environment and i mean that in the best possible way.
But they aren't on DAZ or anywhere else. So i assume they made them.

I tried Avil apartment and it looks really nice but, it tells a story of someone who has money and can afford that lifestyle. Not even me could afford to live in a place like that. Why would i even consider it for a story?

And now i am trying to educate myself more about Blender to make things happen to get me the assets i am envisioning for a story. It won't be quick but at least something interesting.

Thanks for reading my rubbish thoughts.

 

[BzPz]

So, this is a rant but also a question.

My journey with assets is a strange one.
What i want, mostly, from assets is flexibility and function.
There are lots of room assets and they do look nice. Though some (like poor condition housing assets) sometimes appear to be just a cube with some textures. (well, probably a little more than that)
What i mean is, that mostly doors are not actually doors.
For my purposes i always looked for in between scenes where figure would open a door and something meaningful happens in that scene.

...

As i am from Europe, it is more common to have staircases that look gloomy sometimes. When i browse DAZ store, everything (or at least mostly) looks like from Barbie world.

...

I have seen some games having some rubbish environment and i mean that in the best possible way.
But they aren't on DAZ or anywhere else. So i assume they made them.

I tried Avil apartment and it looks really nice but, it tells a story of someone who has money and can afford that lifestyle. Not even me could afford to live in a place like that. Why would i even consider it for a story?

And now i am trying to educate myself more about Blender to make things happen to get me the assets i am envisioning for a story. It won't be quick but at least something interesting.

Thanks for reading my rubbish thoughts.

Good rant, I agree.
When I first started with an tiny idea about my own possible project, I too saw all the rich and opulent environments.
And the size of the rooms is frankly ridiculous!
So, I started to try and make my own, taking assets apart and using bits to put together with pieces from other assets.
It's slow work, lots of trial and error. I also tried Blender, but I couldn't get into it and gave up(for now, maybe).

Also, doors... When I started I found doors I liked, but didn't open, or opened to the wrong side.
Frustrating until I found guides like

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.
For most of the things that make you go "This is simple, why can't I do this?" there are guides on YouTube or elsewhere.

I'm also from Europe, so most of my scenes would take place in small apartments, not really much choice in the shops.
So I started making my own.

Here's a small 8x8 meter unit (2 bedrooms, bathroom with shower, washer and dryer, kitchen with all the works, livingroom, balcony)in the making and the hallway with elevator and staircase.

Still far from done, but it's doable.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

Yes, i have to learn these things still.
I kind of relied on the assets that are available and still do.
For example, i look more and more into Poser assets. though they are not without problems, some do work nicely.

As for Blender. I am bloody beginner. I seem to get the dimensions wrong. \o/

 

[BzPz]

Well, ofcourse I still rely on assets from the shops, but I pick and choose bits from different packages and rearrange them. Poser assets can be great, I use a lot of them.
The things I create myself the most are walls and the like for general layout, it's just planes and cubes!

Positioning and scaling a few planes, telling yourself "These are walls!" and you have yourself a room in the dimensions you like.
Throw in the bed from that one asset, the dresser from that one, add a lamp and you have a bedroom!

Look around the scene, it's a bit empty.
"A nice flower in the corner would be nice" you think.
So add that. Maybe a poster on the wall.
Piece by piece you create the scene that you like.

You can absolutely use complete assets if you like the look of them, but don't be afraid to remove bits you don't like and add stuff you do like.

That's what I did.
But, everyone is different.
Feel free to create according to your own imagination.

Here are some quick and simple renders from that small apartment I'm working on.
Bedroom and bathroom are 2x3 meter, a more reasonable size from simple living I think.

 

[simarimas]

Yep, I agree about the assets. But learned long ago to just use what you have, and then change them as needed. Rotate walls, resize them, change things around.

I needed a motel room, but all the one I had you were unable to hide walls at all for camera angles, and the room itself looked really bad. So had to use a higher end hotel room, add and move walls etc. I also needed a door and window against the wall, so added a wall with those features

So this:


Turned into this:


And this is how this monstrosity looks from the outside. But it works for what I need.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

Yep, I agree about the assets. But learned long ago to just use what you have, and then change them as needed. Rotate walls, resize them, change things around.

I needed a motel room, but all the one I had you were unable to hide walls at all for camera angles, and the room itself looked really bad. So had to use a higher end hotel room, add and move walls etc. I also needed a door and window against the wall, so added a wall with those features

So this:
View attachment 2289011 View attachment 2289012

Turned into this: View attachment 2289015
View attachment 2289016

And this is how this monstrosity looks from the outside. But it works for what I need.

View attachment 2289020

Looks nice. Though too nice for my purpose

I added shaders a lot to the walls and floors and even furnitures. You can make the scene more believable. Depending what you have in mind.

And, i am lazy. So creating an asset from scratch isn't really my thing. At least not yet. There is of course a reward if you do create something from scratch. You can realize what you want.
So far, this is a long road as Blender is great but it takes time to get familiarized with everything. DAZ and Blender are just very different.

As for my main issue with some assets. I just think the creator could done that, like doors that open. That is why i am always hesitant to buy anything unless i can try it out. Well, the same applies to clothing. The ones that work the way i imagine get the go.

 

[Saki_Sliz]

I've only started using daz 2 years ago, some time after I joined these forums. Before then I had been using blender to make characters from scratch. recently for my project I've needed to move on to environment art... and it turns out I hate doing environment art. Only recently have I started experimenting with a 'results first quality later' sort of mentality so I've been looking into getting art assets as lazy as possible. From using daz stuff (that I then port to blender) to even using unity asset store and exporting to blender. Looking at assets I find tends to be good for idea generation, so I don't have to over think or over engineer a scene, but I'm also realizing that with the exception of my try at making scenes, most of my scenes are building related, something much easier to model than a sandy beach I was starting with, so I started collecting some architecture plug ins and starting to use geometry node to make floor planning a lot easier/automated.

 

[GNVE]

I got a lot of milage out of the

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asset and it's expansions. These are a few of the very different sets I created for my project:

Dorms imagined as a European brick building from the late 19th early 20th century. (Each room is about 20m2 - 25m2 which is on par with my own student accommodations)


The interior walls of the changing room in a clothing store loosely based on a local clothing store from the early 2000's.


Late 19th century toilet


Modern villa based on an episode of a UK TV show where they followed people who build their own homes.


The back wall of this image is the create a room asset and integrated with other assets

The asset is not perfect as the doors feel a bit American still as do most of the windows. But I have gotten quite good at using the asset in the many kit bashes I use and have made.
The asset is quite versatile as the mouldings can be hidden and the wall is divided into a lower and upper part when applying shaders. Doors open which I found important as well.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

When i started, everything was a mystery to me. Like magic.
I learned a lot since then.
this asset looks actually useful.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[GNVE]

No problem. I found that scaling works well with the floors and ceilings (and if you hide the mouldings the walls as well) so I suggest to use that a lot.

 

[osanaiko]

needed a motel room, but all the one I had you were unable to hide walls at all for camera angles,

Lots of good advice already in this thread, and I'm sure you already have good success with your techniques, but I want to share for any newcomers:

If you have a problem where the camera cannot be placed where you wish due to a non-removable wall you can do two more simple things before rebuilding the whole room like simarimas:

1. use a iray section plane to cut the wall out of view

2. use daz geometry editor to delete the wall

 

[BzPz]

I added shaders a lot to the walls and floors and even furnitures. You can make the scene more believable.

I strongly agree.

Most textures are just too nice and shiny.
Throw on a dirt overlay, fiddle with Diffuse Overlay colour and reduce the glossy (or increase for those slimy bits).
Just changing to a different texture makes a world of difference.

My project (still just a distant dream) would flip between past and present a bit, before and after a building got renovated, so all the bits looked way too shiny for that.
The entrance/hallway is still being worked on.

 

[BzPz]

I got distracted again...

Had an idea for a scene on a balcony in an apartment building.
Tried different pieces of assets I had, started changing things, throwing things out, getting frustrated...

So, from scratch then!
Using good old planes and cubes (and maybe a cylinder or 3).

Result, a simple studio unit that I can stack using instances.
Light on nodes and vertices too.
Definitely not perfect, but something I can use to build on.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

I got distracted again...

Had an idea for a scene on a balcony in an apartment building.
Tried different pieces of assets I had, started changing things, throwing things out, getting frustrated...

So, from scratch then!
Using good old planes and cubes (and maybe a cylinder or 3).

Result, a simple studio unit that I can stack using instances.
Light on nodes and vertices too.
Definitely not perfect, but something I can use to build on.
View attachment 2309379 View attachment 2309381 View attachment 2309384 View attachment 2309385

Looks great.
I think i will go with jpg files.
Shaders are good but i seem to like it more with just an image that i can load.
The construction set wasn't really what i hoped for. My main issue was doors. Like there is a cellar part but there is no door for it as you need to use the a different wall.
Other issue was only one side lit the other just stayed dark.
So primitive it is....
Looks really nice that flat complex. Congrats.

 

[BzPz]

Looks great.
I think i will go with jpg files.
Shaders are good but i seem to like it more with just an image that i can load.
The construction set wasn't really what i hoped for. My main issue was doors. Like there is a cellar part but there is no door for it as you need to use the a different wall.
Other issue was only one side lit the other just stayed dark.
So primitive it is....
Looks really nice that flat complex. Congrats.

Not sure if it's useful in your case, but if you need a wall where there isn't one, or need to make a door in an existing wall, try this:

Create wall parts using cubes (or planes).
Using my example, I have walls of 5cm thickness, and a 1x2m opening for a door.

When placing a door, I always put the door in it's own group.
This way you can rotate the group without messing with the open/close parameters.
(This also allows you to scale most things that usually don't scale on their own)

Base textures work from a 1x1 dimension, so when applying textures look at the scale of cubes.

Starting from the 1x1 cube, I increased the Y-scaling of the wall to 250%, so under "Surfaces-Geometry-Tiling", the "Vertical Tiles" must be set to 2.5 (250% x 1)
For the bit above the door, the Y-scaling is 50%, so "Vertical Tiles" must be 0.5 (50% x 1)
Use the same simple calculation for other dimensions.

Ofcourse, if the original texture already has a Tiling set, just apply the percentages.

For example:
Original tiling: 4 horizontal, 5 vertical
Your wall: 50cm x 250cm
New tiling: (50% x 4) = 2 horizontal, (250% x 5) = 12.5 vertical

This is basically how I create most of my own environments.
Like I said, maybe this doesn't help you, but I can remember a time when I was clueless about the most basic things.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

Not sure if it's useful in your case, but if you need a wall where there isn't one, or need to make a door in an existing wall, try this:

Create wall parts using cubes (or planes).
Using my example, I have walls of 5cm thickness, and a 1x2m opening for a door.
View attachment 2309511
When placing a door, I always put the door in it's own group.
This way you can rotate the group without messing with the open/close parameters.
(This also allows you to scale most things that usually don't scale on their own)

Base textures work from a 1x1 dimension, so when applying textures look at the scale of cubes.

Starting from the 1x1 cube, I increased the Y-scaling of the wall to 250%, so under "Surfaces-Geometry-Tiling", the "Vertical Tiles" must be set to 2.5 (250% x 1)
For the bit above the door, the Y-scaling is 50%, so "Vertical Tiles" must be 0.5 (50% x 1)
Use the same simple calculation for other dimensions.

Ofcourse, if the original texture already has a Tiling set, just apply the percentages.

For example:
Original tiling: 4 horizontal, 5 vertical
Your wall: 50cm x 250cm
New tiling: (50% x 4) = 2 horizontal, (250% x 5) = 12.5 vertical

This is basically how I create most of my own environments.
Like I said, maybe this doesn't help you, but I can remember a time when I was clueless about the most basic things.

You are way ahead of me.
I just started thinking about it.
Anyway, my next project will be to create a room of despair.
A room where one could be hold captive but has basic necessities. Sounds terrible and it is but for story purposes i would actually need it.

As for the construction kit, i think the idea is good but i prefer the cube/plane method.
Seem simpler. Plus when you know, as i know now, how to use the geometry editor, more possibilities are there.
On the other hand i don't want to reinvent the wheel but some rooms are better made by yourself to suit your needs.

But i am not sure if i ever really make a game. It's a real Maybe. As much as i like it, i think i don't have the drive to do it. I aim more for a complete story that is rather short. And done with it.
If ever.
In the meantime i aim to learn as much as i can but it becomes really an obsession which isn't great.

When i have the room i envisioned, i will share it.

The ladder i was working with, i got permission to use it the way i need it or like. Which is also good.

I discovered that there are lot of free things out there. DeviantArts is good source for poses, figures (few) and morphs. Plus some nice textures and lots of tutorials.
So that is where i mostly check at the moment.

Cheers.

 

[BzPz]

Cheers.

Cheers mate!
Learn at your own pace, try out things you like and do things your way.
Myself, I get distracted way too much and jump all over the place.
That apartment I showed in my first post in this thread could be done months ago, but I get stuck on something or get an idea, and next thing you know I'm posting renders of a granny in the garden being spied on by the neighbour!

 

[coffeeaddicted]

Cheers mate!
Learn at your own pace, try out things you like and do things your way.
Myself, I get distracted way too much and jump all over the place.
That apartment I showed in my first post in this thread could be done months ago, but I get stuck on something or get an idea, and next thing you know I'm posting renders of a granny in the garden being spied on by the neighbour!

Well, i think that's normal. It is hard to be disciplined when working with naughty ideas.
Anyway, designing is a big part of the experience and it usually gets hampered by DAZ when things don't work as expected. At least it is with me.
But the good thing is, you can be creative and build something that is interesting.

 

[MidnightArrow]

Blender uses meters for its default units, Daz Studio uses centimeters. It doesn't do any fancy conversion, the Daz figures are literally just 170 meters tall inside the rendered world space. The Uber shader does some ugly hackwork to scale the SSS so it looks correct (since Iray also uses meters).

When you send models between the programs you need to remember to scale the object 100x (or the other way around) in the export options.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

Blender uses meters for its default units, Daz Studio uses centimeters. It doesn't do any fancy conversion, the Daz figures are literally just 170 meters tall inside the rendered world space. The Uber shader does some ugly hackwork to scale the SSS so it looks correct (since Iray also uses meters).

When you send models between the programs you need to remember to scale the object 100x (or the other way around) in the export options.

No wonder the stairs looked odd when imported to DAZ. There is also the axis that isn't right when importing.
I found some nice assets on DeviantArt that are made in Blender but can be used in DAZ. So i will keep that in mind when exchanging them.