Should a noob use DAZ or Blender? Or sth completely different?

[arthurdent_42]

I want to create a very very small game, almost a tech demo, to see if I can be a adult game developer or not. I'm a complete beginner and since I don't have any artistic skills, I guess the most reasonable way for me is downloading some assets and editing (I don't know if it's the right word or not) them, not creating some assets from scratch.

I think DAZ lets you to edit and pose models, create scenes. Blender looks more complicated than DAZ. So if I learn DAZ + Ren'Py would that be enough? What programs other devs use at the beginning? What should I use?

 

[Blue Otter Games]

I started making VNs last year, and in my experience, DAZ was easier to use. That's not to say it's without drawbacks, because it's great at deciding it wants to give you fits sometimes. The big pro of this program is that there are a lot of assets on F95 you can load into it. Big booties? Check. Tiddies? Oh yeah. Lingerie for weeks. It's a great program for getting your feet wet, and then you can start mixing in other programs such as Photoshop when you have some confidence with it.

Hope that helps you!

 

[arthurdent_42]

I started making VNs last year, and in my experience, DAZ was easier to use. That's not to say it's without drawbacks, because it's great at deciding it wants to give you fits sometimes. The big pro of this program is that there are a lot of assets on F95 you can load into it. Big booties? Check. Tiddies? Oh yeah. Lingerie for weeks. It's a great program for getting your feet wet, and then you can start mixing in other programs such as Photoshop when you have some confidence with it.

Hope that helps you!

Thanks a lot!

 

[probably_dave]

Thanks a lot!

I would recommend getting both, however, you'll likely be creating your game in Daz.
The reason for this, is I think there are better tutorials in Blender than Daz, in particularly around the basics of 3D modelling that will make Daz easier for you to understand in the long run.
I particularly recommend the donut tutorial (search blender donut tutorial and it's made by BlenderGuru). This gives a very good overview of 3D modelling in general and is full of information that is applicable to most 3D modelling applications.
Then, you'll probably get into Daz a bit more (search Daz basics for plenty of tutorials I used by Thundorn Games and Parmy Baddhan).
Doing this should give you a good starting place and hopefully, improve your renders.

A point about Daz, yes it is simple to use, however, because it's simple, it's very easy to create bad renders. Starting with a very, very small tech demo in ren'py would be good. However, once you've done it, you'd have learnt a lot from your first attempt and your renders towards the end will be significantly better than your earlier ones (hopefully). I would then, rinse and repeat, pretty much scene for scene (or adding a few extras) as you'll notice mistakes made in the earlier renders when you come back to them over time.

 

[arthurdent_42]

I would recommend getting both, however, you'll likely be creating your game in Daz.
The reason for this, is I think there are better tutorials in Blender than Daz, in particularly around the basics of 3D modelling that will make Daz easier for you to understand in the long run.

That was a very useful perspective, thanks!

A point about Daz, yes it is simple to use, however, because it's simple, it's very easy to create bad renders.

Yeah, I was afraid of that I hope I can overcome that

 

[samluun]

Just my two cents, if you're just starting out and have no knowledge of either. I would pick Blender, it's probably a bit more difficult to learn but the sky is the limit with what you can do with it.

To backup what Dave said, you'll probably see loads of bad RenPy/slideshow games with Daz renders. If you get good at Blender, you can make animations instead and people definitely seem to prefer that (if ya know what I'm sayin'). It's also a very good skill to have outside of this particular community.

I am just getting my feet wet with Daz but it's actually pretty simple to go between the two once you get the hang of Blender. I find taking a decent model from Daz then switching to Blender and customizing it makes it really pop.

 

[arthurdent_42]

Just my two cents, if you're just starting out and have no knowledge of either. I would pick Blender, it's probably a bit more difficult to learn but the sky is the limit with what you can do with it.

You're completely right, that's a very nice reason to learn Blender first. But I have a personal doubt about Blender actually While it's a very powerful tool, I don't think that I have enough "handicraft" to use it and benefit from it's all abilities.

As I mentioned in my first message, I'm not capable of sculpting a 3D model from the scratch. Even if I knew all mechanics of Blender or DAZ I don't have the artistic view (at least as far as I know, maybe I have a uncovered gift about it idk ). So probably I'm going to change pre-made assets or I'm going to take a nude body and play with some body parts and add outfits & hair etc. So basically I'll be like playing with a very customizable sims character creator lol.

Since I have no knowledge about topic, I'm not sure if most of the adult game devs like me and should I learn to use blender even for that? Or is daz more than enough for my limited skills and all of the good renders are sculpted from the scratch? In short: Probably I won't be able to do something like

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no matter how much I learn Blender. Can I still have decent renders in blender or daz?

 

[estevaoM]

I have a personal doubt about Blender actually While it's a very powerful tool, I don't think that I have enough "handicraft" to use it and benefit from it's all abilities.

you probably have more then you give yourself credit for, you don't need to be Picasso in order to begin learning, if you don;t have the innate skill, you can compensate by practicing
Remember real that life isn't a RPG where you are born with an very specific class that con only learn a very specific set of skills

As I mentioned in my first message, I'm not capable of sculpting a 3D model from the scratch. Even if I knew all mechanics of Blender or DAZ I don't have the artistic view (at least as far as I know, maybe I have a uncovered gift about it idk ). So probably I'm going to change pre-made assets or I'm going to take a nude body and play with some body parts and add outfits & hair etc. So basically I'll be like playing with a very customizable sims character creator lol.

This is a good beginning as long as you learn to not rely on pre made assets and try to make a few of your own

Since I have no knowledge about topic, I'm not sure if most of the adult game devs like me and should I learn to use blender even for that? Or is daz more than enough for my limited skills and all of the good renders are sculpted from the scratch? In short: Probably I won't be able to do something like

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no matter how much I learn Blender. Can I still have decent renders in blender or daz?

Lets go by parts
Should you learn Blender? A better question is, how much effort are you willing to put on learning? Don't get the wrong idea, BOTH will take quite a lot of effort to learn, but, if you get good at Daz, you will be good at making Daz renders and will be limited to that, but will have knowledge in lighting, posing and some other stuff. If you get good at Blender, you will get good on an actual 3D modeling software, that will open your horizons to multiple other skills like modeling, sculping, texturing, shading, animating, and the ones i mentioned for Daz.

No, you won't be able to make a something like that in blender on your first try, the same way a baby won't be able to run like Usain Bolt when it is still learning to walk, if you aren't not even learning, don't compare yourself to a professional with multiple years of experience, you are setting yourself up to disappointment that way.
Will you ever be able to get on that level? Again, depend solely on you and how much effort you are willing to give.

in conclusion, my 2 cents are:
Are you willing to put a lot of effort for a greater reward? try Blender
Are you willing to put medium effort for a ok-ish result? Go Daz
Are you willing to put low effort for a mediocre result? try a illusion game like Honey Select or its sequel

whatever you do, remember: you will only become as good as the time and effort you are willing to invest

 

[trylater]

When you have no artistic skills it is much more easy to use Daz. I would never say Daz is better than Blender, but imagine you will do your first scene.
With Daz you need less than a day to make your first render.
Same with Blender? If you have nothing else to do, maybe after a week, more like a month.
Making a game without any knowledge = simplify it.
That´s just my two cents.

 

[Gallant Trombe]

I would start with Daz. The best way to learn and improve IMO is by consistently producing results. With Daz, you can start producing results quickly and keep yourself inspired to push on. Once you realise the limitations, you'll naturally be motivated to learn and use something else to improve further. For example, if your renders are a bit lacking in style, or flat, or grainy, you can start learning Photoshop to remedy all of that. Photoshop is another really fast result producing tool. A couple of clicks and you'll see instant rewards.

Eventually, you'll find a use for Blender and by then, you'll be better equipped to learn it for faster results to keep the pattern going.

 

[samluun]

I'm still trying to add proper genitals in Daz so I am by no means an expert.

I will say that no program is perfect and each is more like a toolbox that you can play with to get a desired effect. Daz definitely seems a lot more user friendly at first so I'd go for that. Learn blender but don't make it a priority.

 

[arthurdent_42]

in conclusion, my 2 cents are:
Are you willing to put a lot of effort for a greater reward? try Blender
Are you willing to put medium effort for a ok-ish result? Go Daz
Are you willing to put low effort for a mediocre result? try a illusion game like Honey Select or its sequel

whatever you do, remember: you will only become as good as the time and effort you are willing to invest

That was a very nice summary, thank you for that very detailed answer!

When you have no artistic skills it is much more easy to use Daz. I would never say Daz is better than Blender, but imagine you will do your first scene.
With Daz you need less than a day to make your first render.
Same with Blender? If you have nothing else to do, maybe after a week, more like a month.
Making a game without any knowledge = simplify it.
That´s just my two cents.

Thanks

I would start with Daz. The best way to learn and improve IMO is by consistently producing results. With Daz, you can start producing results quickly and keep yourself inspired to push on. Once you realise the limitations, you'll naturally be motivated to learn and use something else to improve further. For example, if your renders are a bit lacking in style, or flat, or grainy, you can start learning Photoshop to remedy all of that. Photoshop is another really fast result producing tool. A couple of clicks and you'll see instant rewards.

Eventually, you'll find a use for Blender and by then, you'll be better equipped to learn it for faster results to keep the pattern going.

I thought that, it's good to hear from someone else

I'm still trying to add proper genitals in Daz so I am by no means an expert.

I will say that no program is perfect and each is more like a toolbox that you can play with to get a desired effect. Daz definitely seems a lot more user friendly at first so I'd go for that. Learn blender but don't make it a priority.

Thanks

 

[weirdscix]

It all depends on how much time and effort you want to put in. There are lots of high quality tutorials on all aspects of Blender and if you master the fundamentals in Blender it will help you even if you decide to use Daz or another 3D program for your renders.

There are several people who also do tutorials in Daz but far fewer I have found of a decent quality.