DAZ Studio is a 3DCG software released by Daz3D for free.
Figures sold by Daz3D are placed in a scene and output a still image or video with an Iray-based photorealistic drawing.
Initially, the full-featured DAZ Studio Pro was paid for, but was made free around 2015, with the latest version 4.12 in 2019 featuring the ability to generate a highly similar figure from a single figure image, available in both 64-bit and 32-bit versions.
The latest version of DAZ STUDIO can be downloaded free of charge if you register as a member.
- DAZ STUDIO latest version 4.12 – Figure creation from images
- How to download DAZ STUDIO
- How to install DAZ STUDIO
- How to get a free item from DAZ STUDIO
- Localization in DAZ STUDIO
- How to use DAZ STUDIO
- Call the figure to the scene
- Cover your hair on a figure
- Get dressed
- Save
- Render (draw)
- How to pose PowerPose and ActivePose
- Symmetry for pose reversal
- Simple, cursory writing
- Iray Preview: Check the final render in a short time
- Anime-style display in Iray
- Changing textures and materials
- G8 dressed for G3, G2 and Genesis
- How to write a script for DAZ STUDIO
- Iray Server Collaboration
- Work with Blender Rendering and physics simulation via obj and FBX
- Works with Zbrush for modeling and morphing with a claywork feel
- Tips
- Hair animation with deformer feature
- Animation of analogue movement with Puppeteer
- How to make it easier to preview a huge background set
- Decal (apply textures in three dimensions)
- Deformer to increase the depth of the background
- How to reverse the light source from a two-dimensional background to blend in with the figure
- How to deal with errors and problems in DAZ STUDIO
- DAZ Studio Glossary
- What is the model number of the GPU that runs DAZ Studio normally?
DAZ STUDIO latest version 4.12 – Figure creation from images
The Face Transfer feature, which was introduced in 4.12, allows you to create a figure from an image.
It’s so easy that you can make a realistic look-alike figure and play with it.
Let’s play with portrait rights in mind. I think that if you make an erotic image with your face replaced by a female entertainer and publish it, you’ll be frowned upon with the law.
DAZ STUDIO 4.11 with physical hair
DAZ STUDIO 4.11 official release in June 2019.
The centerpiece is the dForce physical hair creation feature.
How to download DAZ STUDIO
＞Download the latest version of DAZ Studio
Sign up for a free membership and download & install to use it. No need to buy.
The highly compatible 3D modeling software HEXAGON is also available for free download.
＞DAZ STUDIO / HEXAGON download page
There are so many choices on the download page that it’s hard to decide which one to download.
For example, the easiest way to install on Windows is to use
Default Resoucesfor DAZ Studio 4.9+ … included figures and more!
DAZ Studio 4.12 (Win 32-bit) or (Win 64-bit) … The software
Let’s manually install two of them.
How to install DAZ STUDIO
When you start the installer, the manual installation is basically completed by typing “Next” continuously.
Check the “I accept agreemnt” checkbox and click Next.
Check the box for “I accept the Agreement” and click on “Next”.
DAZ’s content management service, which is installed at the same time as DAZ STUDIO is installed, is explained. It will be installed without question.
Next, the screen to specify the installation directory. The top is DAZ STUDIO and the bottom is where the contents are installed. If there are multiple drives in your computer, it is a good idea to specify a drive with a larger capacity to install the contents.
It’s an installation start when Next is clicked on the following screens.
How to uninstall DAZ Studio
Also, how to uninstall it. Uninstallation is done from the DAZ Install Manager.
Click on the Installed tab and put “studio” in the search window and you should see it.
Look for DAZ Studio 4.12 (Win 64-bit) and click on Uninstall, and you’re good to go.
Once you delete the old data and want to do a clean install, you can uninstall it from here.
Please note that you need to manually remove your figures and other data from DAZ STUDIO to completely remove them.
By default, it’s installed in c:\cTwoUsers\cTwoPublicDocuments\cTwoMy DAZ 3D Library, so manually delete this folder.
DAZ INSTALL Manager is installed in the above folder by default.
How to get a free item from DAZ STUDIO
There are a lot of free items available at DAZ STUDIO. Some of them are completely pay-as-you-go items, so you should get them before the distribution ends.
There’s some good-looking copyrights and stuff.
Localization in DAZ STUDIO
DAZ STUDIO’s localization is a must-have for many people.
Discovered how to convert the latest version of DAZ STUDIO 4.12 to Japanese.
It’s not perfect, but the main menu is so-so in Japanese.
With 4.12, half of the menu can be translated into Japanese.
reference DAZ STUDIOを日本語化する方法
How to use DAZ STUDIO
Call the figure to the scene
▲ Here we are calling out the figure “Kanade 8”.
If you can’t find the Smart Content tab, select Window→Panes (Tabs)→Smart Content from the menu at the top of the screen.
If you don’t see any icons in Smart Content or all the icons are “Surprise mark on frame”, it’s likely that you’ve made a mistake or the file path is Japanese and DAZ STUDIO can’t handle it properly.
▲ Surprise marks on the picture frame
Please check “How to solve DAZ STUDIO errors and problems” at the bottom of this page.
Cover your hair on a figure
The hair of DAZ STUDIO’s figures is covered with a wig.
In the Smart Content tab, select “Hair” from the category on the left to display the hair.
At this time, note the “Filter By Context” checkbox at the bottom of the screen. If this checkbox is checked, only the special hair and clothes will be displayed.
It’s none of my business, so let’s check it out. That’s because even the Genesis 8 figure has an Auto Fit feature that allows you to wear the hair and clothes for Genesis, Genesis 2, and Genesis 3.
Even though it says Auto-Fit, you have to manually specify what the target hair is for the figure.
If you look closely, you’ll see words like “Genesis”, “Genesis 2 Female”, “Genesis 3 male”, etc., and you can rely on them to complete the Auto-Fit.
Done, there. Auto-Fit is incomplete due to protruding face.
I clicked on the hair to make it selected, and then I made the Z Scale a little bigger in the Posing tab (if it is not displayed, choose Window→Panes (Tabs)→Posing).
In addition, Posing tab is similar to Parameters tab, but the point is that you can operate it even if the value of Scale (scaling) is set to a hidden attribute.
Get dressed
The procedure is the same as for hair.
For example, let’s put on a shirt for Genesis3.
Note that if you don’t cancel Autofit or select a figure before calling the clothes, the clothes will be called into the scene with the default shape.
If you don’t know what to do, select an outfit and delete it with the Del key on your keyboard and start over from the beginning.
Applying small items (ribbons, etc.)</h3
The procedure is the same as for hair; Auto-Fit doesn’t work.
Save
Depending on the specifications of the machine, DAZ STUDIO may become inoperable after rendering and terminate abnormally. Once you’ve painstakingly placed the figures and such, you can save the scene.
Here’s how to store it.
Render (draw)
If you don’t want to go into detail and want to draw and output an image file…
Well, I guess the camera icon is the easiest to understand.
Because the rendering setting is somewhat troublesome, please refer here.
In the meantime, now I can call up the figure, dress it, and even draw it!
How to pose PowerPose and ActivePose
DAZ STUDIO has a number of ways to pose figures. For now, it’s a good idea to remember how to combine PowerPose and ActivePose.
After trying many different methods, I found this method to be the easiest and easiest to understand.
Symmetry for pose reversal
Use the Symmetry window to flip the pose horizontally.
The left and right of the pose will now be switched. If you want to make it symmetrical, you can specify the following
Example of copying the pose from Left (left) to Right (right) to make it symmetrical.
If you want to reverse it, set Direction to Right to Left to copy the pose from right to left to make it symmetrical.
Simple, cursory writing
Apparently, the combination of position and orientation of the lights is profound, so being an eternal amateur, I don’t really know. Here are some examples of using 360-degree images as background and light source.
Iray Preview: Check the final render in a short time
Even if the figure calling and posing can be done by feeling, it is difficult to set up a preview. It bothers me a lot when I don’t know the right answer.
I want to preview a realistic, near-rendered image!
Anime-style display in Iray
The way to display a cel animation-like effect depending on the materials used. A slightly more subtle example.
Changing textures and materials
You can apply the shaders included with DAZ STUDIO to make the texture of a $1 item look different, and it’s a lot of work to do one at a time.
G8 dressed for G3, G2 and Genesis
DAZ STUDIO has an auto-fit feature that allows you to wear different types of clothes, and Genesis8 allows you to wear the clothes of G2 and G3 figures from Genesis onwards.
However, the auto-fit accuracy of the shoes is a bit questionable.
Fourth generation clothes like Victoria4 and Michael4 don’t auto-fit to G8 (they don’t show up as an option), so you’ll need to use a converter.
How to write a script for DAZ STUDIO
You can automate troublesome operations. If you know about it at least briefly, you may be able to use it conveniently by appropriating the published free scripts. It’s pretty applied, but I’m just going to introduce it.
Iray Server Collaboration
If the machine isn’t powerful, why don’t you just let the render farm draw it! So, I tried Iray Server cooperation. Because of the change of the license system, Iray Server has disappeared from the major render farms, and I can’t use it… I had a sad ending.
I’d like to introduce the record of my hard work to run the trial version of Iray Server.
Work with Blender Rendering and physics simulation via obj and FBX
Information on how to work with Blender for free. The free 3DCG software Blender has evolved little by little to become multifunctional and has a lot of information.
Mainly, the procedures for exchanging data between the two software are shared, which can be linked in obj and FBX formats.
Blender, which has recently been adding high-end features, can use physical renderers such as Cycles (path tracing) and Eevee (rasterization). In addition, the ability to handle unrealistic rendering and high-speed DOTS physics simulation using FreeStyle is attractive.
Works with Zbrush for modeling and morphing with a claywork feel
Zbrush and DAZ STUDIO can easily work together using the GoZ plugin (free). For this reason, Zbrush is positioned as a modeler with a high affinity for DAZ Studio. Morphing of figures, wrinkles in clothes, etc. can be easily processed without having to hand over files.
This is a must for the creation of original characters, which is not possible with existing morph combinations alone.
Tips
Here are some interesting tricks that you can do using the basic functions of DAZ STUDIO.
Hair animation with deformer feature
An example of how a simple combination of functions can achieve complex movements. The hair fluttering in the wind is animated with no dForce, just the deformer function.
Animation of analogue movement with Puppeteer
With a unique mechanism called Puppeteer, the timing of the animation can be input with the mouse in real time. It is possible to create an exquisite analog motion that cannot be achieved by hand-editing the keyframe.
Motion can be divided and layered, so you can create an animation of a human expression that moves in a complicated way. It’s not a general system, so it may be a disadvantage that it’s not easy to get used to.
How to make it easier to preview a huge background set
This is a basic feature that makes it easy to position the camera with the basic function of cutting the background as if it had been cut with an iron sword.
I’m moving the camera in a complex house object and a wall appears in front of me and squeak! You’re in my way! It is a technique to break through the situation of “I don’t know what to do. This feature, too, has been unbeknownst to me for a long time.
Decal (apply textures in three dimensions)
This is a technology that allows you to paste a 2D image into a 3D image like a sticker without thinking about it, without UV expansion.
It’s a basic feature of DAZ STUDIO, but I didn’t know about it for a long time. It has a wide range of applications. In addition to tattoos and the like, if it’s a still image, it’s likely to make tears, blood, sweat, etc.
Boob Fingers: How to make your breasts soft and deformable</h3
An example of deforming a boob with a basic function (deformer).
There are a lot of restrictions, but you can zing zing and zing zing in real time.
Deformer to increase the depth of the background
If you use an accurate perspective of 3DCG, you will feel that the depths are narrower. It’s an attempt to apply exaggerated perspective to 3DCG like Totoro and other famous anime. Specifically, the background is deformed so that a one-point perspective looks like a two-point perspective.
How to reverse the light source from a two-dimensional background to blend in with the figure
Trying to get the entire background set in 3D is expensive, time-consuming, and time-consuming. A useful way to do this is to use a 2D image as a background. By downloading the background image from free material sites and setting the IBL (image-based light source), it is possible to blend the figure into the background image. The key point is that there is no need to work on lighting settings, such as light placement, because it is calculated backwards from the image.
The following article explains how to convert a 360-degree image to HDR (high-degree image that can be used as a light source), and the middle part of the article explains how to use a 2D image.
How to deal with errors and problems in DAZ STUDIO
It’s not an error, but something is wrong with the figure display
The figures are being updated daily. If you don’t install the updated data, the display can go haywire.
If you see a strange mark on the top right of the Smart Contents icon, it’s a sign that it needs to be updated. Let’s update it without thinking about it.
Errors when trying to use dForce
When my computer is old, I get an error when I try to use the cloth simulation function dForce. The only way to deal with it is to buy a new computer (or change the video card to a new one).
I installed the plugin, but it doesn’t appear in the menu
Some plugins require you to enter a serial number. However, I don’t get a message that says, “The serial number is not included, please insert it. It could be said to be a spartan response.
Please refer to the “Installation” section of the following article where you can enter your serial number.
I can’t find the figure I installed in DAZ Studio
To be exact, it’s “Looks like the installation is done, but I don’t know where I’m going with it.
The quickest way to find them is to go to Smart Contents, select “Sort by Order Date:Recent First” and click on All Products.
Items are displayed in order of purchase date.
Enter text to filter by…” just above “Sort by… If you type a part of the item name into the search window that appears, it will be displayed normally.
Nothing to show in Smart Content, ! Mark icons are displayed
If you don’t see anything in Smart Content, you may have misconfigured it.
In my experience, it’s often the case that the file that stores the content has Japanese language and the foreign DAZ STUDIO doesn’t handle it well.
First, let’s check out the settings.
When Content Directory Manage is displayed, check if the file path of “CMS Cluster Directory” or “DAZ Connect Data” has Japanese characters in it.
If the file path is Japanese, click on the file path to make it selected, then click on “Directory:Edit” on the left side of the screen to specify another folder (without Japanese in the file path).
When you change it, a message like “Your current content database is going to be destroyed” comes out and scares you, but if you can’t do anything else, you can just push through with “Yes”.
If you change it, let’s change the installation folder of DAZ Install Manager too.
Now, the icon should appear in Smart Content…
DAZ Studio Glossary
Wouldn’t you hate it if the first time you saw the DAZ Studio description site there was a bunch of jargon all over the place? I hate it.
I’ve put together a list of terms that I’ve been playing around with DAZ STUDIO and thought, “What the hell are you talking about?
Iray Iray
I think it reads “Iray”, but I don’t know because I’ve never heard it pronounced by ear. When Iray preview is turned on, it is possible to display in real time in a form close to the rendered image even if it does not render.
If the graphics board is non-powered, the display will be very heavy.
dForce dForce
DAZ Studio’s physical computing capabilities. You can simulate how a cloth or hair becomes fluffy or wrinkled according to gravity. It won’t work without a decent graphics board. It takes a fair amount of time to simulate it.
Dform Dform
It seems to be a DAZ-style coined term for “Deform. A feature for making simple morphs yourself. It’s supposed to be a useful function, but it’s not very sophisticated and difficult to use.
With a little ingenuity, it can be used as a “taper” function.
DAZ Script DAZ Script
A scripting language for automatic operation of DAZ Studio, a proprietary language similar to Java Script. There aren’t many explanatory sites and materials, so the hurdle is high if you see it for the first time.
Shader shader
Texture data that can be assigned to 3D shapes. If you assign a glass shader to a cube, the cube will look like glass, and you can play with just the shader that comes with DAZ Studio.
If you know what each parameter of the Surface means, you can fine-tune it yourself and play with it even more.
Smart Contents
A screen to find a figure or prop in DAZ Studio, similar to Windows Explorer.
For example, by displaying only the data that can be used for the currently selected figure, you can’t find the figure you want because there’s too much data. It can reduce the stress of “I don’t have to do this.
However, I still feel like I haven’t mastered it.
Figure
The 3D data that can be posed in DAZ Studio is called a figure. Strictly speaking, clothes and hair are also figures, but they are often referred to as “figure bodies”, “hair”, “clothes”, “shoes”, etc. (Part of it is my selfish local rule-ishness.)
Props
A 3D object that does not have joints (bones) is called a prop. I call it that, but I can’t imagine what it looks like from the word sense, so maybe I should call it a “prop”.
Bone
A skeleton for posing. The figure has a simple stick man inside, and the pose of the stick man is accompanied by the surrounding flesh (polygons).
Setting and adjusting a bone is called “rigging”.
Material
It is used in a similar sense to shader. I think it often refers to texture data that is specific to a particular object. You can change the color of your hair by switching materials.
In Smart Contents, the figure data is often stored in a folder called “Material”.
The UV map (texture assignment position) is different between figures of different generations, so it can’t be used around.
Depending on the material settings, parts can also be made to glow.
Morph
Data for deforming a figure or other object. Morph Target, which transforms the figure by changing the parameters of the Paramters window.
The whole figure becomes puffy and muscular, and the chest part of the clothes is peeled off. I have taken the liberty of calling it a “stripped morph” because it transforms into a stripped feeling.
For example, the following tool adds “stripped morphing” to even $1.99 items that don’t contain any morphing, for example
Inside, there’s even a maniacal morph set out there that creates droopy tits and triple buns.
The best way to create an original character is to add a morph set to the base character, such as Genesis 8, and adjust the parameters.
Rendering
To create an image of an object placed in a scene by drawing it neatly. The parameters are complicated and difficult to understand. For now, I try to memorize the results by changing various parameters and recording the results.
It is also possible to adjust the shaders and draw like a cell animation. It’s a technique called “toon rendering.
It’s very difficult to set the light to render beautifully. I give up on elaborate writing and try to keep it “loose”.
What is the model number of the GPU that runs DAZ Studio normally?
I used to have a 10 year old GT440, which was a tough one, but when I switched to the GT 1030, it was a whole new world to me.
NVIDIA Geforce GT 440
A graphics board from around 2011. Silent type with low power consumption.
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- Iray Photo Realistic Preview works if you don’t run any other apps
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- dForce doesn’t have the required standards, so it doesn’t work
When I try to use dForce, I get an error saying that it doesn’t support opencl1.1.
NVIDIA Geforce GT 1030
The graphics board is circa 2017. Silent type with low power consumption.
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- Iray photorealistic preview works effortlessly
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- dForce It’s not fast, but it does work
It’s low-profile compatible even if your PC specs are low, and the actual price tag by 2020 will be around 10,000 yen. If you want to get a computer to run DAZ STUDIO with minimal investment, it’s a decent choice.
