Alright, let’s get into it. I wanted to try making some 3D character art, something a bit more… ahem… adult-oriented, you know? Always been curious but thought it was super complicated. Decided to jump in headfirst yesterday. Here’s how it went down.
Grabbing Stuff and Feeling Lost
First thing, I needed software. Everyone keeps yelling about Blender being free, so I downloaded it. Opened it up… and holy crap. It looked like the control panel of a spaceship. I stared at that 3D cube in the middle like it was gonna bite me. No clue where to even poke something to make it look… well, not like a cube.
Went hunting online. Kept seeing people talk about “DAZ Studio” for this kind of art. Sounded easier. Downloaded that too. Between Blender’s scary interface and DAZ promising drag-and-drop figures, I figured DAZ was my starting point.
Picking a Base and Trying Not to Screw Up
Opened DAZ. They got this basic male and female figure already there – Genesis 8 or whatever. Clicked on the female one. Okay, cool, a naked lady model just standing there. Step one done? Not even close.
Started playing with the sliders for body shapes. BIG mistake. Wanted to give her bigger boobs and a curvier waist. Ended up with something that looked like it had melted in the sun. Legs weird, torso stretched out like taffy. Totally freaky-looking. Had to hit the “Reset” button like twenty times before I stopped experimenting wildly. Lesson learned: small adjustments only!
Found the “Posing” tab. Wanted her to sit down. Holy complexity, Batman! Dozens of options for every damn joint. Trying to bend an elbow felt like I was defusing a bomb. Legs kept clipping through each other weirdly. Spent over an hour just trying to get one simple sitting pose that didn’t look broken. Felt like my brain was leaking out my ears.
Throwing On Fake Skin and Going Blind
Okay, figure sorta shaped and posed. Time for some skin. DAZ has “materials” – basically skins. Loaded a basic one. Looked like cheap plastic. Needed texture, details. Found some “real skin” texture packs people mentioned. Applied it. Looked marginally better, but still fake as hell. Too shiny? Too flat? Couldn’t figure it out.
Started messing with lights. Added a basic spotlight. Shadows looked way too harsh. Added another one on the other side. Now everything looked washed out. Played with brightness, angles. Couldn’t find the sweet spot. Kept flipping between “dark cave” and “interrogation room”. Getting frustrated. The model looked worse under the bad lighting than she did before!
Getting Slightly Less Annoyed
Gave up on advanced lights for the moment. Found a “studio dome light” setting. Turned it on. Wow! Instant improvement. Even lighting everywhere. Not super artistic, but finally didn’t look like garbage. A real “aha!” moment. Simple was better for my dumb beginner brain.
Decided to render a test picture. Clicked render… and stared at the screen for what felt like 5 minutes. How long does this take?! Finally, a basic image popped up. My wonky lady, sitting awkwardly, with simple skin, under flatter light. It was rough. Looked like a beginner did it (which, duh). But it was something. An actual picture I made.
Lessons Beaten Into Me
So, after wrestling with this for hours yesterday, here’s what stuck:
- DAZ is (kinda) easier for the basics when you’re messing with figures, Blender feels like rocket science to start.
- Go easy with the sliders. Wanted to do too much too fast, ended up making monsters. Tiny tweaks only!
- Posing sucks at first. It’s fiddly and takes way longer than you think.
- Simple lighting saved my sanity. Forget fancy setups until you’ve got the basics down.
- Getting any result feels good. Even a bad one is still something you made.
Is it good art? Heck no! But I actually started. It’s messy, frustrating, and you’ll feel stupid plenty of times. But man, that first crummy render? Proof it can be done by a regular idiot like me just clicking around.