World Machine!

For all of you Terragen lovers out there I have found a great program that you can use in conjunction with the Terragen program! (Actually I didn't find it - the good folks at Renderosity's Terragen Forum recommended this program.



It is a separate program that lets you create and modify 3D terrains that you can then import in Terragen. You can build some stunning-looking terrains with this program! I'm still learning it myself and you can see my progress so far:

You see, with using the Terragen program you can still create some good-looking terrains like so:



But with the World Machine Program you can also import .bmp files into the World Machine Program and add different "filters to it and get some very good looking effercts.

Here is currently a work-in-progress that I am currently working on:



It's called:

Ancient Ruins!

You can find out more about World Machine (including a free download of the program) by clicking here!

My 3D Page!

Long before I had this blog, I had a 3d website where I posted about my interest in 3d designing. The site was hosted on AOL. However AOL has discontinued it's web page hosting so I had to move my page to another host!


Well I was finally able to move my 3D page! You can get to it by clicking here.

My page also includes some of my other renders as well as links to some 3d-related information such as free downloads and such!

I'm also thinking about selling some of my own object from this site as well!

Vue6 - I Am Still Learning!

As I said before I'm still learning how to use this program. I have also mentioned that I have the Personal Limited Edition and that puts watermarks and the Vue6 logo on all the renders.

I'm getting a lot more interested in this 3d program so I decided to find out how much the real version costs. First I found out that I have the Personal Limited Edition of Vue6 Infinite! To buy the full program costs $695. It is definitely on my "wish list!

To find out more about this program (and also where to download the Personal Limited Edition) just click here.

I'm currently on page 125 of the tutorial and here is how my work looks so far:




I'm currently working with the eco-systems aspect of Vue6 which involves being able to (and create) objects as part of an ecosystem. For instance in the picture above you can see some grass and rocks - all put in using the ecosystem option.

Instead of placing an object one at a time, the ecosystem lets you place as many of an object that you want and it even slightly changes the look of the object so that they all won't look the same!

My Fractal Page Has Moved!

Originally all of my websites were on AOL but since AOL has decided to discontinue its member pages I have had to move my websites elsewhere!

My Fractal Page has been moved to here.

This is a fractal that I created using the fractal program called Ultra! It is a very powerful program and it has a lot of options! You can find out more about this fractal program (unfortunately it is not a free program) by visiting my Fractal Page!

I also have a couple of other fractal programs as well but I'm still learning them and the Ultra Program is the one that I mostly use. It is a great program for creating fractals!

Vue6 - I Am Still Learning!

I have been playing around with my PLE version of Vue6. I have also been going through the tutorial and am coming to realize just how this program has so many options and features on it!

Like I said I'm still learning but I managed to create a short video - using Vue6 -

The quality isn't 100% but I was in such a rush to get it done that I let it use the poorer quality to make the video.



Here is a render that I made using the Vue6 program. Now I have the Personal Limited edition which puts watermarks and the Vue6 logo on your renders - yeah its a bummer I know - but still the program is still quite usable!

I had actually started this render because I wanted to enter on of the 3d contests but I didn't finish making the render in time.

The cottage I made using Wings3d and then imported it as an .obj file into Vue6. Once I imported the cottage, I then went through the steps of giving materials to the different parts of the cottage. The trees were done in Vue6 - they have a great option for that!

Turning it into a video required some effort but once I get used to the program it should be much easier to do!

Want Some Free GREAT Castle Models?

I just joined this site called Cornucopia3d that has message forums relating to the 3d graphics program Vue!

Right now I reading the threads where everyone is introducing themselves and I am enjoying reading about everyone! A lot of the people there have professional 3d graphics careers! (Which would be great info for my Working From Home blog) I'm also encouraged by the lot of different age ranges of the individual artists!

One particular member caught my eye when they talked about their 3d graphic models that they have made. I went to their site and saw CASTLES! - which I LOVE! I love being able to make 3d medeavil scenes and castles are a big part of that!



I should tell you that these models are large in size! I'm downloading one castle model now and its over 30 MB's in size!

But they look great and I hope you enjoy using them!

Free 3D Castle Models

!

V3!

V3 stands for Victoria 3 which is a basic female 3d model in Poser!

While I still have only Poser's original version, I DO have a free copy of Daz Studio that was available as a free download and it included the basic V3 female character! It also came with an assortment of other things which resulted in the picture that you see above - (that I made!) This free download of Daz Studio came with all sorts of stuff! For female 3D models I have Victoria3, Aiko 3 and for a male 3D model I have Michael 3! The program also came with fairy-like props for V3 including wings, shoes, wand and a fairy dress which has several different textures to make the fairy dress look different!

While I'm having a lot of fun with the stuff that was included with the program I'm also itching to make a lot of other different kinds of renders and I am finding a lot of free props, clothing and hair for the Victoria 3 model! Right now I'm downloading some free 3d hair and clothing props for the V3 model. You can find some great 3D conforming clothes for Victoria 3 by clicking here and you can find a couple of good 3D hair models for the V3 character by clicking here.

The life and times of Malady

The life and times of Malady

I found this GREAT blog written by a woman and I just love it!

What I love about this blog is that she is using cartoon sketches to talk about her life - and her life and how she views it is soooo funny!

The drawings are outstanding and full of life and very funny!

I have bookmarked her blog and I think that you should visit it too because it's very funny!

More Than Just 3D Art!

It's becoming more and more apparent that my artwork is going to involve more than just creating 3D art!

I happened upon a very nice blog that was about urban photography and it made me think about my own photography that I have taken around my own local area. Although my photography doesn't compare to the ones I saw on that blog it does make me realize that I am a photographer of sorts!



The above picture is of the local community center in my area which also houses our local community library.

3D Program - MakeHuman

Here is a render I made using the program "MakeHuman". Of course this 3D program makes human models - both male and female.

The background I made using Bryce.

The copyright information and my signature rose was added as an additional layer using the 2D program Gimp!

The dress and the hair was edited using the Wings3d program.

3D Modeler?

I saw someone posting that they were a 3d modeler and that they were looking for work! Now the professional side of me was thinking that they should at least be a little bit more prepared by having at least some sort of resume and a website or blog so that they could showcase some of their work!

The personal side of me wondered what it would be like to be a professional 3D modeler!

I definitely have a long ways to go before I could consider myself a professional 3d modeler but now that I think about it, people have downloaded one of my 3d models. So while I have not been actually paid that does qualify me as a 3d modeler!

Want To Download Some of My Art?

I am a member of a site called ShareCG. It lets you upload your artwork so that others can download it. It also means that you can download and use other people's arts as long as you adhere to the conditions that they place.

You can download all sorts of artwork like backgrounds, 3d models, textures and even 3d specific software files like those for Terragen and Bryce! (If you do download any of the artwork be sure to leave a comment for the creater of the artwork because I am sure that they will appreciate that!

Like I said above, I am a member of this site but it took me a long while before I had created anything to upload!

Well I finally managed to create my fist upload - which was a candy-cane-like texture/material! I have since also uploaded some of my other artwork which includes the above pictured doghouse model that I created in Wings3d and that I am modeling from the Wings3d tutorial.

• While I have successfully managed to upload the doghouse model (in .obj format) I'm still learning about the texture / material aspect of it. I mean I did make a material to go with the doghouse but it never occured to me (until much later) that I could also upload the material for the doghouse too!)

I also have a fractal picture in the shape of a flower bouquet and anohter fractal in the shape of a spider web!

There is also a Terragen-related render that can be used as a background.

I'm having a lot of fun creating these 3d (and 2d) artwork!

Rose's Artwork

TrueSpace Now Available As A Free Download!

TrueSpace 7.6 is a very powerful 3D Graphics Program! (I should also tell you that it is a very powerful and big graphics program!) It is now being made available as a free download - and it's a very big download at that! Here is just a bit more information about the program:

"trueSpace7.6 is a fully-featured 3D authoring package that will let you model, texture, light, animate and render 3D content. As well as traditional images and movies, you can also make 3D content for online shared spaces, and for Virtual Earth."

I downloaded the program myself (and of course it took a long while! When I first opened it up I realized that I was going to have to have some sort of tutorial besides me because this 3D program has a lot of options! What I'm most interested in is being able to make characters and there are lots of different examples of characters being modeled using the Truespace program. Since I have just downloaded the program I have only had time to look around. Hopefully I will be able to create something and post it here.

You can find out more about this powerful 3D program and how to download it by clicking here.

October 2010 Update!

For those of you that are still looking for a free download of this program you can still download a free version by clicking here.

Ultra Fractal Program

Here is a small screenshot of just what the Ultra Fractal Program can do!

Actually this fractal program has a LOT of different options!

At the time that I was able to download this program, it was a free download at the time. But now I do believe that you do have to pay for the program.

I Also Like Creating Fractals!

Welcome To My Web!

I should also mention that I like creating fractal pictures as well! You can view my fractal page by clicking here and you can also see my Renderosity.com art gallery by clicking here.


I do have several fractal creating programs but my one of choice is called Ultra. You can find out more about this program by clicking here.  Recently I tried to create a fractal strictly from scratch and using the Ultra Fractal Program - it just made me crazy!

I have since come to learn (since I have calmed down!) that it would be better to experiment with the different fractal options and remebering to save the fractal parameters that I like that I may want to use later.

Vue6 - I Am Still Learning!

As I said before, I'm still learning this newest 3d graphics program that was available as a free download!

Below is my latest creation:

The Witch's House

I have quite an interest in witchcraft and all things witchy. I have started a blog about myself being a witch and you can read more about it by visiting my page here.

One of the great things about this 3d program is that it creates very good atmospheres - meaning sunny days and not so sunny days! It also has a very good variety of terrain options. The little house that you see (its called a cazel) - that model came with the program. The trees also came as part of the program and Vue6 is also great for creating all types of different-looking trees!

The bench I made using Wings3d and the broom I made using Spatch. The broom took me about 3 hours to create! - and I still haven't perfected that yet! Not to mention I'm still trying to create the right-looking texture for the broom bristles. (I'm also working on adding a human, female model to this as well!)

But so far, this is how far I have gotten!



To read my other Vue6-related blog posts, just click here

I'm Still Learning................

Here is the latest thing that I have been working on. The background was created in Vue6 - the personal, limited edition (which includes a watermark) - and then imported into Daz Studio as the background.

In Daz Studio I'm working with the basic Victoria 3 model and was able to make her look like myself (as much as possible - LOL!). The hair was a free download that I got at Renderosity.com and then in post render, I added length to the hair in my 2D program - Gimp.

The same thing applies to the dress. The original dress model was the "fairy" dress model that came with the Daz Studio download. Then I post-rendered the dress by making it longer and slimmer. The actual mateial of the dress I made in Gimp - sort of like a sparkly dress texture that I kind of made from scratch!

The shoes - slippers I should say - also came with Daz Studio.

The flowers also came with Daz Studio.

There are a lot of other things that I want to be able to do mainly dealing with the hair and clothes. This time I just added to the hair and clothes when I rendered the picture in Gimp - but ultimately I would like to alter the hair and clothing using my 3d editing program - Wings3d - so that I can do all types of different things!

Vue6

Vue6 is another 3d creating program that I was also able to download for free! However the version that was available for downloading is it's "Personal Limited Edition" version. When I saw how powerful the program was I wasn't too dissappointed that they were limited options! One of those limits include a watermarked version of your render.

Vue6 is sort of comparable to Bryce in that it does create scenery and landscape pictures. You can also create 3d objects with this program as well!

I will post one of my Vue6 pictures after I have had a chance to learn this program more.

Having Fun With Daz Studio!

Lately I have been having fun with the Daz Studio program! I got it as a free download from the Daz site - I don't know whether its still available as a free download though -

The free download (and it was a HUGE download included its own set of models which included the Victoria3 model along with some fairy-like objects.



Here you can see a model that I made (after some trial and error headaches!) using the Daz3d program.

Now the background I made with Bryce and then I imported that background into the Daz3d program. But everything else you see in this 3d render was from the Daz3d program itself! That includes the hair, clothing and even the darker skin color - they were all models that were either included in the original download or I got them as a free download from Renderosity.com.

This render took a while for me to do!

And there are still yet other things that I can do with this model and the 3d program itself!

About the hardest thing to do is to edit the objects such as the hair and the clothing to get them to look the way that I want them to. But adding (and creating) textures is turning out to be a lot of fun too!

Hopefully I remembered to save the original file so that I can "play" with it some more!

What Is A Watermarked Image? How Do You Watermark An Image?

Here is an example of a watermarked image.

So many people are concerned with having their images not copied by someone else and this is an example of a watermarked image. As you can see I have the main picture (a 3d render of myself) plus I have the copyright information added as well. How did I accomplish this. Well I used a graphics program (Gimp) to add another layer to my picture and I put the copyright information in that layer. Then I flattened the image so that the copyrighted information appeared as part of the entire image.

Now watermarking your image is a good way to show who the image belongs to but it is not a fool-proof method against someone actually "stealing" your images. I have seen posts from some graphic designers who have said that people (and clients) have used watermarked images so they don't have to pay for them. "Un-watermarking" an image is quite tedious but some people have been doing it just so that they can avoid paying for the image.

And I'm sorry to tell you that even though your image may be watermarked it can still be copied off of the internet.

So even though you may think that watermarking your image will protect it from being "stolen" it is not 1005 foolproof!

Daz Studio - I Think I Have Reached A Milestone!

I was very grateful to be able to get Daz Studio as a free download. It is the next best thing to having Poser (which is on my wishlist!).

It took me a while to get the hang of using Daz Studio and I'm glad that the free download including some 3d models.

I also started to download other models so that I could use them with my Daz program. However I was having quite a hard time with putting the models in the right folder so that it would show up in the contents of Daz Studio.

I had downloaded quite a few models and each time I would download them they would be put in a new folder so I had a LOT of different folders!

So I was unzipping a new model that I downloaded and it came with instructions on how to add the model to the Daz Studio contents - which I decided to try. It worked! Now before I get too excited, I only did this once and I'm 'rarin to try it again! If I'm successful then I'll have the way to add the models to the Daz contents without having a whole lot of different folders.

PS - I also discovered that the .obj's that I download, I can edit them using one of my 3d programs! This just means that I will have a whole lot of "fun" hours tweaking and working with the objects and creating and modifying them so that I can create objects of my own!

Contests

Lately I have been entering some of the contests on Renderosity.com.

To be able to enter their contests you do have to join as a member but joining as a member is free.

So far I have entered two of their Teragen-related contents. Teragen is a terrain generating program that you can download for free. (Please see my previous posts on this program)

Even entering their contests is a big move forward for me. I always thought about how I would like to enter their contests but I never did in the past because I was always doing my grant research work on the computer and never really did any "fun" things on my computer.

Now that has changed.

All work and no play makes Rose a dull kind of gal!

By the way, I haven't won any of the contests yet but there have been people that voted for me!

Shapemaker

ShapeMaker is another 3D modeling program that I was able to download for free! As you can see by this picture, the program makes shapes such as tree stumps and logs and even flower petals! You can also make vases with the program too.

For me it was difficult to get the "gist" of this program at first but the more I play around with the program, the more better I am understanding it.

So far I create the shapes in the Shapemaker program and then import them into Bryce where I add the textures/materials.

It's quite something that I have all these 3D modeling programs that I'm going to create all my "art" with!

You can visit the site and find out more about this program by clicking here.

However I think I should warn you that I just visited the site today and notice that they now have support for the program BUT that support costs $150 an hour!

"Do Not Enter!"

I have always been fascinated by things "gothic" and Bryce is a great program to work on some gothic-looking renders. I have a website called "Everything's Related" which has information and links about things relating to witchcraft and the like. Since I do have an interest in witchcraft, wicca and witches I thought that making some 3d renders would be great!

I made the above picture using Bryce. Even though I didn't think that there were that many objects in the picture it did still take a long time to render. Most of the objects that you see in the picture were made from Bryce except for the tree stumps which were made with a program called "Shapemaker" (I'll post about that program later).

The trees, however, were made in the Bryce program and I think that it makes for a more "spooky" effect if the tree branches are bare. I also like the look of night in these types of renders.

With the Bryce program you can make almost everything that you see in the rendered picture above - except for the tree stumps. You can change how the sky looks, and what colors the sky will be in. You can even add the moon, sun and stars to your render as well. The mausoleum was a 3d object that I was able to download for free from Renderosity.com. The light shining on the mausoleum was also added with the Bryce3d program.

About the hardest thing to do was the "Do Not Enter" sign because I never made a sign before previously. But I did manage to get it accomplished and the text shows through quite clearly.

What is so great about the Bryce program is that even though I have rendered the picture above, I still have the original Bryce file of the picture so that I can work on it some more for things like adding new objects or just general tweaking. Plus I can save the objects in the Bryce library file so that I can use them for other renders.

I can see why so many people enjoy making 3d art!

Plant Studio!

PlantStudio is another 3D program that is available as a free download. This program lets you make flowers of all types! You can "breed" your plants giving you a whole lot of different varieties of your plant or flowers.

If you go to the website you will see lots of other things that you can download besides the program itself. You can download plant and flower models that others have made. There is also a mailing list that you can join as well.

The flowers were all made using the Plant Studio program and they were exported in the .dxf format into Bryce where the scenery including the rocks, trees, skies and landscape were added from the Bryce program.

Enhancing Hair Using A 2D Graphics Program

Here is my original picture:



I wanted to give myself longer hair (plus I just wanted to pactice on being able to create realistic-looking hair. I did some work on the original render above and this is what I came out with (so far):



I'm using the Gimp program (which is a free 2D graphics editing program) to enhance the hair on the 3d model. It still doesn't look quite right yet.

Terragen

Terragen is a terrain generator program that is available as a free download from the Planetside website.

Currently I'm working on a terrain from the Renderosity Terragen Challenge so that I can enter their latest Terragen Challenge. This challenge involves downloading the terragen file specified for the monthly challenge and then creating a "look" for it. One of the rules is that you can't change / alter the landscape. But what you can do is give it different cloud, atmosphere and sun settings. And I just found out today that you can also change the surface of the landscape meaning you can make the landscape itself look different - ie snow, grass, soil, etc.

If you would like to take part in this (and the other) monthly terragen challenges you first have to become a member of Renderosity.

I have had and used this program before - just for my own pleasure - and you can see one of my renderings below:



So I'm off to fine-tune my Terragen challenge..........................

I Didn't Think Of My "Photography"

It never occured to me to add the photos that I have taken as part of my "artist's portfolio"! But I was visiting an Artzone member's site where she had put up pictures that she had taken in her area and it made me realize that I had been doing the same thing for a while now! The pictures that I have taken so far have been with my camera phone on my cellphone. So now that means that a digital camera will be needed by me! (And since I am a "self-employed blogger - amongst other things - I can deduct the cost of the digital camera on my income tax! - Thank you Adsense Consultant!

Below you will see a picture that I took of a cherry blossom tree in my area that was in full bloom during one of the past spring seasons!



To see more photography of my area, you can visit my LaMott, PA Blog

So now I can add photography to my artist's resume!

Editing A Hair Model

I have a 3d hair model that I'm currently "tweaking".

I'm using the hair model on my basic Victoria 3 model that I have adapted to my own look.

Unfortunately the hair that I'm working with is in the model's face and that is what I have been working on.

I'm using the Wings3d program to edit this hair model and so far I have managed to get the areas that were in the model's face removed. There are still some small areas that have to be fixed but for right now I have come to the conclusion that I can paint over these problems when I post-render the picture.

I also had to import the basic Victoria3 model into the same program so that I could see how the hair would look on the model.

I'm still doing some "tweaking" with the hair - like I'm trying to figure out how to add bangs - which I can also do when I post-render the image.

I have even worked on this hair model and then imported the 3d object into Bryce. I was doing that to try and find a good hair texture so that the hair would look more realistic. In Wings3d you can save your 3d object and give it a simple material color - nothing too complicated, just a basic color - and when you import it to Bryce it should import with that material color.

So for right now I'm tweaking the hair model and trying to find a good hair texture to add to the hair object so that the hair looks more realistic.

Wings3d!

I just had a fun 4 HOURS "playing" around with Wings3d which is a 3d modeling program.

I have had it for a while so I don't even remember where I got it from but I do know that it is available as a free download on the Internet.

What was I doing for 4 hours? Actually I was following along with the tutorial for Wings3d. The first tutorial showed how to make a "crude" tooth model. The second tutorial is for a doghouse and that is the one that I am working on now.

The above picture may look like an easy object to you but it took me a long time to even get this far - and I'm not even finished with the tutorial yet!

About the hardest thing to do was to make the doors and windows see through - K had a hard time with that one!

As I'm learning the program things are becoming easier to do even though I have a long ways to go - I'm having fun though!



The final render of the doghouse picture was created in Bryce where I simply imported the doghouse model (as it is so far) into Bryce (which I also saved the object in Bryce so that I don't have to keep importing the same 3d object model over and over again).

Me?

Below you will see one of my very first (presentable) pictures that I created!

It took me a long time to get this final render but it was well worth it! (It also showed me that if one has patience and takes their time you will learn more about what you are doing!)




I made this picture using Daz Studio! It was a free download and I'm glad that I was able to get it! The free downloaded included some Victoria 3 models and poses and I was able to convert the skin tone to one that matched my own! I was able to do this after downloading some free Daz-Studio related items for the V3 model.

Daz Studio is a very powerful program. Besides already including models that you can work with you can also change the model itself! You can make them fatter or skinnier or even change the features of their face so that they can look cat or feline-like. You can change the poses of your model(s) too!

The hair that is included in the picture (and looks very close to my own hair) is from a free hair model that I got from Renderosity.com - a good place to get some free 3d objects!

Now working on this model of myself also reminds me to save a working copy of this model in Daz Studio so that I can work with it over and over again. That's one very important lesson to learn when you are doing 3d work and that is to save copies (and backups) of your work! - I learned that the hard way!

Once I finished creating this model in Daz Studio I saved it to my 3d program (Gimp) and did a lit post-editing to clear up some of the areas - especially the hair!

So what do you think?

About The 3d Beginner?

Hello World!

I decided to start this (additional) blog because of my love (and sometimes frustration) of creating 3d art!

Mind you I am definitely a beginner!

But I'm having a lot of fun with it!

I work at home doing grant research and you can find out more basic information about grants and the grant process by going to my Grant Basics 101 Blog.

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