Phantascene

What is 3D?

A three dimensional object is defined as something that gives the perception of depth. IN a standard drawing of a stick figure only two dimensions are used. Side to side and up and down. Referred to as the X axis and Y axis. In three dimension (3D) a third axis is added to the image, the Z axis, that indicates the depth of the object.

Using the X, Y and Z axis you can map an item in three dimensional space.

Suppose you are standing at a point and looking at a line that stretched directly ahead of you into the distance. We will tag this the X axis. The horizon ahead of you is the y axis, which runs parallel to the X axis. These two lines define two dimensions. To add the third dimension we need a third line that runs directly up and down at the point that the X axis and the Y axis meet.

We will tag the point that all three axis meet as 0.0 in our example. We will also use a measurement of one step to measure distances. If you stand at 0.0 and take one step forward you will have moved one step forward on the X axis. This will place you one step along the X axis, but at the same level on the Z axis, and at the same position side to side on the Y axis. Your new position is: X = 1.0, Y = 0.0, Z = 0.0

If you take steps to the left or right, then your position on the Y axis will change. Let’s take three steps to the right.

Now we are at: X = 1.0, Y = 3.0, Z = 0.0

We are one step forward and three steps to the right. Go two steps up a ladder and we have: X = 1.0, Y = 3.0, Z = 2.0

If we had stepped backward, or to the left, or gone down a ladder instead of up one, then the coordinates would be counted in negative numbers. So if we start back at 0.0 and take one step back, three steps to the left, and climb down two rungs on a ladder we are at:

X = -1.0, Y = -3.0, Z = -2.0

These are the measurements that are used in 3D to create objects rendered in three dimensions. I will explain how that works in another post.

New FCC Rules Restrict Loud Commercials

85 years after John Logie Baird demonstrated televised moving pictures, nearly 50 years after my dad stood in front of a television at the World’s Fair and marveled at the sight of himself on TV in color and twenty years after the introduction of Magnavox Smart Sound that would regulate the sound and help dampen the loud commercials – the FCC has finally decided that it is time to regulate the volume in commercials.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the FCC has taken a major step in eliminating loud commercials. The new rules seek to bring an end to the screaming salesmen era of commercials that are loud enough to still be heard by someone that has stepped away from the television during a commercial break. Under the new rules commercials would be required to have a volume that is the same as the average volume of the programs they accompany.

Known as the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (the CALM act) it will go into effect on December 13, 2012, which gives time for stations and multichannel video programming distributors (MVDP) to reach full compliance with the new rulings.

It can only be hoped that stations and MVPDs will start earlier rather than later to come into compliance with the new rulings that are long overdue.

Well in Daz Studio Freebies

Daz 3D has a well in their freebies section.

The Garden Escape well comes with everything you see in this image, including the nice grassy ground section.

Settings are included to allow you to rotate the well handle and to raise and lower the bucket. There is even a “water” layer inside the well.

Perfect for any town square scene, or for lovers and dreamers to toss a coin into to make a wish.

Patchwork and white objects in Daz Studio – Problem Solved!

In my last post I wrote about how I was having a hard time with some of the items in my scenes showing up as either in weird patchwork pattern or showing up white.

This problem was driving me crazy for a few days and I was starting to get really depressed, since I had purchased the items from the Daz store with the intention of using them in Daz Studio for making a short animated film to test making films for my Mars Station One project.

I primarily made my first post last night because I needed images to go with a request on the Daz forum regarding what the issue might be. One of the kind persons at that forum, a Mr. Haseltine, was very quick to respond and let me know what the issue is.

Both the patch-work look and the white are some kind of issue caused by using Daz Studio to render items that were made using Poser. Poser handles things such as specularity differently than Daz handles them, so the reflection needs to be lowered or removed when using the items in Daz Studio.

This is the second image with the reflection on all items turned down to zero.

So, how do you change the reflection in Daz Studio?

1. In the “Actors, Wardrobe & Props” tab select the “Surfaces (Color)” tab.

2. Select the item in the scene that you want to modify, then click on it’s title in the list in the gray area. This will bring up the adjusters.

3. Scroll down about halfway to find the two adjustments titled: “Reflection Color” and “Reflection Strength”.

4. Move the “Reflection Strength” from 100% down to 0% and try to render your image again. Your weird patchwork or white effect should be corrected and your image will render properly now.

(Click image for larger view)

You can play with the settings, see what they do and pick what is best for your needs. For example, if you need to have the surface reflecting other things in the scene, then rather than turning the reflection down you might remove the map and adjust the strength.

In step four above you would click on the small square in the left of “Reflection Color” and in the drop-down menu select “None”. Then toy with the reflection strength setting until you get the desired result.

These show the same room with the reflection color image removed and the reflection strength set to different levels (100%, 25%, and 8.5%)

Reflection Strength = 100%

Reflection Strength = 25%

Reflection Strength = 8.5%

Weird effects when I render my 3D images

I picked up a few things to make holiday images and because they were needed in a short film I wanted to make, but when I try to render them I end up with really weird stuff happening.

Parts look sort of patch-work after I render things…

Or they will have parts of the scene that are white instead of looking how they should look…

I have no idea what is causing this glitch, but it is about to drive me insane and I really, REALLY, hope that since I bought the things from Daz 3D someone does not come along and Gibbs-smack me saying it is because the images are not Daz compatible or something.

Anyone know why the images are not loading the way they are supposed to load for me? I have tried restarting my computer (a few times) and I tried re-downloading the items. I tried loading JUST the problem items to see if they would render properly and they still did not.

I’m at a loss, and the things are useless if I can not render the scenes they are in.

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UPDATE: Patchwork and white objects in Daz Studio – Problem Solved!