Many thanks to all of you for participating!
One of the key things that struck me while going through all the comments, is that there are many great older hairs, that I should be using more of in my renders. I tend to have my favorite outfits and hairs, and I get stuck using only a small group of them. In an effort to broaden my horizons and rediscover some past treasures, I am starting a monthly Oldies but Goodies series.
SWAM has a wonderful and large catalog, so it is not surprising that a variety of products were mentioned. The clear favorite though, was Medea hair.
Medea Hair + ADD-ON is one of the best styles I’ve ever seen for ethnic hair. It can be worn in so many different themes. Casual, Dressy, and then toss on the Add-On for instant fantasy.
~~[Nia]
Laguna-Naoko Hair comes in at a close second. Both of these hairs are themed, unique, and versatile.
Next would have to be the “Laguna-Naoko Hair” So often when you want a “weightless” feeling, you just don’t have the right hairstyle for it, and your scene just flops. I especially love the fact that it STILL supports Victoria 4, who is the female figure I still use the most.
~~[Sgarian]
In terms of future products, there were a variety of requests including-
- More male hair.
- Very long hair. This is definitely on my wishlist as well.
- Hair movement and wind morphs.
- More themed hair (e.g. retro, Gothic, cyberpunk, sci-fi/futuristic).
I would love to see an extra long, like hip length, hair that is completely free-falling; no braids, ties, buns, hairbands, whatever. Then of course lots of different morphs for it to blow around in the wind or just get out of the way.
~~[Sgarian]
And the Lucky Winners Are …
Randomly drawn winners –
- 1st Place ($50 Daz3D GC) – Employee Mangler
- 2nd Place ($25 Daz3D GC) – Cherie
- 3rd Place ($15 Daz3D GC) – Nia
- Extra Winners ($10 Daz3D GC) – Sgarian, Estroyer, Joe Webb
February 2016 Daz GC Giveaway
There were some awesome sales on Daz in December and early January. After going over-budget in December, my New Year’s resolution was to significantly limit spending in the first few months of 2016. Unfortunately, that has proven to be difficult so far.
First, there was the great Egyptian Mega Bundle, the Daz Originals discounts, and then the Genesis 2 character and clothing sale, all of which tempted me into badness. If you are anything like me, now would be a good time for an infusion of Daz gift certificates. Therefore, we are running another Daz GC Giveaway event!
Daz GC Prizes
- 1st Place – $50 Daz3D Gift certificate.
- 2nd Place – $25 Daz3D Gift certificate.
- 3rd Place – $15 Daz3D Gift certificate.
- Extra Winners – $10 Daz3D Gift certificate.
How to Enter
Entering this Daz GC raffle is easy.
- Visit our featured DAZ vendor store.
- Post a comment on this article telling us which product(s) you like best!
- In your comment also include what future product(s) you would like to see from our featured vendor.
- Make sure to include your email in the comment email box. If you win, we will use this to send you your Daz GC. Your email will *not* be publicly visible.
- That is it!!
You may include as much or as little detail as you like. You may post as many times as you like, and also feel free to post questions and suggestions in the comments section below.
This event starts now and will continue until the end of February (29th February). Winners will be chosen randomly from all qualifying comments on this article. Winners will be announced early March.
My Example Entry
To help things along, here is my example entry –
My favorite products are Laguna-Naoko Hair, ValenTina Hair, and Wachiwi Hair.
Laguna-Naoko Hair is great for fantasy renders and it has some great morphs included to move the hair in a variety of cool ways. This allows me to create a more dynamic image, as well as use the hair in a variety of contexts including underwater, wind, wild, and more.
ValenTina Hair is a gorgeous updo that caught my eye as soon as I saw it. I like the way the bangs fall over the face, framing it, the high top, the unique shape of the hair, and the many flowing strands. The overall effect is one of elegance but also vulnerability.
Wachiwi Hair is excellent because it is Native American themed, which is something I always enjoy doing. I especially like all the feathers and ornaments on the hair, which I think makes it stand out.
For the future, I would very much like to see hair with cool morphs (e.g. wind morphs), similar to Laguna-Naoko. Rigged hair, where I have good posing control over the various hair sections are also a big favorite of mine. With greater control, I can make the hair flow naturally with the movement of my figure.
Give It a Try!!
Feel free to ask questions and post additional opinions or suggestions in the comments section below. Most importantly, have fun and thank you for joining! 😀
If you like creating images, we also have a monthly image contest.
My favorite product from SWAM is the Pyrit Hair. I like short hair, and its a versatile product. It looks great on V4 and M4, I appreciate that.
You can never have too many hairstyles, so its hard to choose other products. I really like the MIKO, Wachiwi and Medea products because of their usefulness in setting tone. Baroness, Tressie and Bella all have the 20s-30s upper crust look that works for modern scenes as well.
A future product I would like to see is a good version of Rachael’s hair from Blade Runner. Both versions, but the Roll especially. Its a look that can be used in mid-century, modern and futuristic scenes.
SWAM hair is fantastic
I especial the Mane Hair because I can decide there whether long hair or short hair. It falls super
But the Sally Hair is wonderful to render.
Laguna Naoko Hair is very special but also unique.
My wish for the future even more so fabulous hair. Happy with short and long options as Mane Hair 🙂
I’d have to say my favorites that I own are the Verona and Petite Fleur Hairs, as well as the Elverado Outfit. Both hairs make for some really nice, fancy up-do’s, and I love the curls. The outfit is cute, but PRACTICAL (and modest!), which is something SORELY lacking in most Daz/Poser stores. I mean, let’s face it: no self-respecting woman in her right mind is gonna traipse through the jungle or go dungeon crawling in a GLORIFIED METAL BIKINI; that’s just some men’s fantasy fulfillment.
My favorites that I’m interested in getting in the future would be Medea Hair & Add-on, and Romana Hair, since fully-braided hair isn’t that common. In the future, I’d like to see more like that, possibly w/ longer braids (or dreads), or w/ the sides cornrowed and a faux-hawk on top. Most importantly, I’d like to see cross figure support that features GENESIS 1, since I primarily use that figure (I can have reasonable uniforms/armor for both males AND females). Most hairs w/ poseable parts (like braids or long ponytails) don’t translate over well via Auto-fit, and using figure hair like a prop (by drag-n-dropping it to the head) requires more work to pose. It’s so frustrating seeing an awesome new hair that’s made for V4 & G2F…but not G1. Then I wonder which one to get (if they’re not bundled), knowing I’ll have to put in more effort to get it to look right…but I’m rambling, now.
TL;DR (for future products): faux-hawk w/ braided sides that’s GENESIS *1* compatible! 🙂
This is what I mean by the faux-hawk w/ braids (girl on right; faux-hawk could be curled, too):
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/dancecentral/images/e/e7/Taye-_lilt_concept.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120218012151
My favorite products from Swam are:
Zea hair for Genesis 2 Females. I love this hair, because it looks so well on fairies. I love fairies.
Medea Hair for Genesis 2 Females, because there aren’t alot of high quality for African American females. This is a very high quality hair.
Doll Hair for Genesis 2 Females. This hair is not only great for dolls and cute characters, it’s awesome for dark and Gothic characters too. That is another favorite genre of mine.
Kiriko Hair, Yunko Hair, and Xell Hair all make awesome Anime hair.
I also love Swam’s Ildiko Dancer Bundle
What I would love to see in the future from Swam is more Retro and Gothic hair and maybe some outfits and bundles from the same genre. I would love to have more options for the Flippa hair and bows. I also would like a Genesis 2 and 3 Female version for Babs Tails. Maybe update with the latest tech too to make it more detailed and functional. We need more realistic movement for hair. I also would like to see alot more hair for the males, especially Genesis 2 and 3 Male.
Thank you so much for the contest!
SWAM has wonderful hair. Her creations are very creative, the textures are wonderful and the flow very smooth.
My three Favorites are:
Octavia Hair, Laguna Naoko and the new Rhio Hair. Rhio Hair has so a wonderful texture and shine, i am a bit jealous, my Hair could look like this 😀
Adell and Taia Hair on my Wishlist and soon in my Runtime 😀
I really like the Medea Hair & the Madea Hair add-on. It gives some diversity to not only the marketplace but helps create diversity in your runtime. I would love to see more African-american styled hairs as well as more realistic hairs in the future. I’ll gladly trade render time for realism any day of the week!
I stumbled here by clicking a link I found in the DAZ gallery. I have to say, though, it is going to be pretty hard to choose “favorites” here, since all of SWAM’s hair products are so awesome…
“Mark Hair” for M4 is pretty high on my list, though, since it is probably the first SWAM hair set that I bought. I’ve used it many times, and I still use it. My only regret is the fairly limited morph set that comes with it. I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments by hand over the years. I’ve even run dynamic cloth sims with it in Poser, but that’s another story.
Probably highest on my wishlist, though, is the “Riva Updo Hair.” It looks so classy, and if the curls get in the way of a too highly-contorted pose, you can hide them.
Next would have to be the “Laguna-Naoko Hair” So often when you want a “weightless” feeling, you just don’t have the right hairstyle for it, and your scene just flops. I especially love the fact that it STILL supports Victoria 4, who is the female figure I still use the most.
Then would probably come the “Baroness Hair,” which is another of those really classy hairstyles that never gets old.
What I would LOVE to see? Hmm. Putting aside the question what can I AFFORD…I would love to see an extra long, like hip length, hair that is completely free-falling; no braids, ties, buns, hairbands, whatever. Then of course lots of different morphs for it to blow around in the wind or just get out of the way. Well, that takes care of the girls, now for the boys…Um, let’s see. Another looong hairstyle (perhaps not as long as the girls’…), but pulled back and dignified. Not a ponytail or a bun, just pulled back and then free-hanging.
I think the Kiva hair is wonderful. I’d love to see Swam do some hair for G3M 🙂
Also, many thanks for all the great info on your blog and all the giveaways 🙂
I have a ton of favorites so let me break it down into a few: Yu Hair, Medea Hair + ADD-ON, Octavia Hair, and Miss Octavia’s Outfit.
Yu Hair is such a sexy hairstyle for short hair. A lot of the times short hair can come across too professional, cold, or bland. This style though is flirty and really can enhance a character’s facial features with the way it cascades over the face.
Medea Hair + ADD-ON is one of the best styles I’ve ever seen for ethnic hair. It can be worn in so many different themes. Casual, Dressy, and then toss on the Add-On for instant fantasy.
Octavia Hair is one of my favorites because its so carefree. Some of the best hairstyles are ones that are not messy as though the person is uncaring of their appearance, but not so glammed up that you think they spent hours doing it. Its the casual, fun, and playful styles that have a piece falling here, a bit of poof there, and doesn’t look ‘perfect’ because most realistic hairstyles are not perfect unless you went to the salon.
Those types of styles, mentioned in reflection to Octavia Hair are the types that I would love to see more of. Carefree, playful, and on-the-go. Sometimes I want my renders to have hairstyles the way my hair would be. Something more natural than the messy or styled ones.
Miss Octavia’s Outfit is also something I have found a liking for because of the versatility. Taking pieces from outfits and mixing them together has always been fun. This outfit in particular has so many fun pieces that can be worn together or with other outfits with ease.
Now I don’t own any of these products but I have been admiring them on the website. Eventually I hope I can get them and use them in my renders. I have seen so many gorgeous renders come through with these products that I know they hold true to everything I’ve said about them.
Thanks for the contest! Here is my top 3 from SWAM’s DAZ store:
1) Sally Hair for Genesis 3 Female(s) and Genesis 2 Female(s): Love the haircut, it looks sporty and feminine at the same time! (I don’t own this one yet)
2) Jewell Hair: It’s a great timeless haircut. I prefer using it in those situations where longer hair would be in the way, such as when a character dances or is at work.
3) http://www.daz3d.com/sai-fon-hair-for-genesis-2-male-s: This works great with any guy in my runtime! I use the black colour the most and give it a slightly blueish shine to mimic black hair. I think this is the most authentic Asian-cut like hairstyle out there.
What future products I’d like to see more? Short male haircuts (or even long ones). Since I generally render guys more often, I do feel my male hair runtime is rather limited at times… Especially for Michael 7!
Thanks for the contest! I just read about this site and will make sure to visit you guys more often! 🙂