This is great for me because I do not have much drawing or painting skills. I love art, but I certainly would not be able to create my DA images without Daz Studio. Best of all, you can get it for free HERE.

Arabian Dreams Fantasy Woman Art created using Daz Studio, Iray, and Photoshop.

What Is Daz Studio?

Ok, so now we know that Daz Studio is cool, but what exactly is Daz Studio?

Daz Studio is a 3D rendering program. You create a 3D scene, light it, adjust camera settings, and then just click render. In this way, it is like photography, except you are taking a picture of a virtual scene. Because it is a virtual scene, we get a lot more control over the scene itself, as well as how it is lighted.

You may think that creating a 3D scene is very complicated and time consuming, but actually it is not. This is because we can get many 3D-objects, poses, and lights to populate our scene from the Daz3d marketplace. In fact, that is how they make money, which is why they give away the Daz Studio software for free.

The software itself also comes with some free initial content, and you can get more free daily items from their freebie page. In this way, you can try things out first, without having to buy content right off. Daz also organizes many sales throughout the year, so I buy most items in my library at a 50% or more discount.

WARNING – Daz Studio can be very very addictive.

WARNING – Daz Studio can be very very addictive.

How to Create a Scene?

One of the first things that I did when I first started using Daz Studio is to set up the layout. This allows me to pick an interface that I am comfortable with. I go to Window -> Workspace -> Select Layout (see below).

One of the first things that I did when I first started using Daz Studio is to set up the layout.

When the pop-up window comes up, we can pick the layout we like most from a drop-down menu (see below). I use the Hollywood Blvd layout, so that is the one you will see in all of my tutorials. I like this layout because it is most similar to the Poser interface that I used before moving to Daz Studio. More on why I moved to Daz Studio.

When the pop-up window comes up, we can pick the layout we like most from a drop-down menu.

Now we are ready to create our scene. The first thing that I do is go to the Smart Content tab (interface left). If the tab is not there, we can easily right-click on empty space in the tabs area and pick Add Pane (Tab). This allows us to add additional tabs to the interface.

In the Smart Content panel, I drill down to Default > Figures > People > Female > Real World. This presents me with a thumbnail grid of realistic female figures. From this list, I double click on Charlotte 8 HD. This adds a human figure into my scene.

In the Smart Content panel, I drill down to Default > Figures > People > Female > Real World. From this list I pick Charlotte 8 HD.

Next, I enrich my figure by adding hair and clothing. An easy way to do this is to click on the Scene tab (interface right), and select my Charlotte 8 object. Then, I go back to the Smart Content panel, go to Hair > Long, and double click on the wonderful Alice Hair by OOT. Similarly, I go to Wardrobe > Outfits, and double click on Lilikh !Outfit.

I go back to the Smart Content panel, go to Hair > Long, and double click on the wonderful Alice Hair.

After crafting my character, I want to give her an artistic pose. To do this, I go to the Pose & Animate tab (interface top). Then, I go to the Smart Content panel and pick a pose that shows off the character and outfit.

I go to the Pose & Animate tab (interface top). Then, I go to the Smart Content panel and pick a pose that shows off the character and outfit.

Camera controls icons in top-right of viewport.

Once that is done, I may adjust the camera a bit (top right of viewport). Finally, I go to the Render tab (top), and click on the camera icon (top left of viewport). And just like that, I start rendering my scene.

What Is Iray, 3Delight, and Reality?

In addition to Daz Studio, you may also hear people talk about Iray, 3Delight, and Reality/Lux. These are all different renderers that we may use to render our 3D-scene. I highly recommend Iray because it is a physically based renderer that is built into Daz Studio. As such, it is easier to access, and there are a lot of shaders and materials for it in the Daz3d marketplace. The only downside to using Iray is that we will need a good nVidia graphics card for it to render in a timely manner.

Reality/Lux is also a physically based renderer, but we get to it through a plugin. As such it is not as integrated, and there are very few supporting shaders and materials that we can purchase. It is therefore, more of a do-it-yourself option.

3Delight is the original Daz Studio renderer and it is not physically based. Scenes generally render faster and are less noisy, but they are also less realistic.

Set renderer to Iray by going to Render Settings > Editor > Engine

We can pick to use the Iray renderer by going to the Render Settings tab (interface right). Select Editor up top, and then pick the renderer you want from the drop-down menu next to Engine.

What Is Iray, 3Delight, and Reality?

How to Improve Your Daz Studio Images

Once we get comfortable with the Daz Studio interface, we can start to drill down into certain key areas to improve our images. I got the most bang for the buck by improving my scene lighting, so that is the area that I would recommend tackling first.

This tutorial describes in greater detail how I light my Iray scenes. You can also see how improvements in lighting leads to changes in my images here.

How to Improve Your Daz Studio Images

Can I save a dForce pose? How do I do this?

The short answer is yes, we can save a Daz Studio dForce frame as a morph. In this tutorial, I will describe the steps I use to save a frame from the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit.

How to Save a Daz Studio dForce Frame as a Morph

1. Save the dForce Frame as an OBJ File

1. Go to the dForce frame we want to save.
2. Right-click on the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit and unparent it from our Genesis 8 figure.

1. Right-click on the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit and unparent it from my Genesis 8 figure.
3. Delete everything else from the scene except for the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit.

Delete everything else from the scene except for the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit.

Zero out all other pose and shape settings on the dForce object.
4. Zero out all other pose and shape settings on the dForce object. This will ensure that the object mesh that we are saving only has the dForce simulation changes applied to it. I zero out my dForce dress by right-clicking on it and then choose Select > Select Children. Then, I do Edit > Object > Zero > Zero Selected Item(s).

Set the Mesh Resolution of our dForce object to Base.
5. Go to the Parameters tab and set General > Mesh Resolution > Resolution Level to Base. This ensures that our saved mesh will properly match with the original object mesh. This is important in the next section when we use our OBJ file as a morph.

Set Save as type to Wavefront Object (*.obj).
6. Do File > Export and set Save as type to Wavefront Object (*.obj). I name my OBJ file based on what I want to call my morph parameter. For example, in the case of the pink dress morph, I name my file WindLtoR. For the OBJ Export Options, I use the Daz Studio defaults (see below).

For the OBJ Export Options, I use the Daz Studio defaults.

At this point, we have an OBJ file of our simulated dForce dress.

2. Save the OBJ File as a Morph

1. Start a new scene.
2. Load the base Genesis 8 figure (make sure pose and shape are zeroed out).
3. Fit the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit to our Genesis 8 figure.

Select our dForce dress and go to Assets > Morph Loader Pro.
4. Go to the Scene tab and select the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit. Click on the triangle and lines menu button and select Assets > Morph Loader Pro (see right).
5. Click on Choose Morph Files and select the OBJ file we saved in the previous section (see below). Hit the Accept button and hopefully the morph will load successfully. A common reason for failure is when the OBJ file mesh does not match with the original object mesh. This is why we want to make sure that the OBJ file only contains the pink dress object and nothing else. In addition, we need to set the Mesh Resolution Level to Base (as outlined in the previous section).

Click on Choose Morph Files and select the OBJ file we saved in the previous section.
6. If our morph loaded successfully then it should appear in the Parameters tab under Morphs > Morph Loader. Dial in the morph to see how it looks on our figure.

If our morph loaded successfully then it should appear in the Parameters tab under Morphs > Morph Loader.

Right-click on our new morph parameter and select Edit Mode.
7. Right-click on our new morph parameter and select Edit Mode.

With Edit Mode on, right-click again and choose ERC Freeze…
8. With Edit Mode on, right-click again and choose ERC Freeze…
9. I just use the default ERC Freeze Options and click Accept.

I just use the default ERC Freeze Options and click Accept.
10. Save our morph by going to File > SaveAs > Support Asset > Morph Asset(s)…

Save our morph by going to File > SaveAs > Support Asset > Morph Asset(s)…

In the Morph Asset(s) Save Options interface, deselect everything and only click on our new dForce wind parameter (e.g. WindLtoR).
11. In the Morph Asset(s) Save Options interface, deselect everything and only click on our new dForce wind parameter (e.g. WindLtoR). I also set Vendor Name to Shiba. Click on Accept.

We are all done! Now when I restart Daz Studio and load in the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit, I have my WindLtoR parameter under Morphs > Morph Loader (see below).

Now when I restart Daz Studio and load in the dForce Sweet Anime Outfit, I have my WindLtoR parameter under Morphs > Morph Loader.

How to Delete a Saved Morph

1. Go to Daz Studio Content Directory > data.
2. Do a search for my OBJ file name, for example WindLtoR.
3. In this case, the file was in Daz Studio Content Directory > data > nikisatez > G8FSweetAnime > Sweet Anime Dress > Morphs > Shiba > Product > WindLtoR.dsf.
4. Delete WindLtoR.dsf to delete our newly saved morph.

Daz Studio dForce simulation applied to the dress of the fantasy girl.

Pose vs. Morph

Why can’t I just save my dForce simulation result as a pose?

As I understand it, a pose captures changes made to the bones or rigging of a figure. For example, a pose would be bending the forearm of a figure and turning her head. In contrast, a morph captures changes made to the mesh of the figure. For example, different face shapes or body musculature.

A dForce simulation operates on the mesh of the figure, which is why we are able to get much nicer cloth drapes than what is possible with just rigging. As a result, to save a dForce frame, we will need to save it as a morph.

Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones Fan-Art. Daz Studio dForce simulation applied to her white dress.

With dForce, I can not only use Poser dynamic dresses on Genesis figures, but also older V4 dresses that did not autofit well on Genesis.

In this tutorial, I will outline how I simulate two V4/Poser dynamic cloth items (the over-sleeves and over-skirt from Angeloi – the Outfit) on a Genesis 8 Female figure. The final result is shown in the image below. You may also view a larger version in my Daz Gallery.

Daz Studio Dynamic Cloth (dForce) Tutorial for Beginners with two V4/Poser dynamic cloth items on a Genesis 8 female figure.

1. Add Cloth Items and Pose Figure

1. We start by adding a Genesis 8 Female figure.
2. Add in a floor or background environment so that there is a ground collision item for our cloth simulation. In my example scene, I add in the Oremus set.
3. Go to our Poser directory and add in the over-sleeves and over-skirt props from Angeloi – the Outfit.

Parent both cloth items to Chest Upper in our Genesis 8 figure.
4. Next, parent both cloth items to Chest Upper in our Genesis 8 figure (see right). At this point, I only add in items that are necessary for the cloth simulation. More objects (or geometry) in the scene, especially on the figure, will slow down the simulation.
5. Go to the Pose tab and frame 0 in our timeline.
6. In the first frame, set our G8F figure to the old T-pose (see below). We can do that by using a pose converter product such as the one by Zev0 or RiverSoft Art. Some pose packs may also contain the T-pose.

In the first frame, set our G8F figure to the old T-pose.
7. To give our cloth items time to properly drape, we also want to increase the number of frames in our timeline. I set my total number of frames to 51, but you can adjust this to suit your scene and taste.

I set my total number of frames to 51, but you can adjust this to suit your scene and taste.
8. Go to frame 15 and set the end pose of our figure. In this way, we have 15 frames to simulate the cloth into our figure end-position, and 35 frames for the cloth to drape.

Go to frame 15 and set the end pose of our figure. Note that I only included the underwear set here so that you can clearly see the figure end-pose.

This finishes our figure set-up. Next, we work on the cloth simulation parameters.

2. Daz Studio Dynamic Cloth Setup

1. First, we want to set up our global simulation parameters. To do that, open up the Simulation Settings pane.

Go to Simulation > Initialization and set Start Bones From Memorized Pose to Off.
2. Go to Simulation > Initialization and set Start Bones From Memorized Pose to Off (see right).

   [List and descriptions of all global cloth simulation settings.]


Go to Simulation > Duration and set Frames to Simulate to Animated (Use Timeline Play Range).
3. Go to Simulation > Duration and set Frames to Simulate to Animated (Use Timeline Play Range) (see right).
4. Now we are ready to add dynamic cloth settings to our cloth objects. Go to the Scene tab and select both the Angeloi oversleeves and overskirt objects.
5. On the Simulation Settings pane, click on the Options Menu button (the little button with a triangle and lines) next to the blue Simulate button. Select dForce > Add dForce Modifier: Dynamic Surface (see below). This will make both selected objects dynamic and add new cloth simulation parameters in the Surfaces tab.

Click on the Options Menu button (the little button with a triangle and lines) next to the blue Simulate button, then select dForce > Add dForce Modifier: Dynamic Surface.
6. Go to the Sufaces tab and click on Editor. Select all surfaces and change the Bend Stiffness parameter from 0.5 to 0.25 (see below). This will help prevent exploding meshes. Mephoria has more useful tips on exploding meshes in the Daz Forum.

Select all surfaces and change the Bend Stiffness parameter from 0.5 to 0.25.
7. Select ANG Overskirt > constrained and set the Dynamics Strength parameter to 0 (see below). This will hold the top of the over-skirt together.

   [List and descriptions of each dynamic surface parameter.]


Select ANG Overskirt > constrained and set the Dynamics Strength parameter to 0.

This finishes our cloth simulation settings. Now go to the Pose tab, click on the blue Simulate button, and enjoy the cloth simulation! At frame 15, we get the simulation image below.

At frame 15, we get this Daz Studio Viewport simulation image.

At frame 51 we get the final simulation image.

At frame 51 we get the final simulation image. Here, the over-sleeves have had the chance to settle down and drape over our fantasy girl.

3. Adjust and Finish

We may adjust draping by changing the initial rotation of our figure. Alternatively, we can tweak any of the interim poses or add in new key-frames. Once we are happy with the simulation, we finish up our scene by –

• Smoothing out the geometry of our cloth items,
• Applying appropriate Iray shaders, and
• Adding in new objects and details to our fantasy scene.

1. Go to the Scene pane and select both the Angeloi over-sleeves and over-skirt objects. Do Option Menu (triangle + lines button) > Edit > Geometry > Convert SubD and Option Menu > Edit > Geometry > Add Smoothing Modifier. Both of these operations will help to smooth out our cloth items.
2. Go to Parameters > General > Mesh Smoothing and set Collision Item to our Genesis 8 figure. This helps to remove pesky poke through between our cloth objects and fantasy female figure.
3. There may also be some collisions with the floor. Therefore, I slightly move the floor down until the collisions are no longer visible. For this reason, I like to start with the floor a bit raised during the cloth simulation.
4. Next, we add in details, accessories, and more, to enrich and finish up our scene. In my Sultry Night scene, I added in the Bean Sidhe outfit on my figure, as well as some fireflies as a light accent.
5. Finally, apply appropriate Iray shaders on surfaces that need them, and we are done!

Daz Studio viewport of my scene after adding in the Bean Sidhe outfit and applying Iray shaders to the cloth items.

After render and postwork, I get the finished fantasy woman image below.

After render and postwork, I get this finished fantasy woman image.

Daz Studio dForce Q&A

1. When should I fit the dynamic clothing and when not?

   I fit clothing when there are pieces/surfaces within it that are not dynamic but should fit to the body. In this case, I fit the clothing, select the surfaces that should not be dynamic, go to the Surfaces pane, and set Visible in Simulation to Off.

2. Will all clothing work with dForce?

   The dForce simulator should work on any object, however, it may not work well on clothing objects that were not designed for it. For example there may be unattached pieces that fly off, exploding meshes, etc. Here is a good list of reasons from Richard Haseltine.

In the image below I combined together a riding pose at the bottom and an archery pose at the top. By combining these two poses together, I was able to create a more unique render, without too much effort.

Doing so will also allow us to significantly expand our pose repertoire, simply by just using our existing poses in new ways.

In this tutorial, I talk about how I combine poses in Daz Studio. It is quite simple to do, and I was able to start generating interesting fantasy art with it, even as a Daz Studio beginner.

Composed pose for Olympia figure – riding pose and archery pose. Rendered in Daz Studio 4.6 Pro with simple distant and UE2 lights. Post-work in Photoshop.

How to Combine Poses in Daz Studio

Selecting the pelvis and all of its children.

To pose the Jungle Warrior figure in the image above,

1. I first applied a horse riding pose.
2. Next, I placed her properly on top of the tiger.
3. Then, I open up my figure (Olympia 6) node in the Scene panel.
4. I select the Pelvis section, right click, and choose the Select All Children option (see right). This selects the pelvis, right and left thighs, all the way down to the feet.
5. After making the selection, I open the Parameters tab and lock the values for Bend, Twist, and Side to Side. This locks my figure pose from pelvis downwards (see below).

After making the selection, I open the Parameters tab and lock the values for Bend, Twist, and Side to Side.
6. Now, when I apply poses to my figure, only her upper body will be affected. I am now free to try out various archery poses until I find one that fits. Some tweaks may be necessary to make the resulting pose look natural.

Finally, I get a cool and unique pose of an archer girl riding a tiger. Below, I use the same process to create a sword wielding warrior girl, riding on a Siberian Tiger, while battling a fierce dragon.

Rendered in Daz Studio 4.6 Pro with Distant Lights and the UE2 light. Post-work in Photoshop.

How to Pose Only One Part of a Figure

Another nifty trick is to lock an entire figure, then only release a small part, for example a hand or leg for posing. To do this-

1. Right-click on the root of a figure, and choose Select Children.
2. Go to the Parameters tab and select the Transform option.
3. Lock the values for Bend, Twist, and Side to Side, similar to what we did before. This will lock the pose of the entire figure.
4. Finally, we select the section of the figure we want to alter (e.g. right arm).
5. Right-click and choose Select Children.
6. Unlock the values for Bend, Twist, and Side to Side.
7. When we apply a new pose, it should only affect the right arm of our figure.

For example, in the One Sweet Song image below, I used this process to pose my summer girl’s arms so that she is properly holding the cello.

Rendered in Daz Studio 4.6 Pro, with post-work in Photoshop. This image also uses the Look at My Hair free player.

How to Zero-Out Only One Part of a Figure

Suppose I just want to zero out an arm all the way down to the fingers.

1. Right-click on the target arm, and choose Select Children.
2. Go to the Edit menu at the top of the Daz Studio interface. Then select Object >> Zero >> Zero Selected Item(s) Pose.

How to Zero-Out Only One Part of a Figure

Saving Partial Poses

We can save partial poses by drilling down on our selected figure, and just picking the parts that we want to save. For example, suppose I just want to save the bow-grip pose of my figure.

1. I would select the target parent figure in my scene.
2. I go to File >> Save As >> Pose Preset.

How to save a partial pose.
3. I type in my pose present filename.

How to only save the arm bow-grip pose of my Olympia figure.
4. After this, I get a pop-up menu titled Pose Preset Save Options. I deselect Olympia, and then drill down on the figure until I get to the parts I want to save. In this case, I only want to save the pose of both arms so I select Right Collar and Left Collar.
5. Once I am done selecting the parts of my figure I want to save in my pose present, I click on the Accept button. This saves out a partial pose.

Finally, below is another combined pose with a girl riding on a dragon, and waving goodbye before she takes off.

Girl Riding on a Dragon. Rendered in Daz Studio 4.6 Pro, Post-work in Photoshop.