Got Vue 2016? There’s now an R2 update patch for Vue 2016. This weighs in at a 350Mb download, and in the changelog I see that they’ve added 360° VR panoramas and additional viewports, plus a host of fixes for EcoPainter and fixes for various stability and loading niggles. There’s also an R2 patch for Plant Factory.
If you don’t have Vue but want to try it, E-on has just announced the PLE (Personal Learning Edition) and trial versions of Vue 2016 and Plant Factory are now available.
The free 3D software Blender is getting a real-time render engine. Blender’s Eevee engine roadmap has just been published, and the development team are now heading toward presenting a basic demo at…
“Siggraph 2017 [end July], with a more polished usable version by the Blender Conference.”
Still an insane interface, that no-one in their right mind would try to learn. But this new move raises the possibility that the new engine will eventually be integrated into Poser, as part of Poser’s Cycles integration.
Last night I spotted some nicely-discounted goodies at the DAZ Store, and finally picked up the old wishlist-hoggers Tea House Spirit and StarMan (both currently 40% discounted, both by TheAntFarm)…
“First Contact”, Poser 11 Pro.
Both run fine in Poser but are slightly flawed by current standards, buyers should be aware. The Tea House Spirit’s eyes are fine but the mask is not geometry, and not at all HD. I’ve painted the fuzzy/pixillated mask out in the above quickie picture. The StarMan’s arms and body can be twisted but the legs can’t be made to look like “going at a run”. So far as I know there are no third-party texture makeovers or pose sets for either character. However, these are beautiful character designs and well worth a few dollars each.
Inspired by the new discovery of some Iron Age Celtic gold torcs near my home (the Leekfrith torcs), I thought I would undertake a new Poser/DAZ Content Survey for this blog. The theme is Ancient Celtic, trying to steer toward somewhat-authentic historical recreation, rather than barbarian fantasy or modern ‘gift-shop style’ Celtic-wear or Leprechaun tartan.
There’s not a great mound of specifically Ancient Celtic content out there, so some of the following suggests mixing and matching and re-working much late Saxon, Viking and even Roman-era content.
Clothing:
Genesis 2 has Celtic Maeve Outfit and Celtic Fionn Outfit, and the latter looks to have especially nice ‘looks-authentic’ boots.
Although meant to be oriental Sarsa’s Fighting Monk for Genesis 2 Male and Fighting Monk Textures give you a believable looking waistband and leggings.
The Hunters for Genesis 2 Female has a good fur cloak of the correctly square type, but for the fur you’re required to load the Look at My Hair preset with the Look At My Hair fur-ifying plugin for DAZ Studio.
Norsemen I for Viking for Genesis 2 Male which requires Viking for Genesis 2 Male…
Medieval Countrymen for Peasant Outfit for Genesis 3 Male…
Medieval Cloaks for Genesis 3 Female…
Tattered and Torn for M3 Hooded Cloak and V4 Hooded Cloak, because the Celts are in a wet and usually rather muddy environment, and not all of them are going to be walking any distance in their best finery. Possibly good for middle-distance extras in a village scene.
Dark and Moody has the required plaid texture for Dynamic Cloak for V4/M4…
Highland Lad for Genesis 1…
Shawls appear to have been a big thing in Celtic life, rather than bear-fur shoulder-pads. So Camelot Texture Pack for the DNA Morphing Shawl for the DNA Morphing Shawl For V3 may be useful.
See also the Dynamic Evening Gown and Drape for Victoria 4.
Russian Ladies for V3/V4 may offer some possibilities with re-textured headscarves…
Guarded Heart Clothing for G2F also has adaptable-looking heavier winter headwear…
The Rachel Dynamic Tunic and Shawl for V4 is Biblical, but could also be adapted with some suitable textures.
Hair:
Dragonsbane Barbarian Hair and Beard for Dragonsbane Barbarian Character HD for Genesis 3 Male…
Milen Hair for Genesis 2 Female and Male…
Fishtail Braids has a nice chunky look to it…
There was a lot of Viking content published about 18 months ago, and there are probably quite a few other suitable braided semi-windblown hairstyles around.
For a neater and more ‘Galadriel’ look, try Nimue Hair for Genesis 2 Female and for a more ‘wild Irish coleen’ look try Piratess Hair for Genesis 1 and 2.
Adornment:
There are neck torcs (torques) in the ensemble costume sets in Woodgod M4 H4, Hyperborean for V4, Aether for V4 and the Red Sonja-alike Briana Culaith for V4 / A4…
There’s also a nice torc in Celtic Jewel for M4 along with bracelets and metal armbands…
Sadly the 3D torcs in Arki’s CernunnosCircle range were retired when the Runtime DNA store closed.
Power Barbarian for V4 is a fantasy-girl barbarian, but the neck-fur could go well in a winter scene with another warrior outfit…
Battle:
Warrior Monk for Genesis 3 Male looks later, rather “Black Sea circa 400 A.D.”, but the shield looks nice and has a worn texture MAT. Although generally the Celtic shields were long and oblong.
Celtic Warrior for M4 looks a little basic, but he might be useful if you need a dozen M4s in the middle-distance for a battle-scene. Apparently the helmets were like that, even though it may seem rather too “Lord of The Rings” to many modern eyes.
Scenes:
Celtic Great Hall for House of Mog Ruith is a bit Lord of The Rings, but with some thatch on the roof it might be suitable. As far as I know no-one has made a thatch / aged expansion for it.
Although 1,000 years or so later, Saxon Settlement by Merlin is detailed and high-quality, and will give you two types of primitive huts needed for a Northern European village setting.
For settlement clutter, Viking Village Props has an especially nice fish-rack…
DM’s Stones of Graith is the usual DM quality, and might be merged with Ancient Tree.
Karacairns has some archaic-looking monoliths with carved stylised designs, though these are more Pictish than Celtic. There’s also the basis of a large round-barrow (minus turf) in the pack.
Merlin’s Celtic Stones in OBJ also look useful.
That’s it. Slange!
Snarly’s Space: EZDome, “EZDome v1.2 is complete.” A new Poser script to create skydomes and to manage their associated HDR lighting and backgrounds. The creator Snarlygribbly has very kindly given…
“permission to do whatever you like with this program and its source code: share it, use it, rewrite it, sell it, dissolve it in acid, laugh at it or set it as a challenge to a troupe of infinite monkeys and their typewriters … anything at all.
