Looking for more sci-fi content articles?
Ok, so I’m biased. I know no content theme has been the topic of more of my posts here, but this is the stuff that gets the grey matter infused with that delightful creative juice (in my case anyway). Maybe it also has something to do with seeing Elysium today. Not a bad movie, thought the plot was somewhat disappointing and predictable (especially last half). Good CGI, reasonable to good acting with Sharlto Copley playing a seriously vile character very well.
But, I’m not here to talk movies. I’m here to talk content. I know just about all the content I post about here comes from DAZ 3D, but I hope to change that in the future. I am but one man. Maybe I’ll even branch out and post about content that isn’t sci-fi. Maybe.
DAZ 3D Premium Sci-fi Content For Your Runtime
So, a lot of good stuff released over at DAZ 3D to create and fill those sci-fi themed renders. I don’t own most of these, but those that I don’t are on my wishlist. Let’s start with a D3D favourite, Stonemason.
Featured content
The inspiration for Desert Outpost is blindingly clear to any Star Wars fan, but as if there was any doubt you only need to read the opening sentence from the product description: “You will never find a more deplorable colony of trash and knavery than the Desert Outpost. Home to thieves, smugglers, and anyone who has ventured south of the law”. Stonemason not only know how to put a spectacular environment together, but he also knows how to sell it. His promo images always inspire awe and tempt the imagination to find a home for his creations.
DZFire’s Tenshi immediately grabbed my attention when I first saw a prerelease image posted on the artist’s Facebook page. Tenshi is a texture and prop expansion set for the artist’s Cyborg Version 4, which I am quite fond of. I have been a big fan of Dz’s cyborg/android creations, and am very happy that there is another similar, but suitably different product that should be released in the near future.
Sci-fi clutter
Technological clutter is always in need for those workshop, lab and construction scenes that are so often the setting for sci-fi renders. Empty scenes don’t look convincing and we all know it.
Thanks to artists like Nightshift3D, we need for nothing. His latest offering, aptly titled Sci Fi Gear Bundle (beneath left) brings together 3 sets of medical instruments and industrial tools that will fit many situations. Lazarus Containment Cell Crates (beneath right) is another great addition to the DAZ store.
Future fashion and battle wear
Midnight_Stories is another favourite of mine his Sky Chaser for Genesis (beneath right) is simply beautiful. Sky Chaser also has an expansion pack that adds a helmet, jetpack, and weapon. On the left we have The3dwizard’s sexy Vinyl Jumpsuit for Genesis and V5 will find itself put to use in many sci-fi settings, and perhaps even edge into more “contemporary” renders. Heroine, fashion portrait, cyberpunk street fashion – got you covered.
This is another one that immediately grabbed my attention. Great anime sci-fi outfit, that has many possibilities if you are the retexturing type. Tech Soldier: Special Forces for Genesis, V5, and M5 was a an instant grab with the use of the monthly PC coupon.
Need something different? Design Anvil’s Black Dragon Clothing set for Genesis and V5 might just be it. “Just because danger lies around every corner, doesn’t mean you don’t need to look sexy! This futuristic Sci-fi suit blends sleek looks with practical armor…”
As a warm blooded male I’d buy that – well all except that nonsense about practicality 🙂
Scenes and environmental props
Why, oh why did I not buy Shantara City when it was first released with 75% off? While this majestic city does not fit into my typical sci-fi ideas, there are undoubtedly situations where this would be perfect. Sci-fantasy scenes come to mind, but with many of the large building being free to move at will, the possibilities to mix and match with other sci-fi city sets explodes open the possibilities. Throw in DAZ’s instancing abilities and the potential for huge and varied cityscapes is limitless – depending, of course, on how much geometry you can stack onto your graphics card.
Sometimes you need to blow things up, have an apocalypse or an earthquake. Thankfully there are a lot of good props on DAZ 3D’s store that fit this role. Stonemason has many good props in this category as does the DigiVault. Many of this items can be found in the previous sci-fi content articles.This one in particular is the work of Dreamlight, who is well known for his environmental props, light sets, and training material. In The City: Destroyed Bridge will fit the needs of just about any city in chaos.
A quick note on Poser compatibility: Most if not all content sold at DAZ 3D has very good Poser compatibility, and often comes with Poser specific configurations.
DigiVault brings affordable sci-fi content to your DAZ Studio and Poser runtime
With the release of The Artifact by DigiVault it seems like a good time to do the follow up to our Daz Studio Sci-fi Content Feature Pt. 1. “The Artifact is a detailed, large scale set” that comes with the usual texture maps, including specular and bump which denote a product that is a cut or two above cheaper products and offer a greater sense of realism and detail. Anyone who has been rendering for any length of time will know that a good specular map, especially in combination with a bump map, can make all the difference to a still image or animated sequence. It is strange that they are still not stock and standard with every release, at least in ones where they would be useful.
DigiVault is a relatively new vendor to DAZ 3D, but since the release of his first product, The Bunker, back in the second half of 2011. With a number of war torn and sci-fi content releases since then, DigiVault has established a reputation for quality. For the curious in nature the following video will undoubtedly be of interest. It briefly shows how DigiVault’s most recent scene prop evolved from its first beginnings through to completion and final promo render.
In true DAZ style, they have decided to celebrate by throwing a massive sale. Buy any one of the three sci-fi releases and get 40% off Premiere Artist and 50% percent off DAZ Original sci-fi items. Great chance to pick up some of the more expensive items like Stonemason’s Urban Future Bundel, or just about any of the items mentioned in this article. Just remember that you won’t see the discount until you get to the final stage of the checkout process. But more about DigiVault’s releases!
The modular Destroyed City and WarZone will be of particular use to anyone looking to quickly make detailed and interesting war torn scenes and post-apocalyptic environments. The sets should work well with any time period from the past to the distant future. Being modular in nature users will be able to quickly arrange and instance partial/destroyed buildings, and rubble to build up believable environments with potential to mix and match with other sets, such as Stonemason’s highly detailed City Ruins sets to add a splash of variety or a focal point.
Team Dystopia
Team Dystopia are a well-recognised coalition of modellers and texture artist’s that have been hanging around DAZ 3D, and putting out a variety of props and figures for quite a number of years. Their towering, monolithic Dystopia City Blocks, both the freebies and the full priced products have graced thousands of sci-fi renders since their release, as have other iconic models such as the Drone Trooper Another TD freebie you will see regularly gracing DAZ Studio and Poser renders is their Console Station.
Those looking for yet more dystopian flavoured free items should head over to the group’s website and join in on the forums. This was one of the first places I signed up to on my voyage to the 3D worlds. The forum was described to me, by one of the site owners, as being in a state of “slow burn”, which is of course to say, quite. So, it may not be the most happening place in CG land, but it is a friendly place and host to a wealth of information on everything from sci-fi tropes to advice on writing, modelling and much more.
There have been a number of recent releases to carry the Team Dystopia branding, my personal favourite of which is the Dystopia Worker Drone You can find more of the recent releases on Mobius87’s DAZ 3D store page, but do be sure to check out the other related members to find the rest of the booty.
Cyberpunk
As someone who loves a good dose of Cyberpunk it is a little disappointing that there is so little overtly cyberpunk inspired stuff getting released these days. It is there, but it is few and far between. So us cyberpunks make do with what we have, but in the true sense of cp we also “hack” and bend all the lovely sci-fi content to our needs.
So, what are some of the best examples of cyberpunk on the DAZ Store? Stonemason’s Urban Future series is one that jumps to mind, but we’ve already covered this in the previous sci-fi feature content.ElorOnceDark is another name that invariably pops up. His designs are innovative, unique and of the highest quality. It is just a shame that there have not been more recent Genesis releases, but with the release of a refitted version of ArtemisX for Genesis maybe we can hope to see the other classics follow. Of course, there are always the auto-fi tools, which will give a basic and usable Genesis fit. There is also the Sickle Rigging and Morphing System which will undoubtedly return an even better fit. Then, if you are a modeller you can always attempt a Genesis morph or full refit, something I have been meaning to try myself. Anyway, back to the punk. To the top and left is Rogue for V4, undoubtedly there are a hundred and one cyberpunk applications for this sexy outfit.
Perhaps my favourite of Elor’s releases is Cyberpunk for M4. It is a versatile set that comes with many props including retro analogue data ports, body armour, swords, firearms, cyborg arm implants (which fit to Genesis wonderfully if you hide the arms), and multiple texture sets. All this makes it easily one of the best value for money products available in the entire store. And if you want even more options there is Elor’s expansion as well as several third party expansions such as 26FAHRENHEIT’s PUNKED UrbaN Styles, which adds several gritty street sets of textures. There is also a post-apocalyptic version, and even a character by famed character creator and texture artist, Morris
Too many sci-fis!
There is still so much really great daz sci-fi content that I still haven’t even covered. I was hoping to fit it all in here, but time is ticking away and 1000 words is more than enough for what is essentially a store feature. So, Content Feature Pt.3? Well if you’re game I’m game too. Hope I’ve pointed at least some of you in the direction of something useful that you don’t already have.
A quick note on Poser compatibility: Most if not all content sold at DAZ 3D has very good Poser compatibility, and often comes with Poser specific configurations.
Undoubtedly one of the contributing factors in my decision to jump on into DAZ Studio was the huge and inspiring variety of 3D sci-fi content. Science fiction was one of the major focuses when it came to my short stories and for some time I had been toying with the idea of bringing some of those works into a visual dimension as serial web comics or graphic novels. Anyone who has read much of what I’ve written since finding DAZ Studio probably knows I hold DAZ 3D solely responsible for all but killing my drive to write fiction. Of course I could add a little smiley face there to show there are no hard feelings, but I’m hoping my writing skills haven’t dulled so much that a little light-hearted jest isn’t lost.
Anyway, the recent addition of some great 3D sci-fi content to the DAZ 3D store got me inspired to do a little feature on some of my favourite pieces. Some of these I own, others are on my wishlist (or should be). So, let me start with a name just about every DAZ Studio and card carrying Poserverse member will know.
Stonemason is the name in DAZ Studio and Poser sci-fi content
When you put DAZ and Sci-fi in the same sentence it is likely to conjure many images that incorporate one or more of Stonemason’s masterpieces. His meticulously modelled and textured environments and props have graced thousands – tens of thousands – of still renders and animations made with DAZ Studio, Poser and any number of other render engines. From cyberpunk inspired street environments to retro futuristic art deco spaceship interiors, and on to the post-apocalypse, there is something for every sci-fi genre. And then some.
A few months back I wrote a short feature about Stonemason when he posted a time-lapse video to YouTube, showing his process of constructing a cryotube. I remember thinking that it wouldn’t be long before we saw that showing up in the store. Lo and behold… a cryotube! As an upstart modeller, I was very keen to pick it up and have a look over the model in greater detail. Stonemason’s work does not only inspire the production of beautiful art, but also the production of more models. His influence on the hobbyist and emerging/pro levels of 3D will be felt for a long time to come.
And no need to model somewhere to keep your characters in the freezer. Mr Stony has us covered with a place to stash our sleeping beauties and beasties (aptly named CryoEnvironment).With very similar design, undoubtedly intended to be at home alongside the Cryotube and environment,Sci-Fi Consoles 2013, is which come complete with slick screens and “holographic” effects. With these three you could products you could put together an entire short animation or comic.
For a glimpse at the possibilities check out this short test animation.
Few other mechs released at DAZ 3D are as detailed or formidable, and downright cool as MECH 2012 Enforcer. See here in action saving the developed world from the evils infesting its near future streets.
One of Stonemason’s most famous collections would have to be his cyberpunk inspired Urban Future street environments, reaching its creative apex with the huge Urban Future 4: Street Level. Straight “out of the box” this place renders like. The package even comes with a custom camera to add a suitably polluted haze to your renders. At $35 – 40 a set they aren’t among the cheapest environment/scene props in the store, but you certainly get what you pay for. And then some.
Pick up the Urban Future bundle (all four sets) and save yourself over $10
Another stunning environment is the gritty decay of “The Ministry”. Sadly this is one of those on my wish list, but the beautiful images (and animations) I’ve seen rendered with this one leave me with no doubt that this is something I want to have in my runtime. I want to play with it, pull it apart, and to an extent emulate.
A recent hit at the DAZ 3D store is Stonemason’s Planet Lava. This baby is an environment in the true sense of the word. It comes complete with modelled terrain and image dome for distant terrain and sky. It also comes packed with lights and camera presets including atmospheric effects.
On the flipside we have Planet Alpine, for those that prefer ice and snow to the heat of a molten hell rock. All this is only a small part of Stonemason’s catalogue at D3D. There are a number of other sci-fi props, robots and environments I haven’t covered here, and then a lot more.
Cyborgs, androids and robots
As a bit of a posthumanist at heart these guys are one of my favourite sci-fi staples, whether entirely artificial, or a merging of flesh and synthetics. DAZ 3D has a number of great entries into this category. Right at the top of my list is the recent release, Bot Genesis. Before this it was the precursor, Aikobot 2. Bog Genesis is everything that Aikobot 2 was an a lot more. One of my complaints about AB2 was that it didn’t look right when rendered in dark environments. She seemed to be artificially lit due to the way her shaders were set up, particularly in relation to reflections. Thankfully this has been addressed with BG.
A great feature of the newer version is the reconfigured shaders that allow for a mix of raytrace and image mapped shadows. Perhaps best of all is that BG is no longer constrained to female varieties. As the character is designed for Genesis BG seamlessly morphs from male to female and anywhere in between. As far as flexible cyborg/android characters go Bot Genesis is on top of the pile, and cheaper than any of her predecessors (though depending on tastes and needs there might be reason to pick these up too). Win-win-win.
A good deal less cutesy and with a more utilitarian appeal DZFire’s Cyborgs 4.0 (though I’d suggest they are actually android/gynoids) are designed on the M4&V4 bases, but can and are primarily used as standalone figures. These “cyborgs” are hardy and reliable, at home on the frontlines, in emergency services and in heavy industry. They do come with texture/material options for an appearance acceptable to a wide range of other duties, and the “female” version even comes in a glam variety. They can be purchased as together for a small discount or separately as needed.
The Technoborg’s origins should be quite apparent to anyone that has even a passing familiarity with Star Trek. Another Gen4 figure, but as the pack is mostly a texture set it can easily be applied to Genesis, and if you have the GenX plugin you should even be able to copy the character morphs to your genesis figures. The technoborg textures are beautifully detailed and come in pasty necrotic style and a more healthy variety (you pick which ones you need). The cyborg robotic details are simulated with displacement maps (not real geometry), so make the conversion to Genesis very nicely.
3D Spacecraft Models
This was where I was going to leave part one of the sci-fi feature, but as the store of a fantastic sci-fi modeller/artist has just gone on sale (40% off everything), I thought I might as well quickly mention DAZ 3D’s premier supplier of space craft models and their interiors for Daz Studio. While there are quite a number of amazing space craft models in the store most are for Bryce and Carrara. Kibarreto has valiantly sought to fix this imbalance with his impeccable designs and texturing, complete with glowing cockpit dashboards. See Kibarreto’s Shuttlestar doing its thing in this gorgeously rendered clip.
The inspiration for Desert Outpost
DZFire’s Tenshi
