How to Create Male Characters Using the Digital App
Let’s get started. First you need to know that the process of creating a digital character (or any other digital image) involves using a particular specialized software app to achieve a realistic, credible outcome.
That app is known as Daz 3D Studio and it is free to download at dazd3d.com. You pay for downloading digital assets that are used inside Daz 3D Studio. The digital assets greatly increase your capability to create digital characters and other digital images.
The digital art mentoring you can receive from this artist requires that you use the Daz 3D Studio app along with various digital assets created to work with Daz 3D Studio.
—————————————
App + You = Digital Storytelling
The use of Daz 3D Studio to bring about digital storytelling using characters, scenes, and other narrative elements involves a smooth coordination of your mind, eyes, and hands. You may benefit from reading and studying an online set of best practices for using Daz 3D Studio to get started. Although the app is simple and can be learned by almost anyone, the process of learning how to use Daz3D Studio is not quick and involves several sequential steps in an organized flow of actions.
Workflow
The first step in the workflow is to register at daz3d.com to become a member of the Daz 3D community. There is a free membership option. There also are two other memberships that you can pay for which increase your capabilities using Daz 3D Studio.
You then download Daz 3D Studio and install the app on your Windows laptop or desktop. You can decide later on about purchasing digital assets.
Highly recommended: Go to the Daz 3D Documentation Center and download the free 100-page User Guide. You would benefit from printing out all the pages using a color printer. If you use a three-hole punch, you can keep all pages safely in a binder. You will be able to look up various topics in the User Guide, so keep the pages near your workspace. Daz3D also offers self-paced detailed tutorials that provide much assistance and guidance.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Go to a YouTube video created and hosted by the artist Madeira Desouza who is interested in becoming your mentor. This is an age-restricted video (for viewers age 18+ only) created by him to show you how he uses Daz 3D Studio. One of the best ways to learn new skills is to watch what someone else demonstrating how they work and the steps they follow.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repeatable Actions
Once you get comfortable using the Daz 3D ecosystem, typically you will pay attention to each of these elements using each as repeatable steps in your creative work:
1–Initial Character Foundation:
· You may want to import a photograph of a man’s face into the app. This enables you to put the face on a character’s body. An option is to use digital assets of pre-configured characters instead.
2–Customization and Detailing:
· You adjust skin tone and add features like hair and facial stubble to enhance realism.
· Subtle manipulations are performed on facial structure and head depth.
· Body mass, chest and neck muscles, hands, and feet are each open to your choices and variations.
3–Posing and Clothing:
· You pose the character in the staging phase. You select clothing and footwear.
· Modifications need to be made to the character’s anatomy to ensure clothing fits appropriately and appears credible.
4–Environment and Rendering:
· You can place the character in a virtual studio environment where the lighting is manually configured.
· Once the scene is set to your satisfaction, the app performs a rendering process to convert the mathematical data and geometry into an image you can share electronically.
Composition and Output:
· You have the flexibility to add a second character (or more) using the above four steps.
· You can also choose to use digital assets to create scenes into which your characters are inserted instead of having your characters appear in a virtual studio environment.
Community Involvement:
· You should join online communities that welcome digital artists to share their creations. Doing so will help promote your creative works.