Ok so I did a couple video tutorials over the weekend.

The first one demonstrates how to set up a model with multiple maps in bodypaint.

The second one (duly titled part 2) shows how to use the features in Bodypaint, and how to save textures out.

OMG HOW I HATE PLAMETTO BUGS! What’s that, you ask??

Ok, so not everyone has heard of the Palmetto bug. If you’ve ever been to, or lived in Florida, or similar climates such as Texas, chances are you have had a close encounter with one before. So before I get to my rant, let me explain what they are to the ones who haven’t: GIANT cockroaches that are actually indigenous to Africa.

Now, let me explain WHY I hate them so, and why they are the most disgusting creature on the face of the Earth.

1: Their FREAKISHLY large size – The image above shows the actual size of one. Think that’s an exaggeration?

I KID YOU NOT

2: Not only are they GROTESQUELY LARGE, but they fly, thus giving them a definitive advantage over you and your piddly little self that’s grounded. And they will seek out height, coz they know you are incapable of defying gravity.

Ok that’s not a big deal right? You can still squash them and step on them when they’re on the ground….. THINK AGAIN.

3: They are supernatural. I am not shitting you when I say this. I have smacked them with shoes, and watched them disappear into thin air on plenty of occasions. They have the ability to crawl at alarming speed. And IF THOSE things aren’t bad enuff, IVE EVEN severed their heads and watched them walk off with my own two eyes.

4: Oh no, I’m not done. Not only are they SUPERNATURAL… but theyre intelligent. They lie in wait and plot ambushes. As mentioned already, it will seek height to foil your plots to destroy it – or it will run and hide in places where you cannot get to it. If you missed it with the shoe, and it managed to get away, you are in deep shit now. The only thing you can do is stare at the walls all nite long, don’t sit back in your chair… and while Im not a fervent believer in God Almighty, PRAY…. coz its staring at you…. from a place you don’t notice it staring at you… waiting for the perfect moment to lunge itself at you, with its horrid wings, and land on you with its extreme grossness. It happened to me once.

5: Just like the cockroach…. IT CARRIES DISEASE. And if they happen to harbor up and take residence in your cabinets, they leave lovely droppings everywhere. With a normal roach, they’re miniscule in size — with palmettos, they are nearly the size of rat droppings. Unlike the common roach tho, they don’t necessarily live in houses or stay for long periods of time, and are not a sign of an unkempt household. Palmettos generally come in when its cold outside, or otherwise, raining a lot. They seek the warmth of the house, and usually surface inside, near water sources — the kitchen around the sink, or in the bathroom, most commonly.

Ive been plagued with these bugs my entire life. And it comes down to one thing when dealing with them – KILL OR BE KILLED. Or grossed out by it touching you anyway and possibly bitten by its freakishly large mutant mouth. Ive never been bitten myself but…. Ive heard… stories O.o

I sat and watched my poor mother do battle with one when I was about 10 yrs old, which was in the living room…. me, freaking out and screaming on the couch. And sadly… the first couple shots she took, she MISSED. What did it do?? IT FLEW and LANDED ON HER BACK. Then I watched in utter awe (mouth prolly agape, even tho when a Palmetto is involved, an open mouth is never a smart idea LOL) and I saw my mom turn into SHE RA and rip her godamn shirt right off herself LOL I don’t need to tell you how friggon hilarious that was, and the poor woman never lived it down for as long as she lived. But as funny as it is, it also carries a more serious message with it that should not be ignored — do whatever you have to do to kill the damn thing. Lest you be left with the PTSD recurring from the damn thing touching you.

Another most notable battle. In my old house, it was a dark and stormy night…. ok… not stormy lol but dark anyway. And there must have been a female letting off pheromones in the house, because…. I am not playing….. we had to kill like 50-100 of them. They just KEPT coming. It got to the point where we were killing them so much that nite, we started doing so with STYLE! Half turn and smack! Smack one on the wall and it just neatly dropped into the toilet! I even threw a can of shaving cream at one haphazardly and killed it dead. And one of my dogs was even taking part in the killing, as well.

Ive gotten to the point where I will let any other bug live… EVEN SPIDERS (as long as they’re not dangerous types) except the palmetto. If I see one, murderous rage sets in, and I must set out to destroy it…. lest I not sleep that nite while its alive in my house. Ive even gotten inventive about how I kill them…. Ive drowned them in boiling hot water…. Ive squashed them, sliced them in half with butter knives…. Ive shoved them down drains and drowned them in bleach. I DO NOT play games when it comes to them. And nothing brings out my violence more LOL

And the reason for this rant? In the last week and half, like 10 have been killed. I just had one CRAWL out of my purse in the bathroom (I smashed its brains in for having the gaul to touch my purse) Ive gone THREE FRIGGON YEARS in this house, and barely an incident with any. Now all of a sudden, its like they’re taking over. So now its all out war… and godammit, I’m going to win…. coz I have something they don’t — POISON! AND lots and lots of CAULK!!!

So let this be a warning to ANYONE who hasn’t a clue what it is – if you see one, don’t ask questions…. just kill it.

This public service announcement has been brought to you by DI – if its a palmetto, it should DIE!

Release Date: March 2012
Store Product Page: Godspeed
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Hermes was the Greek messenger to the Gods, as well as patron to Alchemists, Merchants and Thieves. Known for his fleet-footed sandals and Helm (each which had wings and enabled flight) he was able to carry messages to the gods or mortals with a quickness, and accompanied new souls to their place in the Underworld. He also carried a special staff with two serpents entwined, known as the Caduceus (which has been erroneously used as a symbol of Medicine for centuries)

Includes full Greek armor built for a god of speed and flight, complete with wings and a Spartan styled Helm with real fur. Also includes the Caduceus, which boasts special effects worthy of an Olympian, and poses which work with the Caduceus.

===== LIST OF CONTENTS: =====

Godspeed Armor
* Armor
* Bracers
* Helm
* Sandals

MATS for Armor
* Olympian God (White and Gold)
* Hermes (Teal and Silver)
* Utility MATS that turn off wings on all applicable items
* Utility MAT – Armor Straps Off
* Utility MAT – Helm Hair Off

Caduceus of Hermes Prop
* Short Caduceus (Left and Right Hand)
* Long Caduceus (Left and Right Hand)

Caduceus Mix and Match MATS
* Crystal-OFF
* Crystal-Blue
* Crystal-Green
* Crystal-Magenta
* Crystal-Orange
* Crystal-Purple
* Crystal-Red
* Crystal-Turquoise
* Crystal-Yellow
* Metals – Gold&Silver
* Metals – Pewter&Bronze
* Metals – Brass&Copper
* SFX-OFF
* SFX – Blue&Purple
* SFX – Green&Orange
* SFX – Purple&Red
* SFX – Red&Yellow
* SFX – Turquoise&Green
* SFX – Yellow&Turquoise
* Staff-GlowBlue
* Staff-GlowGreen
* Staff-GlowMagenta
* Staff-GlowOrange
* Staff-GlowPurple
* Staff-GlowRed
* Staff-GlowTurquoise
* Staff-GlowYellow
* Staff-SolidBrass
* Staff-SolidBronze
* Staff-SolidCopper
* Staff-SolidGold
* Staff-SolidPewter
* Staff-SolidSilver

Poses for M4
* 5 Long Caduceus Poses (Left Hand)
* 5 Long Caduceus Poses (Right Hand)
* 5 Short Caduceus Poses (Left Hand)
* 5 Short Caduceus Poses (Right Hand)

===== MORPH LIST: =====

Clothing Morphs:
* Morphs ++ (Fitness, Thin, Young)
* Elite (Adonis, Spartan, Svelte)
* Adjustment Morphs on All
* Sit 1 & 2, legs bend fwd, back and side on Armor Skant
* Wing Movement Morphs On Helm and Sandals
* Wing Style Morphs on Armor (chest piece)

Caduceus Morphs:
* Snakes – Cobra and Viper Heads
* Snakes – 5 Formations
* Snakes – 10 Tongue Movements
* SFX – 10 Movement Morphs
* SFX – Twist 1 and 2
* SFX – Flare
* SFX – Longer and Shorter
* Wings – 10 Style Morphs
* Adjustment Morphs (Snakes Smaller, move up and down on staff)

===== INSTRUCTIONS: =====

..:: CLOTHING ::..
Browse to your Runtime:Character:Godspeed Folder, and here you will find the CR2 to load the clothing pieces (4 in all) Double click the icon and it will load zeroed in the scene. If you are using DAZ Studio, the files will be located in the Runtime Folder, in the same location as noted above.

To conform the clothing, load the item, go to the top of poser under the drop down menus and click on Figure. A new menu will open which will say conform, click that and then conform to and a new dialog will open with its own dropdown. Select Michael 4 and hit ok, and the item will load onto M4 (alternatively in DS, right click on the item and click “fit to” then select M4 in the list – but it should auto-conform in DS anyway) You will need to do this for all the figures. From there, you have a ton of morphs to play with, including adjustments which will fix pokethru, movement and style morphs on miscellaneous pieces, which will change how the figures look and move (note: dialing in morphs ALWAYS work best by dialing in on the BODY actor)

There are also MATS included for the clothing – there are two full mats: Olympian God and Hermes. There are also utility mats that turn off certain things on each item, for versatility.

..:: PROPS ::..
To locate the props, go to your props folder and find the Godspeed Folder. There you will see four files: Long Caduceus Left and Right Hand, and Short Caduceus Left and Right Hand. To load each, simply double click the icons. They will parent to M4’s hands, and the poses that are included work with the Caduceus (covered later in this wiki) The Caduceus has many morphs on it, to change the heads to cobras and vipers, movements and formations, etc. There are also adjustment morphs that will help combat collisions with the snakes on the longer staff, when using poses that are not included with the set (such as moving the snakes up and down on the staff, or scaling them down, etc)

There are also mats for the Caduceus included. These are located in your pose library (in the Caduceus MATS folder) as well as your Materials library, in the Godspeed/Caduceus MATS folder. I have included both MC6 and PZ2 mats, simply because, PZ2’s don’t work with props and require an actor to be loaded in the scene (so if you are using the staff alone, you must use the MC6 mats) These MATs are also mix and match, so you can mix your choice of colors or metals, etc.

..:: POSES ::..
There are also 20 poses included in this set, which were designed for use with the different versions of the Caduceus that are included. To use, first load the prop, then use the pose for perfect alignment (otherwise, the pose will not pose the staff properly) It’s important to use the correct prop for which the pose was intended, so perfect alignment can be acheived. To locate the poses for M4, you will need to go to your pose library, into the Godspeed/Poses folder.

1-5 are for the Right Hand Long Caduceus
6-10 are for the Left Hand Long Caduceus
11-15 are for the Left Hand Short Caduceus
16-20 are for the Right Hand Short Caduceus

For a full instruction guide, Ive written a tutorial that has been included with the set in PDF format. This will explain everything in deep detail, and walk you through getting the best out of this set.

===== OTHER NOTES: =====
Color coded and labeled templates for all figure is available, so you can make your own textures.

Outfit has blank channels for custom morph inj support

The thumbnails for the pose and light files are the standard 91X91 resolution, so that they will show properly in DAZ Studio. If you are a poser 5 or higher user and prefer the larger thumbnails (which are 125×125 in size), you can download them here: Godspeed Thumbs

Please Note:
Bigger thumbnails will NOT work in DAZ Studio, nor lower versions of Poser, so only download these if your using Poser 5 and higher.

Instructions to install larger thumbnails:
These are set up to the same exact locations as the original sets thumbnails. To install, simply unzip it to your Poser Runtime, and overwrite the old thumbnails.

KNOWN ISSUES
The hair on the helm is a bit render intensive when using raytraced shadows. Longer Render times should be expected (but not horribly long)

For more information on the set, how to use it and combat things you may encounter, please refer to the PDF included in the set.

Technical Support is always available. If you have questions that need answers, feel free to email me — IgnisSerpentus@damageinc3d.net

Ok, so now that I actually HAVE experience working with Genesis, I wanted to write a blog on what I think about the new tech from a development point of view (not a user end, to be clear) As always, nothing is entirely cut or dry… there are pros and cons to everything. This is no exception. Basically, this is to help you guys made an educated decision on whether or not you want to support it. And it might actually help you with it, should you decide to dive in (granted, its not a tutorial, but it gives you some basic principles to apply to actually working)

Making Clothes: Its Easier –
From a development standpoint… well…. yes and no.

Getting the outfit in and rigging is pretty brainlessly easy compared to poser (providing you use the right options to turn it into conforming clothing, that is lol) If you modelled it to Genesis, then it will already automatically fit (whereas, Poser is a little on the retarded side, and automatically scales the object up on import – so u have to scale it down, move it about and fit it to the figure, before you even rig it)

But there are also things which aren’t necessarily easier or save you time.

First thing is with the dynamic morphs it spawns to fit the clothing automatically to Genesis (no matter what shape u put on Genesis) It WILL save you some time, in situations where the dynamically spawned morphs happen to be perfect. Any that don’t happen to be (if you wish to support them) must be replaced, so you will still have to do morphs, regardless – just most likely less than you would if you had to make ALL of them. And you will still need adjustment morphs (or at least, theyre a good idea) And you may still need JCM’s for certain occasions.

Also, any hope of converting morphs over from your M4/V4 rig is a fallacy. If you’re the type to a buttload of movement morphs, or styles, you will have to redo them all – and by eye, as closely as you can get them to the originals (for fear of them being too different) Reason being…. if you have to change the base objects to fit Genesis (and you will, always, for best results) then using any morphs spawned for the original, will cause them to morph back to the M4/V4 shape, size and placement. The only way this will EVER work, is if somehow you have a way to resize/fit all the morphs to match the Genesis clothing base shape, perfectly (and I mean, down to the decimal) I don’t know of any way to do that, perfectly. And well, that would be a mammoth undertaking, besides. So either way you look at it, its more work. But redoing morphs may quite possibly be the lesser of evils, there.

Finally, the smoothing is intended to actually fix certain things and make other things fit better. And it does. But the smoothing also wreaks havoc with certain features of your clothing — example, the set Im working on now – the hair on my helm is actual hair made with ZBrush fibermesh, and when I add the smoothing, it thins it out drastically. I don’t like that, so smoothing is off completely. I also had to practically remove the smoothing and mess with the weight of the smoothing from my Sandals coz it, combined with the rig, caused the straps to shove into the sandal edging. So, you will have to mess with the smoothing, collision iterations and weights on the smoothing to get a good result. The problem is… when u turn those things down (or otherwise, off completely) to account for certain things, it will make the dynamic morphs imperfect (thus forcing you to replace any you wish to support) That could only be a few…. but could also end up being ALL of them (depending on the item) So will that happen to you? It depends on whether the planets align a certain way lol There’s really no way to know for certain how its gonna act up, to model around it. Perhaps in some instances, but certainly not all.

That’s not even getting into things I haven’t experienced, coz the rig would be different, have ghostbones or extra pieces or whatnot (for good and bad)

I will say that in some ways, I like posing in DS more and less, than Poser. Really, both apps have their  pros and cons there

Now, for the rest, I will have to leave that for another blog, as I am only covering what Ive experienced thus far. I have yet to create a character (fully custom or otherwise) using Genesis (that is actually next on my list) so I couldn’t honestly tell you how painful or not that is. But there is more to this tech… much, much more. I will have to cover that in a part 2.

So, will I continue on the Genesis path? Well, for me, its not as simple as yes or no – but rather Yes and No. Given that to do both sides is rather lengthy (and some of my packs can be rather massive) I may not support both interchangeably … but rather one or the other, in some cases. And probably on smaller things, simultaneously. I will definitely be doing more Genesis content, tho, as well as Generation 4. You just might see me bounce around a lot 🙂