thedude3dx
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A little bit of self reflection (relating to the Four Year Special)
🕑 Added 2019-07-28 23:56:22 +0000 UTCSo I just wanted to throw this one out there to everyone in the highest support tier, because you guys are my most loyal fans and I'm constantly grateful for the support you're giving me. As such, I think you guys deserve honesty from me. It's a bit of a wall of text, so if you're not interested that's completely fine. This is for the people who are interested in my behind-the-scenes thinking and thought progress that goes into creating sets.
So the Four Year Anniversary Special is now out, or rather part 1 is now out, and I have to admit to not feeling 100% right about it. If I compare it to Ascension, that one was better. Now, this isn't always a huge problem. Sometimes one set is more of a homerun than another, it just happens. But in this case it annoys me because I didn't notice that it wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be until the very end, when there was basically no time left to do anything about it.
My gripes with the set are things that I expect to find some agreement on, but they're also kinda from an artist's pov so it's probably not something that everybody paid attention to. I'm actually hoping you guys did, because then it means that my doubts rhyme with my audience's expectations.
The first thing is something I touched on in the set release post itself: not enough pose variation. This is the largest reason of why I want to do a part 2. I have more ideas and I want to execute them.
The second thing is cum consistency. For a cumshot special, when I looked back on some of the gooey-er renders, I wasn't a big fun of how the cum turned out. Too thick, too splotchy. This is strictly an issue of me not having enough time to sculpt cum in detail. There are some shots in there that I really like, but they're the shots where the cum is thinner and more ropey. The shots centering around Marcella eating out Kayla with both their cocks sticking out just aren't up to par for me.
A huge part of why this is the case has to do with technical issues I was having. Long story short: I had to re-sculpt every single cumshot every time I either moved the girl it was on, or slightly changed her pose. This was due to an issue parenting objects in the newest version of Daz Studio, and I haven't been able to find a solution for that. Usually I can and I do keep cum attached to bodies that move, and unexpectedly not being able to do that this time really threw a wrench in the gears of a production focused around cumshots. I still don't know if I can solve this issue or if it's simply a new reality until Daz gets around to fixing it.
Lastly, the shading isn't consistent. I actually used an improved cumshader for the later shots, which ended up looking better. Overall though the cumshader had like 95% similarity to the one I used for Kayla & Marcella, and the reason it looks so much better there has to do with the lighting situation. I could've taken that into account here, but I didn't.
Now some of the reasons to do with all of this are time constraints. I expected to have more time but the absolutely ridiculous heatwave that hit Europe in the final week of production knocked my effective work hours down by 50% if not more. It was almost impossible to be indoors in my apartment, and I didn't want to risk overheating my rendering computers either.
Now of course it shouldn't come down to that, but it did. In an ideal world, I would have started work 1-2 weeks earlier, but that was time I had used to make further progress on the animation front. I'd been having trouble with some rigging issues and used that time to more or less work them out with the intention of picking them back up after set production was done.
I don't want to use these explanations as excuses. I could've worked around this had I gone about my time management differently. And that's part of what irks me. I know I don't have to justify myself like this, not necessarily in any case. But I do want to. I think it's important to you guys that if you looked at this set and thought "honestly, The Dude can do better", I want you to know that I agree.
Thankfully, Part 2 is where I can make up for all of this. After that, I intend to slightly wind down production for a month or two so that I can go full steam ahead with animation.
Comments
TheDude3DX
What you're saying kinda resonates with why I think I was kinda miffed about the aftermath in the first place: the renders themselves are fine but since I've been doing so many comics now, an image set without a story line is maybe starting to feel a little bit anemic in comparison. But yes, the second part is going to be a lot, lot better. I need to figure out a solution to this object parenting issue I've been having with zbrush exports, and then I can take far more time with each shot to get it right.
Raziel Crowley
This topic looks exactly as a type where I can write my typical essay. Now on a more serious note. It's always known that most artists (painters, writers, etc) mostly don't like their own work and very rarely they are satisfied with themselves. So in your case, it's "Four Year Special" So truth be told and for me being completely honest: yes for example "Legacy" or "Ascension" contained bigger variety of action, poses and it was someow...richer. I am ot counting the comics, because of yourse they are richer because of the text. I am considering only photos alone. But at least by my opinion and in my eyes doesn't make "Four Year Special" bad. Yes, maybe they are fewer poses and more angles. Maybe, just maybe it's not action liek those previous sets but I still doesn't count it as a bad result. You are saying that you want and will do pt2. So maybe this was jsut nice perfect and "slow" prelude. Nothing wrong with that at all. Another thing you are worrying about is the "cum" itself. True, that I lack the view of an artist itself and I don't have the same vision as you so I can't be strict judge of that. (Can't speak for others, maybe they have more and better experiences in thsi field) And even though I am looking at your shots and work thoroughly (it's not just click-click-click-clcik through all photos in 30 seconds) I didn't find or see aynthing bad with the girls or cum on them. Maybe I am wearing pink glasses :-D and just can't see anything too bad in your work, or maybe I am really missing something, but I am still firmly believe your work is one of the best which is outthere. You know I am crazy about Tatiana so I will always be in her corner and every work with her I will consider 11 out of 10. And when you mentioned heatwave and work schedule. Well the heat was extreme we all know that in Europe and nobody can blame you stop working during these days. Nobody wanted to work or risk to blow up they computers. And the work schedule. I wouldn't worry about it that much. Sometimes it's just don't work as you wanted. I t can and will ahppen to everyone in every sort of work. But if you are still conider it that you made a few mistakes in this 1st part and as you are saying "Dude can do it better." I believe it's a motivation for the 2nd part and chance to..."learn from own mistakes" But still I am considering you as the best 3D artist. At least for me, if nothing else.
Ranger2Bravo
First, Ditto to Lara X - well said and elegantly stated. 2nd- I never thought I would read the phrase "Cum Sculpt" - Ever, Wow it's the 21st century alright. 3rd - Explanations are truth, excuses are pleas. As long as you explain it, you don't need an excuse. And Grasshopper, One can only grant an excuse, you can't ask for one - or something like that my commanding officer (shithead) used to say. I think everyone would say that you're being a bit hard on yourself, this is art and as Lara X said perfection is found in the imperfection of humanity. I would also like to state, and not as an ego-stroker, but you art has got to be some of the finest produced regardless of genre. The care you have for our ladies, your ability to maintain their personalities set to set of renders without throwing us a curve ball thinking someone's split from the reality you've created.... is mind blowing. Kayla, over course my special lady as I bought her first set in the Museum all those years ago and when she looked different, she I can open a bunch of random images like throwing cards in the wind, and I can always know what she's thinking, who she's wanting, why is she where she is, and who's she about mount. The minutia of the facial features, their eye movements, stature, laughter, the coy looks, the flirty looks, the I Must Break Your Asshole with my CARTER Ind. Love Rod of the Gods Cock, and Zues here has his lightning bolts saved up.
TheDude3DX
This is an amazing comment and it made my day :D Thank you.
Lara X
I have not had time to look at the set yet, but as an overall comment I would say that you strive for and very often reach near on perfection with your sets. When I think back over them, the skill and imagination behind them is just absolutely incredible. Much like with my paintings, I often feel there any many parts that aren’t exactly as I want them to be. In the old days I would take a scalpel to them and shred them, but one day I started to appreciate that humanity in the inconsistency and the journey the imperfections were sharing inherently. As such my work now sells for thousands a piece and parts I am not happy with my customers adore. I am sure I’ll find some perfection in your latest set, and some humanity, I’m sure we all will, and we are lucky to have you.
TheDude3DX
Thank you for the support :) I appreciate the confidence, and I'm glad you agree on the heatwave thing. It was honestly murderous, I'm just too much of a North European to be able to function in temperatures over 35 degrees celsius, nevermind ~40.
TheDude3DX
It's definitely just a collection of images, there was no intention to tell a story here. Just to create something that was visually compelling. But yes I agree, there's a lack of hardcore images that feel as though they're part of a sequence, so that's definitely something to include in part 2. And I had definitely thought about that. I like the oozing cum, but for sure the cumshots themselves are a good way to add character to the girls. It's something I was very frustrated at being unable to do this time around, so that's part of the lingering annoyance that caused me to write this whole post to begin with xD
Jeremy McGeehan
I'm not here to be a critic of your work and I don't ever look into it with that mindset. I've been a fan and follower for a long time because I enjoy your work. Not everything can be stellar, then nothing would be. I understand your concerns and honestly one of the big reasons I am a patron (besides enjoying your work) is the fact that you are humble and always trying to improve and communicate with the community. That kind of up-front and open dialogue with your fans earns a lot of respect. I'm not worried about a set that "could have been better" because I feel like if you believe that to be the case, you will put in every effort to do better going forward. Also, the heat wave is a perfectly valid reason in my opinion.
Enigmatic Entity
I think of this most recent set more as a collection of images rather than a set with any kind of real flow to it. There doesn’t seem to really be any kind of order in regards to the set in its entirety. The images transition from solo images of the various girls to the hardcore images without any rhyme or reason and the lack of hardcore images is definitely something to be noted. I know there is going to be a second part so hopefully we’ll see more action there. I also wanted to chime in on the actual cumshots. I don’t mind the oozing, thick cum that we normally see from you, but I prefer cumshots that have a bit more force behind them. I also wanted to know if you ever thought about giving the girls a bit of variety in the consistency of their cum. Not everyone’s cum is the same after all. 😂😂 It’s cool if that’s more of a technical hurdle that you aren’t willing to tackle, but it’s something to think about nonetheless. Still looking forward to part two! 👍
