2/21/2024 1:42:33 AM by
ZenMaster3D
(Edited: 2/24/2024 10:46:04 PM)
Views: 120
Sometimes you need to tie something down. This could be a gorgeous looking girl, a strong looking guy (or vice versa!) or maybe you just need something tied down to prevent it from getting stolen (boooring ;)). Well, a rope only gets you so far, if you were to use a chain then it would suddenly become a lot harder to get out of that.
Well... as mentioned in the header some time ago our very own Vunter Slaush (<= link to his product overview) shared a freebie with the community: a free chain prop.
And let me tell you: it's quite impressive!
What's included?
A lot more than I would have expected from a free product, that's for sure!
First the chain prop itself (duh!), you can see an example in the teaser image: a large chain made up from 10 links. I figured I'd let Sukai hold it so that you could get a good impression of the actual size, but of course: that only means so much because you can easily rescale figures in Daz Studio.
The chain comes with 3 metalic material presets, but if you know your way around shaders it's not too hard to use something else. The golden chain at Sukai's feet was set up using one of Daz Studio's default Iray shaders. But we're not going to cover this part.
There are also 10 shaping presets which can hide parts of the chain. So you can use this chain any way you'd want: either as a single link, the full length of the chain and anything in between. A chain with only 3 links? No problem!
And finally we get 16 poses. The chain in Sukai's hands? That was done using the "Bend06" pose. The chain near her feet? That's the "Side30" at work.
How to install?
As with most Renderotica products you'll get a ZIP file which you need to extract in your library folder. Unlike some other products you won't get to see an artist name, the chain becomes available in the "Chain" folder, which gets placed in to the Props folder by default.
How to use?
That's very easy: either you double click to place the chain in the center of your scene, or your drag & drop it in while keeping the alt key pressed. After that you can apply shaping, posing and material presets any way you'd like. The chain consists of individual links which also makes it very easy to set up a pose of your own.
Also important: the chain isn't "divided". Meaning that one end of the chain will move the entire chain around, but as you move up the chain (no pun intended) the section that's being moved will get smaller. This makes it very easy to set up poses of your own as long as you keep this mechanic in mind.
Reason I mention this: some chain / tentacle props have "split" the product, so if you want to set up a pose of your own you'll need to start working your way around from the center. But that's a whole other story.
Also noteworthy... if you need more material presets then you can purchase the addon 4 chain which gets you 8 more material presets which were custom made for the chain prop (obviously).
Verdict?
Just because something is free doesn't mean that it probably won't be any good. In contrary to what some believe it is perfectly possible to make good renders with Daz Studio without paying (too much?) for any 3D assets. Of course I do suggest not to become a hoarder because that may make life more difficult in the longer run, but that's a story for another time.
Either way: this is a solid prop and very usable to chain something (or someone?) up....
Pro's => fully customizable, 3 solid material presets + a lot of usable pose presets.
Con's => standard size of the chain is a bit big (trust me: it's a non-issue).
One of my older works... using chains, obviously ;)