Thursday, February 2, 2023

The Goblin Queen ... and this is bizarre!

 

Going through old posts, I just realized something utterly bizarre ... this portrait was never uploaded. How bizarre is that? And I know, I haven't posted here in about a year. 2022 "did a number" on me. In the interests of survival, something had to go on the back burner, and art was it, because I'd reached a point where DAZ was crashing more often than not, the video card I can afford (two and a half grand's worth) won't come anywhere near to rendering Genesis 8 plus dForce, and my new Huion pen tablet, which was intended for drawing, just will NOT work ... and so on. So it was an easy choice to make: side-line the art. Come back later.

Well, "later" turned out to be over a year, in which time I've been injured, ill, had my husband in the hospital with ten broken bones, been published professionally, written a novel, and done many other things ... but I haven't put pencil to paper to even doodle. No art. And I'm starting to miss it. I'm also moving back into a time when I think I have the time to get involved again, so ... here I am.

So, having been out for a year, I thought I'd touch down on the DAZ store and see what I missed --

Michael 9 ... Genesis 9 
Not my render: I don't own it

What have I missed? Well, for a start, they're up to Genesis 9 now. Meet Michael 9. Now, I'm having enough trouble rendering Genesis 8! I've been seriously thinking about going back to Michael 4, to get something done rather than crashing the system! Also, the Aussie dollar is so weak now, I shudder to think what it would cost to invest in Genesis 9. Which is a crying shame, because...


...it's absolutely amazing. Huh. I can wish, I suppose, but right now I'd have to win the lottery to get back into this game, and we all know the chances of that. So ... back to the earlier models, and we'll just work with what we have. I'm about to start again, because I'm actually missing art a lot. The first place to start is to rework some old pieces. I have a story to upload to my writing blog, and the old art, now many years old, needs a thorough polish. Result --


Not too shabby. And yes, it's storybook, not photoreal; but there are times when storybook is not a bad goal to be aiming for ... especially if you happen to be telling a story! So, where to begin?! Where indeed...