seamentertainment

[seamentertainment]

Creating characters with DAZ 3D for Samuel Sage: The Mystery at Penby Inn

Hi guys,

I wanted to share an update on the progress I have made with my Visual novel project Samuel Sage: They Mystery at Penby Inn. I decided early on to go with Daz3D for the characters (and Maya for the backgrounds). The main drivers for this decision were:

Desire for a different look and feel for the project, and

Budgetary considerations.

I designed my characters using Genesis8.1 models and various morphs to get them to look different. here is an example of the female protagonist of my novel (Rachel), rendered using IRay.

The lighting and camera rig is fairly straightforward. I used a basic three point light setup with 2 planar lights for the key and fill, and one spot light as the backlight. The camera is slightly to the right of the character as you can see below.

The problem I noticed was that the IRay renders looked like typical 3D renders. I wanted a different look so I then took the renders to Photoshop for some post processing. The before and after versions of Rachel are below:

So how does all of this look when composited with the background, and other UI elements? Here is a screenshot of the gameplay.

Overall, I am very pleased with how things turned out. It certainly looks different to other VNs out there that I have come across. I am hoping this approach inspires others to try similar ideas in their projects.

Thankyou for reading this, please take a moment to check out my game's Steam page and please add Samuel Sage: They Mystery at Penby Inn to your Steam wishlist.

Samuel Sage: The Mystery at Penby Inn.

[seamentertainment]

Hi guys, I would like to share a demo video of Samuel Sage : The Mystery at Penby Inn.  In this game, you play the part of a young tech entrepreneur Samuel, who inherits a hotel only to learn that things are not as they seem.

Business is declining, there are rumours the hotel is haunted, and to top it all there is a murder.

Will you be able to get to the bottom of these incidents, will you be able to revive the business?

Visit https://www.seamentertainment.com for a chance to win a free copy of this game.

If you would like to try out a beta version, please leave a message in the comments. The full game is expected to release in the first quarter of 2024.

[seamentertainment]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a while. I wanted to share a render of the cast from the visual novel. (From Left to Right): Roy Harris, Jemma Lewis, James Wang, Samuel Sage, Rachel Carter, Iris Bishop, Edward Sage.

I have seen some absolutely spectacular manga style artwork out there, but sadly that is beyond my skill and budget I have gone DIY with Daz and Maya and was wondering if there are others out there who are using Daz to create characters for their visual novel projects.

The visual novel is called Samuel Sage : The Mystery at Penby Inn. It is a classic murder mystery. The project webpage (https://www.seamentertainment.com) has more artwork samples.

The look is obviously quite different from the mana/anime style work out there. This could be both a good thing or a bad thing. I honestly do not know at this point. Appreciate any thoughts and feedback.

Thanks!

[seamentertainment]

Meet Samuel Sage, the protagonist of the upcoming visual novel game 'Samuel Sage : The Mystery at Penby Inn'.

Visit https://www.seamentertainment.com for a chance to win a free copy of the game.

[seamentertainment]

This video provides a behind-the-scenes look at making the set for Samuel Sage's living room. This video is part of a series of videos on the making of the visual novel Samuel Sage : The Mystery at Penby Inn.

Visit https://www.seamentertainment.com for a chance to win a free copy of the game.

[seamentertainment]

Here are a few more test renders of the hotel managers office from the upcoming visual novel project titled Sage : Episode 1 - The Incident at Penby Inn.

I am happy with how this set has turned out, time to move on to the next set.

[seamentertainment]

Hi guys. I would like to share a few test render of the hotel managers office from the upcoming visual novel project titled Sage : Episode 1 - The Incident at Penby Inn.

There is still some noise in the image, so I think it is time to take it into photoshop and get rid of the noise there.

[seamentertainment]

Meet Samuel Sage. A successful tech entrepreneur and the protagonist of my upcoming visual novel. He is a man of integrity, intelligent, witty, and passionate.

But what you may find more interesting is that he is created completely using 3D modelling software and Photoshop.

Here is a series of images from different stages in the development of this character.

The final touches were applied using Photoshop to make the rendered character match the toon-shaded look of the background scene.

Next up .. facial expressions :-)

[seamentertainment]

Here is another look at the results of combining Arnold Toon and Standard shaders.

[seamentertainment]

In my quest to achieve a visual novel-friendly look with Maya, I am experimenting with the idea of merging standard photorealistic shaders with toon shaders. The picture on the right is rendered using such a hybrid setup. Will post a few more renders comparing scenes before and after.

[seamentertainment]

Have been experimenting with different shader networks to build an interesting look for the set of the hotel managers office. This is where things are at today.

There is quite a lot of work to do. more updates next week

[seamentertainment]

I am working on my first visual novel project titled 'Sage Episode 1 - The Incident at Penby Inn'.

This is an exterior shot of the Penby Inn, a fictional luxury hotel nestled in the English countryside. This is also one of the key locations in the story where the player spends a considerable amount of time.

I am attempting to use toon shaders to create the background artwork.