Motion Master for DAZ Studio

One of the recent add-ons for Daz Studio by one of my favorite publishers, Dreamlight, is Motion Master. They really hit a home run with this one!

As I have mentioned before, I really am not an expert with 3D image rendering or even that savvy when it comes to image manipulation using GIMP, PhotoShop, or even PhotoImpact. I had no clue what layer masking was all about when I started putting together my 3D graphic novel.

One of the reasons I stopped creating my graphic novel is precisely because I was waiting for certain areas of Daz Studio to mature and, of course, because I was waiting for add-ons like this one.

An add-on like Motion Master makes the long and tedious process of putting together the frames of a graphic novel that requires the addition of motion blur, for added effect, so easy and saves so much time that this add-on can easily be sold for much more!

Click on Figure 1 and take a look at this early work of mine. You will see how when I added motion blur to this frame the motion blur was spread in front of every object in the scene. Someone who knew what he/she was doing would have cleverly used layers and masks to get the correct effect here. Like bringing the lamp post in front of the motion blur and not the other way around.

Well, for those like me, or even veteran experts, this add-on can do more than just save you a ton of time and effort!

Motion Master will create three layers for you and an optional static mask. Don't worry if you don't understand that lingo. The documentation will easily explain them and teach you how to use them. Here is a quick rundown of what they do:

• Mask
  This is a layer that renders a white silhouette of all moving objects at their final (end of motion) position. This reflects the position of the objects in your main render and is used to mask out the other Motion Master layers in case you want to add the effects underneath your object(s).
• Motion Blend
  This is the actual motion blur effect. It´s done by mixing multiple renders of the object into one, using different mathematical user controlled algorithms.
• Mask Blend
  Same as Motion Blend, but a white/black mask, without any texture. This is done to make sure that you can blend the Motion Blend image in several ways. This mask can also be used as the actual motion blur effect, in case a bright one is needed or preferred.
• Optional Static Mask
  As an option, you can choose to have object(s) in front of the moving object(s)—like a fence, pillar or anything else you want to obscure the motion. For this purpose, Motion Master will render an additional Static Mask Layer that can be used to mask out the motion where needed.

Figure 2 is the new render I did of the frame. As you can see here, the motion blur is obscured by the lamp post only. This is exactly what we want since the Werewolf is running between the woman in the scene and the lamp post. A quick use of the Static Mask made me look like a pro!

As you will also notice, the lighting is different in this newer render. That's because I used Dreamlight's Light Dome Pro Version 2 and I also omitted the use of an UberSpot light I used to cheat to bring out the colors in the scene. This is obviously something I did because I wanted color in all my night frames in the graphic novel to shine through. I have since decided not to do that anymore and leave the scenes looking as natural as in real life. Colors are softer at night. Also, it means less work.

I'll leave you with Motion Master for DAZ Studio video 1. By studying the video you will learn how easy it is to use Motion Master for Daz Studio: