Daz Studio Decimator

Over 2000 items of free content for Poser and DAZ Studio, free poses, free morphs, free characters, free clothing, free props, free models, free textures, free figures, free hair, free content, free downloads, free 3D, free stuff, freestuff for V4, Victoria 4, G3F, Genesis 3 Female, V7, Victoria 7, G8F, Genesis 8 Female, V8, Victoria 8 and other popular figures.

• Decimator for DAZ Studio allows users to create any number of lower polygon versions of a high resolution model known as Levels of Detail (LODs). Use LOD features in DAZ Studio to automatically.
• From Daz to PBX Default export = 1.5 Gb Decimator 20% quality 1/4 of the scene = 2.0 Gb Decimator 20% quality 2/4 of the scene = 2.6 Gb Decimator 20% quality 3/4 of the scene = 3.7 Gb Decimator 20% quality 4/4 of the scene = 5.0 Gb How is it possible that if you lower the quality the export gets 3x bigger than the original.
• OBJ is a text format for describing 3D models, it is supported as export from most widely-used 3D CAD studios like ScketchUp, 3DS Studio Max, DAZ Studio, SOFTIMAGE and 1.3 Mb 4 FaceShop Pro v.3.1.

Not everyone has a computer that is equipped to deal with the hard processing power that 3d modeling requires. In fact, even during setting up scenes, you can find that your 3d work is consuming your RAM in unexpected ways. Recently on the Daz Slackers Discord, I was talking to someone who could not understand why his 3 G8F models were consuming 22 gigs of ram on his system in an otherwise simple scene.
What was consuming so much ram, and slowing his computer down while he is using Daz?! He had done other scenes that had lots of furniture models and props without this problem.
The simple answer to his problem was: too many polygons for his computer to handle. Think of polygons as all the parts that are needed to make a 3d model have its shape. Where were all the polygons coming from in his scene, however?
It was coming from the character's hair models. The hair on the G8 models was blowing up his polygon count and causing massive slowdowns with his computer. This is something I have seen a few times, and experience myself while on my older slower computer. Let me show you some examples.

For this case study, I am going to be using the decimator tool, which is used to reduce the polygons for exporting your 3D models for games. You can also use this tool to reduce the polygons of your models to make them faster to render and animate inside of Daz.

Decimator tool (wait for this to go on sale, don't pay full price): https://www.daz3d.com/decimator-for-daz-studio
When most Daz models are made, they are produced with creating 2D images in mind. As a result, many of the models have to be heavy on polygons in my observation versus 3d assets made with game design in mind. High polygon count does not necessarily mean a 3D model is a high quality, in fact, it can mean quite the opposite.

Remember: The higher the polygon count, the longer it will take to render a 3d still image or 3d animation on any computer. This is only 1 of several factors that go into your render speed, but it one often overlooked.

So let's break down a character and look at where the most polygons are found in that character's model and parts to better understand where we might be getting tons of polygons that are slowing our computers down. I am going to break down for you 3 randomly made characters and examine where we can find the polygon bloat on each.

#1 – Here is the polygon breakdown on this current character setup:

• G8F Desiree – 32.7k
• Whitney Hair – 194.8k
• Rosy Dress By Lully – 28.8k
• Amara Heels – 104.5k
• Eyelashes – 704
• Total: 361.7k

Wow! The hair model and the high heel models may look great, but talk about adding a ton of polygons to a scene! If you are on an older computer, this will really begin slowing your computer down. You can of course hide these items in the scene, but they will still exist and have to be traced in your system as you play with the scene.

Let's look at another random character combo to check those polygons. In this one I added some seated to look at the data as well.

#2 – Here is the breakdown of the polygons of this scene:

• G8F Rita HD – 32.7k
• Rita Fiberbrows – 169.7k
• Slit Dress – 12.7k
• Charli Hair – 530.3k
• Slingbacks For G8F – 12.9k
• Sofa – 104.4k

The hair model alone has more polygons than over 15 G8F models. The Rita model used in this sample is an HD model, so she is a nice high-quality look. Another thing is that look at the fibermesh eyebrows. If you have a slower system, you may consider staying away from the more advanced eyebrows that are fibers because they will significantly increase your polygon count, which slows your system down.

Let's do 1 more random character mash up study and break down those numbers on the polygon count per item.

#3 – The numbers on this model I found a bit startling, and so unlike the previous models, I wanted to show the exact count on the model's polygons.

• Peter G8M (some adjustments to better fit clothing) – 32,392
• Classic Side Part Hairs For G8M – 1,160,784
• Classic Side Part Hairs For G8M Head Cap – 7,856
• Strictly Business Outfit, Pants – 14,621
• Strictly Business Outfit, Belt – 2,711
• Strictly Business Outfit, Shirt – 6,188
• Strictly Business Outfit, Shoes – 39,020
• CC Beard Boss – 300,190
• Total Polygons – 1,568,162

Daz Studio Decimator

That's right, just his hair alone is OVER A MILLION POLYGONS. If you are on a slower computer having just 1 of these decked out 1+ million polygon models in your scene will make your computer cry. That said, I am -not- saying you should avoid these models. By all rights use the hair models, and enjoy your art. I do however have some suggestions on how to address this issue.

One thing I did notice, that dforce strand based hair had MUCH lower polygon counts than hair modeled traditionally, which makes sense. So if you are comfortable using force, or willing to learn it messing around with force strand based hair may be another option for you. The example below is only 3k polygons, a huge difference.

Here is another dforce hair model. I find in general dforce hair is lower polygon, but that is not a 100% universal golden rule. I have not tested and documented every hair model to verify if every dforce hair model is lower polygon compared to the other more traditional hair models.

Decimator For Daz Studio

In conclusion here are my tips & thoughts for older computers using Daz Studio:

• Avoid High Polygon Count Models with your older computer
• Save adding hair to your character for last if possible
• Older models do not mean lower polygons, and often actually have higher polygons
• High polygons do not always mean high quality. That said, the models used in this study I feel are wonderful models however they are rocking some pretty high polygons that might make them better suited to faster computers.
• Beards, eyebrows, and body hair are typically very high polygon and worth avoiding if possible when a computer is struggling to handle the 3D
• If you can afford to purchase the Decimator tool, it will be a nice investment to gently pull down the polygon count on your models to make them a little more manageable.
• DForce strand based hair tends to have a lower polygon, however, dforce hair has its own challenges and requirements. Just because dforce hair is lower polygon doesn't mean it will be easier on your system.
• Be aware of the size of your material files. For slower systems, focus on smaller texture file sizes.So if you using an 8k texture file, and that file in and of itself is like 200+ megs in size, that will be its own drain. Large material texture files will cause slow down on even low polygon models.

There are many workarounds and tips, however, these are my observations and I thought a few of you would appreciate seeing these numbers laid out. In all, I've conducted around 12+ random character model polygon checks. Content makers need to be aware that their polygons can be needlessly excessive, and should consider cleaning up their models before releasing them.

Remember: The higher the polygon count, the longer it will take to render a 3d still image or 3d animation on any computer.

What are your thoughts?

Be certain to check out my other 3d freebie pages!

• Free Iray Shaders & Materials
• 80+ Free Costumes & Cosplay Outfits for Daz Studio

Have you seen my FREE shader sets for Daz?

The hair model alone has more polygons than over 15 G8F models. The Rita model used in this sample is an HD model, so she is a nice high-quality look. Another thing is that look at the fibermesh eyebrows. If you have a slower system, you may consider staying away from the more advanced eyebrows that are fibers because they will significantly increase your polygon count, which slows your system down.

Let's do 1 more random character mash up study and break down those numbers on the polygon count per item.

#3 – The numbers on this model I found a bit startling, and so unlike the previous models, I wanted to show the exact count on the model's polygons.

• Peter G8M (some adjustments to better fit clothing) – 32,392
• Classic Side Part Hairs For G8M – 1,160,784
• Classic Side Part Hairs For G8M Head Cap – 7,856
• Strictly Business Outfit, Pants – 14,621
• Strictly Business Outfit, Belt – 2,711
• Strictly Business Outfit, Shirt – 6,188
• Strictly Business Outfit, Shoes – 39,020
• CC Beard Boss – 300,190
• Total Polygons – 1,568,162

Daz Studio Decimator

That's right, just his hair alone is OVER A MILLION POLYGONS. If you are on a slower computer having just 1 of these decked out 1+ million polygon models in your scene will make your computer cry. That said, I am -not- saying you should avoid these models. By all rights use the hair models, and enjoy your art. I do however have some suggestions on how to address this issue.

One thing I did notice, that dforce strand based hair had MUCH lower polygon counts than hair modeled traditionally, which makes sense. So if you are comfortable using force, or willing to learn it messing around with force strand based hair may be another option for you. The example below is only 3k polygons, a huge difference.

Here is another dforce hair model. I find in general dforce hair is lower polygon, but that is not a 100% universal golden rule. I have not tested and documented every hair model to verify if every dforce hair model is lower polygon compared to the other more traditional hair models.

Decimator For Daz Studio

In conclusion here are my tips & thoughts for older computers using Daz Studio:

• Avoid High Polygon Count Models with your older computer
• Save adding hair to your character for last if possible
• Older models do not mean lower polygons, and often actually have higher polygons
• High polygons do not always mean high quality. That said, the models used in this study I feel are wonderful models however they are rocking some pretty high polygons that might make them better suited to faster computers.
• Beards, eyebrows, and body hair are typically very high polygon and worth avoiding if possible when a computer is struggling to handle the 3D
• If you can afford to purchase the Decimator tool, it will be a nice investment to gently pull down the polygon count on your models to make them a little more manageable.
• DForce strand based hair tends to have a lower polygon, however, dforce hair has its own challenges and requirements. Just because dforce hair is lower polygon doesn't mean it will be easier on your system.
• Be aware of the size of your material files. For slower systems, focus on smaller texture file sizes.So if you using an 8k texture file, and that file in and of itself is like 200+ megs in size, that will be its own drain. Large material texture files will cause slow down on even low polygon models.

There are many workarounds and tips, however, these are my observations and I thought a few of you would appreciate seeing these numbers laid out. In all, I've conducted around 12+ random character model polygon checks. Content makers need to be aware that their polygons can be needlessly excessive, and should consider cleaning up their models before releasing them.

Remember: The higher the polygon count, the longer it will take to render a 3d still image or 3d animation on any computer.

What are your thoughts?

Be certain to check out my other 3d freebie pages!

• Free Iray Shaders & Materials
• 80+ Free Costumes & Cosplay Outfits for Daz Studio

Have you seen my FREE shader sets for Daz?