So now that I've learned everything there is to know about DazStudio (pause for laughter), I've decided to inch my way toward my real goal, which is creating new covers for my Jackpot Drift series.
(I'd like to reiterate: the company I paid to create the original covers did exactly what I told them to do, and those covers are fine. But I think they give the impression of written-by-a-man-all-tech-and-no-character-development-sf, which is exactly the opposite of what I need and may be scaring off my target audience.)
As much as I dislike character-based covers, I think I need to have them for this series. My vision is a woman's back as she looks into a valley filled with cyberpunk-ish buildings, sheep, bicycles, and a spaceship in the sky. If I can create that, I think it will give readers all the clues they need.
It's very possible I will decide I'll never have the skills to create this. And that's okay. But I'm going to start iterating in that direction and see how it goes.
Yesterday, I created a rock.
Before you laugh, you should know that I had to learn about Blender, an entirely different program, in order to do this. DazStudio lets you incorporate a bunch of objects and set up lights and cameras. Blender allows you create those objects. (That's my basic understanding, which may be totally wrong. All I know is that DazStudio primitive objects are one of: cube, sphere, cone, toroid, plane, and that wasn't good enough.)
Anyhow, like I said, I created a rock. Behold my rock!
And here is my rock (multiplied by 10) in the growing scene that may eventually be the book cover:
Baby steps!
