User:Robkelk/sandbox/A Brief History of DAZ3D Characters

'DRAFT DOCUMENT - Please do not link to it yet. Besides, it'll be moved out of my sandbox once it's ready.' __NOINDEX__

...somebody else gets to write the equivalent article about Poser characters

...write an introduction

There have been "iconic characters" released throughout the history of the line. However, not every iconic character has appeared in every generation.

So far, Victoria and Michael have always been represented - they were the only figures in Generation 2, the base characters in Generation 4, and the first female and male morphs in Generations 5, 6, 7, and 8. Victoria has always been the first character released in each generation.

Aiko has also appeared in every generation except 2, although she has shifted from the "anime" style of Aiko 3 to a "videogame" style of Aiko 5 to a "realistic Asian" style of Aiko 8.

Stephanie has appeared in every generation except 2 and 7.

...just listing humans here

Generations 1 and 2: Millennium Figures
When making the Millennium figures, DAZ3D built upon the lessons learned by Zygote when they created their figures. (Zygote's figures are long out-of-print.) As a result, the Generation 1 figures were seen to be of higher quality than the equivalent Poser characters of the time, and they gained a large market share because of that.

The Generation 2 figures are the Generation 1 figures with improved, expanded morphs, and some other changes. Only Victoria and Michael were updated to Generation 2.

Iconic Characters in Generations 1 and 2
These are separate figures, excepting Aiko 1 (who was a morph for Stephanie 1).


 * Aiko (1)
 * Michael 1-2
 * Millennium Baby
 * Preschool Boy
 * Preschool Girl
 * Preteen Boy
 * Preteen Girl
 * Stephanie 1
 * Victoria 1-2

Generation 3: Unimesh Figures
The Unimesh figures are DAZ3D's third generation of Millennium figures. They were designed from the same base figure and share the same UV map, allowing each Unimesh figure to use Materials and Shaders made for any other Unimesh figure. This was the last Millennium generation to have separate figures for the iconic characters.

The "anime" figures Aiko 3 and Hiro 3 had slightly different implementations of the UV map on their legs, which means that the textures are not completely cross-compatible. To fix this, you can copy the SkinLeg material to the SkinKnee, SkinThigh and a SkinShin material zones manually in the Poser Material Room or in the DazStudio Surface tab. Don't forget to credit Kerya there. Daz Studio users can use the Gen3 Leg Material Fixer Scripts for Daz Studio script to automate this.

This wiki lists free Unimesh textures on two pages:
 * Unimesh Female 3/Materials and Shaders
 * Unimesh Male 3/Materials and Shaders

Iconic Characters in Generation 3
Each character is a separate figure.


 * Aiko 3
 * David 3
 * The Freak 3
 * The Girl 3
 * Hiro 3
 * Laura
 * Luke
 * Maddie
 * Matt
 * Michael 3
 * Millennium Baby 3
 * Stephanie Petite 3
 * Victoria 3

Generation 4: Reducing the Number of Figures
Beginning with the fourth generation of Millennium figures, DAZ3D would make single male and female figures for each generation (except for the unisex fifth generation Genesis figure), making various iconic characters morphs of the base male and female. This allows each generation of figures to share not only textures, but also wardrobe, hair, and parented props.

However, the fourth generation of Millennium figures had a separate child figure, Kids 4. This figure can be morphed to have either male or female features.

Iconic Characters in Generation 4
Kids 4, Michael 4, and Victoria 4 are figures; the others are morphs.


 * Aiko 4
 * The Freak 4
 * The Girl 4
 * Hiro 4
 * Kids 4
 * Michael 4
 * She-Freak 4
 * Stephanie 4
 * Victoria 4

Generation 5: Genesis and Weight-Mapping
The Generation 5 figure Genesis was the first DAZ3D figure to be weight-mapped. It was also the first to be released to the pubic as a unisex figure instead of a pair of male and female figures.

Iconic Characters in Generation 5
These are all morphs of Genesis.


 * Aiko 5
 * David 5
 * Freak 5
 * Hiro 5
 * Michael 5
 * Stephanie 5
 * Victoria 5
 * Young Teens 5 Julie and Justin

Generation 6: Back to Two Figures
Generation 6 went back to a pair of male and female figures (apparently at the request of many content creators): Genesis 2 Female and Genesis 2 Male.

Iconic Characters in Generation 6
These are all morphs of Genesis 2 Female and Genesis 2 Male.


 * Aiko 6
 * Belle 6
 * Brodie 6
 * Callie 6
 * Cory 6
 * Darius 6
 * Gia 6
 * Gianni 6
 * The Girl 6
 * Giselle 6
 * Keiko 6
 * Lee 6
 * Lilith 6
 * Mei Lin 6
 * Michael 6
 * Monique 6
 * Ninive 6
 * Olympia 6
 * Scott 6
 * Stephanie 6
 * Teen Jayden 6
 * Teen Josie 6
 * Victoria 6
 * Ysabeau 6

Generation 7: Industry-Standard Weight-Mapping
Generation 7 (Genesis 3 Female and Genesis 3 Male) was released two years after Generation 6. To anyone who isn't a content creator, this appears to be what the IT community calls a "maintenance release" - a new release for the sake of a new release, with minor improvements but no notable new features.

One behind-the-scenes change was that Genesis 3 moved away from DAZ3D's TriAx weight-mapping to conform more closely to industry-standard weight-mapping. This allows Genesis 3 (and later generations of the DAZ3D base figures) to be used in video games, and at least one creator is on record saying it is easier to design content for the new generation of figures.

Iconic Characters in Generation 7
These are all morphs of Genesis 3 Female and Genesis 3 Male.


 * Aiko 7
 * Arabella 7
 * Bethany 7
 * Dante 7
 * Darius 7
 * Elijah 7
 * Eva 7
 * Genevieve 7
 * Gia 7
 * Gianni 7
 * The Girl 7
 * The Guy 7
 * Ivan 7
 * Izabella 7
 * Kalea 7
 * Karen 7
 * Kenji 7
 * Kimo 7
 * Lee 7
 * Leo 7
 * Lilith 7
 * Lucian 7
 * Mei Lin 7
 * Michael 7
 * Mika 7
 * Monique 7
 * Olympia 7
 * Ophelia 7
 * Rune 7
 * Sunny 7
 * Teen Josie 7
 * Tween Julie 7
 * Tween Ryan 7
 * Victoria 7

Generation 8: No longer standing with arms outstretched
Generation 8 (Genesis 8 Female and Genesis 8 Male) was released two years after Generation 7. The default pose is no longer the familiar "T pose"; instead, it's closer to the "A pose" popularized by Apollo Maximus - this appears to have been done to ease the draping of dynamic clothing onto the figures.

Iconic Characters in Generation 8
These are all morphs of Genesis 8 Female and Genesis 8 Male.


 * Aiko 8
 * Alexandra 8
 * Charlotte 8
 * Darius 8
 * Edward 8
 * Edie 8
 * The Girl 8
 * Karyssa 8
 * Lucas 8
 * Michael 8
 * Mika 8
 * Monique 8
 * Ollie 8
 * Olympia 8
 * Owen 8
 * Penny 8
 * Sakura 8
 * Stephanie 8
 * Teen Josie 8
 * Victoria 8

Characters by Generation
A list of characters by name, showing in which generations each name was used. These are not necessarily the same style of characters - Aiko 3 is an "anime-style" figure while Aiko 7 is a realistic Asian character, for example.

Links are provided when characters have pages on this wiki.