This week I had the honor of interviewing DB-Spencer, our featured artist for the month of February. As it turns out, we’re kindred spirits, and I swear that is the only terrible Vampire: The Masquerade pun I’m going to make. We discussed geekdom, metal, Top Gear, science, and her art, of course. As you read on, you’ll see she likes to talk, so I hope you will all enjoy getting to know her a little bit better as much as I did 🙂
What does DB stand for? Do you prefer your full name, or any particular shortened version?
I answer to either DB or Spencer. As for what DB stands for… It’s literally a mystery. Years and years ago I created a character for the tabletop RPG Vampire: The Masquerade who was a noirish private detective. She woke up one night in an alley with no memory of who she was and the only thing in her pocket was a PI business card with the name ‘DB Spencer’ on it. The campaign ended abruptly a few sessions later before she could discover her full name and history. After that, I adopted it as my online name, and I’ve been using it ever since. 😀
Your Tumblr says you are a geek girl by day. What are your favorite things to geek out about?
Godzilla, Horror, Arrowverse, Whedon, Tabletop RPG. Movies…
What draws you to create 3DX, rather than other mediums for artistic expression?
I have a history in illustration and graphic design, but when my father passed away a few years back, I pretty much lost any desire to create, in any medium. Almost a year after, I’d started finding favorite established artists in the then newish “3DX” format, especially Miro, Supro, and a few others. Later, I stumbled across an ad for Daz3D online. It was free. It was new to me. Something to learn. A new challenge. And something sparked. Learning it all was a wonderfully addictive distraction that helped to pull me out of my funk. The rest is history. 🙂
Describe your creative process. What tools do you use, and what do you draw inspiration from?
I use Daz Studio Pro and Adobe PhotoShop, primarily. I want to start learning Blender, Maya or Zbrush as well.
Inspiration is such a funny little critter! I get inspired for series from the smallest things, usually. Sometimes learning a new tool in Daz will inspire an entire series. “Aliya & Simona: Morning Stroll” sprouted out of testing what I could do with HDR infinite lighting in LuxRender. Occasionally I’ll be watching a movie or show and see a scene and start thinking, “How would I make that? How would I light it for that effect?”, and then run to Daz and see if I can fulfill that challenge. Sometimes it’ll be something as obscure as a piece of graffiti that inspires an entire character. Goji was almost entirely inspired by the piece of graffiti that hangs behind her in her first series, with my love of rock music tossed into her for flavor. 😀
A lot of artists like to plan out every shot in their series. I started out that way. I’m anal and detail oriented and felt the need to control everything. Then with each series I started discovering unplanned camera angles, unintended flukes of lighting, etc, that I’d choose to use instead what was planned. Eventually, I gave up and just planned an opening shot, closing shot, and a handful of key shots in the middle. Then I left the majority of the series to the happy accidents and whims of inspiration I knew would happen. Most of my favorite shots in many of my series are those very happy quirks of fate. 😀
Do you listen to music or watch something in the background while you create? If so, what do you enjoy most?
I do both. I like to have some kind of noise in the background to help me focus. For music, I like hard rock, symphonic metal, soundtrack instrumental, and 80s for when I need a spike in energy. For shows, I like anything I’ve already watched and enjoyed. As for both the music and shows, I like stuff I know and have heard/watched before, so it can be there just enough to keep my energy up, yet not distract me with “new” stuff that I would end up focusing on, instead of doing my work.
In regards to the last question, I saw one of your posts on DeviantArt listed a question you put to others. So, Tarja, Anette, or Floor? I would have to say Tarja. Her voice is so beautiful, and Nightwish just isn’t the same without her. Since this is a porn site though, if we discussing our lustful desires, Floor has amazingly sexy shoulders.
No contest! Tarja! Hehe.
I love Floor too, but I prefer her stuff with After Forever or ReVamp.
Even though two of my favorite Nightwish songs came from Anette’s time (‘Storytime’ and ‘I Want My Tears Back’), I can take her or leave her.
However, if you want to talk about desires and rock music leading ladies, my money goes to Sharon den Adel for the full package! 😀
Do you have any advice for artists and writers; generally, and specific to 3DX?
Never be scared to experiment, whether it works or not. Always look at mistakes as a learning experience and never forget them, because in the future what lead to that mistake could be the tool you need.
Ignore “trolls” of all kinds. So what if someone else thinks you should use X tools, Y characters, or Z genres. If what you’re doing makes you happy and doesn’t hurt anyone else, then that’s the perfect thing for you. If you’re happy, it shows in your work, and in turn brings more joy to those who follow your work. Other people only get a say in what you do when you’re doing a commission for them.
The same thing goes for genres you may choose to explore through your work. No matter what you do, there will always be people who won’t like it. You know what? That’s OK! The only person you need to make happy is yourself.
Is there a particular theme, fetish, or scenario you prefer to work with?
My default is easily Yuri. Yuri isn’t just lesbian sex, but ‘lesbian love’. I love to show that the characters have an emotional link between them, and not just a sexual attraction. Affection, glances, laughing and giggling, it’s all just as important between two lovers as sexual desire. It’s easy to just put together sex poses. The challenge, and biggest payoff, comes from portraying the subtle emotions and fun the characters share with each other. Three of my sets are the perfect examples of this- “Dakota & Zoe: Beach Bums”, “Aliya & Simona: Evening Transit”, and “Aliya & Simona: Morning Stroll”. The Aliya & Simona sets also show another favorite thing I like to do when I can- “Behind the Scenes” series. They’re a fun way to show even deeper examples of the characters as ‘real’ people.
As for fetishes, my only major fetish that has slipped into a series so far is my WAM (Wet and Messy) fetish being the partial inspiration for “Noelle- Candied Christmas”. 😉
I’d love to do Yaoi as well, but I’ve never been happy with the Genesis 2 or Genesis 3 male models available. I know if I sit down and tweak and morph them enough I’d be happy, but it’s going to be such a daunting task, so I’ve not gotten to it. 😕
What is your favorite fantasy you can only depict artistically, something that only your imagination can fulfill?
My brain is so overcharged (and overcaffed) and mile-a-minute, that I don’t really have any fantasies that linger. However, I do have a favorite pair of superpowers which could fit the bill- Flight and Shapeshifting. And now that I think about it, I’ve infused my character “Daema” with those abilities. Her feet almost never touch the ground, and her emotional state is just as likely to be expressed through how she hovers and flies, as by any other cues. She also runs around granting body-altering wishes to people (“Erik(a) and Daema- Changes v2.0” and “Paisley – Residual Self-Image“). 😀
Dickgirls are our niche here at Affect3D. What do you find most interesting about them?
I could write something expanded and thought provoking, but… Girls with dingalings! Just something about the exotic “Best of Both Worlds”. Aesthetically I prefer TG/TS/Shemales over Futanari, partially because TG/TS/Shemales exist IRL (no need for suspension of disbelief) and partially because my inner scientist bonks me on the head about the silliness of two sets of external genitals possessed by Futanari, or Diphalli (men with two dingalings), for that matter. Don’t get me wrong. I still love Futanari. 😉
That’s an interesting sentiment to have. In what ways do you feel a scientific mindset enhances or restricts your creativity?
Physics and chemistry play a huge role in my mind when posing, setting up lighting and putting up the setting for a series. Anyone can put a few characters in a shot, drop in a light, and click ‘render’. But to give the “spark of life”, you have to consider how everything in the scene would interact in real life.
I’m always considering things like light reflection and refraction. Getting the right reflection for shiny skin or glossy objects is like playing pool- You always have to get just the right angle. I also have to consider what something is made of, and how light would react passing through that something- Humans and animals are made of layers and layers of translucent, water-based tissues. Light penetrates the skin, is absorbed to varying degrees, then is either reflected back out or passes through to the other side. When it comes back out, it’s not the same color it was going in.
This is why humans (even albinos), have some degree of reddish tone to their skin from light returning out of the body filtered through blood vessel ridden skin and muscle. It’s also why when lit from behind, you see a glow from ears as light passes through the skin and cartilage from the other side. Considering all of this can be what gives that “life-like” energy to the otherwise lifeless mannequins that 3DX models start as. 😀
My favorite “inner scientist” mindset though is that humans are SQUISHY! When people sit, they don’t stop going down when the surface of their skin barely touches the surface of the bench. Their bums flatten and “spread” in all directions as gravity forces the skin, fat and muscle tissue against the immovable wood bench. You have to account for this with morphs and smoothing modifiers.
This is especially important for boobs! Boobs bounce! They squish! Boobs do not just phase into objects, especially other boobs. Hehe. When one pair of boobs interacts with another pair of boobs, rarely do any of the boobs involved just sit still. They shove the other boobs aside, push the other boobs up and/or down, and otherwise spread in all directions as they fight for dominance… err… or equilibrium, if we want to get back to that “inner scientist” (giggles and digs into her cig’s stash for everyone). SCIENCE! 😄 My point being: Always account for the SQUISH!
Other than your name, do tabletop RPGs inspire or influence your work? How so?
At this point, not as much as you’d expect. Like many, I’d considered early on using Daz to create character portraits for myself and fellow players in game campaigns I was in. Unfortunately, I got distracted by the above-mentioned SQUISH. The influence of tabletop RPGs on my work is more in character creation and backgrounds and less on the themes of my series. Obvious examples would be Jetta & Turq (Sorceress & Dragon familiar), Nefasii (Drow!), Daema (Demon!) and Shelby’s obvious love of all things geek. Yes, you can be a porn geek. Just ask Gazukull! 😀
Do you have any up and coming projects you’d like to tell us about?
I have a second series coming up with Paisley. She’ll be against the wall, literally, for a study in shadow, contrast, and her new Daema-given body. Aliya & Simona will be back soon, possibly involving a nighttime visit to Tulsa’s Elysian Pool. I plan to get back to Shelby, Goji, and Erik(a), as they’re the most demanded of my recent characters. And I want to get back to Moxie and Jetta this year, since I’ve not played with them since 2015. 😀
Do you have any interest or ambition to create 3DX professionally?
One of the questions I get the most, from both fans and fellow 3DX creators. The answer is both “yes” and “no.” Let me explain…
Yes – I’ve considered many times creating content for sale. Many of the Affect3D staff and artists have even poked me about the options (I love you guys!). However, I have two obstacles in my way. The first obstacle is a matter of tech. I don’t have an NVidia video card. Because of this, I can’t utilize Iray’s NVidia-based speed, so shots take me between 6 and 20 hours to render, depending on their complexity. Producing a series of 50 shots of sale could take me as much as 1 1/2 months, unless I sacrifice image size or complexity.
I know that buying a new video card could fix this, but then we get to obstacle #2 – I’m a goldfish. Or more properly, possess a goldfish’s memory when it comes to certain things. I come up with ideas (eating, sleeping, saving money for an NVidia) and fully intend on going through with them, but unless I make a to-do list for the ideas, I forget about them when I get one-track mindedly obsessed with a new project. 😕
No – I’m weird. I’ll get back to that in a moment. I make art because it’s fun on so many levels – The challenge, the experimenting, the expression, the freedom, the joy people get from it, etc. And I currently provide my art for free, because I want other people to come along for the ride with me, sharing in my mistakes as much as my successes. Now, back to the “I’m weird” part. Creating work for sale brings in elements like deadlines, being locked into a project, narrowing many options, etc. It means producing larger sets, faster, by a set date, which means reducing my quality (image size and/or complexity) in order to do so because of the above-mentioned tech limitations. All of that takes a lot of fun out of the process for me, which is much of what creating is all about for me.
So, yes and no. Once I get around to upgrading my tech, and am able to produce at my current (or better) quality at a much higher speed, I’ll likely consider selling my work much more seriously. As long as I can find a way to assure the making of content for sale doesn’t take over all of my creative time and energy. 😀
I noticed you are a fan of Top Gear, at least prior to the BBC making its biggest mistake ever. So, I can’t resist another question. Richard, James, or Jeremy? Jeremy has all the best quips, but I’d have to say Richard. His excitement and passion are so endearing. The way he just reverts to childish glee about cars he likes is just magical.
Oh. Such a hard choice! I obsessively watched Top Gear since the second season, when James joined the show. If I had to base it on just the trio’s Top Gear time, I’d have to go with Jeremy, for being such a wonderful wildcard! Richard being a very close second. However, after seeing the first season of their new series, The Grand Tour, It’s such a three-way tie. Jeremy is still Jeremy.
However, not being under the BBC’s control anymore seems to have sparked something in both Richard and James. They’re both having so much more fun with everything. Like you said with Richard, he’s even more excited and passionate about things, and lets his inner-child out to play fearlessly now. And James isn’t quite so much the curmudgeon he was during Top Gear. He still is a curmudgeon, and let’s face it we’d hate it if he wasn’t, but he’s now an even more lovable one than before!
Anything else you would like to say to your fans?
I love all of you more than bacon! I create my works as much for myself to express ideas, as I do for you to enjoy them. Keep the comments coming, and never be afraid to ask questions. Also, never be scared to take that first step into something new. Once you do, your world will expand into vistas you never knew available. And soon you’ll wonder why you were such a worried goof about that first step. 😄
Al
August 28, 2017Your work is absolutely amazing/stunning….. please don’t ever stop. I wish I were able, but someone please send her a really recent Nvidia video card in exchange for a commission or two.?… just thinking out loud. Wonderful interview. 🙂
jack pinder
February 26, 2017Reading this has been a lot of fun and inspirational. Gotta go searching for that Dakota and Zoe series I somehow missed
gazukull
February 25, 2017I can assure everyone that Spencer’s claim to being a “Porn Geek” is 100% accurate. One time I sent her a jpg I had found randomly on the internet 100 x 100 pixels in size of only a woman’s nipple. I asked her, who does this nipple belong to? A few short moments later she produced a scan from an issue of High Society magazine from 1998 of Angel Veil. TRULY SHE IS THE TITSATZ HADERACH! Her name is a porning word…
DB Spencer
February 25, 2017Where was I when this awesomely exaggerated bit of identification happened? XD
gazukull
February 25, 2017Legends are built on storytelling… just go with it.
Degenernate
February 25, 2017“I don’t have an NVidia video card.” UGGGH. Seeing stuff like this breaks my heart – DB has produced some of the most genuinely beautiful models in 3DX to date, she’s increasingly doing delightfully kinky things with dickgirls, and she’s managed it all with the rendering equivalent of rocks and sticks? Fuck. That.
Would it be weird if I pestered DB to get a PO box specifically to send her one of the old GTX 780 Tis I’ve started collecting?
David Kopkin
February 24, 2017Thanks for the interview. I didn’t know it takes that long to render. Back when I was doing 3d, I did have a graphics card to speed up things. That 16 year old computer is still under my desk, but I’m surprised it can still do some tasks which I reverse engineer. I’m a fan of DB Spencer’s work and Balassa’s. Trying to figure out how to 3d print. Learn Daz too.