Daz 3d

Daz 3D operates as a 3D content and software company, providing rigged 3D human models, accessories, and a software suite to a market of hobbyists and professionals. The company was founded in 2000 by Dan Farr and Chris Creek. It originated as a division of Zygote Media Group, a creator of realistic 3D assets for medical illustrations, and was spun off as Digital Art Zone to create content for the Poser software market. Daz 3D's business model is centered on a "razor and blades" strategy. It provides its core 3D software, Daz Studio, for free and generates revenue by selling a vast array of digital assets and add-ons through its marketplace. This strategic shift to offering free software occurred in 2012, aiming to broaden the user base and focus on content sales. The company operates a marketplace where a global network of contributing artists can sell their 3D products, with Daz taking a commission. This ecosystem has enabled Daz to pay out millions to its artists.

The company's flagship product is Daz Studio, a free 3D scene creation and rendering application that allows users to produce images and videos. It supports importing and exporting various file formats, enabling content to be used in other major 3D applications like Blender, Maya, Unity, and Unreal Engine through a tool called Daz Bridges. A significant technological milestone was the introduction of the Genesis platform in 2011. This platform uses a base mesh from which different character shapes are derived as morphs, allowing add-on content like clothing and hair to be compatible across a wide variety of characters. Over the years, Daz 3D has expanded its software offerings through acquisitions, including the landscape modeler Bryce in 2004, and the 3D mesh modeler Hexagon and 3D animation package Carrara in 2006. In 2016, Daz 3D spun off Tafi, a company focused on the game developer market and web3 projects. More recently, Daz 3D has ventured into emerging technologies, launching a text-to-3D character engine and an NFT collection called Non-Fungible People. The company's investors include Benchmark Capital, Columbia Capital, and Ponte Partners.

Founder Dan Farr is a technology entrepreneur who also founded the Salt Lake Comic Con (now FanX). He co-created Daz Studio and the Genesis Platform before leaving the company in 2012. Co-founder Chris Creek holds a B.F.A. from Brigham Young University and has a diverse artistic background in painting, illustration, and 3D modeling for various media. He created the first Victoria character, a milestone product for the company, and later founded his own 3D content company, HiveWire 3D. Daz 3D continues to serve a global community of millions of users, from recreational artists to enterprise clients in sectors like fashion and entertainment, who use its extensive library of over five million assets to create high-resolution stills and animations. Keywords: 3D models, 3D software, Daz Studio, 3D characters, 3D content marketplace, digital art, character creation, 3D rendering, 3D animation, rigged 3D models, Genesis platform, 3D assets, digital avatars, Poser, Bryce, Carrara, Hexagon, Tafi, text-to-3D, virtual characters, 3D art software, 3D figure posing, 3D scene creation, digital content creation, 3D asset store, character customization, game development assets, virtual reality content, augmented reality content, web3 characters