First of all, I'm new to Poser and getting the hang of it all, but this is what I need. It may not even be possible, but I was wondering if I am overlooking a key area here. Can a character be made to appear to reach up, grasp the hood of their cloak and pull it down? I can't seem to quite grasp how the hand and the hood can be made to interact properly. Thanks so much!

Yes it can be done. You could try standing in front of a mirror and looking at how it appears to you. Then for poser reverse the view. If you dont have a cloak, try a teatowel or towel around your head ... it sounds bizarre but it does work. A n alternative would be to check out some BHV files ... there may be something in there. In your Poser 4 content cd, there are some BHV files... I think there may be one that has posette using her hand to get hair away from her neck. With a bit of work that could be modified to suit your needs.

It won't be automatic, which I think is what you are asking - you can't have the cloak conformed to the body and the hood parented to the hand so whatever you do will involve keeping them in sync yourself.

It'e -possible- to do this in Poser 5 using dynamic cloth... at least in theory. Actually arranging the motion and calculating the dynamics to make it work is another trick entirely. I'd try using a choreographed group along the area where the hand pulls the hood back. It sounds like it would take hours and many failed attempts to set up, though. If I was doing it for an animation, I'd almost certainly prefer to do it by camera cuts to whoever was watching the hood being pulled back and their reaction, then returning the camera angle back to the character once the hood is pulled away. It's more efficient in the set-up time vs. effect ratio.

Thanks for all your replies guys! I'm sure I can find something to work with all your suggestions :)