I've been having trouble lately. For some months now I've been resisting going into Poser. It's been really worrying me - am I tiring of it all? Time to move on? My head is jam packed full of ideas, my harddisks bulge with half finished projects, sketches, images in need of post or BGs, a zillion freebies and bought stuff to use... I counted once, I have over 400 different hairstyles. !!! And then I just suddenly knew why. Just an hour ago. Why I rather cruise the forums and stuff instead of actually 'doing it'. Posing. It's because I know what happens if I open Poser - then I'm a goner. I become unreachable, all else disappears, everything else becomes unimportant. It actually scares me. I just can't afford to let it happen, because life plods on inexorably, demanding my attention. I can't afford to get stuck in Poser for 18 hours running (except running for the fridge lol), I'll get kicked out of the house, my kids will start wondering if they have a Dad.... aargh. Plumbing needs to be fixed, cars need to washed, shopping needs to be done. My bed needs to be slept in even. And if you disturb a Poser, you're in TROUBLE. Worse than a hungry grizzly. I become an impossible person to live with. If I get stuck into a new project, I'm looking at 3-5 days of magnets and morphs, Tailoring clothes, trying endless lights and poses, looking for the Perfect Prop in my enormous collection. Matching face morphs and textures, how about the other blue eyes with this face tex, how would the red shoes look if she was wearing the...... ick. The clock stops, night and day become one. What am I going to DO??? HELPPP! :] Fish the Poser nut Am I the only one?

don't forget, there's a gazillion (that's the actual number..;) poses you can download as well. I think Schlabber has a hundred or so alone..I've found if you grab a character by the a** or ankles, you can speed up the process...;) Even Poser 3 has plenty of built-in poses, I just go for 'in the neighborhood', and then start twiddlin' dials..good luck.

But fishnose ::Blink:: You love poser ::blink:: and poser loves you ::blink:: You know you are only truely happy when you use poser ::blink:: Feel the calming power of the poser opening splash ::Blink:: look at that pretty open and clean PZ3 just waiting ::Blink:: It waits for you ::Blink:: It needs fishnose because only fishnose knows how to make it happy ::blink:: Forums are bad ::Blink:: Outside is bad ::Blink:: Poser is good ::Blink::

Obviously many people here already are Poserholics, spending all their rent money on lingerie and hairstyles for virtual babes who don't really exist! Admit it, most of us spend more money on our virtual babes than for out own clothing, etc.! Time for Poser Anonymous and Poser 19 Step Plans to help control your Poser addiction! Available ON SALE now at Renderosity and DAZ! (Heh- Just joking folks. Actually I've already joined Poser-Psychos, the people who actually believe that Poser IS the REAL WORLD, and everything else is faked!)

lol- I can't wait for winter so all those other distraction will GO AWAY... lmao

Yup, you're the only one, fishnose-- cause no one in my household gets into that Sllloooooooooowwwwww loading splash screen [poser 5 junkie here] and knows that she will probably not move a muscle except those in her wrists till dawn. And then spend one or two more days postworking and soaking her carpals in ice. Thanks, I was wondering why I was avoiding it like the plague myself. I'm in a period of awful insomnia and Poser would tip me over into perpetual night. But I have renders to do, whine, whine, absolute bind. Emily

When I was a kid, I used to get lost in books. I'd come home from school and read books. Books about WW1, books about flying, books of fantasy like Anne McAffre or Larry Niven, or Tolkien. Those fantasies as a kid of flying jets at sea or living on a tropical island all came true for me. I became a helo pilot/mechanic on the tuna boats and lived in Samoa, Kauai, Panama. One day in my early 30's I decided that traveling and flying and living the jet life was not good for finding a wife, so I decided to go to school get something other than a high school diploma. I spent 7 years in school. Now I'm too old to marry and start a family, so I come home from work and fire up the machine and get lost in a new kind of fantasy with Poser, Bryce, EIU, Metasequoia, Photoshop... and yes, occasionally oils and graphite. The grass is always greener somewhere else and sometimes I wish I was just a janitor with a wife and a bunch of rug rats. If you're getting addicted, then best I can say is close the book, shut down the computer, and take the kids out for a walk in the park.

In one hand there is everything that is Poser, in the other hand there is everything that is real; in the other hand is everything else . . . it's a balancing act.

This morning nmy kid asked me if she could play with my computer when we got home in the afternoon. Before I could reply, my husband said "Not likely, coz when we get home he wanted HIS computer and I would probably go in front of mine and be lost for the rest of the day" Allthough I objected... he was probably right. And now I will HAVE to stay away from Poser when I get home, just to prove him wrong! Bwaaaaah.... And the sun is shining and there's a heat wave going on.... and it's so nice and cool inside with my little computer.... and now I'll have to go outside to avoid too heave withdrawal symptoms (I don't LIKE anybody else touching my computer...) But addicted? Me? err.... uhm.... well.... it sure is nice weather today....

Ahhh lol I'm falling into a void! At the end of the tunnel.........poser lol I love it and immerse myself for hours that fly by in a blink. Luckily though those times are rare like now in the early early morning hours (sleep? who needs it?) Actually though these moments are the only times I get, with three kids one of wich is only 7wks old, there's not alot of spare time. When I do get it poser is the "me" time I choose to take. :)

'fly by in a blink' - Exactly. It's happened that I've opened up Poser just to quickly quickly do that final render that's waiting, it's 15 min to lunch, and when I look up again, it's 4.45 - lunch? oh yes, I was supposed to eat, that's right, I forgot. My best time is when the house is empty, everybody else is busy or even away!! Then I can go nuts. But even then I feel that resistance, the scared 'I'm going to get stuck' feeling. I'm serious guys, I do really have a problem, something that stops me going into Poser. Maybe it's survival instinct, my body knows it will be the end of me, and is resisting for my own good? Speaking of poses, I have.... wait for it..... 17292 in my Runtime. Probably a lot more, counting loads of freebies as yet uninstalled. To find out what stuff I've bought at the various sites I need to go there and look at the list of purchases. I only ever use a tiny fraction. I haven't yet bought the same thing twice, but it's bound to happen soon. Oh - and I don't buy clothes for myself at all. Maybe the occasional pair of socks when the holes get too big :o) :] Fish

gets a disturbing image of FishNose sitting at his computer wearing nothing but socks Hmmm that would make a funny render......

Yes Fish I too have the same problem. I had the day off today and spent most of the beautiful sunny day sitting in front of my computer. I think the trick would be to have a week or two off work and spend the whole time getting all the poser things done that you can and then maybe you will actually feel like doing something else. I think the main reason I sometimes don't touch poser is I know I need hours of uninterupted time to concentrate on it. Like you, I sometimes don't do poser stuff as it just takes too long. what we need is for poser to load faster and render faster. Then everything wouldn't take as long. Love Esther

Actually time stops when I am working with Poser. When I started George Bush was president, he still is but for some weird reason, he looks younger. His wife looks younger and she has regained her hair color. How long have we been in Iraq and when did we take Baghdad?

Veritas! are you saying that Victoria 3 does not exist in the real world? I've been spending all this time creating the perfect woman for me, I dressed her real nice, gave her some real good looks hey I even bought her a fancy new hair do and you go and spoil it all. I was about to hit the HOME key (I was told, by doing that she would be waiting at home for me when I got there) I hate getting all the newsletters, you know you have to look and when you do you end up buying something you don't want but you do neeeeed.

Trekkie, what a marvellous image! rofl! Me at PC in socks only. Mind you, not impossible actually..... especially now in the summer. And socks with holes in, besides. Air holes of course. Dang, I gotta buy Vicki that new corset - Ow! my CC is glowing red hot! :] Fish

You're not the only one...happens to me all the time... 8pm...ok i just need to tweak the thigh a little, render it to see how it looks, then I'm done... 9pm...ok, one more render to test the lighting, then I'm done... 10pm...alright, after i adjust the coloring on this texture in photoshop, apply it to all the body parts and render it to see what it looks like, then I'll go to bed... 11pm...ok, one last render to check the background shadows, then I'll go to bed.... yes it happens to all of us...sucks me right in...everything else goes away and it's terrible when you've got a "day job" and you are your own boss...you come up with all sorts of excuses to close the program you're working in and open Poser... :)

Fish, it helps a lot to have known before you got Poser that you're "somewhat obsessive". A psychiatrist told me that about 10 years ago and it was like a light bulb switched on in a dark room....It neatly explained why I then spent long hours in front of an easel and why I now spend even longer hours in front of my iMac ;) Today I'm long past worrying about getting lost in Poser. Like EricofSD, I've always gotten lost in something--books and movies, since I was a kid--and now I look forward to the Poser immersion experience. Not everyone is wired to be able to achieve it and I figure we're lucky to be able to concentrate so deeply and for so long on creative projects. (Of course, if you asked my husband, he'd probably opt for a 'cure' in a New York minute! ;)

Adapted from AA: 1. Do you lose time from work due to Poser? 2. Is Poser making your home life unhappy? 3. Do you use Poser because you are shy with other people? 4. Is Poser affecting your reputation? 5. Have you ever felt remorse after using Poser? 6. Have you gotten into financial difficulties as a result of Poser? 7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when using Poser? 8. Does your Poser use make you careless of your family's welfare? 9. Has your ambition decreased since you started using Poser? 10. Do you crave Poser at a definite time of day? 11. Do you want Poser the next morning? 12. Does Poser cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? 13. Has your efficiency decreased since you started using Poser? 14. Is Poser jeopardizing your job or business? 15. Do you use Poser to escape from worries or trouble? 16. Do you use Poser alone? 17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of using Poser? 18. Has your physician ever treated you for your Poser use? 19. Do you use Poser to build up your self-confidence? 20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of Poser? If you answered yes to three or more, then Poser is a definite problem. Reformat your hard drive, burn the CD and seek professional help immediately.

Has your physician ever treated you for your Poser use? Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of Poser? LOL.... scary.

Eeek... 14 out of 20... more or less....

Fish, and all - just my 0.2 Euros. I'd recommend putting on the producer's cap when this happens - helps me a lot (most of the time!). We all buy and build ten times more stuff than we'll ever use - because we can SO easily imagine SUCH a cool image that we could do with precisely that figure, prop, background, or whatever ;o) That's the artist thinking. When he's spoken, bring in the producer. In order to actually produce that image (or anim), just what stuff will you need to build or buy? How much time to set up and render? What - or how much - is in it for you (whether it's fun, fame or fortune that's your preferred reward). It can be an unpleasant discipline, but once you've done it a couple of times, I find that it has several attractions. Some ideas, on closer inspection, turn out to be less than great, or not worth the effort - no problem giving them up, and it saves a lot of unnecessary purchases (yeah, I know that, being a vendor, I'm shooting myself in the foot here ;o) ) The better ideas stand a much better chance of actualy being realized when they are planned properly. And you have a much better chance of actually having the time or pennies for getting the stuff you need, since you haven't wasted as much on what you DIDN'T need. Best of all, when more projects actually get done, relaxing away from the Poser screen actually becomes not only bearable, but even attractive sometimes. And by and by, all that clear thinking gets you into the habit of doing a lot of the actual work in your head before even having to fire up the PC - you'd be surprised how many snippets of spare time that can be "enlisted" for Poser work that way. Just don't do it when you're supposed to be relaxing with family and friends ;o)

Of course I won't admit my addiction to Poser...Admission is the 1st step towards Recovery; I am not ready to Recover. I am not as concerned about my addiction as I am about the vice I have picked up as a Poser user...the PackRat Syndrome, the vice of Greed. I spend as much time grabbing up freestuff [most of which is "For Future Use"] as I do working with the program. When I first started in Poser and saw all of the light and posing sets available, I wondered where the creativity in Poser was if one used these 'crutches'. It did not take me long after getting into the program to start backtracking my ideas and browser to find all of those 'crutches'[for future use]. I normally use them only as starting points and tweak them until my Poser figures look like demented play-doh and then start over...but at this point could not live without the posing files. You folks who create great props, figures, etc., are Kings and Queens in my book... but the ones who do the poses and lights - God Bless You, for sure!

And I have at least two crutch props, in addition to at least one wheelchair. It's all a matter of being prepared :-)

I am fortunate that my son is totally hooked on his own laptop and leaves mine alone (I have killed for less than touching my machine, LOL) and that the dog walks himself. The kitty litter is also self-cleaning as are the dishes. The bed... well I don't sleep so beds don't need making... And eating is for sissies. Okay, okay, but the first part was true, LOL! Hello, my name is Heike and I am a Poser junkie.

Ummmmm---16 out of 20?! Oy vey! (BTW, I don't have to count #7, right? I mean, you guys are all upstanding members of society, aren't you?! That one made me laugh out loud ;)

I was going to say that number seven was a Yes by default, since you're reading it here - but I thought it was obvious. If Poser is addictive then surely this is a virtual crack house - not to mention all the naked Vickys.

That 'adopted from AA' list was priceless! ROFL! Dang, I'll have to print it out and keep it. Well obviously I'm not the only one struggling to handle/survive the Poser thing in one way or another...... feels good! :] Fish