Attached Link: "There is no such thing as death, life is a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves." - B.H.

I am a total non-entity when it comes to 3D rendering and related art, but my careful analysis of the popular forums and hot software titles shows that the product "Poser" is number one with the community here at Renderosity. Would anyone be willing to illuminate this sorry ignorant to the usefulness, ease of use, power, and difficulties in using this software package? Also, what would be the best way for a total novice who can *almost* draw a straight line to approach rendering and art creation through this software medium? Thanks in advance for your time!

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Its going to depend on what you are looking to achieve. Probably the best answer is to download the demo and give it a whirl. If it excites the imagination then buy a copy, if it leaves you cold then you have not lost anything.

Poser is a tool in a tool-box, at least for me. I'm using a Maya, Poser and 3d Studio Max combination in my illustration business. Here's how I use it. I use Poser to make people, Maya to make environments and 3d Studio Max to make trinkets that are easily imported into Poser. Many illustrations in magazines and ads require drawing people. Previously I drew the people by hand, and then scanned it into a bitmap, and then used it in Illustrator. With Poser I can make the people directly in my computer, and then render it and import the image (after post-processing a bit in Paint Shop Pro) into Illustrator. Voila -- I've got a guy or girl object. It saves me time, and allows me to make more illustrations, and thus make more money :-) I've just bought Maya for the same purpose, except with Maya I want to draw the scenery shots that are sometimes required. So, that's why I use Poser.

usefulness, ease of use, power lol- not- but it is still easier then almost all of the other apps. no matter what- you'll have to spend time and some money to achieve what you want. like painting, skills are involved that not every one has. there is no 'press make art' button there is more to be said but I'm sure others will, I won't blow smoke up your butt and say anyone can do it and will be great.

Ugh, yes. Sometimes I think one shouldn't make it easier to make images because people that shouldn't be making images in the first place get ideas in their heads. If the programs were harder, they'd stay away and spare the world their "art". I've seen some horrid looking poses. But that's just me meaking all artsy, arrogant and up there. :-))

sorry- I really didn't mean to sound pissy in your honest question. so many around here think they are salesmen for there own software. don't get me wrong, I love my poser, it's what I do :) over the last 3 years, I seen hundreds of ppl drop it cause it was over sold to them. 3d art takes WORK! There are a thousand little details to learn right now there really isn't anything else to take the place of poser. it's a tool, like any other. all depends on the user :) lol, it's also addictive as hell :) and please just hand over your credit card now- save ya the pain of doing it later, lol The power of poser is that it USES organics, like ppl or animals easily. but you don't MAKE them in poser. ease of use- if your not use to the standard windows interface that all the other apps use, you'll have not much trouble addaption to the kai interface. difficulties- lighting totally sucks in poser pocketbook- you need one-lol everything you want to do requires something else that you'll need to buy. Now- having said all this- it is but a tool, and one that if you use ANY other app this is the other one to have :) because of it ability to use people :)

from my experience so far .... you can learn the basics of poser in 1/2 hour, but it takes a lifetime to master....

Coming at this as someone who can't draw a straight line without a ruler and a second try, I found Poser to be a revelation. I only use it on a hobby level, but I do so love my hobby. :) It's wonderful for me to be able to begin taking images out of my head and seeing them in front of my eyes. That said, it does indeed take practice and patience, and some money. :) If you start out with simple pictures, you can find yourself going "Hey, COOL!" in about half an hour. But as you get further into it, you find there are details of lighting, perspective, texture, composition... until by now I'm quite embarassed about the first pics I thought were so cool. :) As to money, you can get by reasonably well with just a copy of Poser and what you can find for free - there's a /lot/ for free. But the temptation will be very strong when you see that to-die-for model... and $20 isn't really that much... and you might as well get a couple textures for it... and... ;)

Poser is the art of the director or the photographer-- perhaps both in one. I started in Fractals where I still do the best in pure art-- line color texture. But I missed people. Poser gives you people as Bryce gives you worlds--bit more personal hands-on creativity in Bryce. But I always imagined the power of Poser creativity is in story-telling even if that is brief and emphemeral. For the most part you don't build your people or their environment, you pose and light and combine different elements to make your image. Hence, the metaphors of Directing and Photography. If you want to have absolute control over every aspect of your work from modeling to texturing-- Poser is probably not your thing-- when would you have the time?? But if you like and accept collaborative art, Poser is easy to learn and deep enough to satisfy. Downsides, the ease is mostly in Poser 4 and PP where the render machine is crude. Poser 5 improves on the renderer at the expense of ease of use and stability. In a few years this may all be moot, but that's where it is now. You can render Poser 4 material in Vue D'esprit-- easy-- or in Bryce-- complicated, or in Carrara, quite complicated but getting a bit easier. I'm only mentioning comparably priced programs. As one gets better in Poser, the demand for a better renderer becomes insistant. Emily

Attached Link: "Don't you let my letter get you down." - D.B.

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. Now that I have a modest degree of illumination, and some understanding of what the program is, I have to clarify this: Poser is only used to "pose" stock models? If I wish to make skins, clothing, hair, and landscapes, I need other programs/expertise? Are there any animation elements to Poser?

I apologize if this line of inquiry seems ignorant again, I have not downloaded the trial copy of Poser for the main reason that I do not have a rig powerful enough to run the program, and I am considering getting into some form of rendering/digital art as a hobby and thus looking to base my next hardware upgrade on the choice of software I make. Again, you responsese are appreciated and thank you for your time!

• Poser is only used to "pose" stock models? Poser is used to primarily to pose pre-made models (though all sorts of others are used as well), yes. One usually will also assemble scenes, using mostly (exceptions discussed below) the available models and their variations. It's stage-management with software, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread. :) * If I wish to make skins, clothing, hair, and landscapes, I need other programs/expertise? In Poser 5 you can make hair, and it has a set of "materials" and patterns you can assign to surfaces to simulate textures of various sorts. You can create very simple models, or variations on existing models, within Poser. This is done using some simple geometric figures or an existing figure, and applying mesh-bending things such as "magnets" and "waves". Many models come with a lot of pre-made variability, known as "morphs", which can give a fair lot of variety. To create an original mesh models - figure, clothing, et cetera - or complex ones you will indeed need another program. Low-end ones are available for free, high-end ones run up to very high prices. :) Of course, there are huge numbers of models available for free - take a look right here in Renderosity Free Stuff. Or one can buy specialty ones - the human Michael and Victoria figures from www.daz3d.com are very popular. Insofar as landscapes are made of assembling elements, you can make any you can find the models for. You can simulate terrain to an extend with mesh deformations of a simple plane, but most people who want to do complicated terrains use another program. Some people have built "terrain kits" for use in Poser... WorldZ in the Marketplace here, or RDNA MicroCosm... that allow quite a lot of flexibility. Poser 5 allows some limited atmospheric effects. * Are there any animation elements to Poser? Poser is heavily based on the idea of animating figures, so yes! One does frame-by-frame adjustments of the poses to simulate motion when the frames are played. Poser defaults to a 30-frame set, but you can do more. It interpolates pretty well between one pose and another.

1. Poser is only used to "pose" stock models? Well, yes, but with a BIG red flag. The stock models can be changed ad nauseum. You can take a stock model, tweak a dial or two and have an entirely different looking figure on your screen than what you started out with. With Poser 5 you have as much power to tweak or radically change the face as you do the body. You from a stock model make a gaunt sixty year old man, a strapping young lad of thirteen, or even a voluptuous woman in her mid twenties. So the term "stock model" is tenuous indeed. 2. If I wish to make skins, clothing, hair, and landscapes, I need other programs/expertise? You probably have to make the original meshes in other program. I.e. you must create an object in a dedicated mesh builder. However, once the object is made you can use it with ease in Poser. You can change it's appearence, it's fabric, it's characteristics. In Poser 5 you have full control of the material and the mesh. Hair can be eaily changed in Poser. What you need to create is the thing that the hair grows from in other programs. And there's no real need to, since it already exists in the original package and can be applied to all figures with ease, 3. Are there any animation elements to Poser? All versions of Poser is heavily animation-oriented.