Right well i was rendering my figure and then importing the background onto it. But after id done this i realised that i would have edit the figure, like the muscle shape on the top of the shoulders which you can see and other bits. But i realised that if i did this then it would be hard for me to do it without distubing the background and making it look out of place. What im wondering is if ther is a way around this maybe i can import a background that is transparent or if i can export the poser figure . The example is above and you can see the things tha need fixing. I know im not great with poser but ive only had it 2 weeks and im still on a learning curve. Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks In advance

Go into file, and then import. There you'll see the option to import a background image into Poser. This image will resize the window to fit the image, or just go into whatever size of window you've selected (dead centered). The background image will then show up exactly the same whichever way you turn your camera. By focusing in tight, you can frame your image so that it needs only a little cropping. You could also apply this to a square prop and place it behind the figure, but that's likely to introduce some distortion to your background. What graphics s/ware are you using? If it's Photoshop (or some other app that supports layers) you could make your background layer 1 in an image and layer the wrester on top. You'd need to chroma-key the b/ground to delete it. (Make the background some colour that isn't in the main image, and select/delete within your graphics app. Make sure you turn off anti-aliasing if you go this route). Another couple of things. You might like to add two red spot lights behind the figure, roughly matching up with the spots in the background image. Match the red colour of the background as best as you can, and aim them in the same direction as the background spots. Also, try using very finely dispersed grey clouds on a black background and using this as a texture for a transparency-mapped square in front of the wrestler. This should give the impression that the dry-ice smog is in front of him as well as behind. Hope this helps some Paul

heyas; yeah, i'd render the figure on a plain background, then composite it with the background pic in 'shop. then you can control where everything is. (btw, you don't need to chroma-key the poser background, just turn anti-aliasing OFF, and save to a tiff file. it will save an alpha channel to allow you to select the figure.)

Ok But can you actually import a transparetn background. Thanks for the replies btw

Ok thanks for the replies, ill get on it now, but i was wondering can you import a transparent background or can you save it in photoshop in the first place. And how would i go about making this white cloud, cause that would be really good.

Dwight, if you export as a .tiff then it will carry an alpha channel. Go into PS or Photopaint or PSP, load the alpha channel and you will get your guy as a selection (in other words, you will get the transparent 'background'). You can then copy and paste him or whatever as a layer by itself and have the background behind it--easy to edit then. Be sure your Poser model is against a solid background before you save as a .tiff. White cloud?--hmm, I'd add a layer and use a brush fairly transparent--the effect will depend upon your brush and how you apply it. There are lots of other ways (filters, etc)--that's what came to mind immediately.

Dwight, you can't have a transparent background in Poser - it's always going to render to a colour. What you can do, though, is what picnic suggested - export the final image as a TIFF file (remembering to turn off anti-aliasing - which is where I always go wrong with this method grin). Open this in PS and use the alpha channel to select your wrestler (that's the bit in white) and paste it to your background as a new layer. Feather the edges of the selection slightly so it blends with the background (avoids those crystal clear, razor sharp edges). If you're going to add the white clouds as post work, I'd also do as picnic suggested. Paul

Ok well you might all think im really stupid or something but when you said export it as a tiff did you mean, export it from Poser or photoshop. Cause i tried to export from poser and couldnt find to export as a tiff. Im probably annoying you all but ive only had both applications 2-3 weeks so im still learning. Any help will be greatly appreciated cause i dont understand it or layers.

I'd suggest (gently) that you read the manual and just try each thing out before trying to create a new image. It took me awhile to get a grasp of the basic tools. Now--to export--go to 'export', choose 'image'--a dialog box will pop up and you will choose .tiff as the extension--this is in Poser. You go to your graphics app and in Photopaint, you choose 'mask', load alpha and it selects your figure from the solid background. YOu can then feather it, copy and paste as a new object on your background and work from there. I don't use PS, use Photopaint, PSP and Photoimpact, so can't help you with PS.

Forgot to mention--I'm sure there are LOTS of tutorials for layers in PS--they are confusing until you get grasp the principle, but once you understand them you won't be able to imagine how you could work without them S.

It's very difficult to get the same perspective (focal length and aperture) for a poser object to fit just right into a background (or paste it on later). I try the following: 1. Hide the feet 2. Paste the background(s) onto flat panels as props. 3. Use a ground texture and foreground props to camoflage the junction of the ground plane and the background. 4. Match the focal length and horizon line of the poser image and the background image.