Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=1676929

Allie, OK, next thread. ;) (For the lurkers, this follows upon an earlier thread at the link.) You have folders set up (or are at least thinking about the sort of structure you might require), and you have visited DAZ and maybe poked around Renderosity enough to know that there are markets and free stuff. Now what? In order to produce an image, you will need a lot of "stuff"... and you don't even know yet how much or what sort of files you will need, or where to find it. This thread will help get you started. The world of Poser resources is ***vast***. Old sites fold and new sites spring up and some sites just reincarnate themselves. Some sites have a bit of everything: store, free stuff, marketplace, tutorials, chatrooms and forums. Some sites focus upon one thing: tutorials or hair models or fairies, but they do it well. On the Poser page of Forums there is one called "3d links". Go back to the beginning and you should find pakled's main list of sites. Boggle a bit. Browse. Then ask for directions to the good stuff. ;) Seriously, post here when you need something specific such as a paper parasol or a panther texture or a purple pavilion, and you haven't been able to find it, and somebody will know of a suitable site. In order to make a picture in Poser (I am going to presume that you didn't also get Vue or Bryce, but will render within Poser itself), you will most likely need 1) landscape (or ground, cave, snowbank) 2) building (or fountain, wall, bridge, tree with swing) alternative for interiors: 1) room 2) furniture 3) figure 4) skin texture for that figure 5) character morph (optional) 6) clothing for that figure (optional? ;^) ) 7) textures for that clothing, if they are separate items 8) hair for that figure (other hair might be fittable) 9) props for story-telling (why is that figure there and what are they doing... this may include animals) 10) lights (the right lighting can make a lot of difference) Example: suppose that you want to illustrate "La Belle Dame Sans Merci". You will need a wooded glade backdrop, or a nice slope with a few tree props. One captivating young lady, pale skin texture, dressed in medieval clothing, and flowing hair. One knight in period armor (if his visor is up, he will need a texture). One horse in barding (he will need a texture, too). Does she pull him off the horse with a ribbon or a chain of flowers? Anyway, another prop or three. If you can't get the right atmosphere just by moving around the poser lights and messing with intensities, you can apply a pre-made set up for more dramatic lighting. Once you have your set decorated and your actors in place and the lights turned on... hit the render button and go pet the cats. But wait! You are asking where to get all that stuff, for just one picture, and you have *lots* of pictures you want to create, when you haven't won the lottery? 1) You can buy selected items in various Marketplaces 2) You can download items in various Free Stuff sites 3) you can be part of a subscription site 4) You can make some items 5) you can receive some as an unexpected bonus These will be covered in the next messages....

Very nicely put....I will continue to learn...thank you..Sharen

1. You can add them in postwork if you are making stills

been there, downloaded that..;) I keep a running tab on Poser sites with free stuff or tutorials, but you're right, some have the half-life of a fruit fly..;) I've got about a hundred so far..check them every 3 months or so (not to all you site owners out there..it will help if you have a link to the 'new' site on the old one, if possible, half the '404's' I get are just sites that moved..;)
one possiblitiy not considered, but not for the new-to-the-package; 7) build models yourself, and import them into Poser (lots a freebie packages out there, stop by the Modelling forum here for a few to get you started..;) takes some hard knocks, but you're only limited by talent and imagination..;)

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The Marketplaces. [This got long, so I'm splitting it] First, and perhaps most important: Price in the virtual world has absolutely no correlation to quality, scarcity, cost of materials, or vintagehood... like it does in the real world. That hair model you have downloaded for free or paid $2.49 for or paid $20 for or even paid $60 for with the expansions... what is it worth? What it cost you? Nope. It is worthwhile for what it is at the point in time you acquired it. 6 months later it might go on sale, or... it might no longer be available. Do you need it now, or can you wait? How long would it take you to make it (if you could)? Do you want to make it... or spend your time texturing the dress or setting up the furniture or telling the story? Some makers set a price based upon how many hours they put into construction, and the number of units they are likely to sell, the brokerage fee, and any other numbers they can throw into the stewpot. Others may have an idea of what they want to charge based upon prices for similar items and/or the sweat they put into it, but their brokerage house gets to determine the final selling price. Example: The Hankster made a very detailed set of temple ruins which sold for about $40 here last year (and I think they were worth it: lots of pieces, lots of exquisite detail). DAZ bought that set and is selling it for $1.99 in their members-only club. Just because you can buy an item for pennies, doesn't mean that it is cheap or junk... one should honor the maker, no matter what price they charge, because they might not have control over the pricing or they may feel generous or they may decide to sell 100 units at $2 rather than 1 at $200. Whatever. If you can find what you want at an affordable price, rejoice. Certain makers get a reputation for quality, and they have earned it over time. This has as much to do with their professionalism as the goods they sell. When they move from site to site, their customers will go with them. Many merchants will lurk the Forums to see what people are saying about their products and to answer questions... but a direct email is usually the best way to get help using a product. However, being human, they aren't here 24/7! Most merchants have offered free stuff, and some continue to regularly do a few free items. If you are unsure about a merchant's goods, see if they have something similar that you can check out. Example: if you like their free texture sample, then buying a whole set is less fraught with peril. Years ago Symphony remapped the P4 formal and offered a free dress texture. It was lovely, and an improved layout, so I bought the set of 12 pretty dresses for a project... and later another set or two by them and even some skin textures. Without that sample texture, I'd probably have stayed with the default mapping because I was so very new to Poser. With the sample, I could see first hand how nice it was (and how much time it would save me from painting enough dresses for a ballroom scene). to be continued... ;)

Marketplaces can be broken into 2 classes. There are general sites which offer not only their own products but also broker products for others, and there are specialty stores which only carry the work of one or a small group of makers. General stores are more likely to have a product, but the search can be frustrating even if I know it is in their catalog. Whether I have personally shopped at a site isn't a recommendation solely of quality (I do tend to be a careful shopper), but also an indication of their having what I needed. If I haven't shopped at a site, it might be because of politics or personality, but more likely because they don't have what I need or that I can't afford everything I want. Your needs will be different, so your shopping patterns will be different. I do have my favorite makers, but I'll try to be unbiased in the coverage. (And I'm sure that the lurkers will jump into the gaps!) The general stores include: Renderosity. http://www.renderosity.com The Product Showcase Forum is a good place to keep an eye on what's new, WIP, and sometimes offers a way to influence future products by leaving feedback. There is also a Wishing Well that merchants can utilize. The MarketPlace itself is huge and in need of a makeover. There is talk about a section/s for figures other than the DAZ models since there are now so many of them (and they all need their own wardrobes and accessories). Various Merchants will have sales at different times. At Christmas many of the merchants contribute gifts to the community (some are very generous indeed). If you sign up for the Renderosity newsletter, there is a free prop each month, sales or coupon offers, and updates on new products (check your profile for the signup button). Renderosity has a wishlist where you can place items before putting them in your cart... useful for those of us who like to think before buying. You can even make this wishlist public (I'll come back to this). DAZ. http://www.daz3d.com/ DAZ has a reputation for quality and a bit of elitism. It is easier now to be a broker since they expanded the store, but they still limit the products they carry. There is sometimes confusion over costs. DAZ is very generous and offers coupons or vouchers, in addition to the sales, from time to time, but knowing what is eligible can be tricky. There is a difference between original and brokered goods, and DAZ may be willing to accept a sale price, but asking a broker who has an item in the Platinum Club for example, to take a further sales cut is unreasonable. (And yes, there have been people complaining that they didn't get a discount on the $1.99 items, too.) The original stuff is mostly human figures based from the Michael and/or Vicki product lines. Brokered goods are split between support for those figures and other random stuff. The guarantee at DAZ is unimpeachable. DAZ offers a weekly freebie, which used to be solely their own work, but now often features the work of their brokers. Another good way to test-drive the work of a merchant new to you! Last week was the Sea Serpent LE and this week is a very nice candlestick. Get it! These weekly items usually don't get archived and sometimes don't even get offered for sale later. You can add items to your wishlist, but not yet share that wishlist with others. 3dcommune. http://www.3dcommune.com/ This is a nice community, similar to Renderosity in offerings and activities, but smaller. There are merchants and free stuff providers who only offer their goods here, so it is definately worth dropping by both for the friendliness and the exclusives. They have a much better search function than most sites, and quite a wide range of products. RDNA. http://www.runtimedna.com/index.ez? This is where some of the most expert of experts hang out, and there is very good stuff in the marketplace. They have Real Deals for 2.49 (and you don't have to pay a membership fee to be eligible to buy them). Sign up for the newletter and you get a free weekly item which may or may not tie into the month's theme. There is some serious drool-worthy stuff here. Each year they do a "12 Days of Christmas" with spectacular gifts to the community from some of their best merchants. PoserPros. http://www.poserpros.com/ The store here has a special section called the ProClub where goods cost $2.49, with no membership fee, as well as the main store with a variety of brokers. Most of the brokers are again exclusive to the site. The store is pretty easy to search and has clear categories. There is a weekly free offering, which stays up for 2 weeks (it rotates), and it is often something to introduce a newer merchant. As the name implies, several experts hang out here. Rendervisions. http://rendervisions.com/ This is a very new site as these sites go, and the marketplace is currently undergoing a makeover. There isn't much, but I've purchased from some of these merchants before, so am keeping an eye on the site. The search function is less than intuitive (I didn't like the icons at the top), and I'd prefer to know how many items a search turns up (too many and I can refine my terms). As the product list grows, they will have to deal with that. On the plus... they have a spell checker. ;) I think this covers the general sites with a variety of brokers. If somebody fell through the cracks in my brain, please feel free to remind me! Next up are the specialty sites....

[Gack... I really hate cold coffee!] The specialty sites are like boutique stores. There isn't much selection, but the quality is often very high, you sometimes have a long-term relationship with the owner, and service is usually very good as well, since it is the work of their own hands. There are many more such sites than I can list, but I will include a representative handful. Again, not being on this short list doesn't imply shoddiness or unprofessionalism... it might simply be that I don't have a need for army uniforms or pin-up poses or whatever your specialty is, or I haven't stumbled over your site, so I haven't shopped in your store or downloaded your freebies. My needs may change in the future, meanwhile other people will have to recommend you. Sorry. SAMS3d. http://sams3d.com/ Sharen, I wasn't going to forget you! (Now I'm going to embarrass her by putting them first.) SAMS stand for Sharen and Mike. They are good warm-hearted people and their products focus upon the American heartland: buildings, furniture, vehicles. Even their freestuff harkens back to a more relaxed and romantic period in our history: arbor swings, milkcans, potting sheds, children's toys. They have perhaps the nicest haunted house I've ever seen, but even that is a nice haunted house. PhilC. www.philc.net Phil specializes in clothing. There are some hair models and winsome characters on his site, too. He has been unstintingly generous with his time, helping others to model and fit clothing as well. A lot of his stuff is racy, but he has also modeled some of the most classic and elegant dresses around. He does men's clothing, too, and has created accurate period clothing to museum specifications. He often has an "almost freestuff" item, offered for $1.99 for a week only as an introductory special. A genuine nice guy with a delightful sense of humor, excellent products, excellent support. Dacort. http://www.dacort.com/index2.php Dan and Tracy came to my first Poser Users' Party and Dan slipped me a CD chock a block with his mermaids and Natalia... because he knew that I loved them. He specializes in human females and makes models which I think are comparable in quality to DAZ, but they aren't as well-supported by third-party merchants. His females have wonderful morphs for making aliens as well as presenting a different body shape or face shape. Tracy designs the clothes for them... and the versadress is very elegant. The items in his store are very fairly priced and you can find extra textures or whatever by third-party people here. Nerd. http://www.nerd3d.com/nerd3d.htm Most of the site is focussed upon clothing of the less-than practical sort (look at the Syrinx for a wonderful example), but you can also find a nifty fog tool. There are several worthwhile tutorials here, and not just in how to use his items. VIP. http://www.vistainternetproducts.com/ This is the place for animals. :) They cover the broadest range of animals, both wild and domestic, and usually do sets such as all the pig variants, or swans and geese, or wild cats, or whatever. If you need a chicken or a komodo dragon, this is the place to look. They do not have electronic download, only shippable CDs, however, they are extremely fast. The CD needs a "joliet" decoder to be fully used on a Mac, but they link to the site. Lyne is often in Product Showcase here, showing off wip and taking suggestions. FaerieWylde. http://www.faeriewylde.com/forum/index.php They have just opened a store for faerie-related stuff here: http://www.faerie-dreams.com to support their main website. If you need wings and things, it is probably in their freestuff, but full characters and clothing are most likely in the store. Thorne has been creating lovely faeries for a long time, and has a very distinctive style, but a handful of other artists are helping round out the look. Kokopelli. http://www.kokopelli.org.uk/ I haven't ordered their CD yet, but have looked at it more than once. :) They have some very nice ship models and the collection price is a bargain. The range at this site is odd: maritime, new age, archeological sites, with a dollop of Tolkien and pirate stuff? But they make what they like (artists who do that usually pour their hearts into it). The links pages are worth checking out, too. Sixus1. http://www.sixus1.com/ I haven't shopped here, but I have downloaded their freebies. The creatures are very strange and imaginative and twisted. They do have fantasy creatures, but slightly warped. If a site has dragons, I'll keep an eye on it. ;) Animotions. http://www.animotions.com/ Looking at the breadth of the store, and number of merchants, this should probably have been put up with general sites... except that it does concentrate upon comic and cartoon and game worlds... with all the necessary characters and props for making your own stories. Expandingwave. http://www.expandingwave.com/ A brand new site, for the purpose of sharing traditional Japanese sets and props. They are taking requests and it looks like we will be getting a lot more cultural rather than martial items. (I think I have at least a dozen katanas by different modelers so it is more than welcome to see a set of dishes or pillows or tansu.) Their writing set is beautifully made, and authentic. It appears that musical instruments are in the near future. :) Bloodsong. http://www.3dmenagerie.com/ Most of her stuff is offered at other sites, such as DAZ, but the Heavy Horse, for example, can be ordered directly. Having the morphs for the DAZ eagle available through them but her individual horse available at her site makes sense. You can also find cafepress merchandise and a nice gallerie here. Well, that's a nice little selection of stores, enough I think to indicate range, and I need to take something for the headache. When I come back, we can tackle free stuff. Carolly

Allie, Every few months we'll go have a thread where someone is soul-searching and asks whether it's truly art if you use prefabricated props, people, poses, or whatever. Those threads can sometimes provide stimulus for your artistic own direction but ultimately boil down to individual opinions and values. Don't freak. Especially in the beginning when you are just learning to create the elements, remeber that a). it's a learning process that takes time - no one knows how to create everything at once, b). even Da Vinci used people and props that he didn't create, and c). just because someone else has an opinion that differs from yours doesn't mean you or they are any less of a person. Not everyoneone will like what you do, just like you won't always like what everyone else does. That's OK. Don't let the opinion of a stranger rob you of the joy of learning or experimenting or self-expression. ;-)

Free Stuff. Some general comments first, and then some specific sites highlighted. This is a monstrously large category, thanks to the incredible and overwhelming generosity of many, many, many people in this extended community. Whether it is only a couple of items, or a new item each week, or a site with dozens and hundreds of items, it all adds to the growth. Many of the contributors now are folks who benefitted in the past, and are at the point where they can share, too. There are sites which haven't been updated as the owner has gone on to other things in his life, but which are left just in case anybody needs some of the older stuff. HappyWorldLand is one such site. Tim made dozens and dozens of skin textures for Posette. Most of us have used them gladly. Even today, with the more advanced characters, there are still times when the older models are needed to fill out crowd scenes, and having enough different faces helps! Some of the early troves no longer exist. PoserForumOnline sprang from the original userlist, where there was originally no stores at all, just people sharing. Politics has resulted in many splits, and people taking sides, voting with their feet. Some of the stuff posted there has been posted elsewhere, other stuff has simply vanished. The PFO itself is gone now. Besides politics, there has been theft. Mitch had an incredible site for undersea life... and he offered his models to us freely. Some [unmentionable] took his shark and sold it as his own, doubling the insult. When a modeler asks us not to redistribute, not to repackage, not to sell or resell, it behooves us to respect their wishes. We might gain short-term, but the entire community suffers a loss when a modeler or texture maker decides that they have had enough. We almost lost Traveler; people were taking his free morphs and using them to make characters for sale, so he closed his site, more than once. I'm impressed when someone can rise above the ripoff artists, shove the anger aside, and keep going. His Morphworld is one of the brighter beacons. Every once in a while there is a flurry over copyright. Many of the earlier files didn't have a readme. Perhaps the makers assumed that everybody would be honest, and it was such a small community that work was recognizable anyway. We can not assume that anything is abandonware. Unless a file specifically says that it may be passed on, we can't, even if the original artist is no longer here to ask. A few artists have given blanket permissions when they have lost their webhosts, and those artists are listed (I think in the Poser Backroom here). What we can do is direct an inquirer to the site where the object in question may be found. On one hand, that artist carries the burden of the bandwidth. OTOH, he knows how many people like his work and which of his pieces they like... and that is inducement to make more. The other thing we can do is say thank you. Maybe take a minute to sign a guestbook. If an artist spent a month modeling a hairpiece or texturing a suite of dresses, letting them know that we appreciate it might be all the encouragement they need to brighten their day. to be continued...

Some of the bigger sites first... ...and I should mention that many sites ask that you "join" their membership. Some of them may support themselves with banner ads, some of them may just want to keep track of membership and growth. (This helps when buying bandwidth.) I prefer to use my own passwords, but if a site makes up some truly fiendish combo of letters and numbers, I'll record it elsewhere. [Plea for any site admins lurking this thread: 0 and O are identical in too many fonts as are 1 and l... can you avoid them? I hate typing in a password and guessing.] Another thing not to forget: Poser does allow for import of 3ds and dxf models. (3ds is usually trouble-free, although there may be scaling issues.) So if the model you want is only in 3ds format, do not despair! You can't "install" it the same way you can install a Poser-native object, but you can still "import" and use it. :) (I'll come back to the topic of installation in a later thread.) Renderosity. This one. :) Renderosity has around 10,000 free stuff items, 7,200 of them just for Poser. We can also take advantage of the 2D textures and photos for backgrounds and the PhotoShop brushes. Searching is a bit scattershot with only one search term. You should try various alternative keywords before giving up. Don't be surprised if you type in "hair", and also get "chairs". With a global community people may use other words to describe an object: torch = flashlight in England. And finally, don't forget the mispellings. Medieval is a particularly hard one. If you only type the correct word, you miss the "Midievel House". Check your profile and include "receive newsletter" to get a special freebie which changes monthly. 3dcommune. http://www.3dcommune.com/ Browse through the galleries, snoop through the store, and delight in the freestuff selection. Almost 1,800 items for Poser, and bunches in the other sections. I recommend downloading a couple of maclean's items just for the readme. :chortle: (The items are often great, too, like his unusual primitives and fancy hats.) RDNA. http://www.runtimedna.com/index.ez? Scoot way down the left menu to find the free stuff. This is the place for lights especially (although you will find some hair and clothing and props). There are other free light sets out there, but I keep coming back to Traveler's. The other strong suit here is the 2-3 ways to build small worlds: microcosms, modualz, sky domes, infinity coves.... This is useful when you really don't want to build all of Ireland just to get a wee corner o' green. Their newsletter has a different "super secret freebie" each week. 3dcafe. http://www.3dcafe.com/asp/freestuff.asp This site has only 3ds and dxf, but it is huge, with a selection spanning from daleks to dartboards (although the description: "a nice pitbull dog" makes me wonder). If you need a non-moving prop, such as a moosehead to hang on the wall of your villain's apartment, this is the place. No search function, and you have to hunt for the button to get thumbnails, but at least it is categorized. It also has links to other free sites. :) PlanIt 3D. http://www.planit3d.com/index.htm A friendly site with forums and interviews and lots of free stuff for a wide variety of programs. Many modelers and texturers will put up at least one item here as site support (a way to encourage the growth of newer sites is to have good content). Since they are trying to add at least one new item a day, I expect this site to grow nicely. This is where you will find lots of horse and dog morphs, as well as clothing textures. Rendervisions. http://rendervisions.com/ Another site which is growing because of interesting freebies and friendly people. The selection isn't very large yet, but this is where you can find x2000's rooms (starship bridge, restaurant) as well as Lady Cherry's Wicked Weasel thong as well as some different characters. (A woman with 6 breasts, is, well, different!) Faeriewylde. http://www.faeriewylde.com/ Not just fairies here. Clothing, mushrooms, chocolate, snowflakes... mousetraps? (I own Froud's Pressed Fairy book and I know what I would do with a mousetrap... but the people there are undoubtedly much sweeter than that.) Look under Faerie Gifts in the forum menu, and follow the posts. People will offer their own work or point out things at other sites. It is better than show and tell, because everybody gets to bring home the jeweled headdress (or whatever). :) 3Darena. http://3-darena.com/ Found it again! :) (I'd misplaced the hyphen before and got hijacked into a nest of nasty domains). This site should have been mentioned up in stores, but I can't simply edit that post. You will find lots of neat stuff from striped stockings to spacey aliens to ruined buildings to Christmas trees in the mall, at fair prices. Free Stuff here is where you will find Lemurtek's and Little Dragon's furry critters. You can also find a fainting couch, an armoury-worth of historical guns, an anime motorbike, an ancient candle.... worth browsing. :) You'll also find support (clothes and textures) for more of the "other" characters such as Sara, LaRoo, Koshini. To be continued...

Specialty free Stuff sites. Morphworld. http://www.morphworld30.com/ An essential site. Because of the way Poser renders (except for P5 with raytracing), figures tend to have flaming nostrils. Traveler's "no glow nose props" will darken them properly. A small thing, but why pay hundreds of dollars for a character and her clothes and superphotorealistic skin textures, only to have glaring nostrils destroy the effect? You will also find lots of morphs to play with, and a magnet prop to make it easier for you to do your own. (In the top border, look under "files" to get to these archives.) More important, though is perhaps the tutorials section. There are lots of tutorials on making morphs and using magnets here. Look under metallics to find a sphere for applying reflection maps and some samples. Using reflection maps can help with realistic eyes as well as chrome on cars or armored knights. Baumgarten. http://www.baument.com/ Ed posts a new freebie each week and has more than 200 items in the archive. The range is incredible: trebuchets, moon bases, wizardrobes, billboards. Sometimes it is small like a door hinge, sometimes large like a city block. Do you need a broken dinghy or a hanging carcass or a flyswatter? This is the site for ruined buildings and rusty industrial structures... he has a half dozen CDs packed with urban props. It is like a smorgasbord: you don't want to fill your plate with everything, but perhaps sample a few choice tidbits. Geralday. http://fast3d.actionbabecentral.com/kathindex.htm Another very generous person. He specializes in low-poly models (great for dressing an already cluttered scene), and often has "creative" props... stuff that artists or photographers or gardeners would need. His bunnies are creative, too. ;^) He models stuff that interests him and it is a nice selection: a schoolroom, mistletoe, oil can, violinist, rain drops.... Cal. http://www.wg3d.com/Poser_Propsx.html While I'm feeling nostalgic. Wayne is one of the nicest guys out there, but his arthritis kicks up badly in the winter. He used to put up a new prop every week at Lannie's site (now gone). You can still find many of his props here in free stuff or at his site (click both on downloads and posable props). The CDs are a genuine bargain: carriages, farm euipment, old sewing machines, mangle washing machines, oil lamps, kid's toys, musical instruments.... Not everything is old-fashioned turn of the century, but that is the emphasis. SAMS. http://www.sams3d.com/ Not only do they offer a new item each week, but they keep a double handful of the most-wanted stuff on site, with some rotation to keep it fresh. However, check the Freebie Archive CD. More than 170 items for 11 bucks including shipping? This includes rooms and bridges and treehouses as well as barbecues and birdcages and bicycles. The emphasis here is on Americana (including the coke and cookies to leave out for Santa), but there is playful stuff, too, like Rosemary's Baby Carriage. ;^) Ok, from folksy American charm, let's go to the other side of the world. I'm just following links, and recommend that to anybody. I don't read Japanese but "mousing over" often reveals English text. Here are a handful of sites; but there are a lot more (exploring is fun!). Kozaburo. http://digitalbabes2.com/ Ignore the name. There are no virtual sextoys here. Koz has redesigned the site... enter via the picture on the right... find "downloads" and you'll fall into 2 pages full of some of the most wonderful hair models available. They are easily the equal of anything commercial. Because they are free and good, they get used a lot, but there are other textures and colors for them. Back in the days of plastic helmet hair, Koz discovered how to model hairprops using transmaps, and he is still the master at it. Maya. http://www.3digitalcrafts.net/studiomaya/index.html Studio Maya is another great hair resource. Many of Koz's wigs are classic, the styles here are younger and wilder with a strong nod to anime. Maya has made some wig's with hats or bandanas adding even more variety. Finding the hair archive is tricky, but there are 4 pages of hair hidden under a Japanese symbol... worth the hunt. In addition to the hair props, Maya has created the MayaDoll, a very pretty original lady with a modest anime look to her. You can find that free model and clothes and hair for her here, too. (He also made AnimeDoll, a commercial product available in the Renderosity marketplace... she is a bit more exaggerated, but is getting a lot of support, especially with the toon shaders available in Poser.) Yamato. http://www.juno.dti.ne.jp/%7Eyamato-k/ This site is known as Poser Penthouse. Yamato has created many lovely female morphs, and with the support of others in the Japanese community has provided hair and clothing for them... enough to get them started. TenTen is perhaps his best known model, with variants for Vicki, the MilGirls, Judy. Iso's Page http://iso.power.ne.jp/ Look under "project" where you'll find a handsome suit for Mike, and a handful of costumes for Vicki (the microsuit is particularly fine)... but the real trove is under Miyou where you can download different kimono and a decent suit of armor for Joan of Arc. These modelers claim not to speak English that well, but he puns upon "a-miyou's-ment"... so humor and art and fine craftsmanship all translate. :) Iso teamed up with LovelyLady to form Jatex. You can find that link under information. This is the place for the wedding dress, a cheongsum, and the lovely "mermaid line" dress, all of which have been textured by others, too. (You can find their commercial stuff in the Marketplace after trying out a freebie.) Rubio. http://home.att.ne.jp/yellow/RUBI/Rubio's_room.html I can't leave this area without one more. Rubio has created some wonderful characters, including children, and clothing including a twisty sheet thingy (much nicer looking than I can describe). You will find several handsome young males at this site, too. Given the general neglect of the menfolk and children, having quality clothes and textures for them is extra special. [I hope no one has hurt feelings for not being mentioned: there are at least another half dozen which should be described, but I have to keep moving. Follow those links!] Vitually Historical. http://www.virtuallyhistorical.com/ This site is young, but there are some absolutely wonderfully intricate and authentic period props and furniture here. Emphasis is on Medieval and Elizabethan England... but the site is also involved in the virtual reconstruction of a hill fort. More good links to follow for the history buff who wants real stuff in her scenes. :) Animotions. http://www.animotions.com/ They have a nice selection of fantasy and science fiction stuff, but their first love is apparently comics. 137 Marvel characters alone... and oodles of other guys, too! There are game-related items here as well. I'm not into comics, but some of the costumes and props are really nifty. :) Specialty free Stuff sites. Morphworld. http://www.morphworld30.com/ An essential site. Because of the way Poser renders (except for P5 with raytracing), figures tend to have flaming nostrils. Traveler's "no glow nose props" will darken them properly. A small thing, but why pay hundreds of dollars for a character and her clothes and superphotorealistic skin textures, only to have glaring nostrils destroy the effect? You will also find lots of morphs to play with, and a magnet prop to make it easier for you to do your own. (In the top border, look under "files" to get to these archives.) More important, though is perhaps the tutorials section. There are lots of tutorials on making morphs and using magnets here. Look under metallics to find a sphere for applying reflection maps and some samples. Using reflection maps can help with realistic eyes as well as chrome on cars or armored knights. Baumgarten. http://www.baument.com/ Ed posts a new freebie each week and has more than 200 items in the archive. The range is incredible: trebuchets, moon bases, wizardrobes, billboards. Sometimes it is small like a door hinge, sometimes large like a city block. Do you need a broken dinghy or a hanging carcass or a flyswatter? This is the site for ruined buildings and rusty industrial structures... he has a half dozen CDs packed with urban props. It is like a smorgasbord: you don't want to fill your plate with everything, but perhaps sample a few choice tidbits. Geralday. http://fast3d.actionbabecentral.com/kathindex.htm Another very generous person. He specializes in low-poly models (great for dressing an already cluttered scene), and often has "creative" props... stuff that artists or photographers or gardeners would need. His bunnies are creative, too. ;^) He models stuff that interests him and it is a nice selection: a schoolroom, mistletoe, oil can, violinist, rain drops.... Cal. http://www.wg3d.com/Poser_Propsx.html While I'm feeling nostalgic. Wayne is one of the nicest guys out there, but his arthritis kicks up badly in the winter. He used to put up a new prop every week at Lannie's site (now gone). You can still find many of his props here in free stuff or at his site (click both on downloads and posable props). The CDs are a genuine bargain: carriages, farm euipment, old sewing machines, mangle washing machines, oil lamps, kid's toys, musical instruments.... Not everything is old-fashioned turn of the century, but that is the emphasis. SAMS. http://www.sams3d.com/ Not only do they offer a new item each week, but they keep a double handful of the most-wanted stuff on site, with some rotation to keep it fresh. However, check the Freebie Archive CD. More than 170 items for 11 bucks including shipping? This includes rooms and bridges and treehouses as well as barbecues and birdcages and bicycles. The emphasis here is on Americana (including the coke and cookies to leave out for Santa), but there is playful stuff, too, like Rosemary's Baby Carriage. ;^) Ok, from folksy American charm, let's go to the other side of the world. I'm just following links, and recommend that to anybody. I don't read Japanese but "mousing over" often reveals English text. Here are a handful of sites; but there are a lot more (exploring is fun!). Kozaburo. http://digitalbabes2.com/ Ignore the name. There are no virtual sextoys here. Koz has redesigned the site... enter via the picture on the right... find "downloads" and you'll fall into 2 pages full of some of the most wonderful hair models available. They are easily the equal of anything commercial. Because they are free and good, they get used a lot, but there are other textures and colors for them. Back in the days of plastic helmet hair, Koz discovered how to model hairprops using transmaps, and he is still the master at it. Maya. http://www.3digitalcrafts.net/studiomaya/index.html Studio Maya is another great hair resource. Many of Koz's wigs are classic, the styles here are younger and wilder with a strong nod to anime. Maya has made some wig's with hats or bandanas adding even more variety. Finding the hair archive is tricky, but there are 4 pages of hair hidden under a Japanese symbol... worth the hunt. In addition to the hair props, Maya has created the MayaDoll, a very pretty original lady with a modest anime look to her. You can find that free model and clothes and hair for her here, too. (He also made AnimeDoll, a commercial product available in the Renderosity marketplace... she is a bit more exaggerated, but is getting a lot of support, especially with the toon shaders available in Poser.) Yamato. http://www.juno.dti.ne.jp/%7Eyamato-k/ This site is known as Poser Penthouse. Yamato has created many lovely female morphs, and with the support of others in the Japanese community has provided hair and clothing for them... enough to get them started. TenTen is perhaps his best known model, with variants for Vicki, the MilGirls, Judy. Iso's Page http://iso.power.ne.jp/ Look under "project" where you'll find a handsome suit for Mike, and a handful of costumes for Vicki (the microsuit is particularly fine)... but the real trove is under Miyou where you can download different kimono and a decent suit of armor for Joan of Arc. These modelers claim not to speak English that well, but he puns upon "a-miyou's-ment"... so humor and art and fine craftsmanship all translate. :) Iso teamed up with LovelyLady to form Jatex. You can find that link under information. This is the place for the wedding dress, a cheongsum, and the lovely "mermaid line" dress, all of which have been textured by others, too. (You can find their commercial stuff in the Marketplace after trying out a freebie.) Rubio. http://home.att.ne.jp/yellow/RUBI/Rubio's_room.html I can't leave this area without one more. Rubio has created some wonderful characters, including children, and clothing including a twisty sheet thingy (much nicer looking than I can describe). You will find several handsome young males at this site, too. Given the general neglect of the menfolk and children, having quality clothes and textures for them is extra special. [I hope no one has hurt feelings for not being mentioned: there are at least another half dozen which should be described, but I have to keep moving. Follow those links!] Vitually Historical. http://www.virtuallyhistorical.com/ This site is young, but there are some absolutely wonderfully intricate and authentic period props and furniture here. Emphasis is on Medieval and Elizabethan England... but the site is also involved in the virtual reconstruction of a hill fort. More good links to follow for the history buff who wants real stuff in her scenes. :) Animotions. http://www.animotions.com/ They have a nice selection of fantasy and science fiction stuff, but their first love is apparently comics. 137 Marvel characters alone... and oodles of other guys, too! There are game-related items here as well. I'm not into comics, but some of the costumes and props are really nifty. :) Specialty free Stuff sites. Morphworld. http://www.morphworld30.com/ An essential site. Because of the way Poser renders (except for P5 with raytracing), figures tend to have flaming nostrils. Traveler's "no glow nose props" will darken them properly. A small thing, but why pay hundreds of dollars for a character and her clothes and superphotorealistic skin textures, only to have glaring nostrils destroy the effect? You will also find lots of morphs to play with, and a magnet prop to make it easier for you to do your own. (In the top border, look under "files" to get to these archives.) More important, though is perhaps the tutorials section. There are lots of tutorials on making morphs and using magnets here. Look under metallics to find a sphere for applying reflection maps and some samples. Using reflection maps can help with realistic eyes as well as chrome on cars or armored knights. Baumgarten. http://www.baument.com/ Ed posts a new freebie each week and has more than 200 items in the archive. The range is incredible: trebuchets, moon bases, wizardrobes, billboards. Sometimes it is small like a door hinge, sometimes large like a city block. Do you need a broken dinghy or a hanging carcass or a flyswatter? This is the site for ruined buildings and rusty industrial structures... he has a half dozen CDs packed with urban props. It is like a smorgasbord: you don't want to fill your plate with everything, but perhaps sample a few choice tidbits. Geralday. http://fast3d.actionbabecentral.com/kathindex.htm Another very generous person. He specializes in low-poly models (great for dressing an already cluttered scene), and often has "creative" props... stuff that artists or photographers or gardeners would need. His bunnies are creative, too. ;^) He models stuff that interests him and it is a nice selection: a schoolroom, mistletoe, oil can, violinist, rain drops.... Cal. http://www.wg3d.com/Poser_Propsx.html While I'm feeling nostalgic. Wayne is one of the nicest guys out there, but his arthritis kicks up badly in the winter. He used to put up a new prop every week at Lannie's site (now gone). You can still find many of his props here in free stuff or at his site (click both on downloads and posable props). The CDs are a genuine bargain: carriages, farm euipment, old sewing machines, mangle washing machines, oil lamps, kid's toys, musical instruments.... Not everything is old-fashioned turn of the century, but that is the emphasis. SAMS. http://www.sams3d.com/ Not only do they offer a new item each week, but they keep a double handful of the most-wanted stuff on site, with some rotation to keep it fresh. However, check the Freebie Archive CD. More than 170 items for 11 bucks including shipping? This includes rooms and bridges and treehouses as well as barbecues and birdcages and bicycles. The emphasis here is on Americana (including the coke and cookies to leave out for Santa), but there is playful stuff, too, like Rosemary's Baby Carriage. ;^) Ok, from folksy American charm, let's go to the other side of the world. I'm just following links, and recommend that to anybody. I don't read Japanese but "mousing over" often reveals English text. Here are a handful of sites; but there are a lot more (exploring is fun!). Kozaburo. http://digitalbabes2.com/ Ignore the name. There are no virtual sextoys here. Koz has redesigned the site... enter via the picture on the right... find "downloads" and you'll fall into 2 pages full of some of the most wonderful hair models available. They are easily the equal of anything commercial. Because they are free and good, they get used a lot, but there are other textures and colors for them. Back in the days of plastic helmet hair, Koz discovered how to model hairprops using transmaps, and he is still the master at it. Maya. http://www.3digitalcrafts.net/studiomaya/index.html Studio Maya is another great hair resource. Many of Koz's wigs are classic, the styles here are younger and wilder with a strong nod to anime. Maya has made some wig's with hats or bandanas adding even more variety. Finding the hair archive is tricky, but there are 4 pages of hair hidden under a Japanese symbol... worth the hunt. In addition to the hair props, Maya has created the MayaDoll, a very pretty original lady with a modest anime look to her. You can find that free model and clothes and hair for her here, too. (He also made AnimeDoll, a commercial product available in the Renderosity marketplace... she is a bit more exaggerated, but is getting a lot of support, especially with the toon shaders available in Poser.) Yamato. http://www.juno.dti.ne.jp/%7Eyamato-k/ This site is known as Poser Penthouse. Yamato has created many lovely female morphs, and with the support of others in the Japanese community has provided hair and clothing for them... enough to get them started. TenTen is perhaps his best known model, with variants for Vicki, the MilGirls, Judy. Iso's Page http://iso.power.ne.jp/ Look under "project" where you'll find a handsome suit for Mike, and a handful of costumes for Vicki (the microsuit is particularly fine)... but the real trove is under Miyou where you can download different kimono and a decent suit of armor for Joan of Arc. These modelers claim not to speak English that well, but he puns upon "a-miyou's-ment"... so humor and art and fine craftsmanship all translate. :) Iso teamed up with LovelyLady to form Jatex. You can find that link under information. This is the place for the wedding dress, a cheongsum, and the lovely "mermaid line" dress, all of which have been textured by others, too. (You can find their commercial stuff in the Marketplace after trying out a freebie.) Rubio. http://home.att.ne.jp/yellow/RUBI/Rubio's_room.html I can't leave this area without one more. Rubio has created some wonderful characters, including children, and clothing including a twisty sheet thingy (much nicer looking than I can describe). You will find several handsome young males at this site, too. Given the general neglect of the menfolk and children, having quality clothes and textures for them is extra special. [I hope no one has hurt feelings for not being mentioned: there are at least another half dozen which should be described, but I have to keep moving. Follow those links!] Vitually Historical. http://www.virtuallyhistorical.com/ This site is young, but there are some absolutely wonderfully intricate and authentic period props and furniture here. Emphasis is on Medieval and Elizabethan England... but the site is also involved in the virtual reconstruction of a hill fort. More good links to follow for the history buff who wants real stuff in her scenes. :) Animotions. http://www.animotions.com/ They have a nice selection of fantasy and science fiction stuff, but their first love is apparently comics. 137 Marvel characters alone... and oodles of other guys, too! There are game-related items here as well. I'm not into comics, but some of the costumes and props are really nifty. :) Lyrra. http://www.cyclopsstudio.com/ Look under 3d graphics for the downloads. Here is where you can find the "Shades of Mike" textures for Michael, and male morphs for MayaDoll and Sara (free at DAZ in the Forums). There are textures for dragons and horses, here, too, and other good stuff. Her gallery features furry art. Bloodsong. http://www.3dmenagerie.com/ Go to Goodies and look for Poser stuff. She just added some songbird poses, but you'll find a nice ruby throne (fit for a cat), falconry gear, dancing gorillas, and dangly eyeballs. (You think I'm making this stuff up?) Sharkey's Gate. http://www.cybergate-corp.ch/webdesig/poser3/ [Currently getting refreshed.] Robert's frebies include an Amazon Palace with an even spiffier throne for cats, some Gigeresque furniture, and a Plains Indian headdress, among other neat offerings. 3droad. http://www.3droad.com/ These guys are getting better each month. You can find a Bohemian village, Medieval chapels, tools and furniture and fancy lamps, and, yes, even a road (as part of the landscape). :) On the left side is a link to Morho home... where they are building a storyworld and all the settings. They just added the second pz3. Avalontree. http://avalontree.narod.ru/main.html This site takes forever to load: very graphics intensive and a verrrry slow Russian connection. However, it is worth it. There are some welcome nods to LOTR (Moria Gate, Sting) and some amusing props (such as the cuckoo clock, sliced cucumbers, hand lotion) and a good selection of spellbooks (and bookends!!!), Greek and Chinese vases, button textures, a different rocking horse.... Just grab a cup of coffee while the site loads, and prepare to browse. When you find an image you like, see who made the props. When you find a site you like, check for links. The Internet is made so much more valuable a resource by virtue of being able to daisy-pick our way as we see even more interesting things just over the hilltop. As of today, all these links are working. Carolly

Subscription sites. This is going to be the most problematical one of all to cover, since I do not have that much experience with most of the sites. The followers of each of them are quite partisan, so ask about any of them, before laying your wallet down, and you will hear plenty! Poser users have a very strong feeling of entitlement, especially when it comes to promises made. If they get more, they may or may not express gratitude, but beware of missing a update or posting less than expected! In the first Harry Potter movie, the birthday boy was short a gift. It didn't matter if the other gifts were twice as good as last year's, he wanted the exact total number of promised gifts or he was going to throw a tantrum. It takes a far braver person than me to open a subscription site! My hat is off to those who do! The sites which have had the most problems have faltered and withered away. I'm only aware of a handful of current main subscription sites. Most of these sites have only one or 2 main modelers and perhaps a texture artist. Therefore, choosing a site may be as much a matter of taste (do you like his style) as value (cost per item). PropsGuild. http://propsguild.com/ This may be the oldest. It used to be free, but went subscription to try to pay for bandwidth. Instead of purchasing separate models, for a set fee you get access to everything on the site (hundreds of models), and there are updates. It is categorized, and supposedly searchable (not a member, so I can't test). I'm not sure how often or regularly those happen though (I did just peek in and they have more stuff, including a couple of freebies in a new section). They seem to have a forum now, and they take requests. I downloaded many props when they were free. They are ancient, but often still quite workable, and sometimes the only example of a type. Props do not date as quickly as figures or clothing so a cat tree or windmill or pipe organ or tool set ought to work just fine. Anton's peacock is here, and they have added some dinosaurs. If I were to make a recommendation, it would be to look over the site and see if there is enough usable stuff to be worth the 3 month subscription, and, if so, then see whether enough new things get added to make it worth continuing. There is a provision for being a contributing member, where you get free access for providing content. This would help the site to grow, and benefit everybody. Traveler's Propsclub http://www.morphworld30.com/club.html He hasn't updated his sales sheet in a while. ;^) He has been doing more than just props: hair and clothing and even animals, and the archive usually has 12 weeks or so stashed neatly at hand. He is perhaps smart to keep the implied promises minimal. I've been a member for maybe 3 years, and this has been one of my better purchase decisions. He has been extremely reliable: if he has had to go out of town, the update will often be early, sometimes doubled, or something, and he keeps us informed of happenings such as changes in the site structure. Part of why I like this site is that the goodie always comes on Monday when a smile is most appreciated, and we never know what is coming, so it is a bit like Christmas. It might be a demon throne or a chickadee or rattan furniture or a medieval robe or a billboard or a leafboat... we never know. He is open to suggestions, but I rather like the surprise, too. PoserStyle http://www.poserstyle.com/ This is a newer site. They have had server problems and membership problems... some kinks in the systems. OTOH, they have free content to try out, and it is nicely made. You can preview what is available (close to 150 items, including clothes and poses for the modern figures). A subscription buys you immediate access to all content plus updates. It didn't appear to be searchable, but I may have missed a link. There is a forum and gallery. I'd make the same recommendation as for PropsGuild... see if there is enough already here to make the subscription worthwhile, and then see if the site is stable before continuing. PoserWorld http://www.poserworld.com/ This site has ardent fans. There are a more than a thousand items immediately available for the subscription price, hundreds more on the CDs, and the updates appear to be regular. (I'm not a subscriber, but it looks good.) The emphasis has been upon quantity. I've had hesitations over the authenticity of the period pieces, but sometimes they are the only source. There is a lot of clothing here, including stuff for the much-neglected boy children. There are occasional free models and 4 in the archive so you can try them out. Gallery and Forum and Contests. Click on a few of the pages to get a feeling for what the updates are like and test drive the hearse (or whatever is in the archive). DAZ's PlatinumClub http://www.daz3d.com/ In addition to the main store and the weekly freebies, DAZ also has an exclusive PlatinumClub area where you pay a fee (monthly or annual) which buys access to the forums, galleries, and specially-priced store, as well as reduced prices at the premium store. The trick here is looking at what you would save if your purchases were under the PC auspices. If you are only going to buy an occasional item, it might make more sense to just buy it. If you are going to be buying lots of stuff, you will almost certainly save money by getting the subscription. Because several different modelers and texturers are now involved, there is a range of style as well as of object. It is a nice collection, overall high quality... not that well organized, but searchable. Some items are available in the main store for much more; others are exclusive. Again, the DAZ guarantee is behind the products. To be continued.... :)

WOW! Thanks! So much better than than clicking through my favorites folder wondering where Koz's site is.

You are welcome. Apparently these are being helpful to more than just newbies... I've been asked to write them up as proper tutorials. I've already realized the need for editing. There are days when the brain is like a sieve. I forgot to mention BBay under both general stores and subscriptions. :deep sigh: www.bbay.com It was the first store I purchased from so long ago, and Sherry was so helpful over the phone getting me set up. It has many affiliated artists, some who make that their homebase, and both their PoseClub and Club Z are worth peeking at for unique offerings. Folks, if any other major resource slips though like that, let me know! Carolly

Wow. Looks like I have lots of homework to do. I already joined Daz's Platinum Club, figuring that I would be getting most of my basic props this first year. (That free one-month membership ploy worked on me!) Haven't been able to do more than just look briefly at some of the other sites. There are so many good leads, it looks like it would be a full time job just to keep up with them. I've pasted all the names into a text document, just to keep track. Started a sort of activity log, too, of significant "Poser Research" so that 3 years from now, I'll be able to go back to some reference I vaguely remember reading about this or that. I just got contracting work doing old fashioned blocky-pixeled sprites & backgrounds for a little online game, so all that time I thought I'd have to play has evaporated. I'll persevere, though. Joe is still interested in doing the sequel to our little Morph game sometime in the future, so I can justify the time as "research." Thanks so much for putting all this time and effort into helping a newbie! -Allie

These programs take time to learn. Stuff takes a while to collect. Messages take time to type up. By the time you are ready to do add wings to mice, cats, monkeys and have them playing tag in a fluffy pink cloud castle, or visualize a native american song, or drop a jeweled fish into fractalized foam... whatever... you should have accumulated enough of the sets and props and clothes and people to make putting it together easier. Just keep your eyes open. :) There are still a couple of items to add to this thread. Next thread ought to be on installation, but I might try something fun with pictures instead. Carolly

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Thanks for the Newbie info so far, but I haven't a clue how to get started with 3d computer art and posers. A few brief answers would help. What is a poser? Is it 3d art that can be manipulated like moving an arm or leg into a different position or rotated without having to redraw it every time? What programs do I need to get started with posers? Will Poser 5 produce a finished drawing (rendering?) with downloaded characters, settings, and props or will I need other program software? Do you know of any starting from scratch (ignorance) guides that describe more of the what? Like what is computer art, cg, 3d art, etc. covering concepts and terminology? What type of programs would I need to create my own posers? Characters, settings, props, etc. Do you know of any review/comparison/rating links that would point me toward which software is better?

OK, let's see how clear I can be. 2D computer art is pixels in a flat array which represent 3D space, in much the same manner as a flat painting on the wall can represent a window into the artist's world. Take the Mona Lisa. There is a background behind her, but we cannot see her profile or what is behind her no matter how we tilt the canvas. A 2D computer image, say a painting created in PhotoShop, is the same way. Flat. It may be richly textured, but it only exists in a single plane. 3D computer art is different. There is a mesh of points in space. These points are linked by lines and planes (known as polygons). A cylinder or a human formed out of polygons can be turned around, or stood on its head, or squashed along an axis. It is a mesh which is morphable, twistable, turnable. A 3D scene will have several elements. Usually there is a ground plane or some sort of landscape. Occasionally there will be a backdrop for a sky or whatever. Then the various buildings, animals, people, clothing all get added to make up the picture. These are all nothing but numerical coordinates in space lined by a formula or three. However, the human eye recognizes the pattern. Any of these elements can get replaced or changed at any time. Example: If DaVinci had decided that Mona Lisa's smile was irritating, it would have been easier for him to start from scratch than to replace her portrait with another lady, and, if he did repaint, he couldn't go back without damaging the canvas. We can save off the offending scene (in case we change our minds) delete the woman, and replace her with another model with a nicer smile. Because these are 3D models, they are affected by lighting. In fact, rendering in 3D is more akin to tabletop photography than anything else. You can set up the scene, place the lights, choose the focal length, and take the picture. Total control. Back to the Mona Lisa, instead of the blueish hazy lighting, in 3D you can experiment... what will she look like in a romantic sunset? moonlight? underwater? film noir with sharp shadows? The mesh is 3D, so changing the angle of the light will make a noticable difference. Now suppose that the smile really IS irritating. With a mesh, you can make her frown, or laugh, or raise an eyebrow quixically. You can imagine that she needs to scratch between her shoulder blades and twist her arm back... or add a cat to her lap! Whatever. You can give her expressions and movement. That is what posing is all about. The basic human model will enter the scene in a "T" position, and our job is to make it look lifelike. For creating 3D art, there are several programs which all do slightly different things, in a vast range of prices. There are programs for making models from scratch. Carrara is one of these: you get a choice of modeling methods (polygons are only one way to define a form in space), you can build, and render. I think Animator and Wings are both free. There are programs which are known for making nice terrains and skies: Bryce, Vue d'Esprit, Terragen. You can build in these programs, but they traditionally don't do people that well (they do import). Poser for a long time has been alone in the class of reasonably priced software for posing and animating the human figure. It is also among the easiest of programs to use, so there is a vast hobyist market. Lightwave, 3dStudioMax, Cinema4D, Maya are all quite a bit more expensive (thousands and thousands of dollars and a steep learning curve), but they do more than modeling: they can landscape, animate, render, whatever. Their final renders will often be superior to what Poser can do or what Bryce can do... but at 20 times the cost, I'd hope for some difference! Poser 5 has some extra lighting features such as volumetric lighting and a way to fake caustics, but I haven't played with that yet. It does have both regular render and ray-traced render capabilities. In any version of Poser, you can make cell-shaded effects like anime, and there are sketch render presets for some fun effects. Poser comes with a basic library of people, clothes, hair, animals, props, but no landscapes or buildings. However, you can buy or make or find in freestuff plenty of elements to add to your scene. Poser 3 still had painted-on clothing, but Poser 4 and above have separate clothes and hair so you can make unique figures. It's like dressing a doll or puppet: start with a nude figure, put the clothing in place, conform it to the body (so that when you pose the figure, the clothes come along with the posed limbs), add the hair and props (parent them to the right places on the body like hat on head). Once your figure is dressed, you can move it around. It is already boned (or rigged) so that body parts will stay together (you don't want the fingers flying off if you move the arm!) and so that if you move the hand the rest of the arm will follow in a natural sweep. With Poser, you can animate, making your own mini-movies. You can add sound... with an additional program called Mimic, your Poser people will sing or talk with expressions. On the CuriousLabs site there is a free tutorial just on Posing. It is fairly massive, but the author is perhaps our best expert on making poses. With Poser alone, you can create and render scenes with people in them. The rendering engine was designed to make people look good. If you are not going to use people at all, but want to play with fractals or landscapes, then I'd suggest other programs. There are many additional pieces of software which help, but you only need certain of them for certain tasks. Example: if you want to paint your own textures, a uvmapper and a paint program are needed; if you don't want to make your own, then save your pennies. Besides the manual, which is how I learned the basics, there is a FAQ for Poser (look up in the banner for this section), and several tutorials. Dr Geep's excellent series of "primers" in these threads are most helpful. For Poser 5, Stewer's site has a FAQ. The 3d-axis video for Poser 5 is well-recommended. And, you can always ask questions. When doing that, I suggest putting the topic of the question in the subject line, so the right experts can jump in with help. Another idea... you can look in the galleries and see something of what a program is capable of doing. You can find artists you admire and check to see who they admire and what programs, models, etc., they used. And remember that we were all newbies once, looking at the back of a software package, and reading the descriptions, and asking questions. Carolly

Thanks Carolly. Now at least I have a starting point. Dang Yankee