Greetings, everyone. Okay, so I've lurked here for a few months, posted a few Terragen renders but mostly I've watched and learned (and swooned in amazement at some of the talent on display around here.) I've read tutorials and picked up Poser 4, and now I want to get into it. My PC is adequate (2.6 GHz Athlon, 512 MB RAM, etc etc.) I've also got Bryce 4 and Terragen for some backgrounds... Since you guys are the experts, I ask, what do I really need to acquire to do this right? Victoria 3 and Michael 3, it seems, would be the obvious starting point...but there are a lot of different combo packs and such out there, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I also get the impression "upgrading" to Poser 5 may not be worth it? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Welcome to the madness B) To be quite honest, in yr place I wouldn't buy anything else right now...Poser contains enough figures for you to get the hang of the prog, & there's like zillions of free addons ya can collect. It'd be a shame fer ya to go & blow yr next 4 car payments on V3/ M3/ wardrobes fer them/ etc oly to discover ya really don' care fer the prog. Once ya decide ya really do like it, then sure, go fer V3 & M3 & accessories. As fer P5...it's a judgement call. The great ting 'bout P4 is it's shallow learnin' curve; purdy much anybody can jump in w/ both feet & make a picture. P5 has a lot more bells & whistles, therefore a steeper learnin' curve, & I doubt anyone really uses all of 'em regularly (I know I don't).Fer now as a newbie, I'd suggest just gettin' comfortable w/ what ya have 1st, & worry 'bout P5 later (especially w/ P6 loomin' over the horizon ;-)

except that, most of the freebies out there are made for mike and vickie.. (and most of them are mostly for vickie, which kind'a gets my goat, cause most of my characters are male). so that is something to consider. well maybe not most but a large portion of it. then there's other models that other wardrobes/accessories apply to. but i've found very very little content for the basic poser characters. (and i can't seem to get my vickie and mike to work right, which makes me resort to using basic don).

Consider using the Poser 4 figures. (Dork and Posette.) They are included with Poser 5. There's tons more stuff available for them than for Don and Judy.

Sephyn74, There are a few gender-bending morphs around for the Victorias, so you can still produce male figures from them. regards, Andrew

As a relative newbie myself i'd say that if you can afford M and V then get them. They are so much more versatile, you will learn more from them and be more pleased with the results... which is a big bonus when you are a newbie. Also, like has been said, there is so much more out there for them for you to play with and learn from. As for P5. It's both frustrating to use and rewarding. But with P6 and DAZ studio coming up, i'd wait. You should be able to make a better, more knowledgeable call by the time you are ready to move up. Anyway, good luck and happy rendering. Jack (excuse typos... just woke up)

Attached Link: Michael 2.0 CD Bundle

In my opinion, Dork & Posette just don't look real, and they don't pose well. I had countless poses that left them with broken arms or legs. I once downloaded all the free clothes and stuff for the P4 figures I could find. Looking back, that selection was really pitiful compared to what is available for Mike & Vicki. You can start with the stuff that comes free with Poser. If that is too limited, then try to get the most bang for your buck. For instance, you can get the Michael 2.0 CD bundle for $69. You could then join Poserworld (PWFW) for $60 a year, and get everything they make. This is an outstanding value since they make clothes for all the Millennium figures.