I've read several of the tutorials and can create posable figures for use in Poser (using 3DS Max or just Poser alone). But none of these tutorials explain how to create posable props that are NOT figures and that do not have OBJ files. So, how do you create posable props that are not figures. azl

heyas; a posable prop IS a figure. it's just not a human/animal figure, it's an inanimate object (or piece of a figure). ie: a tail, a chain, a shirt or coat, a mousetrap, etc etc. if you want a prop that is a prop to 'pose,' you can make the moving parts morph into place. this isn't as accurate as making them joints in a 'figure' prop. you can also put two or more prop pieces into a prop file, and fix the centers so that when you rotate one, it is 'hinged' on the other. you could also probably set up a mini-heirarchy file with smart parenting one to another. i'm not sure what advantage that would be, though. also note: if you want a 'figure' prop not to have an obj file, you can force all the geometry to be embedded into the cr2. i think if you spawn props with the grouping tool and build a figure in the p4 hierarchy editor, you end up with something like that. or, you could just use the grouping tool: tell it to include all the poly's of each body part, then re-save the figure to the library. the geometry will be embedded. again, i don't think there's any advantage to that. it just creates a huge cr2. :)

Thanks. I understand that a posable prop is a figure. But how do I create one so that it's saved in the Prop library rather than in the figure library?

EGADS! MY CHALLENGE STILL REMAINS! Can someone please make a tutorial that is easy to follow, easy to read, and gives results?! I'm willing to bet there's alot more people out there than let on who don't know a cr2 from a pz3! I would love to find a tutorial that is WELL written, with images to explain EACH and EVERY step. Can be used to create a figure from ANY other program OTHER than RAY DREAM STUDIO and put into poser! I have a SLEW of PROP ideas I'm so READY to make and yet....this pose-able madness is what prevents them from being made. (AND yes they'd be FREE FREE FREE if I could make them...and they'd be REALLLLLLLY cool trust me.) So anyone out there willing to find such a tutorial!? ;) PAN~ www.federation-21.com www.big-i.com "Your 'i' on the digital art industry!"

Attached Link: http://www.pixelatious.com

Hmmm. I'm guessing you haven't seen my tutorial ;-) Actually. It's so easy that people will be surprised it took them so long to figure out. 1.)make a model 2.)name it's body parts and save it as .obj file 3.)load it into Phi Builder andset up the parent->child tree 4.)save the new phi file 5.)click the ConvertPhi option in Poser and open that .phi 6.)name the new figure 7.)open it from the library and adjust the JP's That's it. It really is a simple as it sounds. Don't over think it. As long as you know what a parent and child are. And what rotation orders to use for certain body parts (you can find those in the Poser4-figures-> STDGimbals.txt file)then it's pretty easy to do. Don't over think it. ScottA

Ok I won't. Thanks! PAN~ um..ScottA? Um...eh... eh...uh... What's a Phi Builder? (ugg..this is all so overwhelming!)

Boy. You are a newbie at this ;-). A .phi file is just a text file that lists out all the models body parts and the rotation orders(x,y,z) for them. Go to your Poser4->figures folder and look for a file called StdGimbals.txt and take a look at it. *Note how they are arranged (parent->child) and the order of rotation after each part. It looks very much like the hierachy window does in Poser. whithout all the icons and such. PhiBuilder is a simple little program that RoyRiggs made a long time ago that uses your .obj file to generate a .phi file automatically. Although you still need to arrange the body parts in it. Again. Just like you do in the Poser heirarchy window. I think it's still in the free stuff section here. You can make one by hand if you need to or if you are using a MAC. Just simply change the file extension from .txt to .phi. As new as you are to this process you'll need to know some key things. 1.)create a new subfolder and put your .obj file there before doing anything. 2.)make sure the top line of the .phi points correctly to the location of that .obj file. 3.) in the phi builder program. you simply click on a body part name. And drag it around to change it's location.Just like you would in the Poser heirarchy window. My tutorial is all pictures. You might wanna look at it. Just remember. It's simple but has lots of steps. Don't let it intimidate you. If you get stuck along the way. Just go to the character creators forum. And ask for help. Most people have at least one problem doing it for the first time. But it's always a simple problem to solve. So don't get frustrated and quit. Scott

OOPs. That should have read: 1.)create a new sub folder in your Poser4->Runtime->geometries folder. ScottA

YOU sir, are da MAN. Did I mention that before? That was PRETTY dang clear. Ok we are GETTING somewhere now. Sadly I am at work without a copy of Poser in front of me..but as soon as the opportunity presents itself (and as soon as that DANG PS2 stops calling with it's Sirens lure I'll get RIGHT on trying this...it seems VERY easy now that you've taken the time to explain slowly!) THANKS! PAN~

Get busy on those 'really cool props'... ;-}

heyas; you CAN'T put a posable prop that is a cr2 into the props folder. the props library of poser only reads pp2's. (trust me, i tried it ;) ) the best you can do is create a figure library named 'props,' and put your non-figure stuff in there.

Zygote/Daz sells "articulated props" that load into the character library.

Attached Link: http://www.3dmodelworld.com/zips/poser3/pliers.zip

Then how was the Minaret in the free stuff (which is a PP2 that loads into the Props library) created? Another example are the posable tools (such as the pliers, available at the links) created by Wayne Grindberg. azl

heyas; i don't have the pliers, but i have rena's straight razor. i expect they are made the same way. the razor/pliers have two pieces. you can select one piece and hit the + to add it to the prop library. you need poser 4 and the patch, which will let you 'select subset.' then you can select more than one object to be saved in the prop file. the two pieces will be saved in one pp2 file, and be loaded as one prop (although both pieces will still be separate if you grab them). to make them 'posable,' first, turn the origins on, and then move them to the rotation point of the object. for the pliers, it would be at the point where the two pieces cross over. in the razor, the blade has the center at the end that fits into the handle. this will make it so when you rotate the prop piece, it will rotate naturally around its pivot point and appear to stay 'stuck' to its other half. i say appear, because you can still always grab it and drag it away from the other piece. you can, however, parent one half of the prop to the other. the razor blade is parented to the handle, for example, so when you grab the handle, the whole thing (all 2 pieces) move. note you can still grab the blade and drag it away from its parent. very annoying ;) now, the big trick is, you can't save a subset AND a smart prop (one with a parent) at the same time. why? i dunno. so here's what to do... load your posable prop pieces, assemble them together, and move the origins to where you want the center of rotation. (you might also set rotation limits, so somebody doesn't try to open your pliers sideways, say.) you should probably parent them before you try that maneuver, sometimes parenting causes odd things to happen with the centers. then select the base piece and save it to the prop library, being sure to 'select subset' and grab all the prop pieces. now they are all saved in one pp2. open the pp2 in john stallings cr2edit(or), or a txt editor. look for the line that says "parent UNIVERSE". change it to say "smartparent whatever" -- ie: smartparent handle. did that explain it all well enough?

Thanks Bloodsong, that does explain it quite well. I'll try it out. azl

I looked at the minaret, and in my opinion, it isn't really "poseable". It is an excellent looking prop, though. It is a lot of parts, all parented to an invisible object. You can scale and move all the parts individually, and the parent can be moved and scaled to change the whole thing at once. The pliers are one object in Poser, and I think that the open/close dial is a morph. There are several materials, and it must have been made in many parts, then grouped into one.

heyas; if the minaret is several separate parts parented to a dummy, then it's at least using the pp2 smartparenting hierarchy bit. check out how its used, azl. if the pliers only morph open and closed... rena's straight razor is at poserworld, if you want to see how two pieces are parented and given a hinge center. somebody was also working on a prop door that opened and closed via the centerpoint being on the hinges. check 'em out. :)