Hey there. I'm thinking about buying Poser(Artist 4, Poser 5, or Poser 6)...My question is does Poser Artist 4 suck or something?....well, it's just so cheap that I have to wonder if it isn't as good as it should be. I know it's based on Poser 4, but then again, I know nothing about Poser 4 anyway. Would Poser artist be able to support V3 and M3, or other models that were made with Poser 5 or 6? If I can buy Poser Artist, then that would save me a whole lot of money as I'm on a tight budget. I also know that you can upgrade to Poser 6 directly from Poser Artist 4(I think). If that's the case, and Poser artist is truely a valuable peice of software, then I can just save up and upgrade to Poser 6 down the road.
Thanks. :)

I got Poser Artist and it's fine for V3, M3, and most things. I just upgraded to Poser 6, so you can do that as well. It's also simpler to use than P5 or P6, but the only snag is you have to convert bum files (but this is easy).

Poser 4 is capable of running Victoria and Mike. As well as most other figures. But I imagine with it beind 2 versions back you will begin to see support for it fading.

The biggest problems with Poser 4: 1.) You can't do external Runtimes, and you're limited to 255 folders in your libraries. You can use PBoost (in the Marketplace) to overcome some of those limitations. 2.) Bump maps are a royal pain. You need to convert all jpg bump maps to BUM format. Depending on what you have, you could be looking at converting hundreds of bump maps. Those two features alone are enough to convince me to move up to Poser 5 & then Poser 6. But then Poser 6 adds so many new great features too.

Oh okay. Thanks both of you very much. :) If my Poser Artist Version crashes after it's been upgraded to Poser 6 will I have to reinstall both softwares, or will I have to reinstall Poser Artist and buy the same upgrade to Poser 6 all over again? hope that's not too confusing and thanks for putting up with me. lol :P

Oh! Also, does the upgrade to Poser 6 from a previous software include all files or just enough files to make the upgrade....In other words, does the upgrade include everything from the CD version of Poser 6?
Thanks

Message edited on: 03/25/2005 12:46

No you only have to install Poser 6. They install separetly. You might need your P4 serial number though. The upgrade will have all the files because of my above answer. In other words you can use poser 4 adn 6 separaetly. Even with the upgrade.

Wow, fast replies you guys. Thank you all so much. I'll be buying Poser Artist and upgrading later. Thanks again. :)

or just to get myself pilloried..you can get Daz Studio at Daz3d.com for free..and play around with it. Poses and renders fine, and is also compatible with Bryce..just a thought..;)

There is only one version of Poser 5 or Poser 6. In otherwords, there is no "full" and "upgrade version." Curious Labs just gives you a special price because you've had a previous version. I routinely create my own folders to install Poser, and I have a totally separate drive reserved for Poser.

Message edited on: 03/25/2005 18:44

Poser Artist is more simple, it handles textures in a way that's easier to understand. If you upgrade Artist to PP you will ellimate the bum files (they will be converted). I suppose the best way to answer your question is, what are you going to use it for? You can get very nice scenes out of Poser Artist, although it's rendering engine is inferior to the Firefly engine in other versions. If being able to have flowing hair, draping cloth, and plan on doing complex customizations of your models--don't get Poser Artist. If you are just looking to dabble in 3D, then it might well be better for you to start with the cheaper version. I personally hate the materials room and feel it is much more complicated than it needs to be. I liked working on faces better in the main window instead of a separate "Face Room". To be honest I've done a lot more work in Poser 4 Pro Pack than P5 for the above mentioned reasons. Then I've brought my scenes either into Vue or Poser 5 for rendering. I am getting Poser 6 and hoping that I learn to love it.

Hmmm....Thanks for your input Tomsde. I'm going to try out the whole Poser thing with Poser Artist to kind of dabble in 3D I guess. I was really going to see what I could do with it but I'm going to upgrade to Poser 6 almost as soon as I get Poser Artist probably. :)

I think your decision is wise. A lot of people have created very beautiful images with Poser 4. It's definitely a good way to get used to the system.