I'am a begginer to poser 6 I have never used it before. I read a little about it and I dont know if I should get it.

Honestly, I took a look at it in Barnes and Noble, and I wasn't very impressed. It seemed like a rehash of what you can find in the user manual. It is definitely a beginner's guide. As a beginner, it may serve your purposes, but if you have a copy of the manual, you may want to just stick with that, and use the plethora of tutorials available on this site to get better. Now this is just something I heard, but I consider the source pretty good, so I will share it here. There is supposedly a Poser book in the works, by a prominent member of the community. If this is the case, then it will be worth the wait. And sorry, as far as I know, Dr. Geep is not writing a book. But I wish he would! Speaking of Dr. Geep. Go to Poser Backroom. (Also available up on this page under the forum banner.) On the right, you will see a Tutorial button. Click that, and then in the middle, click on the link for Dr. Geep's Lab. He is a wonderful tutorial writer, and there are a ton of them to look at.

I am realy unhappy about wasting money on this thing!!! Terrible. Just the refernce manual turned into regular language but nothing further,. Have not had use for it at all.

Thats the problem with ALL how to books for ANY software. They ALL cover the same how to instruction set as authorized by the software developer. Rare is it that they show you something new. Pete

I get the feeling about all these books are good for is if someone has a pirated version it gives them a reference manual.

I think you are dead on Fazzel. This is absolutly the manual that ought to have shipped with the program --the "Reference Manual" only as a PDF. I really am sad about this since it was a not inconsiderable expenditure for me. I learned far more from the much maligned R. Shams Mortier book which was actually pretty good for a new Poser 4 user. From the Revealed promo text I though I would get the slightly dumbed down version of "Character Creation" I need but it realy did come down to just a paragraph or two about each program function with no attempt to discuss optimized work flow or creative possibilities. I wish I had spent the money on content that is for sure!

Have no fear ... a "hands on tutorials" type book is in the works and will probably be available early autumn-ish. 8-)

As far as that "Revealed Book", I think including a decent documentation like that is the best means of combating piracy...ship decent manuals. But to sell the thing seperately as somehow going beyond basic reference is a huge misrepresentation, it was marketed as dealing with artistic/creative character and scene creation while as far as I can tell it is a reasonable and certainly competent "hack" job of rewriting the referance manual by a technical writer with no apparent experience of using the actual product in question... this is strictly a technical writing product manual and should have been included in the box set. Based on the promo sent in my box set and the pre-publication promo from the publisher, I had expected the book to be a series of articals authored by actual expert Poser users and/or content providers... something like the Photoshop Wow! books... maybe just a plain old Poser BETA-tester would have done. I imagine that if the author is a Poser user of any sort they frequent this forum regularly and can re-assure me that they have used the application several times prior to writing the book ;) Don't get me wrong, it is nice manual writing... very clear writing, but it would be of use only to someone with no prior experience of using Poser, it will not as far as I can tell be of much use for anyone upgrading to P6 from an earlier version if they are in actual possesion of the referance manual. I can't sell software I don't use because of EULA but I imagine it is kosher for me to try to unload Reavealed at a used book store... its in mint condition :) I am being realy hard, its just cause I needed that money (I had it shipped international and paid import and brokerage fees and 15% taxes on the sucker) and I feel the promo was a missrepresentation... they could have just put the words basic, elementry, novice somewher in thier sales shtick... not that I qualitfy as much beyond novice after all these years, I had been hoping the book would tackle the next level. But it realy is nicely written book and would be a good value to a novice starting off in Poser with Poser 6. Especially one to whom the cost of the book isn't an issue. I am a strictly $1 table book buyer unfortunately. So yeah, buy the book if you are new to Poser.

I tried to tell 'em... just glad my name isn't on the cover. Anthony

"hack" job of rewriting the referance manual by a technical writer with no apparent experience of using the actual product in question.."

Well like I was trying to say. There always very much the same. Poser 4's book was identical to Poser 3's book etc. Thats because you cannot just come out with any tutorial or "inside" book. You first must be granted liscence and then you are "given" the material that you are alllowed to work with. Thats usually how it works. With some variation here and there. Thats why when you look at different how to books, you will see thje same tutorials. Perhaps worded differently. But the screen grabs will be the same. The thing about all these how to books, they don't give away locations of 100 Percent of the tools even though they may rtefer to them in a tutorial. However, if you can't find a tool its very easy to go online and ask someone. I figure that perhaps the software companies know that people may try to use these books as though they were a manual and they are okay with it. Charge a ridiculous $45 for a book and at least they get some money from a warez user.

I was going to write a book years ago. I have yet to see anyone do a book the way I was going to do it. But I didn't have the business contacts to make that happen. I honestly don't know how some of you are able to publish these books. Somehow you've managed to publish books with no prior writing or publishing experience. I wish I knew how you did that. Maybe it's for the best. Poser books are piling up. And they never seem to satifsy the commmunity. -ScottA

You first must be granted liscence and then you are "given" the material that you are alllowed to work with. Thats usually how it works.

Not necessarily.

Most often, a publisher makes the decision on which books to publish, it's rarely the other way around but it does happen (if an author proves that there is a market for that book).

If you notice, most publishers have certain series that they fit books into (for example, Sams Publishing has "(Program name) Unleashed", and "How to Use (Program name)", and so on.

So, let's say the publisher want to do a book on Poser. They think about which series it would do best in, and then they seek authors that can write for those series.

The material that the book covers is pretty much up to the author ... the author prepares the outline and proposal, according to the guidelines that the publisher has for the series they are preparing. Unfortunately, a part of that proposal is figuring out an outline that will fit within the desired page count. Some books series allow for 750 to 1000 pages, but other allow for 250 to 500 pages.

For a program as complex and feature-laden as Poser, it is very difficult to to a thorough job in 250 to 500 pages. So you either leave out the basics that already appear in the manual, or you cover them in a way that is easier to understand.

Hope that clears up a little bit.

My preferance would have been a book that imagined you did have the Referance Manual and so went from there. Are you familiar with the Wow! books? They explain things in a way that any bright novice could understand but they <1>reveal how to use tricks developed by expert users rather than being line-by-line "translation" of the Photoshop or Painter manuals.

And as for the manuals that ship with software, I have seen at least a half dozen that actually tackle beginning to use the software and developing workflow, and even creative uses, in a way that Poser manuals (and Revealed) don't remotely aspire to... The model for a reasonble book in my mind would be along the lines of Photoshop, Wow!, The Photoshop Bible, Photoshop Filters, etc.

Clearly it is possible to package with a usefull manual with a product or publish books that assist with creative and workflow aspects of program use.

Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop 7 in 24 Hours by Carla Rose (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $16.49 Used & new from $1.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

Photoshop 7 for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide by Elaine Weinmann, Peter Lourekas (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $16.49 Used & new from $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours

Photoshop 7 at Your Fingertips: Get In, Get Out, Get Exactly What You Need by Jason Cranford Teague (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Used & new from $19.99 Usually ships within 1-2 business days.

Photoshop 7 for Dummies by Barbara Obermeier, Deke McClelland (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $16.49 Used & new from $14.90 Usually ships in 24 hours

Photoshop 7 Savvy with CDROM by Steve Romaniello (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $50.00 Used & new from $4.98 Usually ships in 24 hours

Photoshop(R) 7: The Complete Reference by Laurie Ulrich (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $32.99 Used & new from $4.50 Usually ships in 24 hours

Adobe Photoshop 7 One-Click Wow! by Jack Davis, Linnea Dayton (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $19.79 Used & new from $15.89 Usually ships in 24 hours

The Photoshop 7 Wow! Book by Jack Davis (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $34.63 Used & new from $26.80 Usually ships in 24 hours

Photoshop 7 Complete Course by Jan Kabili (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $32.99 Used & new from $7.89 Usually ships in 24 hours

Photoshop 7 Artistry: Mastering the Digital Image by Barry Haynes, Wendy Crumpler (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $37.40 Used & new from $18.99 Usually ships in 24 hours

The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $26.39 Used & new from $21.99 Usually ships in 24 hours

Total Training for Photoshop 7 Complete CD-ROMs
Electronics: See this item (Rate this item)
Buy new: $89.99 Usually ships in 1-2 months

Learning Photoshop 7 Bundle
Everything Else: See this item (Rate this item)
Used & new from $29.95 Usually ships in 1-2 business days.

Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks by Scott Kelby (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $26.39 Used & new from $22.99 Usually ships in 24 hours

Real World Adobe Photoshop 7 by David Blatner, Bruce Fraser (Paperback)
Books: See all 280 items (Rate this item)
Buy new: $35.31 Used & new from $14.50 Usually ships in 24 hours

More Results

This is the first page of an Amazon search. Clearly the user base for Poser would only support 2 or 3 Poser books, but look at the titles. Most of these books I have looked at in depth at my local bookstore and they are excelent. They deal with actually using the program rather than simply being a SR-1 to a poorly written Referance Manual. I feel burned because I accepted the promotion of the book by the software producer as some sort of indication of quality and trusted the advertising copy as remotely accurate.

"Poser 6 Revealed allows you to master concepts on both a technical artistic level." By helping "master" the use of pulldown menues? "Then go in-depth with the objective of your task as you study examples and learn the steps necessary to complete it." e.g. go in depth as we take you through selecting a body part and applying a morph to it. "Coverage of Poser 6 skills, from basic to intermediate." intermediate being someone who has used an application with the default Windows or Mac interface? In reality the book was a hardcopy version of the help windows you find in the Material Room etc.

I just found this in an Amazion review:"I am not sure what is really "Offical"... that sounds just like infomercial hype, as anyone could have gleaned the information in this book for other sources", "Think of it as a marketing brochure on diluted steroids...." The reviewer suggest the book might have value to someone considering the purchase of the software and wishing to see what its basic features are.

"In this case you get a 1 star return on your investment....that would be average, for the money spent. This is the very very least you would expect in this book for $13." I ended up paying around $50 for it with exchange rate and shipping etc. I should not have pre ordered it simply based on the promotion, and the word "Revealed". Its "official" status should have tipped me off but I was imagining it was an attempt by CL to remedy the problems with its documentation. Live and learn.

My preferance would have been a book that imagined you did have the Referance Manual and so went from there. That's exactly the approach I'm taking. 8-)