Amazon has two books for Poser listed, one about the Pro Pack and one from Mortier. Syyd gave the Pro Pack book a good review and the other uh.. got really bad reviews. There are a bazillion books for Photoshop, Corel Draw*, Maya, Max, and Lightwave, but hardly anything for Bryce, Poser, and Painter. It would probably make more sense to wait for Poser 5 (will it ever exist?) to write a Poser book, but it seems to me that a good writer combined with some of the awesome artists at Renderosity could write a killer book on Poser. I am kind of surprised no one has done it yet.

I think this can be extremely difficult to accomplish. Somehow timing has to be arranged so the book can be created and published while a particular version of a program is still current. I remember when I was sold on Ulead PhotoImpact. I just had to have a book from one very talented author and artist. We procrastinated for a bit, and resolved to buy the book. It seemed that almost immediately thereafter, a new version of PhotoImpact arrived. That process covered versions 5 & 6. Version 7 is already out now.

Version issues are definitely a problem. I have the Photoshop 3, 4, 5, and 6 Wow! books. =)

Well, that should be no problem with Poser. Version 4 will stay current at least till 2005. ;-)

Totally agree with you on the need for a good book on poser. There is one out for Bryce, called realworld Bryce 4, apparently it is still quite helpful for 5. I still have realworld bryce 2 and It was really helpful, when I started.

I use PS 6, but I still refer to that Wow 3 book. Layers and channels never change, y'know...

Nope, they never will, but I love the books. Great artwork, interesting techniques, information on new features, and the included actions on the CDs are great time-savers. =)

Oh yeah. On the Poser book thing. ;) I dunno. If I had some self confidence I would love to write a Poser book. I have been published a couple of times and won a writing contest once. But to my mind, for a Poser book to be REALLY good, as in Susan-Kitchens-for-Bryce good, it would need to be a collaborative effort. Pair up a good writer with people who really know their stuff in Poser, have the artists supply images and techniques and the writer translate it into an understandable format... You know, like a Poser Wow! Book or something. ;)

Why not put together a group of experts from this site: one person for textures, modeling, scripting, animation, etc? Each person writes their section, the entire book gets combined into a pdf, then the group sells it here at renderosity or seeks publishing elsewhere.

You folks have some great ideas here. These days it's easier than ever to collaborate on a book. We have email and the internet going for us. I've been told I do some good tutorials, but in so many ways I still feel like a dunce compared to many of you!

Hey, those are some good ideas Mark ;) I think I will chew on this idea for awhile. I wrote a bunch of tutorials on web design and HTML for newbies that I never showed to anyone. (too scared) I have some ideas for Poser tutorials that I have wanted to put up for awhile. Maybe I will write them out and see what people think of them. If that goes well it could grow into something bigger.

There was a thread some time back about this here, drawing on the POSER minds here, but nothing has come of it.

There is certainly enough talent at Renderosity to produce a good book. There are: - Artists - Technical Experts - Good writers (some of the tutorials are very well written) The body of tutorials available probably is almost enough content for a book. If someone undertook the job of organizing and editing, I believe the results would be great. As a starting point, the book could be written around Poser 4, with a view to updating it whenever Poser 5 comes out. Updating should be easier (although certainly not trivial) and faster than the orginal writing. - JimX

Yes, that's true, Jim. I have been thinking about this on and off today, and I think a book should center around more advanced things.. ie: producing art, as opposed to just getting a figure loaded and rendered, possibly covering some postwork techniques. I have a practically empty Poser tutorial section on my web site. It would be a good place to start. =)

It's all about $$$ what % of Poser owners would buy the book? how many copies of Poser 4 are in existance? you just can't compare photoshop to poser. there are probably about 100 copies of photoshop out there for every 1 copy of poser. what are the chances that the book you publish today will be killed by ver5 coming out. GOOD if you put the work in today to put out the book how much work will be needed to upgrade the book for ver 5? Now if you're talking about a low dollar all acrobat or html book fine but the chances of getting one into print are nil.

Firstly, no one knows when P5 is coming out...or even if it's coming out. And if it is, CL would be crazy not to collaborate with the author(s) of a good Poser book. Second, I think a decent book on Poser would sell very well. Poser users don't seem to be afraid to spend money. Look at all the 3rd-party products for sale just here at Renderosity. Look at DAZ. Someone (including me) is buying that stuff. If people are willing to pay $40-$50 for another model they'd surely be willing to pay the same to learn how to best use it. I'd buy a good book before I'd buy another prop, character, texture, etc. Another point: I read somewhere that Poser is one of the most pirated programs out there. If these thieves really want to use the program, they'd have to buy the book. You can't "pirate" a book...not easily anyway. I think that's where a lot of software companies goofed...putting their documentation on the CD. Yeah, they saved money by not printing a manual, but they just invited piracy. And CL, to their credit, printed a manual and put the docs on the CD. I don't think it was wise to put the manual on the CD after going through the expense of printing a manual.

Ahahha.. funny you mention that, Jackson. The other day I spent an hour searching my basement for my Painter book (note: also a former Metacreations product) and finally emerged victorious. I got upstairs and happened to click on the help menu and discovered, to my amusement, that the entire manual in PDF format, pictures and everything, was right there. I felt like an idiot. ;) After two years, I had never bothered to click on anything in the Help menu. ;) I think a Poser book aimed at intermediate users would do well. A bit beyond "here's how to create a new document" but not as far as "use Deep Paint to create photorealstic textures with an ultra digital camera."

Not so the concerns of the book being outdated. F'r instance. Truespace is currently at version 5.2. The Truespace Bible for version 2 is still a good read and has good tips. Transparencies, UVMapping, Magnets, MATS, MORS, Morphing, Conforming Clothes(How-to), Smart Props, Techniques for Textures, Detailed(Simple) explanations of ERCs, FBMs and .CR2 editing. There is much that can enhance skills for new users, help the intermediate, and provide a single point of reference(at least another) for the Poser Masters who focus on one area and would like a quick reference in others. Oh yeah. If you do this book based on the above I expect a FREE copy.

I was seriously thinking about writing a Poser book a couple of years ago. But I gave up the idea because the publishing companies charge so much for the printing. That I would need to charge at least $40.00 per copy to make any kind of profit at all. One of my tutorials is currently the third most viewed tutorial this site has. So I know I've done something right. But I refuse to charge people more than $20.00 for any book. I don't care how great it is. No book is worth $40.00. ScottA

I think many books are worth $40. It depends on the quality of the writing, and for computer books/manuals about artist software, the quality of the artwork, layout, and screenshots. I would pay $40 for a glossy paper, high color book that had lots of good information and was written well. Preferably with a CD. I will NOT pay $40 for a thin papered book with 8 pages of glossy photo inserts, with the rest of the illustrations in fuzzy greyscale.

That I would need to charge at least $40.00 per copy to make any kind of profit at all The average price for a computer book at our local specialist bookstore is roughly 60 to 75 bucks for something decent for 3d apps. Forty? Id grab it in a second.

Uh... I have the Pro Pack book, and I'm afraid I have to disagree Syyd. I found it to be a waste of money. I didn't really see anything that wasn't already covered in the manual(s). In fact, the manuals are MUCH better. And that's the problem with this kind of book, because if it doesn't teach me something new, I don't want it. Who would? Warez folks, I guess. But for the rest of us, the people who actually own the manuals, if a book doesn't cover new ground, or at least explain things more clearly, it's money down the toilet. That's why Real World Bryce, for example, is so great, because it has something to offer even a person who's memorized the manual (not that I have, but you know what I mean). So, if anyone is thinking about buying Poser 4 Pro Pack f/x & Design, I suggest you look through it very carefully first. I wish I had. That's the problem with buying books unseen from Amazon.com...

Okay book writers let's start with some chapter titles. Can you think of others? (;^} Caterpillars - An Eye to the Future Sheep - Loading 2 Unique Millenium Characters Sloths - Throwing a Party without Slow Dancing Bees - Organizing a Swarm of Files Rams - Ghost Collision Detection

Attached Link: http://www.3dtutor.com

ScottA, I really like those Peachpit Press books and they run around $20.00, maybe you could write a Poser book for them? Just a thought.. In anycase though, I would pay $40.00 for a good intermediate Poser book in a heartbeat.

I've yet to see an inexpensive computer book ($20 or less) that was worth my money. I'd be better off buying Poser stuff. Most good books will run $30 or more. Oh, there are some crappy books that cost a lot too! I have many.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=317656

I think a book would be great. But there is an area that doesn't seem to be given justice even in tutorials. There is hardly a thing about Animation. I mean it is an animation program. Everyone seems to be doing stills. I am now looking at other programs to do animation because it is very hard to animate in Poser. If you want this program to be popular get the animation side of things happening. We need tutorials on animation. That's if everyone has poser for animation.

Did anybody EVER write this book, or is that an idea THAT'S STILL floating out there in the ether?  One thing about these threads, everybody says that something needs to be done, but it's ALWAYS that somebody else that needs to do it!
I have Pro Pack.  I'd be willing to write a Pro Pack Book, if somebody would be willing to coorborate with me.  Contact me at: dph@013.net.il

Everything I know about Poser, I learned from Doc Geep, or making mistakes..;)

Someone should consult the Master. I know he has enough material for a book and CD (I made the mistake of printing the 1st 13 of his tuts on paper; the result fills a 5" binder..;)

Now if I can just figure out Shade.7 LE...;)

man, this is an old thread! both ron knights and scott a. were still here at the beginning. but all these poser books - there are so many now, that I have lost count. I wonder if they all end up like brown's "da vinci code" - sitting on a coffee table, unread, because people rushed out to buy them before realising all they really needed were geep's tutorials

Quote - ...I wonder if they all end up like brown's "da vinci code" - sitting on a coffee table, unread, because people rushed out to buy them before realising all they really needed were geep's tutorials

I read and enjoyed Dan Brown's 'da Vinci Code.'  I found it facinating, albeit Grahm Hancock's 'The Sign and the Seal' gives a more likely explanation as to the where abouts of  'The Holy Grail, and also a more convincing explanation as to its true nature.
As a translator and copy writer, I would be willing to work with Dr Geep to compile his tutorials into a book, if he should ask, but I would not be so forward as to foist myself on him.
David P. Hoadley

mark

There are at least 3 Poser books on the market now:

• Poser 6 Revealed
• Practical Poser 6
• Secrets of Figure Creation with Poser 5

There are a few other books at Amazon:

Practical Poser 6 (Graphics Series) -- by Denise Tyler, Audre Vysniauskas; Paperback: $31.47 -- Used & new from: $31.39    - just bought, haven't opened it yet (supposed to include a stripped down Apollo Maximus on CD)
Poser 6 Revealed: The Official Guide : The Official Guide -- by Kelly L Murdock; Paperback : $15.74 -- Used & new from: $11.99    - wasn't well received because it was too basic and not much better than the manual
Secrets of Figure Creation with Poser 5 -- by B L Render; Paperback : $28.32 -- Used & new from: $28.57  - great book, but mostly geared to figure creators, so it's rather advanced.

not to mention shamms' poser handbook

And with Practical Poser 6, Denise Tyler is a regular visitor right here! It's also nice that it comes with a nifty CD that includes Apollo Max. It's as up to date as a book can be having just come out in the past year and includes Poser 6 items.

And there will be a Practical Poser 7. 8-)

Yay! I was gonna post your username for reference til I tried to spell it and failed so I left it alone.

:m_confused2:

when i decided to throw myself into poser a few weeks ago, i was getting frustrated by not having a good syllabus along with all the tutorial links i had collected, and i spent some time with two of those books in a local bookstore. IMO: practical poser 6 is everything an application guide should be, useful for complete beginners through advanced users. it's well organized, clearly written, and it goes into plenty of detail for the many options in poser, including some of the more esoteric ones. i bought it. the first character i put together with its help is in my gallery; i think it's pretty decent for a first effort -- without this book it would have been nowhere as good. both thumbs up. poser 6 revealed on the other hand isn't worth the paper it's printed on. it doesn't reveal much of poser that the included manual hasn't already explained. i don't know who the target audience is supposed to be, maybe completely computer-illiterate and somewhat intellectually stunted people. both thumbs and big toes down.

Thanks for the comments on Practical Poser 6!  Audre and I wrote it with the intent of helping as many as possible ... and we've received lots of wonderful comments and feedback from those who have purchased the book. 8-)

Great job on your first character!! Ya done good. 8-)