jtm and bonestructure.  you ask questions that have different answers depending on who's doing the answering. my personal point of view is this...if you use a tool and create a new never before seen image then it's your creation. now you ask what and how do we difine what a tool is....again from my point of view. ... a tool is something that we use to help us do, make or create something.

is poser a tool...yes...is v3 a tool, debatable lol. i'd say the poser figures are more like stencils. as far as bonestructure is concerned. he make fantastic art with his scens and populates them with poser figures...which add to that art. no foul there then..the same with xfrog stuff. they become a tool for bonestructures art  when he manipulates them into how he wants them to look and be dressed and how they interact within his scene. they become part of his creation etc etc. the problem arises when someone pts v3 in an image gives it a preset pose some preset clothes, a preset background and a few preset lights. for me this is when it stops becoming a tool and becomes a prop. on the other hand if someone take the figure and molds it to their own design adds their own images ie; background clothes light setting  and postwork etc then it becomes a creation. something gleaned from a persons own imagination.

i know many will disagree with me but thats cool. i understand it's just my opinion and only worthwhile to me lol.

billy