Quote - I would like to point out that I am the person who used the Photography analogy on the Deviant art site.

I stand by my analogy.

"As a guy who has seriously delved into photography, I've come to appreciate the differences, and buddy, they are VAST."

I'm not going to get into a p*ssing contest with you, but I not only have worked as a pro photographer for more than a decade, I am also a professional Film and Television Editor and graphic artist.  When I say that Poser is akin to a Camera I know what I am speaking of.

In the conclusion of the rant, I can see you do too.

That said, I agree with many of your fine points.

Everyone can benefit from trying their hands at modelling, texturing and lighting.  Everyone can benefit from learning aobut composition and the finer nuances of the technical options in their software.

I've seen exceptional art from people who have just picked up the program and don't know squat about IBL, AO, Depth of Field, Volumetrics and so.  They just have a vision and using whatever default freebies and included props they create something that says something.

I've seen V3 used in brilliant POV Ray and Maya scenes where the artists took the time to sculpt every last building, vehicle, stick of furniture and hand paint every texture, yet s/he hasn't applied one morph or changed one thing about the default V3.

The high and mighty opinion that art can only be created by an elite group of people who have some archane know-how is a bunch of utter crap.

Art is part of the human condition and is something that should be accessible to everyone.

Instead of wandering around insulting people we should be trying to help people achieve their visions, communicate their passions and create their art.

I've seen a lot of photography that I would never qualify as art.  I've seen a  lot of Poserwork, 3D Studio Max work, ink drawings and so on that I would never qualify as art.  But in the end, my opinion does not make the other person's effort any less valid.  

In the end if someone doesn't like a piece, they are free to not look at it.

Excellent reply, couldn't have said it better myself!

Artists or "so called artists" have some of the most extreme and demanding personalities in society, so it's no wonder we see extreme posts from time to time. Just because you have a personal perspective/feeling/view/insight, doesn't mean it's the only one and that everyone should follow it

I totally agree that you should always be pushing yourself to learn and improve your skills, this should apply to everyday life as well. Art should be about veiwing something that moves you, not about the technical aspect behind it. If a person gets emotional over naked vickie in a temple with a sword, who are we to tell him that isn't art. In many cases the person shouldn't even know the technical aspects of how it came about as it will probably take away from the experience.  Everyone here can view the work of the masters in an art gallery and all get a different experience from it.

Instead of chastising those that do use "canned" content in a program that makes great used of "canned" options, look at it as a stepping stone to more advanced options and even go so far as to help them achieve this lofty goal, we all had to start somewhere.

Regards, Michael

My DeviantArt page