Reacting to various posts as well as the tone of the original post all in one go : "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." Now I've lost which poster said that but I agree ... and would add that art IS accessible to everyone. Is a persons who creates images in Poser not an 'artist' because they don't sell it ? Because someone doesn't like it ? Because there is room for improvement ? Because they might purchase components for it ? Is a person having artistic impulses and making creative decisions not an artist at that moment ? Are only Artists with a capital "A" because they are working in a professional capacity allowed to name themselves as such ? I know some professional artists in the moneymaking sense of the word who in my book sometimes produce total crap, be they book illustrators, sculptors, landscape painters , musicians or photographers ( All friends I like very much so don't tell I said that please. I am honest if they ask me though ;-) They don't always like what I do professionally either ) For instance CG Talk galleries, yes a lot of technically amazing pieces..... and still theres girls, amazons, barbarians, pretentious, sci-fi stuff, bowls of fruit, wine glasses etc. interspersed amongst other things. And a lot of it though technically proficient, and executed by professionals, leaves me only impressed by technique. Excellent technique can cover up quite well other things that may be lacking. I've seen more passion in a picture done by an autistic adult with crayons than much of what is either here or there. But so what. Some one might be an amateur but they are still an artist. Is someone not a poet because he still supports himself by waiting tables ? Striving to be come better at anything one does, just living even, is never a bad thing. But all this comparison and one-up manship...no one gains by it. Belittling peoples methods/results because they don't aspire to the same standards is not constructive. I'll raise you up by cutting you down first. Do it this way, don't do it that way. Spare me the pain of having to look at what you create. 10 suggestions on how to impress me...... hochtuey Thats the sound of me spitting in a corner I like what wizardkiss said ""if you feel that they are art when you are creating them, then they are art. Art can only be defined in the heart of the artist." And I never post at CG Talk because my technique is not up to the average standard there in my own opinion and that is all that matters to me on that score, no other reason. Not because my current softwares of choice include Poser . And some day I'll do a wonderful bowl of fruit with lots of emotion and radiosity and everything and then never do a pin-up again.

" Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."
-Monty Python