Hi All, Well, I have to admit that I am fairly new to "Poser" and have become confused a number of times since I have tried to learn this program. I think that I have finally figured out what needs to be where, but......I still don't understand, what "TransMaps" are all about? Am I supposed to load them into my rendetions as a material, texture, or transparency map.........I am soooooooo confused? Please, if you understand what I am saying, let me know what I am doing WRONG! genny

TransMaps are transparency maps ... they are loaded there .... in the material that coresponds (ie eyebrow) and then turn the min and max to 100% (in most instances) and then you are ready to go. Good luck and hope that helps some

TransMaps is a short term for Transparency Maps. That's where you load them in your Materials editor. After loading a 'TransMap', you'll want to set your Transparency Maximum slider above 0% (usually you want it at 100%, but not always).

TransMaps are greyscale images that are layed out in the same way as texture maps. The difference is that black areas on the transmap will render as transparent on the model whil white areas will render as solid. Gray areas render inbetween depending on how dark or light they are.

Hope this helps.

Ack...Ghost, ya beat me to it.

Hi All, And thank you for your replys......but I still don't know what you are talking about? I have to go to work tomorrow, so I don't have time to do "screen captures" and post them today.....but I will be off of work on Monday, and hopefully I can post again and show you guys what I am doing......and why.....I don't understand.....what the trans-map does? Take care all, and thanks again. (: genny

Transparency maps make parts of the figure, clothing, or whatever invisible. For example, if you paint the bottom of a dress black and apply it as a transparency map (as Ghost and JKeller explained), what you have painted black will disappear (in this case, the dress would appear shorter). If you paint a figure's arm black and apply that as a transmap, his arm will vanish. To better understand what we mean, download any clothing texture that contains a texture and a transparency map. The maps (layout) will be the same, but the transparency map will only be black and white. Everything black will be hidden when you render and everything white will appear. Hope that helps a little, if not let me know. :) Take care! SnowS Hoping his pictures are worth 1001 words.

heya, this was something i had to go to the manual for! yeah, i know, who reads manuals! but it did help in this case... the illustration are there already. i'm new too. :) goodluck!!

Cool, its like a contest! My turn! Ok, Go at it from the other direction. The transparency dials in the Materials editor determine the amount of transparency that will be applied to any material when rendered. The dials however, will apply the same amount of transparency to the entire material. Transparency maps are black & white images laid out the same as the texture maps, which inhibit the effect of these transparency dials based on the brightness at any given location on the transmap. The lighter the area on the transparency map, the less the effect of the transparency dial setting is applied at that particular location on the model. Full black and the dials have their full effect. 100% white and the dials have no effect. This allows you to apply differing amounts of transparency to different areas within a single Surface Material. The Max and Min transparency dial settings refer respectivly to the thick parts or thin parts of the model from the current viewing angle. For example, to set the Transparency Dials for a Crystal Ball model, you would set the Max value high and the Min value low to get a sphere that was clear in the thick center and more opaque at the thin edges where refraction would make the Crystal Ball look more opaque. To set the transparency for a Snowball, you would do the opposite. The Snowball would look more transparent at the thin edges(high Trans Min value) and more opaque at the thick center (low Trans Max value). blah blah blah... more confused than ever, right?

Oh, by the way genny, you don`t appear to be posting "OT"... this forum is here to try to answer questions like this ;-)

Just Me Again, Well, I got up this morning, and checked my e-mail as I always do before leaving for work, and I read the posts that were sent after I had turned off my computer for the evening. GUESS WHAT?.....I think I finally understand! I just love this forum, as you all have been so incredibly helpful in everything I have ever posted, and I just want to say...... A GREAT BIG THANK YOU, to each and every one of you. (: genny