Quote - "....I think some are kidding themselves assuming we don't know."

Then explain the weekly bellyaching: "Them nasty mean ol' MAX/MAYA elitists. How DARE they declare my latest Vicky render to be NO ART" posts ?

Maybe if the criticisms started out with things like, oh, comments on lighting, composition, perspective, and not the usual rants about 'using POS software to attempt to stand with the Ghhooods instead of a =REAL MAN's= app, you effin cheaters', there might be a bit less reaction from the Poser crowd. A large number of the 'pro' app users have proven themselves less than professional in opinions, attitudes, and responses. It takes two to tango, dude. > Quote -

Or the desperate attempts to inflict "professional weightmap rigging" onto the Poserverse so we finally can play with the big boys.?

???????? What wingnut said that? I know I mentioned weightmapping, because it tends to make organic joints behave better in bending. I don't give 3 flips and a tinkers damn if it's 'pro' or not. It could be abandoned tech for all of me. My concern is 'if it yields better results,' and there has been enough said about joint behavior over the years to warrant looking at something besides the spherical fall off boning scheme they currently have. > Quote -

Nope.
The majority live in a pink colored bubble, mollified by the idea that owning a credit card is all what's needed to be a real 3D ARTIST.

Of course "Buy our stuff and you'll be a cool 3d ARTIST" sounds much better than "Buy our stuff and be a virtual Barbie collector", doesn't it ?

And no, being paid neither makes you a true "professional" nor a true "artist".
Working hard to reach a certain degree of skill does.

"When someone sees the picture or animation that you have lit, they want to see a complete, believeable picture, not to hear excuses about which program you used." -Jeremy Birn...Digital Lighting & Rendering I have that highlighted in the book, and over my workspace. And you are right; the Edison principle still applies. Which is the reason I'm making my own animated shorts. But using Max or Maya does not give you any more artistic skill than having Poser on your HDD subtracts from it. I know what Poser is; a moderately capable animation system for B list actors. You know, the ones everyone recognizes and no one knows their names. Beyond that, any -character- the Barbie Doll mesh has is the result of a synergy between my scriptwriting, the voice actor, my keyframing and mocapping, lighting, camera angles, and set arrangement. So I buy content. If the eula that comes with it permits both private and professional usage, how is that any different that subcontracting out the meshwork, hmm? If you have no true need for the 'It's mine, mine, all MINE,Bwaahahahahahahaaaaaa' bit, why bother with the extra expense? Then we have the time issue. I'm pushing 50. I really don't have 10 years to waste learning an application and hopefully developing beyond the level of vertex pusher. I can better use that time to =create= something. And it doesn't matter if I use any of the Vickies, the kids, Natalia, Dina, Apollo, Judy, Jessie, the G2 lineup, etc. If I do my job right, that silly little mesh will transcend, and become a character that a viewer cares about. And that is the only true test of professionalism in visual media. Make your audience care.