Attached Link: My First Two Weeks With Poser 8

I posted a thread here a couple weeks ago about being a beginner with mental meltdown. I've spent the last two weeks basically playing with Poser 8, and now, I must say I am hooked! I still don't know what Im doing most of the time, but I'm making some progress - I just wish I had a lot more time to devote to it.

I've posted an article on my website about my adventures so far, and rather than post it here (is is somewhat lengthy), I'll just place the link here.

I'll probably have some questions, but I want to explore the forum a bit more to make sure I'm not duplicating something someone else may have already answered!

Later!
Rod

o.k., thx fr the lnk.  some guy gave me a box of those brookfields.  are they worth anything?  I didn't wanna take 'em to the recycle centre if they're worth something.

It was fun reading your first impressions.  Thanks for posting.  If you haven't checked out, sharecg.com...well, there's a bunch of free stuff out there. And runtimedna.com is another that you didn't mention that you should check out...and poserworld.com.  Whew, yeah, you can go broke with this hobby/career. :-)

If you every need help, let me know.  Or, you can always post it here!

Attached Link: Insulators.info

Depends on many variables - color, mostly. If you have any that are a nice peacock blue, you can probably get $200 + each on eBay if they're in good condition. The normal aqua ones are worth anywhere from .50 to a couple bucks. Check the link for more info.

If I ever get this Poser thing figured out, I'll have to create some insulators. I can't even imagine how to get glass to look like glass! Seems like all the refractions / reflections would be a challenge.... Of course it;s ALL a challenge at this point!!

Rod

Welcome to the wacky world of Poser, Rod!

When you're just starting out, you probably want "bang for the buck." Aside from the free stuff at ShareCG and elsewhere:

One of the first things I did was join DAZ3d's Platinum Club. Very heavy discounts.

Even dirt cheaper, Poser World, where you join for a month/year/life (for a very reasonable price) and download all you want. (The only limit is you can't download more than 2 items simultaneously, but back to back is no problem.) And one of the nice things about them is that they not only have "everyday" sort of items, they also support a lot of older figures.

You can also get real steals at 9mbi.com if you play it right. Huge clothing packs when they go on sale, 2 for 1 deals, and they also are ALWAYS running a dirt-cheap special that runs for a couple of hours and switches to something else. It's mostly clothing for V4, but they have some other stuff too.

Quote - If you every need help, let me know.  Or, you can always post it here!

Thanks, andolaurina! You may regret that once I get started with the questions! I'm looking longinly at your Nadia character - she will probably join my 'stable' of models soon. Very lovely! I hope to someday be able to get to your level.

Thanks,
Rod

Hi Rod!

Nice article, gave me flashbacks :-)

Wise of you to start exploring this forum , there is a goldmine of knowledge here if you just dig some.

Regards / Jonny

Quote - > Quote - If you every need help, let me know.  Or, you can always post it here!

Thanks, andolaurina! You may regret that once I get started with the questions! I'm looking longinly at your Nadia character - she will probably join my 'stable' of models soon. Very lovely! I hope to someday be able to get to your level.

Thanks,
Rod

Aww...you're too kind! :-) 

 Really wonderful article, yes, you sound so much like all of us when we first hit the scene....welcome to our world.  If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask, this is a great forum to learn from.  There are so many greats hear all willing to help.  Again, great article.
Sharen
AKA: SAM3D

 Oh my! I was ROFL when I read that article! So right on the spot!

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Poser :)

And hey.. I have one of the sites with a lot of stuff at your favourite price ;) Just click the little My Site link in my sig ;)

mmmmmmmm......   3D crack.

:)

Welcome
 

Quote -  Oh my! I was ROFL when I read that article! So right on the spot!

Thanks, Trekkiegrrl!

Hey, you don't like Professor Snape much, do ya?  ;-D Great stuff!

Rod

Ok, so glad you shared that link and I clicked on it.  I'm dying laughing!  Two weeks?  Not bad! You're really daring, I haven't even ventured into the animation stuff!

Thanks again.  You've cured me of my fears and I'm going to put the blue robot and make him do the sexy walk.

Indi.

Quote -
Hey, you don't like Professor Snape much, do ya?  ;-D Great stuff!

Rod

Who me? Does it show? ROFL

Well.. er.. uhm.. perhaps juuuust a little... No no I'm not obsessed. Not at all.. Well not much.. er.. 

See.. to use Poser it helps if you're already a little mad. Must be why I love that program so! ;)

 be careful of all the lovely free stuff, and keep it in a separate runtime to all your bought stuff, as one day you might want to sell your art.  Free stuff will often have restrictions such as credit the maker, or not for commercial use at all.  so don' t mix it with your other content.
Love esther

 All my freebies are fine for commercial use.. should anyone want to :)

but esterau is right. It will make your life a lot easier if you start making separate runtimes from the beginning. I'm wrestling a runtime folder at around 70 gb now (IIRC, it's been a while since I actually measured it)... and .. well it's getting increasingly hard to find anything LOL

Oh and as it has already been said.. do not be afraid to ask questions. There are no silly questions when it comes to Poser - and the search feature here unfortunately isn't always the best. So don't hold back thinking anything is too noob-ish. we've all been beginners at some point, and while Poser is fairly easy to learn, it takes a good while to master - only a select few here (myself NOT included) can be said to have truly mastered the program. There are things some do better than others of course :)

First and foremost: Remember to HAVE FUN!

I started in 3D as something to augment my web site development. I basically made a general rule that I don't even download anything that I can't use commercially. It's too easy to slip up.

Make no mistake though - I certainly understand the non-commercial limitation a lot of content creators have (I don't have a right to profit from their labour while they don't), and I don't blame them at all. I just find it safer not to download their stuff, as nice as some of it is.

 Yes, I too don't download it.  Agree totally. It's just very confusing for newbies.

Hi Rod,

Cool story, I think most of us got hooked on Poser much the same at first.  Have to watch the spending cause it really can get to be like a drug. (without the side effects.)

I found Poser while investigating what goes into video game production, just stumbled on it one day and forgot all about the video games.

Have fun.

Attached Link: Rod's Lair

Thanks, Everyone, for the feedback, and I'm glad you all enjoyed my little essay... I had fun writing it.

This will be a short post (I'm SUPPOSED to be working...), but I'll try to shoot out another one tonight - if I don't get 'distracted' again. I'm a little blearey-eyed at the moment because I stayed up waaaaay too late last night putting Nadia through a whole lot of posing torture. If I'd only had models like this when I was photographing....

I'll probably have a few questions tonight regarding things like runtimes  (I thought that was how long it took to jog around the block...), and a few other things as well. The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know :-D

I'm quite encouraged to see that all these talented folks started off the same way I am. there's hope yet!

If ignoance is bliss, I'm a pretty happy guy...

Later!

Aww...you're too kind! :-) 

Not at all.. Great work! And I love Nadia!

Rod

See.. to use Poser it helps if you're already a little mad. Must be why I love that program so! ;)

Well, I should fit right in, then :-D I've worked in technology for 30+ years - you have to be a little whacked out to do that....

LOL

Rod

Quote - Ok, so glad you shared that link and I clicked on it.  I'm dying laughing!  Two weeks?  Not bad! You're really daring, I haven't even ventured into the animation stuff!

Thanks again.  You've cured me of my fears and I'm going to put the blue robot and make him do the sexy walk.

Indi.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Yeah - make that blue guy work it!! It's even better with music...

OK - here comes DNQ (Dummy Newbie Question) no 1....

I'm just a tad hazy on this runtime thing. I can find a runtime folder in my directory structure where Poser is installed. Do I just create a new runtime folder under the Poser root, and just add stuff there?

The few downloads I have added to poser have either been installed using Poser's 'Add Content' feature, or simply unzipped to the Poser root directory. The Victoria 4.2 stuff from DAZ has its own install feature which let me choose Poser or DAZ as the install target. I've installed her in both, but I'm just working with Poser for now. My 6 remaing brain cells can't handle much more than Poser at the moment.

I guess to simplify, how does everyone else set up their runtimes?

Thanks ;-)

Quote -  be careful of all the lovely free stuff, and keep it in a separate runtime to all your bought stuff, as one day you might want to sell your art.  Free stuff will often have restrictions such as credit the maker, or not for commercial use at all.  so don' t mix it with your other content.
Love esther

I think that's a great idea.

I'm a little hazy on this whole runtime thing, though (I just posted a question regarding runtimes). I'll probably have lots of questions on the commercial/copyright/intellectual property angle at some point, but that's a can of worms I'm going to leave in the cupboard until I have half a clue on what the heck I'm doing ;-)

About 99.9 % of the stuff I've downloaded is still waiting patiently on an external drive to be unzipped until I get the half clue mentioned above. I'll be using it primarily for my own practice and entertainment. What I hope to be able to do at some point will be to create my own characters / props / clothes, and so on.

I can see I've found a goldmine of knowledge on this forum, and a lot of great folks!! Thanks for the warm welcome!!!

Rod

Definitely not in the Poser root. :)

I have all my external runtimes in My Documents, separated out by major figures (e.g. V4, M4 etc) and by categories (Props-Animals, Scenes-Furnishings). Just be sure that the folder inside is actually called "runtime," open your containing folder (e.g. V4) and unzip away. DAZ's exe files are similar.

Then, you'll need to add your runtime in Poser. (In your library palette, click the little + sign with the running man, add library, and browse to your containing folder, i.e. the folder one level up from "runtime.")

Quote - Definitely not in the Poser root. :)

I have all my external runtimes in My Documents, separated out by major figures (e.g. V4, M4 etc) and by categories (Props-Animals, Scenes-Furnishings). Just be sure that the folder inside is actually called "runtime," open your containing folder (e.g. V4) and unzip away. DAZ's exe files are similar.

Then, you'll need to add your runtime in Poser. (In your library palette, click the little + sign with the running man, add library, and browse to your containing folder, i.e. the folder one level up from "runtime.")

OK - That sounds simple enough, even for what's left of my mind ;) Thanks!! I've got two 320-gig drives on this machine, so it should take a while to fill it up. Or maybe not....

That's one question down, only 3,867 more to go....

thanks again!

Rod

:)

I have a 500 GB hard drive, and since getting into 3D a year ago, I've done some scrambling to keep enough space to function.

I understand some folks actually put their external runtimes on external drives. Given the price of memory anymore, maybe not a bad idea.

Welcome Rod! 

You should take a look at  www.aerysoul.com

They have some of the best quality poser items featured on this website and Daz and they also have a very large tutorial section which is very easy to understand! 

Cheers!

Jadealis

Quote - Welcome Rod! 

You should take a look at  www.aerysoul.com

They have some of the best quality poser items featured on this website and Daz and they also have a very large tutorial section which is very easy to understand! 

Cheers!

Jadealis

Thanks, Jadealis, for the Welcome and the link! I'll run over and check it out.. At this point, I need all the tuts I can get my grubby mitts on. I'm having a blast with Poser, and all the 3D sites!

Best,
Rod