I just replaced my old headphone/microphone set and want to get back into doing video tutorials. I've done a large number for Paint Shop Pro, but now I want to do more for Poser. I've already got one for the cloth room in the tutorial section here. I do have another cloth room one planned.

As a newer user, what kind of video tutorials would you like to see?

I am not an advanced user. I would consider my knowledge to be moderate. I'm not a guru in the material room, so other than very basic things like reflection, glass or changing a texture, I really can't provide much more on that.  And the set up room totally eludes me.... just ask Dr. Geep!  lol

I'll be working mainly with Poser 6, but the interface hasn't changed that much. And I do have PP2010, so I will do a few with that version as well.

 

Some that I do have planned are:

Creating external runtimes

Installing/unzipping files

Organization

An overview of the preface

Saving poses

Splitting poses into 1/2 poses and saving them

 

Any others? I can't promise that I have the knowledge to do all that are suggested, but I will do the ones that fit my skill level.

 

I don't qualify as a new user... but based on the questions that I try to answer day in and day out, I'd say that ANY and ALL of your ideas would be WARMLY received!!!!

I'm not new either, but based on the threads that get started here, I'd say installing content (including Daz content and zips) is one of the most needed tutorials. Your posts on content organization are always very good and very thorough, so I am totally excited by the idea of you making those.

A basic tutorial on render setting options might be useful

Maybe also a FAQ tutorial that deals with some of the most common quirks, broken into 10 -30 second separate tuts, so the answers are quick and easy to find:

--how to set up scene preferences (no Andy! -- I think he's in PP2010?)

--how to turn ground shadows on/off

--how to turn object or parts of objects invisible

--how to apply material presets and what is the difference between single materials and material collections

--how to use parameter dials to pose figures

--how to apply morphs

--how to parent an object

I'll be one to ask for the elusive and shuned hair room.  I know artbee has recently releaed a tutorial but I find more os better as different people know different things. I realize that I have better odds on winning the lotto as getting hair tutorials, but a girl can hope.

I seem to remember going back to the very beginning that I couldn't work out what bits I needed.

It's abit daunting when you first encounter poser or daz and the 3d world altogether, for someone who had never ventured into that field at all and then get vicky I just didn't know what to do with her and where to begin, ie skin/morphs/hair/poses/conforming clothes, (hehe I remember not conforming them at the start to the model and posing the clothes to fit a posed vicky using trans and rotate)

So I would say for a real newbie whos still wet behind the ears, the bare basics on loading a figure for the first time and what is needed to make a picture.

To expand upon part of Lully's comment, where to get the most used figures (not just the DAZ ones), limitations on which versions of Poser a the figures can be used in, and (mostly for the DAZ figures), how to get them properly set up.

I'm creating a bunch of written tutorials along the way while I'm trying to understand Poser (Vue, Photoshop, ...). But I do know that people like smaller chunks, smaller steps, and a video format as "learning from reading" is just not the best way for everyone.

So my wish is to turn sections, chapters or even smaller portions of my material into that preferred format. But I guess we've got to wait for that another 10 year or so.

In other words, I will give full support to anyone who likes to add value, so we can offer material in writing as well as in other formats.

Quote - I'm creating a bunch of written tutorials along the way while I'm trying to understand Poser (Vue, Photoshop, ...). But I do know that people like smaller chunks, smaller steps, and a video format as "learning from reading" is just not the best way for everyone.

So my wish is to turn sections, chapters or even smaller portions of my material into that preferred format. But I guess we've got to wait for that another 10 year or so.

In other words, I will give full support to anyone who likes to add value, so we can offer material in writing as well as in other formats.

 

Do you want to collaborate on a few tutorials? I can do a video, and you can do a written version in PDF format for those who prefer that route. This will give them an option.

 

Keep in mind that most NEW users will be working with P8, P9 or maybe one of the more recent PoserPro versions. I started with P8, so I'm not familiar with P6, but from what I understand there have been some significant changes since then. As a former new user, one of the most frustrating things for me was to work on some feature of Poser or some script only to find that that those features had been replaced or made unnecessary by some later release.

So given that, I would strongly encourage you to make the move up to the latest release so you won't be teaching old, "deprecated" techniques.

As you know, one of the biggest obstacles for most new users is Poser's content management. Your advice, which has been repeated in thread after thread is pretty comprehensive, and it got me over that hump. If I haven't thanked you before, let me thank you now. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Your first four topics deal essentially with getting everything set up which - for this new user at least - was a long and tortuous ordeal, so if you can help folks just get started, you would be doing them a huge favor.

One of the things that I have found to be useful in any kind of technical or instructional writing is to discuss the "why" questions before getting into the "how to" stuff. So for the organizational, content management, runtime tutorials you might start by discussing why the Poser Library is organized the way it is, and then talk about why you don't want to follow the default set up.

I see that you already know about the "Helping Poser Newbies" thread, but there was another on like it that was a sticky thread, but it seems to have disappeared. It had a lot of good FAQ-like questions that were typical of the questions that newbies ask.

This is the sort of thing that I have way too much advice for, so I'll just shut up now and let you get on with the tutorials.

I really like aRtBee's approach to tutorials, so the idea of you two collaborating would be perfect.

When the OP mentioned "video" tutorials, I assume "animation with sound."  Not having done any, and not having checked to see what animation or sound tutorials already exist, maybe something (in stages would be fine) about animation, phonemes, sound, and lighting to make a Poser music video starring w/e character the user wants - NearMe singing country, for example.

Animate the figure + phonenes + moving background (like a painting on a roller that scrolls by in the background independent of what the singer is doing) + how to sync up the sound.  Wind effects, lighting, rain / mist, w/e as the background changes.

> Quote - When the OP mentioned "video" tutorials, I assume "animation with sound."  Not having done any, and not having checked to see what animation or sound tutorials already exist, maybe something (in stages would be fine) about animation, phonemes, sound, and lighting to make a Poser music video starring w/e character the user wants - NearMe singing country, for example. > > Animate the figure + phonenes + moving background (like a painting on a roller that scrolls by in the background independent of what the singer is doing) + how to sync up the sound.  Wind effects, lighting, rain / mist, w/e as the background changes.

 

Nope.  Just simple tutorials in video format for people to see what I'm doing while I talk them through the steps.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/videopro/index.php?WhatsNew=Y&cat_id=7

I don't do animation. It's never interested me enough to learn. My animation talent is limited to Applets or simple .GIF files when I make snow globes like the one posted above.

Please keep in mind that my skill level is moderate, and I want to do tutorials geared toward the newer poser user to help them get to know the basics and comfortable moving around in the program to actually be able to create a render to post.

 

Do you want to collaborate on a few tutorials? I can do a video, and you can do a written version in PDF format for those who prefer that route. This will give them an option.

That's what I had in mind. Some people like seeing & hearing over reading, some people like seeing & hearing first, and then reading while following the steps themselves, and texts can be more on the WHY while videos must be on the HOW (videos on WHY can become pretty boring, I guess).

This is why the current aRtBee approach if somewhat limited, if I may say so. One needs some HOW experience to appreciate a WHY text, otherwise things get pretty abstract. No one starts using Poser by not installing and reading the manuals first. This is why I aim my WHY texts to people with some experience (aka frustration).

With the video format, we can target the entry level audience as well. 

BTW I just issued a "hairy stuff" on entry level Hair Room, each chapter could become a video or so. Beside the subject as such (wel have many more), is that something?

Once again, aRtBee nails it. The Internet provides us with the opportunity to take advantage of different media, and you can integrate them all into a single tutorial. Text allows the student to easily skip past sections, re-read parts or spend as much time as they want in different areas. I'd never thought about it before, but text is probably the preferred medium for the WHY parts, mainly because of the ability to skip past sections that the user either doesn't care about or already knows. Images are great for illustrations (of course) and for showing detail. Videos are great for the how-to stuff, but they tend to lock all students into the same pace.

One more suggestion before I go is to not be afraid to be politely critical of Poser or whatever software you're writing about. Too often glaring problems of the applications are dismissed, ignored, danced around or even presented as features. For example, Poser is an unstable app. It crashes a lot. So say so, and mention that if Poser's behavior starts to look a little bizarre, the app is probably in its death throes, so save your stuff and restart it. Poser also has some serious usability issues (content management comes to mind). Just say so and move on.

I agree with Basic..a lot of people call the office needing assistance with installing/unzipping zip files so we could point them to your tutorial once you let us know you have uploaded it

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it :)

I like giving back to the community.

Oh, I remeber those days of beginning Poser.

The mini PDFs are small enough to keep the information in a users mind and if required can be printed out and put in a folder for later use.

Little to no jargon, nothing complicated, just easy to use.

All the best.

LROG

Richard,

Did you post your tutorials in this thread?

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2848213

That one is stickied and these beginner tutorials might help the new people.

@paganeagle2001

could you move them over please? I appreciate them, but as such they don't answer Acadia's initial question. The generic answer from your posts is: when developing videos for newbies, it's an idea to take topics from that newbies thread. Good idea.

So it's up to Acadia to decide at which level to develop her material.