Quote - Teyon - I really don't know what schools still instruct to model at T-pose. Gnomon, Full Sail and the Art Institutes - the top 3 schools in the US that teach computer Animation - all encourage students away from the T-pose. In Maya, and Max - and I'm sure others - there are ways of adjusting the model for IK setup after it is modeled, if a T-pose is required. You aren't locked into a specific default pose with those programs because their rigging capabilities are far superior to that of poser and other more amatuer software. 

Both poses have their strengths and weaknesses. The problem with the T-pose method is that it usually doesn't allow for accurate anatomy the way a relaxed pose does.

I wouldn't look to turbo squid for a solid bet on what is recommended, as a lot of the content there comes from amatuer modelers who are often self-taught via online tutorials, videos, books, etc. Not to say those aren't good sources, but they aren't always accurate with information. 

Every industry pro I'm familiar with recommends modeling at a 45 degree angle for more realistic anatomy. If you look through books on humanoid modeling - Scott Spencer, Ryan Kingslein, Jason Patnode, Jeff Unay, etc, - they all model with arms at 45 degrees. Some even suggest the "motorbike" posing. 

Look at examples posted by actual industry modelers - people who work on games like Dungeons and Dragons, Dragon Age, etc, or films like Iron Man, Avatar, etc - the default pose they were modeled in was neutral, not T. 

In the end it is about what you're most comfortable with as a modeler, and what your rigging guy/team/studio requires. 

In terms of stretching texture maps - as Vilters asked - adding additional geometry to joints helps to mitigate the distortions caused by stretching, as well as allowing for better bends, rotations, etc. They also don't normally contain muscular and tendon detail in their geometry - a lot of those details are obtained by displacement maps. The models themselves have very basic geometry - often standard rows of quads down legs and arms, with simple extrusions for knees, elbows, etc. Edgeflow does of course shape muscles to an extent, but rarely contain the complex - and usually really messy - geometry that poser models contain. The poser model that comes closest to an "industry standard" human model - as far as I've seen - is Antonia (her geometry, not her zero pose). Very simple and to the point geometry. I'm not familiar with all the human models for poser though - only those that have received the most attention in recent years. There may be others out there that are closer to "standard". The daz figures and any of the poser native figures are about the furthest from standard you can get. 

 

~Shane

 

Please, could you recommend a modeling humans book?
is there one that shows box modeling, by any chance? 
i'm not handy with brush tools, i have to rely on measurement type tools.

 

motorbike pose?

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