Attached Link: Newadventure Old Art Gallery

I've been using Poser nearly as long as you have, but I'm STILL learning. It probably took me only a few hours to do my first render, but soon I was spending 20 hours or MORE to do a single render.

Part of what makes my rendering practice so time consuming is that I'm either trying to do something new, or I notice a little detail that needs fixing. I spend a fair amount of time getting my poses "just right" and then the balance of my investment goes into lighting and textures.

So how long did it take me to learn?  I'd say I was fairly comfortable with the UI within a few weeks and could get a decent render in a few months. But whenever I look at old renders I cringe a bit. You can see some examples in the link. Mind you, I also had a LOT of help from artists whose skill far surpassed mine. Denizens of AB3DP on Usenet offered excellent advice and pushed me beyond what I might have done on my own.

Re-working old images shows how far I've come. The one I'm attaching to this message is a case in point. There's a black and white version in the upper-right hand corner of the Main Gallery page on my web site. Comparing this recent image to earlier ones shows more natural posing, better lighting and handling of textures. It's really a process. Given how long I've been using Poser, we also have to account for how much more capable the program is now than it was back in the P3 days . . .