Hi everyone - I'm desperate here.... I've reached the end of my rope on Poser. I'm trying to make a retro version of the Batmobile - been working on it off and on for several months around my work schedule, and as I near the end of completing my model - rigging it, so that doors open and a couple other things - I've run into one roadblock after another, so much so that I'm ready to just give up on 3D model building and find another hobby. Never have I been so frustrated, because it just should not be this difficult.  I'm not a big fan of Daz Studio, but I'm thinking of giving it a go.... I've read that it's easy to rig models with it. Poser Pro 10 is just so difficult to use, especially at this stage. I'm reaching out in one last attempt at trying to get this to work. I've been following suggestions from folks here in the forum, Dr Geep's tutorials, other online tutorials, etc.

Using Windows 8 and Poser Pro 10 (I never had issues like this with Poser 6.... but it refuses to run on a Windows 8 machine). I've tried rigging this thing two different ways and neither one works.

1. I had all my props (body, doors, etc) imported into Poser, but I can't seem to get the center of rotation right. That is to say that the door won't swing open at the hinge. I told Poser to "display origin" so I can adjust the rotation axis. But the origin remains invisible. So I clicked window>hierarchy editor and used the same method I used to use in Poser 6 and clicked "create new figure". Then I load the new Batmobile figure into a scene, then take it into the setup room to adjust the bone structure, and thus the axis of rotation. When I do that, the Batmobile mysteriously disappears, leaving me with an empty screen and bones on it. At this point, even backing out of the setup room, leaves me with nothing but bones, and no model (see screen capture)

2. Using method 2, I have all my props loaded up in Poser, and enter the setup room directly. The body of the Batmobile shows up, but not the doors. I have to click the properties tab on the parameter dial and tell it to make them visible. But even when I do that, they're embedded deep in the body of the car and I can't move them into position via the translate functions of the parameter dial or by placing the cursor on them and grabbing and dragging them into position.... they refuse to budge

I realize I'm asking a lot, but if anyone can tell me why neither of these methods work, I'm all ears (or eyes, since on working on a computer).

Thanks - signed, a very frustrated Arrowhead42

I feel your pain and you're right, it's not easy.  It's not that the process itself is difficult, it's that the information (tutorials, ebooks, manuals etc) are scattered all over the net and none of them are complete in themselves.  You have to hunt, search and (ocassionally) beg for the HTML tuts, videos, etc and watch, read, re-watch, re-read until you manage to piece it all together into some sort of bouillabaisse of 3D knowledge.

Start here...http://drgeep.com/    The information is old but still mostly applies.  It'll get you grounded in the basics.  Buy the older manuals for Poser 7 and 8.  They have more information than the manual for the latest version.  There are many (many, many) other video tuts and HTML based lessons floating around.

For making your model go get Blender... http://www.blender.org/    It's free, amazing, and there are at least a BILLION (no really!....I counted 'em!) excellent tutorials on YouTube for it.  It can be done in Poser but it's like picking your teeth with...well I don't know what it's like but Poser is not really a modeling tool.

I believe that this is a conspiracy by Daz, Poser and all the content creators to purposely make the process somewhat difficult in order to weed out the less desirable(?).  It's like a right of passage; make something, get it working in Poser or Daz and get it up for sale and you're in!  You'll recieve the secret decoder ring and learn the secret handshake.  You'll be one of the gang!

Poser 6 on a Windows 8 machine: Try setting compatibility settings for the shortcut/program.  Set to Windows XP, Service Release 2.  I've since rolled back to 7 but was able to get Poser 7 to run.

Is the batmobile already a figure?  If you make a figure, for doors, the Joint Order is likely to be XYZ.  If you leave as a prop, with prop doors, you should be able to select the door, open the joint editor and set the center with that.  In this case, the end point probably won't matter.  Zero out the orientation and manually turn the axis until it lines up properly.

I recall that you posted about this before, and my believe my answer was to load everything up, export it all as a a single .obj, import it into Poser and group the doors, etc. using the grouping tool.  ( I don't know what modeling software you used to create it, but this process might be easier in that program) Then, rig the grouped .obj in the Setup Room. Did you try that?

I'd love to be one of the gang! Got my eye on that ring!

I've got Blender, but it mystifies me... I've used Wings 3D to make my models for the last couple years, but's not the models hemselves that are te problem, but working with them in Poser is aggravating. Like I said earlier, I never had issues quite like this in Poser 6.... but a few months ago, it just decided to quit working on my new Windows 8 machine, so I broke down and got Poser Pro 10, which in my opinion isn't worth the upgrade just due to the sheer difficulty of use... as I'm experiencing now!

I'm seriously fed up though. I'll see what I can do...

vanishingpoint had free batmobile in 2008.  cr2 file with sevl. ERC dials.  hatch, but no doors.

Import all parts of your Batmobile as props into Poser. (Give them discriptive names)

Use the Hirarchy editor to parent them in a logical order.

(Best to start with a box primitive as the "BODY" actor. Then parent the actual car body to that "BODY" prop, the doors to the car body, door windows to the doors, wheels to the car body, steering wheel to the car body, and so on...)

Check if everything is correctly parented.

SAVE THE SCENE just to be sure.

Then click "Create New Figure" in the Hirarchy editor.

 

Poser creates a new figure in the "New Figures" folder in your content Runtime.

Create a new scene.

Load that new figure.

Make the "BODY" primitive invisible. (You could also later remove it from the object file that Poser createdin a modelling app)

Disable "BEND" for all bodyparts. (Unless they are supposed to be flexible)

Open the Joint Editor and edit the joint centers until they fit.

(Best to use orthogonal cameras for this)

 

 

 

The other option is just to make it an articulated prop. Skip making it a figure all together and just make the car body the main prop. Parent the doors and set the center of rotatio for each. You can do it via the Joint editor or the properties tab.

Netherworks, I'll give that a try, although I've found with several other programs that compatibility mode doesn't work. I'll try it though.... I'd much rather use Poser 6 to be honest.

WandW - I've tried it the way you suggested and that's when the Batmobile just disappears, leaving me with nothing but an empty scene and a bone structure to a now non-existent model. Why it drops the car out, I have no idea.

Miss Nancy, I have that Batmobile :)   the one I'm making is a fictional 1930's era car with a very art-deco look to it. Got my eye on selling it as a vendor, if I can ever get this issue figured out. But that's a big if....  I'm about ready to give up and throw in the towel.

Noxiart, I tried that earlier today, but trying to edit the points of rotation in the joint editor gave me all sorts of wacky results with the doors swinging way out to the side of the car, as if they weren't attached. Maybe I missed something though. I'm willing to try it again

Parkdalegardener, I thought about that earlier today, with the idea of making it a morphing prop. One morph being "Driver_Door_Open" and another "Both_Doors_Open". I even did it, but when I applied the morph target, the doors looked like they broke down into crazy, disorganized piles of polygons.

To everyone who responded, thank you. If I sounded like I was ranting earlier, please accept my apologies.... I suppose I was ranting, letting frustration get the best of me. Still dealing with that. Perhaps if I look at it now, hours later after I'm home from work, with all your suggestions, and a fresh set of eyes, I might be able to make it work. I'll keep you posted and thank you again -

don't know if it's still true, but used to have to begin your internal names with a lowercase letter.

can you show the setup room screenshot with your model in wire outline mode?

What is your 'parent' part in the total figure? 

It isn't the door, is it?

yes, internal names should be lower case.

MistyLaraPrincess,

Sorry, I had to take a day or two off from here due to my work schedule, so I'm just now seeing your post. Oddly enough, I closed Poser Pro, re-opened it, and got everything straight by clicking on the "joint editor". I'd done that before, with less-than-satisfactory results, as the origin was swinging in all sorts of directions, then parts of the model didn't show up and so forth.

Seems that closing and re-opening poser got things righted.... don't ask me how, because I couldn't tell you. maybe this version of Poser is still buggy.