I just downloaded and installed Poser 10.

I've been using DAZ 3D for a little while, to the point that I understand the cameras, but am still learning about lighting.

In other words, I've got a lot to learn about DAZ before I can even begin to do quality work with it.

sigh

And now I've installed Poser. A program with an 842 page manual.

I'm up to my armpits in alligators, and all I wanted to do was drain the swamp.

Seriously- All I wanted to do was create my own scenery.

I don't expect sympathy. Everyone had to start someplace.

picks up coffee

opens PDF

starts reading

See my signature for some advice on the manual. ;)

Here are some free video tutorials put together by our hosts...

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/tutorial_premium/index.php

However, if you are looking tt do outside scenes, use a skydome and a single infinite light for the Sun, and turn IDL (Indirect Lighting) on in your render settings.  I'll post a link to a skydome in the next post; the Forum is broken so I can't paste it in..... :(

Environment Sphere...

https://sites.google.com/site/bagginsbill/free-stuff/environment-sphere

Please feel free ask questions here. We all started the same way. I learned almost as much on this forum as the manual. That was over 15 years ago. We are all here to help each other.

Boni

Pro 2014 has but i'm guessing 10 has it also ,Quick Reference Card.pdf and 34 page quick start.

I doubt anyone reads the 800+ paged encyclopedia

  there's the web n youtube tutorials and webinars there's a smithmicro graphics youtube subscription.

Pro 2014 has but i'm guessing 10 has it also ,Quick Reference Card.pdf and 34 page quick start.

I doubt anyone reads the 800+ paged encyclopedia

  there's the web n youtube tutorials and webinars there's a smithmicro graphics youtube subscription.

 

I have read a large chunk of the manual, OK I know that sounds sad but I had a very long wait at Accident and Emergency and the only thing I had with me was a my newly acquired Kindle and that only had the manual I had transferred over.  Main point is though, it did not help much, as a reference when you are stuck, it certainly has it's uses but reading it from end to end in the hope you will be able to use Poser I do not think in a realistic goal. From experience I have found video tutorials and the forums are the best sources for learning Poser.  I have tried a few free tutorials, some are great and some are so old they just make the job of learning harder.  I have used the tutorials from Ironman13 and Fugazi1968 for sale here at Rendo, the 'Poser Beginner to Advanced' and 'Poser 10 and Pro 2014 New Features'  I found particularly useful.  The are not cheap but if any new starter has the budget for them they will save so much time and frustration.

Tutorials, free or purchased will at least give you enough info to know what questions to ask in the forums, which can be half the battle sometimes.  While on forums here is a little tip for the one here at Rendo.  If you are going to use 'cut and paste' try it first before you type an very long question for you might find that when you past all of your typing has gone for ever.  I started this reply a good while ago and I was tempted not to start all over again.

Approach the manual like a college textbook, read each chapter separately and thoroughly, and absorb the content before proceeding to the next chapter.  However, if this isn't your mode of learning, as hornet3d posted, seek other learning tutorials which will illustrate the process easier and understandable.  Once you gain the knowledge and experience to confidently work within Poser, use the manual as a reference point to reinforce what you already know.  

When posting questions in the Forum, provide as much practical information as possible.  Ambiguous questions will draw no responses or wrong answers which will impede your learning.  And don't forget to state which Poser version you are using.  Answers don't transcend through all Poser versions; a response about Indirect Lighting does not help an individual using a copy of Poser 7, the feature does not exist in that version.

And welcome to the club.

If you wanted to make scenery I dont think poser is going to help you.

It does have the cloth room and dynamic cloth can be very useful. You will find much of it the same as studio, just a different interface.

Depending what you mean by scenery you could look at the free terrain generators.

The manual uses a lot of the core manual for Poser 6 ... the reason I'm saying this is a friend of mine named Anthony Hernandez wrote the P6 manual and it was the most readable, concise manual I've ever read ... this is from someone who DOES read all the manuals and checked out Computer books for fun from the San Jose city library in the 1990's (for those not in the know, that's the heart of the Silicon Valley at the height of the computer era's beginnings ... ) It was the only way I was going to get a decent job in that area! Yes, this is a good manual.  Enjoy your read.

Approach the manual like a college textbook, read each chapter separately and thoroughly, and absorb the content before proceeding to the next chapter. 

I find that reading a manual thoroughly just leads to information overload, or I read the first chapter 5 times and never get to chapter 2. I prefer to just skim rapidly through the entire manual, not trying to absorb it, just getting a feel for what's in it and how it all hangs together, skipping over areas which don't currently concern me (like, say, hair room or animation). Then I poke around in the application and when a question comes up I know exactly where to look, and the info is easier to absorb because it comes as an answer to a question, not just a lot of information.

Wait... There's a manual?

The first time I opened up the manual was when I needed to know something about the lighting system. The next time was when I needed to know something about the material room.

And, neither situation was resolved by anything I learned from the manual.... :)

The best thing to do is to grab a cup of coffee and start watching tutorial vids. They're all over the place. I think PhilC's vids on "Rigging" on youtube were some of the first that I watched regarding Poser. I wanted to learn how rigging was done and, so, there ya go - I learned how rigging was done. The same goes for all the other "Rooms", too. I either watched vids or I read tutorials from third-party creators, rather than scrabbling around in Poser's "Manual."

The other day, I wanted to learn something more about Specular nodes in Poser. So, rather than sit here or on RDNA, waiting for BaginsBill to pop up, ;), I took a look at Poser's manual on the subject. Very nice.... Copied and Pasted entries for each Specular node... Gee, thanks. No screenshot? I know the differences, now, after doin' some figurin', but the manual wasn't much help. (That isn't to say it isn't any help in other situations, though! It surely is. But, it's not always my first "go to source" for information regarding certain subjects in Poser.)

PS - I've never read the manual. I've looked up things, but I've never just sat down and "read" the darn thing. That's OK, I don't use maps, either, and I haven't asked for directions to anywhere while traveling, Life's an adventure - One may as well insert a few opportunities for adventure to occur, right? :)

I have had Poser for just a year now and I'm still learning a lot and I have a lot to learn. You're not alone in this.

I tried to do some tutorials :-)

www.book.artbeeweb.nl  

I'm with Morkonan on this one

The manual seems to confuse beginners because there's so much information.   It's better to take a look at some beginner tutorials or talk to someone who is willing to show you the ropes.  This is a much faster learning process for learning Poser.  Only pick up the manual after you have a solid grasp on some of the basics.  Manuals only answer the question "What does this do?"  Manuals won't tell you how to use that knowledge to create the art or effect that you are going for.

The good news is that you don't have to read the entire manual and that Poser has a fantastic community of people who are more than willing to help you when you get stuck.

You can start easy by following the build in tutorials.

Go to top menu => Windows => Quick Start

From left to right, you will find;  Basics, Library, Lighting, Cameras, First project

Each will guide you through a set of steps to learn Poser.(Some steps even have video)

I'm using Poser 9 -- james lying on back. I want to bend the knees up toward the ceiling so both legs form triangles with the point toward the ceiling. I keep trying to lift, but with the first three tools, I seem to only be able to rotate legs.

I'm using Poser 9 -- james lying on back. I want to bend the knees up toward the ceiling so both legs form triangles with the point toward the ceiling. I keep trying to lift, but with the first three tools, I seem to only be able to rotate legs."

Right click on James and make sure that IK for the feet is turned off.  The other option is to move the foot which will move the knee.

"I'm using Poser 9 -- james lying on back. I want to bend the knees up toward the ceiling so both legs form triangles with the point toward the ceiling. I keep trying to lift, but with the first three tools, I seem to only be able to rotate legs."

I agree with Richard60.  To further elaborate, you would only need the translate Icon, 3rd icon, to accomplish what you desire.  Turn off IK for the legs and select the individual leg parts, bending each to the appropriate position.  Or, with IK on, select the foot and push it towards the buttocks.  This action will drive the knee towards the ceiling.  Just don't overdo it or the mesh will horribly distort.

I wish that I could thank each of you individually for the advice, but there were so many of you responding.

So, Thanks, All!

I will be looking at (absorbing?) a lot of video tutorials. I don't know why I didn't think of that, the tutorials available for D3D are very helpful. Lots of information to retain, though.

I've been hands-on while I read the manual, trying to learn-by-doing. Slow! But, I'll get there.

Oh, markschum? What I mean by scenery is pretty much anything that isn't breathing. I was mostly thinking about structures, interior and exterior, and their surroundings.

Brief flashback:

I was at Digital Corp. in Massachusetts in the early 1970s when a programmer showed me his latest feat: He had written a program that  caused a little 8x8 pixel box to bounce around the screen, changing color whenever it crossed it's own trail. Soon, the screen was a mosaic of different colors.

Forty years ago, THAT was cutting edge stuff! (We saw the first screening of Star Wars- Yes, Han shot first.)

We've come a long way from Fortran and Assembler.

FightingWolf;

**I am now registered at the Poser By Design website. Thanks for the link.
**

aRtBee;

Ah, yes. Thank you. Very well-thought collection, going to be a big help when I reach an area and have questions. Thank you.

WandW;

Thanks for the link. I think that I will be doing so much watching and reading, I might lose track of the doing.

Where did these alligators come from? Oh, yeah, I'm trying to drain the swamp...

I hadn't thought of skydomes. But if I can make my own, that will work nicely for an overall background. I have tons of scenery photographs, mostly 'chromes. Just have to dig them out and scan them.

Read. Dig. Scan. Practice...

Alligators seem to be breeding rather swiftly.