In my initial post I alluded to a few different anthropomorphic figures that were made for Poser over the years.  So let's start with one of the earliest, the "Second Nature" series by LemurTek.  Yes, "series" since he modeled, rigged and released more than just one.

At their collective core, the Second Nature figures were seamless fusions between the Poser 4 nude male and female meshes and the program supplied animals, specifically, the housecat, the wolf and the lion.  In several cases, LemurTek bridged the torso of the P4 human figures and the heads of the aforementioned animals with custom neck geometry.  he also modified the hip geometry and linked the tail of the appropriate animal.  Of course, those animals had jut 4 or 5 tail segments, so any bends other than the joint at the hip tended to make the tails look "crimped" (as though a door or window had slammed upon them).  Not really LemurTek's fault as he worked with what was available to him at that time.

When I first "met" LemurTek, he had relesed a "catgirl" fusing the head of the Poser cat with the body of "Posette" (the Poser 4 nude female).  He opted to give the figure the thicker neck of a feline.  I asked him if he might consider creating a variation, one with a neck more proportionally human, but also having "digitigrade" (standing upon toes rather than flat upon the arch, "plantigrade") paw/feet.  To be honest, I can't remember the "terms", but the important point is that he agreed to create it.  And per my request, he used the thicker toes from the Poser lion rather than the dainty toes from the cat.  When I saw the finished design, I noticed he opted for a short, rather "felid" calf/shin section and a much longer arch.  Personally, I had hoped to for a leg that would have been roughly 1/3 length thigh, 1/3 length calf/shin (and a bit more human looking) and the final third being the feline arch and paw-like toes.  Still, many different leg designs exist for anthro' characters (there are no "absolute" standards), and LemurTek constructed what he thought appropriate.

LemurTek would later incorporate this leg design for the male counterpart as well as for leonine figures, both male and female.  For a Poser "werewolf", he used elements of the Poser wolf's rear legs.  By the time he stopped his project, LemurTek had released both plantigrade and digitigrade versions "cat people", "werewolves" and "lion people", both male and female.  Some had thicker animal necks, some had slender, more human necks.  He also released "tigers" modified from the lion head geometries, and foxes derived frpm the cats.  You may notice a pattern here.  They were all predatory species.  But he was working with what Poser offered and the program at that type only had one exclusive herbivore, a horse.  I don't think he ever attempted an equine.

Anyway, here is an example of that figure LemurTek made for me, one he called Guenevere.  However, it is not quite "straight from the box".  Little Dragon (whom I will discuss in greater detail in a later post) supplied a set of eye props to replace the static geometry of the original Poser cat's eyes as well as an ERC rigged figure he labeled the "Bushy Tail" having far more joints (for smooth bending) and a clever system of nested transparency mapped "cones" to produce a rather effective illusion of "bushy" or "fluffy" fur.

True, figure engineering has progressed a bit since this and its related figures were released, but for their time, they were quite nifty.  Hey, it can even handle the functions to quad divide the mesh with "errant" points stretching to the scene's "zero" coordinates.  that demonstrates some very clean modeling!

Sincerely,

Bill

Tempt the Hand of Fate and it'll give you the "finger"!