The question for me is not so much where Poser is going but where I'm going and whether Poser can come with me. It's become clear that relying on one software, be it Poser or Studio, is a recipe for disaster. Too much control over my ability to make art. Too much control over the tools and content provided. Too much similarity of look in renders and content. Right now I mostly use Poser, Blender and Photoshop. Studio is more of a utility at this point. I'll use it more if it allows me to create what's in my mind but couldn't see making it my goto program. I plan to learn and use Blender more and more for stills, compositing and animation.

Back to the OP's mention of ManuelBastioniLab. It's an incredible add on. It's pretty much every figure and morph package we've used over the years in one package. It's emphasis on scientifically based ethnicities, ability to dial in various skin tones, randomizing of faces and body types, inclusion of elf, dwarf, multiple Anime figures, and aging displacement dials allow for pretty much any human figure you could ask for. It's output of advanced IK rigs and muscle system is on the cutting edge of figure creation. The lone developer has been putting out regular updates at an incredible pace. Oh, and it's free. Can't say enough about the potential of this tool.

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