Is this a problem anyone else is having? If I yRotate a prop 90 degrees, then zRotate and negative xRotate have the same effect! :/

That is correct because: when you have rotated an object +/-90 degrees on the Y axis, the object's zAxis is now the same as the xAxis.

But there's no longer a way to rotate it along its new xAxis!

Rotate the "x" first.

What is it that you want to do? When I read your subject line I thought you had a question about Axes, and not Axis, which made me think about putting an Axe in a figure's hand...

If I rotated the yAxis 90 degrees, shouldn't both the xAxis and zAxis each be rotated also, not just one of them?

It has to do with the way Poser treats positioning of anything in the studio.

The y Axix is the "twist."
The x Axis is the "bend."
-and-
The z Axis is the "side-to-side."

When an object has been "twist"ed 90 degrees, the "bend" and the "side-to-side" become the same direction.

Well, it does answer my question anyway, ie, other people are having this problem.

Yeppers. Y axis should be the last rotated.

Yup! If you would like to get additional knowledge on this subject: Try "playing" with the "joint parameter" editor function in Poser. It may help you understand how the 3 axes relate to each other and what the priorities are between them. cheers, dr geep <-----------------------(still confused about axes, also) ;=]

Gee, Geep, you didn't pun on "axes powers"? Cin, they are using the correct plural of "axis". "Axises" would be a bit much, don't you think? Carolly

... guess I missed that one. I'll try and do better next time. ;=]

After importing a prop, try to give it a figure parent (head, rHand ...) as soon as possible. Then pose the figure and the prop will follow. Example: If you first pose a figure into a shotgun-holding pose and then try to move/rotate an imported shotgun into its hands, you will probably run into this problem. Trick is to import the shotgun first and then to make the figure conveniantly touch the shotgun e.g. The hand "graps" the barrel. At this time parent the shotgun to the grabbing hand. The shotgun will now follow the movements of the hand and posing the prop will be a lot easier.

The basic problem is that the Y rotation always runs along the figure's own axis, while the X and Z rotations run along the axes of the universe. This means that whenever the figure is more or less horizontal, its own Y axis will nearly agree with one axis of the universe, so that you really have only two axes under your control. In the worst case you can have only one movable axis. The trick I use to get around this: when I have an object that gets into such a predicament, I throw in a simple Box prop with its own Y axis along the direction that I can't control directly, and then parent the distressed object to this Box. I either make the Box invisible or place it inside the object. The whole problem would go away if all rotations ran along the axes of the object itself. I wish CL would fix this -- or at least provide a toggle -- in V5. I sent them a note to that effect some time ago.

heyas; axes is plural of axis, sillies ;) this particular effect is called 'gimbal lock,' and it's not just poser that has it. it's rather common, really.

Gimbal lock? I've been building in 3space for more than a decade (was using DKB back before GUIs) and hadn't heard that term. HOWEVER, I have just spent a delightful time with the dictionaries. "Gimbal lock" wasn't in any of them, not even the O.E.D., but I came across a couple of other useful tidbits. (For example, the female gnome is properly called "gnomide".) Thank you, bloodsong.

Is that the "axis of evil" we've heard about? Sorry.