Is it just me ...but when I look at Poser Models they almost seem real. When I look at high end Max and Lightwave store models they don't come close to looking asgood and they cost more. Is ther something I am missing ? Why people pay 200 dollars more for a female model than we do on the other platforms.

Probably, as in book publishing, the estimated number of purchases determines the cost. In other words, an expectied blockbuster novel can sell for $12 to $24 hardback (and much less when it comes out in paperback) because you know it will sell millions of copies. On the other hand, a highly technical textbook will cost over a hundred bucks sometimes because only a few thousand copies will probably move. The time and effort to produce really good meshes like Poser probably could not be recouped from the much smaller "high end" users. Poser is so popular, however, that the effort is rewarded by bulk of sales and that bulk is increased by making it affordable. At least it seems that way to me. Scarab

And as we've seen time and again in ads of many big companies... dey jus don know no better.

It's because of us. Most of those (overpriced) models are probably used for a specific project by professionals. They need it to do that job, and build the model's cost into the project budget. Then they move on to the next project; can't stay in business otherwise. In the Poser community we "adopt" our figures, develop them into characters, make and buy add-ons for them, and use them over and over for a variety of things. When we want them to do something new, we push the technology in every possible direction. The "new born" figures have a lot of potential, but they blossom in their adoptive Poser community.

Well, yes, it's because of us. Most of us can't afford the high-end models and there are companies, such as DAZ and Curious Labs, that recognize that. You have to find a way to make the product saleable and cost efficient. And you try to price a product at what the market will bear. The Poser community is unique among most. It started as amateur-driven, and though that remains the largest portion of the base, there is a growing faction that uses the product and pushes it for professional purposes. What gets me though is the amount of complaints that get flung at companies such as DAZ for creating a model such as Victoria or Michael and charge a whole $60 dollars for them. I honestly wish I could virtually slap some people and show them these $200 - $5000 models and have them see the quality of what they're getting for $60. It's one thing to be on a budget or just not have the money and it's another to slam a company, who puts out a fine product , because they think a model is overpriced. Most people do not have any grasp of how many man-hours and how many people work on a model. I've been lucky enough to work with these people and gotten emails from them at 11 pm because they're still at work trying to get the product right. If people had a better understanding of what is entailed and how what they have is better and easier to work with than the average "high-end" model, maybe they'd appreciate the price structure and, especially, the price difference. steps off soapbox Cris

Whew! Cris, I hope you didn't get a nosebleed up there. :-) But you're right. And I've noticed that most of those megabuck models put out by the other's pale in comparison to the Daz models.

Daz does a GREAT job with thier models.. quality and price, if you want better example just go to Turbosquid and check the prices on some of the models offered there. Niles

Yeah...LOL...damn...almost broke my neck gettinf off of that high box...hehe. :) Cris

Well said, Chis! But people will be that way sometimes. Wasn't long ago that people even complained about the free Stephie. Wanted to slap them, too. I appreciate CL/DAZ for allowing me to dabble in something that I never thought I'd see on my desktop. As to the mention above in the economies of scale, I would tend to agree. Just look back at when DVD players first came out...$500-$700. Now, you can get a satisfactory one for $69! And, look right now at HD TV. Look again in 3 or 4 years.

Attached Link: http://www.optidigit.com/stevens/

Oh, and starmkr, in answer to your question, which was really why this thread started, this is what I think: When most Poser-users pick up models, they pick them up with textures and morph dials and a lot of things worked out for them. Bones are already built in so that we can move them in Poser. Morphs have been made so we can fiddle with the geometry. It's funny, but it's one of the reasons that the high-end CGI community looks down on the Poser community, IMHO. Most CGI people make their own models and, if they don't, the models are very basic so that can go in and finish them with their own individually assigned bone-structures and treatment of textures to create things such as the great Steven Stahlberg has made. (see link) The look of the models is in the hands of the artist. http://raph.com/3dartists/cgibin/submissions/images/20020324184539-2746-1.jpg DAZ has some pretty cool ones who make some wonderful ones. In many ways, they set out to do a "basic" model (though with more than what most "high-end" ones have) that could do just what the Poser community has done. They've grown Victoria and Michael and Stephanie with more morphs and textures. That's because the basic geometry is good and gives you room to do that. It's a different way of thinking and it'll take a while for high-end CGI to appreciate what's happening in our end of the universe (especially as more of us push the envelope and traverse into the domains of what that end of the CGI world thought only Maya and SoftImage could do). But then again, it's taking a while for the art world, in general, to accept CGI as an art form. So go the struggles in every part of this wonderful universe in which we find ourselves. I, on my part, am having the time of my life. What a ride! Cris

The reason those models, and applications for that matter, are so much more expensive is their target market's main use of those items: renders/animations to make money. Buying a $200 model is nothing when you are using it in a project that you are being payed 5x that amount to make. However, as many have of us have seen in the recent past, some advertising agencies have caught on to the Poser secret. There are also licensing issues to consider as well. When they buy that expensive model they are (usually) free to do what they want with it. You as a Poser user cant make a character with Vic, Mike, Posette, or Dork then sell the whole package to someone else. You can sell only the files that modify the original mesh (which they must own) to form your character.