Maybe OT, but maybe not so much that it gets moved. After all, this is Poser country. I've seen the Poser Anonymous posts...the "I spend and can't stop spending" posts...I may be one of those. And also, the "Is it porn or is it art?" posts. And the associated complaints about nudity and temple Vickies. And let's not forget the "big breasts or small breasts" discussions. But, I haven't seen this kind. (so there!) How many people find themselves in MY predicament? Let me explain. I could spend time trying to learn more about Poser. And learning to do something that I really want to do. Like make the same incredible art that I see so much of. But, instead, I find it easier to spend time chatting and exchanging ideas and thoughts and "funnies" and, well, just plain chatting with people that are "regulars" in the forum here. People like Pokeydots, chohole, X2000, Ronknights, bikermouse, c1rcle, Little_Dragon, Entropic, genny, quixote, bknow, and nu-be (to name a very few). I enjoy the heck out of it! So, why is that? Is it a way to "hide" from my inabilities in the art world? Or is it the enjoyment of just chatting with artists? I don't visit the galleries much anymore. For 2 reasons, I suspect. Because it usually makes me feel much worse seeing what others can do that I can't, and, God forbid, if I should ever get a good idea that I can work with, it will be because my subconscious draws me to something I have already seen. I DO visit the galleries of people that I have exchanged lots of threads with. I do so to get some perspective of what they think of. To see if I can gleen a bit more of what they are like. I see that some people don't have much of a gallery...kind of like me. Which made me wonder. Are there other people out there that enjoy "chatting too much"? Other people out there who find themselves in the same frameless, pictureless world as I do? I don't mean to "insult" anyone. Just curious.

Unfortunately, I do too much of that sometimes. I don't always pay attention to the time. But it seems I spend at least 2 hours in the morning before work here reading the forums. I have very little actual email. Most emails just tell me there is a response to one of the many threads I'm involved with here at Renderosity. In some ways I've reached the limitations of my artistic abilities, or run out of ideas. Months ago I wanted to create a texture for my clown. I tried, and got lost. I wanted to find the perfect product that would finally help me "go commercial." I end up either creating tutorials or spending hours in the forums here. Unfortunately, "social circumstances" often lead me here. I don't know many other computer users, and no other Poser users in my state. And yes, I don't get out much. I've felt the surge of creative energy that had been pent up all my life... It's bursting forward.. but I often spend to much time on the forums. And yes some folks would rather I disappear. Geesh.

What was the question?{;+) Pictureless? Frameless? Now I'm depressed... I love you too Chuck. Don't catch any wooden frisbees... Q

One thing that I've noticed -

Most of the "regular" posters are only around for a while - and then they vanish into the ether. Or is that the aether? I don't know.

But I do know that a lot of the regulars from last year have gone away somewhere ----- they got bored, maybe. Or perhaps something ticked them off.

Now returning to lurker status...........

awwwww Chuck, who loves ya! I spend a lot of time talking and trying to do pics, and I love the everlasting threads like the storylines we have been doing, and trying to make things in Rhino, my art can't even compare to what I have seen others do here, but, I have fun doing it :)

I've taken great delight in watching pokeydots show off her new creations, and the Renderosibee story is great. And I've loved to watch Chuck go from a timid poster to "one of us." Keep it up, my friends.

Hopefully, at some point something someone says will enspire someone to to do something(in Poser. - At least I'm learning how to type if not how to spell. Better than Mavis Beacon if you ask me.

lol bikermouse!

Actually, I am planning and working on a very serious series of images all done in Poser. Very somber subjects and weird compositions. I've been debating with myself weather I should post them here or anywhere else on the Net, for that matter. Can't see something dealing with AIDS, for example, in a gallery beside a naked Victoria with..... Or am I turning into an elitist.... this is my forth serious post today...there goes MY rep. Oh! Bikermouse, at least one of the images is in B&W. Q

Chuck I too thought I would never get any better, but I like to think that now I have produced a couple of halfway decent images.Took me ages to get there. Trouble is now, how to follow them up. I love doing the quick comical stuff, like the bees, but is it art? who knows........ its fun. There are all sorts of way you can participate and give back. Good comments are giving back. Encouragement is really nice, but constructive criticism is also good. Also one of my friends here (also a lurker like Xenophonz) gives me web pages on his site to host some of my freebie textures, plus 2 other people host stuff for me. This is a wonderful place and people are so friendly, its good to talk, sometimes just being a good shoulder to cry on, a receptive ear to listen is as good as active participation. I know, I have had some lovely people encourage me when I felt like giving up.

Q: cool! Well as long as it's "in good taste". (Seems to apply to everything doesn't it.) There was a photobook an artist friend of mine had back in the college days called "Wegee's People". It was mostly black and white and showed scenes of street people in various states of frustration hope anger etc. I think it is probably a good idea to post a sampling at least.

I still have to think about it. Fortunately, they won't be ready until August or September... So I'll see. "Wegee's People"? Why does that sound familiar? I know I never saw it...

I dunno. Yeah, give it some thought. Aids awareness is o.k. I think.

Well Chuck you really hit the nail on the head there, for a while now I haven't done much in the way of rendering but spent most of my time chatting & posting. I think it might be the weather or maybe its because we're all waiting for poser5 to be released. Plus I've had a lot going on in my normal life recently that takes me away from my keyboard. Rob

I have found that there are alot of people here that prefer to chat online. Some are disabled while others are sometimes living in remote locations. Any human interaction is good. :) I bounce back and forth. At times it can become too intense and I need a break. Online is nice but you can't satify all your needs from it. Fresh are is good at times if not most. Anton anton@daz3d.com

Fresh air is always good. I plan to get my share come September. maybe late August.

Chuck don't think about it to much, if your having fun and its making you happy then go with the flow, lifes to short to spend time pondering what we "should" be doing instead of doing what we want :o)...Society makes us do to much we don't want to anyway........Steve

Well my excuse for not rendering as much is that a)I'm making textures and b) pentium 2. Nuff said? sigh First DragonCon - then upgrade.

Hi Chuck, I suppose I am a lot like you in this respect. I spend more time here, reading the posts then actually doing any renders, but I also enjoy the heck out of it. (: For me, no-one I know, that is, people whom I work with or talk to everyday, does any kind of digital art stuff, other then web-sites, and don't have a clue what Poser is. Who else can I turn to but the people on these forums? Now, as far as the bee pictures being art?.........I still have to think on that one, but they are Really, really, FUN, so who cares if it is art or not! (: genny

Chuck, I know exactly what you're saying. There have been times when I spent WAY more time hanging out here than actually working with the software that we're all always talking about. And discovering C&D (the precursor to OT) was even worse, because you could talk about anything, not just tech stuff. I've learned that I have to just force myself to stay away and get to work sometimes. In fact, that's why I haven't been around much lately, because I'm forcing myself to get working on my next MP product (god knows I need the money, and my wife's not about to let me forget it;). But even with that, I've been stalling and have had some false starts, and ended up saying, "Screw it, let's go see what's up at R'osity". Part of the problem is just laziness, at least in my part. It's easier to just sit here and talk about modeling than it is to actually sit there moving vertices for hours. But it's also that I don't know anyone in the "Real World" who's into this stuff. In fact, most people just piss me off! I mean, here I modeling and rendering and all on my puny 533 Celeron with 128 megs of RAM, while other people I know have powerhouse computers that they use to play lousy freakin' card games on! GAH! A 2 gig Pentium 4 for Solitaire?!?!?!? You stupid pathetic bast- um, but I digress... As far as the creativity part, just forget about "Art" and do whatever you want to do. The rest will follow. In fact, if there's one thing I'd like to see people get out of Renderosibee, it's fun. I certainly do. That's why I've never posted anything in the gallery, because that seems to shine a whole different light on your work. Then it's supposed to be "Art", and you start thinking, "Well, the lighting's not quite right, the texture is detailed enough, the pose is a bit stiff, etc.". Forget all of that, take the pressure off yourself, and just have fun. If you do it enough, you WILL develop skills whether you want to or not;) If you need inspiration, forget the gallery. Oh, there's some fine work there, but there's also an incredible flood of sameness. Like people learning to draw comics by looking at comics and not real life. I certainly didn't come up with a cartoony bee by browsing page after page of nudes... Books, movies, hell, just everyday life, that's the place to find your inspiration. And it sounds to me like lack of inspiration is indeed your major problem. So just do whatever turns you on and don't worry what people think about it, 'cause THAT'S the killer. I'm sure some people hate my bee as much as others hate nudes. You can't please everyone, so do it to please yourself. And if you do, you'll find it easier to tear yourself away from this place. It's still hard, though...;) sigh Now see what you've done? I'm SUPPOSED to be working, but instead I'm here yakking with you. I TOLD you I have the same problem!:P So go have some fun, Chuck. Go grab yourself a bee or a fairy or a slimy alien or a nude Vicki or whatever the hell pleases you and make some pics, ok?:)

Being creative is like being cool: the people who try hard at it always fail. It's only when you stop trying and just do your own thing that it happens.

For me, it's "analysis paralysis." I spend so much time trying to figure out how to do it right that I don't have time to actually do it.

I justify my forum time by the incredible amount I learn here about Poser and Bryce, as a newbie. And there's the companionship and the exposure to new people and ideas and the LOL's......! But I do feel guilty some days because I spend so much time reading and just looking at artwork. Then it helps to remind myself that creativity is not a faucett, to be turned on full and left that way indefinitely. It's more like a stream winding it's way across varied terrains, occasionally sinking into the soil to run deep underground, invisibly. And the stuff it picks up deep down there seems to invest the next piece of artwork with something unexpected and really cool. So I allow myself to browse the forums and galleries, even to spend an occasional whole day just surfing sites, searching for a freebie that will spark a new idea. It's all about being gentle with your artistic self and, as said above, going with the flow.

It's simple. creative people are fun to be around. I've worked from industrial settings to advertising. The artists, the creative people are always the the most fun and interesting. And if I may be so bold, the smartest most compasionate and all around coolest. IMHO Jon

i mostly jus' read....i reply to loads but never actually hit "post reply" for fear of makin' myself look stupid ((this isn't an admition of stupidity hehe)) i've also been pretty much housebound for awhile now and so most of my social interraction comes from gettin' to know people on here ((agorophobia's a bitch))...so i'm glad that y'all make time to post the stuff you do....i've learned more here than any manual could teach me i figure maybe one day if i keep pushin' myself then i can raise my standards of modellin' to the point where it can pay for itself ((hope springs eternal :) )) and is it art? havin' fun is an art in itself ::spends the next 20 minutes contemplatin' whether to post reply:: Ever

i still fight the "should be doing this" game, too. I should be working on this, or that... thing is, i don't always feel like it. of course, sometimes when i just force myself to start i get lost in the joy of creation and i come up with something good. and then there are the times it just comes out crap. life's too short to fill it with "supposed toos". if you're enjoying spending time in forum, then stop feeling guilty. :) think of all those people who "spend too much time in poser and i really should be interacting with people more"... there - my 2 cents. now i gotta go practice my piano cuz i'm supposed too ;)

Funny. We are so different, and still so much alike. I can relate to almost every word written in this thread. Thanks Chuck for starting this. It provided insight into my soul. God knows that's needed. Dark in there.... Q

Wow! What a bevy of replies! First comment goes to Ever, who hides his/hers identity. Not bad at all for April of this year. Lots of people have told me (above) it's OK. It makes me feel like I'm not alone. This forum, then, my artist friend, is just the place for agorophobiac. And be among friends who are timid, too. Me among the most. I do SO enjoy exchanging ideas...reading what others have to say...the wit seem endless! Since the appearence of Renderosibee, I have tried to change from my usual habit of hopping into a controversial subject...even though I want to spout my head off...hehe. It should be all about signing off the forum and feeling good. I just wish I could ALSO post something artistic and have people ACTUALLY enjoy it. Sigh...I'll keep plugging. To the remarks that I may be suffering artistic-idea block, that's not really the case. It's more like being technically-challenged...hehe. I've discarded the last two attempts at "non-temple Vickies" (just a joke...no harsh intent, well, intended...LOL). I guess I just gotta get down to it and start asking my ususal "beginner" questions. I even feel good my "slightly OT" post got the interest it did. It helps knowing others have the same feelings. It's really amazing, sometimes, how you can develop such a need and receive such enjoyment "talking" with people. Nu-be, I live in Atlanta. It's pretty darn hot here, too. I think JeffH is from Atlanta, too. So, where do you live in the south that it gets so hot? Speaking of Atlanta, I will be at "you know where" at the end of August. Got the full pass...just a matter of getting permission to drive downtown and spend so much time away from my wife (who has agreed to accompany me on at least one day). Some of the regulars that I exchange posts with need to let me know if they're coming...THEN, you can not only be acquainted with my ugy art, you can become acquainted with my ugly self...grin. And, if you happen to be there when my wife is, just know she's my wife, not my daughter...that mistake has been made too often....LOL.

I got caught in the fun trap here several months ago while searching for info on how to do something for the animation I'm working on. Before that, I'd visited the galleries and freestuff but never the forums. About 3 weeks ago I realized my movie was being seriously hampered by my constant desire to check back at 'rosity, just in case I missed something. I've tried to limit myself to 1 or two visits a day (although right now I'm seeing if we can pull together an animated video to play at the Renderosity booth at Dragon*Con so I'm here 3-4 times a day -for a quickie). Also I was out of town last week on vacation. Regardless, it's hard not to spend alot of time here. The simple fact is, I enjoy ya'lls company.

Are you entering the animation thingie, Bobasaur?

I don't have any completed shorts that are 4 minutes long so I can't enter the Official Short Film Contest. What I'm working on now will be over 4 minutes but I have no idea when that'll be finished - especially since I'm spending so much time here [grin].

After talking with audre and others in the Dragon*Con forum, I'm trying to determine if there are others like me who'd be willing to send examples of their animation/video shorts that we could put into a looping video that could be played at the Renderosity booth at the convention - just for fun & exposure.

If you (or anyone else) are interested check out the threads that have the title "video loop" in them, either in the Dragon*Con Forum, here in Poser forum, in the 3D/2D Animation forum, the Lightwave Forum, or the Director's Cut forum.

So many forums, so little time.

I find I look most for the company of others when I am on the verge of a breakthrough of some sort. That is when I suddenly need to give my opinion in the galleries, ponder the current thread in Art Theory, think about entering a contest. Currently I think my issue is the same one I have had since art school, "Am I an artist?" Funny, I never asked myself that in my formative years when I knew I was one. After a year I still see myself as a novice with poser. Maybe if I could ever get the hang of magnets I could do what I see in my head. I think Poser 5 will help. I actually am doing work with partners that includes poser, so I am good enough for that. I just can't compare myself with many of the artists here. lol It also doesn't hurt that there are so many nice people here. I too am at home, caring for my mom. After years of work, work, work, I am forced to be still. Other than some freelance and the plans with my partners, here I sit with my "ART" demon. I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

often I look at my life and wonder what the hell went wrong with me.. I used to be an outgoing little guy, chatty and quirky.. I used to love nothing more than going for walks with a friend or two.. maybe stopping for a pint.. or two.. I used to go out places, do things, meet people, go to the cinema.. now all I do is work, when I'm not working I play with my computers, I've racked up more hours on final fantasy than I ever thought possible, I spend hours upon hours downloading free poser items, some of which I may never use.. I almost find myself avoiding human contact.. I'm petrified of people and I don't understand why.. but it's nice here.. everybody is welcoming and kind and willing to share opinions and thoughts.. in an odd way I never thought poser would make such a difference you know. .for me it was just a way to vent my creativity.. but now I see it's a lot more than that... anyway.. I spend 2hrs every morning here just to see what I can find out or download for my next gush of creative psychosis.. it's most definately not a crime and it sure is nice to know it's a habit that others shareL dang now I'm all confusedL.... Dolph.