[Everyone seems to be missing a major point in this endless debate. Why is it that whenever digital art is mentioned, people automatically compare it to traditional painting, sketches, photography, or whatever? If you produce digital art YOU ARE NOT IN COMPETITION WITH OTHER MEDIA!]

I think the debate began by just that...Blackhearted's opening statement laments Poser creations as not being accepted on the same level as traditional art forms...he stated...

[all of a sudden all of these 'great artists' who work in traditional mediums are having some of their limelight stolen by people who work in 3D, and mainly poser. they think all poser art is somehow 'easier' and requires much less talent than 'real' artwork]

My point is most of the imagery in a Poser creation is not the result of the work of the creator. The computer does the majority of the work. Do you know how long it takes some artists to learn how to portray a fold in cloth, it's texture, or create the look of different metals, or clouds. In Poser the computer does it all for you. You just move stuff around. If you really believe that it takes equal talent to pull a figure into the Poser window than it does to actually draw one that looks half as good...I got some swamp land in Jersey I'm trying to sell.

What makes ART what it is has to do with the what the artist had to aspire to in order to create it. The years and years of perfecting one's talent to create a Michaelangelo or DaVinci work of art can be clearly seen in the work of ART. One views it and knows the work didn't happen overnight. Every detail was the result of effort above and beyond the ordinary human experience. That's what makes the work of art inspirational. In all it's greatness it says that a human being can through long, intense effort rise up to produce with their own hands a sight as magnificent as what we are given by our Creator who gives us the breathtaking sunsets or a lovely flower. It also implies that if one human can we all can and therein lies the seed of inspiration. We aspire to do the same.

When the computer does the majority of the work it's not the same.I am more impressed with the program and programmers of the software that it does what it does than the one who used it to produce something. In fact, I'd be more impressed to see someone draw the folds of one sleeve of a bent arm than to look at the result of moving a poser arm and the computer putting the folds where they belong and be properly lit and textured.

[Bottom line, with simply posing and lighting other people's stuff, it's still very much possible to create art; artistically speaking, what is the difference between a manwho renders Vicki with DAZ clothes, adjusting her pose and the lighting, and a man who photographs a model in his studio?]

Photographers who approach the medium as an art study art in an attempt to capture the elements that have come to make up great works of art. The lighting in a DaVinci painting or any great painting not only portrays the mood, but creates designs that control how the eye enters, scans and exits a piture. It also creates a design in itself. Those photographers whose works are regarded as being artistic...you can believe...have studied traditional works of art and have tried to capture the aesthetic nuances that are found in such works. Just having a model pose and adjusting a light ain't gonna kick it. The photographer is lighting to capture designs and elements inherent in good composition, again which can only be done if one studies what has been regarded as artistically good design and composition. He also doesn't buy someone's preset computerized lighting schemes to light his subject and then claim credit for the result.

Poser creations can be very beautiful and creative but as for the initial point made that started this thread...it's a far cry from being on the same level as traditional art. I know when looking at a Poser image that the computer did most of the work and I'm not as impressed as seeing what a human can do with his own hands especially when it's magnificent because it says "This is the human potential you can aspire to also, if you so chose" And I am greatly inspired!!!