I saw Poser 9 on sale for a good price and now I'm wondering if I should bother getting it or not? I don't know how to use DAZ studio and really don't feel like putting the effort into learning. I know how to use Poser but if it will not work easily with DAZ figures I wonder if it is worth me investing in or not. Apparently Poser 7 which is what I have now doesn't work on Windows 7 from what I can tell. So it's either upgrade to 9 or get out of the 3d animation business... :(

Money, money and money. High end apps just cost too much for us amateurs. I don't think 3D will ever amount to more than a hobby for me and I just can't afford that kind of money for a hobby.

I think I have been to Ontarget3D before. IIRC Helgard directed me to it once also. Very cool site. One of my favorite 3D artists of all time, Panko seems to have a lot of his stuff there as well. What are the terms of sale items there and do you all take new artists stuff?

Thanks ranman38! I don't know if you remember me I'm the one you made the Kriegsmarine hat for. Good to see you still around and working on your German uniform. I've decided to try to branch out a little from making animations for computer games to making 3D models so others can do the same. I think I've become addicted to 3D modeling more so than games.  

I think I have a solution. I have seen others here selling hat packs. I may try to do the same, maybe create a WW2 German Headwear pack.

So is it true then that I must have at least 3 separate sale items in order to become a vender here?

I keep getting lines where my UV map coordinates were cut out. Is there a way to get rid of these? I'm using Poser 7 with Wings 3D models.

I wonder if I could sell this on Turbosquid? I've seen some real mediocre stuff on that site, apparently going for decent prices. Not sure if they are getting what they are asking but a lot of the stuff being sold doesn't look incredibly great.

The two biggest problems as I see it now are the UV lines in the helmet where I split the model's textures and what happens to the chin strap when M4 bends his head forward.

Well, WW 2 military stuff isn't all that common, expecially clothing items. WW 2 is also a pretty popular era from my experience. You see TV documentaries and all sorts of stuff on it all the time. Military stuff in general sort of pales in comparison to all the bikinis out there for V4. So I think military is a decent niche that has potential. Plus, most importantly, its what I like to make. I want to enjoy what I do and if I have to make bikinis for V4 in order to sell anything I'll put a gun to my head.

Also note, I've beveled the edges to give it more appearance of thickness. Let me know what you think.

As far as the limits for sale items I guess I'll need to package some more stuff with it and maybe do some other sale items to bring it up to 3. :(

Thanks for everyone's help on this. I think I'm getting closer to a decent sale item. Still lots of things to fix but its getting there.

Well, thanks for being honest. Honesty probably helps more than anything. When I get this thing ironed out, taking into account some of the advice I've received, I still intend to sell it. Maybe I'll ask $2.00 or something. Better to go ahead with it than scrap all the work I've put into it at this point.

You've never seen a German Fallschirmjager helmet? Or you don't think this looks like one?

Here's a couple pics.

Quote - You asked for advice, here are my comments.  

First, if your product is for Poser, use reasonable shaders. Bagginsbill posted a leather shader, and there are reasonable metal shaders from him and Snarlygibbly around. If you want to sell your product, make sure that every part looks right. All shaders mentioned here are free to use in commercial products IIRC, but it does not hurt to ask the creator first if you don't find a clear statement.

The helmet itself is too glossy, and needs some scratches or dents to look believable. This isn't glossy car paint on these helmets, just a texture won't look right. Up to now that looks like a Poser 4 product, to be honest. 

Helmets are there for protection. You need to see the thickness of the material, and since it's steel, the edges should be beveled. This thing looks too thin, you need a visible rim. Not overdone, though. 

One thing which isn't visible so far - is the helmet conformig or will the straps go right through the neck if the head bends forward? How do you handle that? 

Besides I wonder how many people may buy a helmet alone, without the clothes. 

These are my thoughts to that. What you have looks very good so far, especially the straps are very well done. I hope I don't sound impolite, my posting is not meant that way. 

Many thanks! I hadn't thought about the head bend problem. That might present a problem. I'll have to think of a cure, not sure yet what to do with that. Not sure if conforming it would be an acceptable solution. It might cause it to bend unnaturally.

I have a slightly modified version with a beveled edge which I'm working on now.

Glad I posted to this forum before going further.