Thanks a lot for shedding some light on this :-)

Thanxxx much for your input :-)

Thanks for the speedy replies. Yes I just built myself a dual CPU computer under $1000. I salvaged some parts (floppy, sound, modem, mouse and keyboard) from my old Pentium III 700MHZ system. I used the Tyan S2460 dual Athlon MP motherboard (awesome motherboard, though it can only go as high as the Athlon MP 1900 CPU at 1.6GHZ). I bought it at pricewatch.com for $166. Also I threw in an ATI Radeon 8500 128MB Video Card. Hopefully I'll upgrade to ATI FireGl 8800 in future ;-) I saw it for $456 some where at pricewatch website. My Poser4 was installed in the old system, but I thought it could benefit from the dual cpu setup. However, I also use Animation master and several other packages that would benefit from the setup. I wish and hope Curious Labs would add multiprocessor support to Poser in future :-)

Thanks very much for all your input:-)

AM forum pleeeeaaaaasssseee :-) It's about time.

First of all, I did not say quiet down to insult anybody. I have RESPECT for EVERYONE on this EVERYONE. EVERYONE. It was not meant to be an arrogant comment. I am not better than anybody here or anywhere. What I meant is that people should try and move on. CuriosLabs is under fire for trying to catter to a broader customer base ( perhaps ignorantly WORDED ) The company is struggling to move the product forward and I think they deserve support, critism, compliments, anger, hate, love but not full blown vendeta as seen in this forum. Some folks here would be happy to be the one to light that fuse. Temper anger with understanding. All will be well. Secondly, I DO NOT support PIRACY. I am not rich. I could not afford Poser 4, but I could afford 15 bucks to purchase a Computer Arts Magazine that had Poser 3 for free. Since then, I have been posting in this forum on how to go about upgrading my version. Upgrading to version 4 costs $99, but CuriousLabs wouldn't honor my version for upgrading. I've been saving up for version 4, ........then this. Why wouldn't anybody in my shoes support CuriousLabs for bailing them out of a frustrating situation? Why would I be posting in this forum and bothering CuriousLabs with my upgrade requests if I support piracy? Poser Is out there for a dime a pop. I don't need that. I need the real stuff. It HAS to be legit. Nobody is saying anything about folks like me. We have all been bundled in the piracy bandwagon. This is my gripe. This is my stance. Anyway, that said. Once again "quite down" was not an insult. ( wrongly worded I suppose ) D**n maybe I caught the CuriousLabs bug :-). All will be well folks. Put this behind you and keep moving. Keep rendering. Keep posering. Be happy. Curious Labs will pick up the pieces. Believe me. ( PS: I do not work for CuriousLabs and do not intend to. Just another struggling poserer around the corner ) >>>and I mean no one, tells me to "quiet down." Not unless they wish to don appropriate weaponry. Game on. Oh..and also, Anybody that wishes to brandish a weapon should feel free to do so. I hope they've got a bigger one though :-) !!!

(How hard is it to say sorry? Sorry for what? I suggest you read your licenses agreement once again. I think CL deserves an apology for all the insults the company has recieved within the last 96 hours. Quiet down and keep posering.

Some of us have been using Poser3 magazine copy for quite a while. Where were all these people when it cost only $99 to upgrade from that version to the full version 4? This is our chance to upgrade. I really don't care about all this whining and crying and bitching. Just wait till I get my copy. It's time to give ya'll the run for your money. F**k all these naked women and stuff from twisted minds that turn around to cry. Let's see some real animation. Good job Steve!!! Good job Tori!!!! I don't care what anyone says. YOU ARE THE MAN. Boo hoo hoo :-( waa waa waa !!!! Get a life folks.

Some of us have been using Poser3 magazine copy for quite a while. Where were all these people when it cost only $99 to upgrade from that version to the full version 4? This is our chance to upgrade. I really don't care about all this whining and crying and bitching. Just wait till I get my copy. It's time to give ya'll the run for your money. F**k all these naked women and stuff from twisted minds that turn around to cry. Let's see some real animation. Good job Steve!!! Good job Tori!!!! I don't care what anyone says. YOU ARE THE MAN. Boo hoo hoo :-( waa waa waa !!!! Get a life folks.

Some of us have been using poser3 magazine copy for quite a while. Where were you guys when it cost only $99 to upgrade from that copy to the full version 4? This is our chance to upgrade. I really don't care about all this whining and crying and bitching. Just wait till I get my copy. It's time to give ya'll the run for your money. F**k all these naked women and stuff from twisted minds that turn around to cry. Let's see some real animation. Good job Steve!!! I don't care what anyone says. YOU ARE THE MAN. Boo hoo hoo :-( waa waa waa !!!! Get a life folks.

Go on steve. Don't stop now........... :-> !!!!!!

Attached Link: http://www.its-ming.com/

Thanks folks !!!! I think I'll go ahead and purchase the full version. That way, I won't be missing out on the fun you folks are having :-) !! Thanks for all the input. BOY !. I love this forum !!

Thanks Moonbiter !!!!! Do you still have any info on how to contact the magazine about the special offer ?. Please I'd be very grateful if I could obtain it. I remember having all that info myself, but I gave the magazine away a long time ago. Anyway, I even doubt if that offer still exists. However, I wouldn't mind contacting them again. So please hook me up with any info if you can :-) !!!!! Ofcourse the next option, like you said, is to purchase the the full version 4. It's "way, way " worth the money. I just wanted to be sure of all other options before handing over those dollar bills :-) !!! Thanxxxx again and keep on posering !!!

Cool. I'm glad I could be of some help. Hopefully Etchelon would work out for you too. It seems to be an AWESOME bargain. The Painter option is not bad either, but from my experience, it might be a bit cumbersome if you have a lot of frames. Infact, INK and PAINT is where I think the real nature of digital animation comes into play and dedicated 2D Cel animation programes excel due to their numerous Automated-Painting options. ;-) However, if you are willing to do the grunt work, then Painter is the way to go. Animation boils down to "a labour of love" anyway. :-) !!!!!! Keep on keeping on. Enjoy !!

Hi, I use Animation stand. It is used by the big studios and was developed on the mac but eventually got ported to all the OS versions ( windows, I believe linux too ). I use the windows version 'cos I have windows 3D programmes and I couldn't afford two systems for different programes. The website is www.animationstand.com . They have a fully functional Lite version you can download for free. The full Pro version costs about $600. Another option would be ToonBoom. It is a new Lite version of USanimation Software used by the big studios ( USanimation was used for the rugrat movies ). You can check it out at www.toonboom.com. They have a demo you can download too but I think it's geared more towards web animation. However, reviews I've read state that it could also export quicktime movies. The full version costs about $380. Adobe After Affects is another industrial standard software you might want to check out at www.adobe.com. The standard version goes for about $650. The production bundle with extra filters, bell and whistels, etc costs more. After Effects is used for everything ranging from TV motion graphics, South Pack and even the pilot Blue's Clues series. Infact the latest Version 5 has very high reviews. I'm sorry I particularly don't know much about the Etchelon software you wrote about, but I think I identify with your dillema on 2D cel software ( especially on the mac ). I've lived with it for years :-) !!!! 2D animation is my first love, but unfortunately the digital tools are still beyond reach for the average independent film maker with RETAS at almost $5,000, ANIMO at $15,000, TOONZ at $15,000, CTP at almost $3,000. It's indeed absurd. Especially judging by the fact that all the software really does is to simply move YOUR DRAWINGS. Anyway, maintain your high spirit. Good luck and happy animating !!!!! :-) !!!