Ok I hope I do this right :) I have had Poser 4 sitting on my computer for about 3 months and finally decided to tackle learning it about 4 days ago.

Of course, actually reading the manual etc would be too easy so I have done pretty much everything via trial and error until I get really stuck and then I look in the manual or message boards for the answers. I'm muddling along ok this way, but now that I am actually starting to vaguely understand how the program works I have some questions I haven't been able to find answers to in my searches.

I have done 4 renders before this one, but this is the first one that doesn't have something grossly wrong (like feet underground, transparent eyes, plastic looking skin, etc)

I'm sure this is all simple stuff I am doing or not doing, but any advice (as well as critique) would be much appreciated.

I am using Poser 4 (no pro pack), I have installed the 4.0.3 patch and the memory patch thingy. Not sure any of this is important, but I'm running a 3ghz machine with 2gb RAM and a 256mb vid card.

I have greatly reduced these because I can't find any guidelines on file/graphic sizes allowed here. I will be happy to post or provide links to the full size if anyone wants/needs to see those for a better look.

This is V3 with the following additions:
Aspen full body Morph by Tifft785 and Mahna (DAZ store)
Boots, Pose and Makeup are Aspen as well.
Hair is V3 Wild and Messy Conforming Haircut (DAZ)
Jeans are Second Skin Jeans & Tops Textures for V3 (DAZ)
Shirt is Butterfly Top with Fit to be Tied MAT (DAZ)
Background is Cyclorama: Portrait Paper Backdrops (DAZ)

My questions are:

1. It's hard to tell in the little one, but in the middle picture you can see her foot shows through the boot. Originally, both feet had a considerable portion showing through.

I futzed with the dials and adjusted the pose a bit and got to where it is just that small part you see left. I tried making her foot hidden with the Hierarchy Editor, however it is part of her shin. If I make the shin hidden, then I lose her a good portion of her leg.

In the 3rd one I pulled the render into Photoimpact and just cloned over the spot so it doesn't show. Is there something else I should have done or this the type of thing that just has to be handled in postwork?

1. I really like the "close up" look of the first render, but obviously then I lose her lower body. Is there a way to change something so I can get her whole body in, but still have it be closer up? I have tried messing with camera angles, dials, etc and just can't seem to grasp how to accomplish that one :(

2. This doesn't really apply to this particular render, but mostly because it was an accident vs by design. I have a problem with lower portions being hidden "underground" and can't get them moved back up above the ground plane without changing the pose or starting over. I suspect this too has to do with camera angles, but am not sure what I'm doing wrong to get them "buried".

3. When I try to add a second model (not the same model, but a completely different one for example V3 and a horse/dragon etc) for some reason the second one seems to meld with V3 and I end up with some weird genetic experiment looking thing :) I am using the double check thingy to add a second model to the current background.

I think that covers everything right now. I'm sure I will have a million more questions as I go along.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my rather long post and I hope to be a more active (and less pesky) member of the community here soon :)

Towal

Forum image size limit is ~200KB and JPG. Size is unimportant, but most prefer that the image not be larger than 800 wide. 1. If you can't hide the body part, you may need to make the boot slightly oversized (scaled). When you applied the boots, did you also select "Conform to parent" and select the figure? 2. In Render Options, set the render to New Window and change the Width and Height. 3. Select the offending figure's Body and select "Figure->Drop to floor" from the menus. 4. All models are added at the origin (0,0,0). Objects can't exist in the same space in reality, but they can in virtual reality. You must move your objects to different locations. That's all.

1. select vickys body and use the ytrans in the dials to move her up and down. 4. lock vicky before adding another vicky to the scene

Oh and I was going to suggest some better lighting...get the complex global lighting 1 and 2 from daz...they're in the pc club and super cheap...specially right now :)

Some boots benefit from having a very small taper on the shin (1% or even less) as well as invisible feet. Vicki's feet just don't squash the same way as real ones. :)

Thank you for the suggestions. I will get the global lighting packs today. I'm still so new to this it's hard to know what to buy. I can see I will need to win the lottery to support this new habit :) Towal

Hi Towal, spending money at DAZ becomes an expensive habit. I only joined the Platinum Club in August and as of today I noticed I've made 14 orders, I won't say how much I've spent, but it's a lot, and I haven't got all the things I want yet. So from one newbie to another, have lots of fun. 8) Catlin

Attached Link: http://www.runtimedna.com/

Welcome to your new addiction :-) If you hop over to Runtime DNA at the link, they have loads of free light sets. Really really useful when you're learning about lighting. Oh and for no.2, also try changing the focal length on the camera itself. The Poser defaults tend to be a bit wacky. You can also do a search for "geep" on this forum and get Dr Geep's tutorials; there's a set of 3 called "Lights, Camera, Action!" which you'll find useful, I think :-)

Catlin: I spent about a month putting stuff in my wishlist at DAZ off and on while I tried to decide if I was really going to use the program enough to warrant the kind of money it would cost to keep me happy. When they had the special a few days ago where you got an extra percent off if you joined that was the nudge I needed LOL. I got most of the stuff off my original wish list and then realized I had missed something so went back and browsed some more and found a bunch of stuff I want that I missed the first time or maybe it's new stuff. I have not even checked the marketplace here, runtimedna or poser pros yet because I know I will find a ton more things I need :) Karen: thank you for the suggestions and the link. I have been avoiding looking at other places because I will want to buy more, but now that someone suggested it I have to go look ;) I will look for the tutorials as well. I have played with focal length a touch, but will work with it more. Do you have to change it on each camera angle or only the main one you are using? Towal

Focal length can be changed per camera, so you only have to put it in for the camera you want to render with, although playing with it while you're setting up the scene can sometimes be easier than zooming back and forth. I usually change the face and main cameras to a focal length of at least 100. This also helps avoid the fish eye look you can sometimes get with close ups ;-) RuntimeDNA has loads of good free stuff, so as long as you stay out of their marketplace, your credit card should be safe :o)

Karen thank you for the hints on the camera. I can tell it's going to take some playing with. I'm not sure whether to thank you or curse you for sending me to RDNA. I just returned from there with a ton of new stuff. Now I have to figure out how to install it since I have only gotten stuff from DAZ before and those have auto installers. There are so many places you can get stuff I could spend an eternity shopping and not get anything else done ;) I also downloaded the Geep Tutorials I found the links to doing a search here so that will keep me busy for a while from the looks of it. Towal

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=1497373

Towal, if you go to the link, Dr Geep has a list of where everything goes in your Poser directory. Without this helpful little tool I'd be totally lost when it comes to placing files manually. 8) Catlin

The Poser File Disposition Guide
*** Links *** to ALL of Dr Geep's Tutorials

Here are a couple of links that might help you out some more. No money is involved. :)

Thanks very much, Catlin. I have bookmarked this and will tackle it when I get up. Towal

Thank you as well, EnglishBob :) I bookmarked both of those. I can see this is going to be a bit of a learning curve to get things installed correctly doing it manually. I have read about a program called Pboost and am wondering if that is something I should get? It said you can consolidate the menus some which would be a HUGE help for me. I have to be really careful to make sure I'm hitting V3 items and not M3. I'd be nice to put all Mike's stuff in a seperate folder until I'm ready to work with him. Towal