Hello, everyone. This is my first post to the forums at Renderosity. I started posting to my gallery a few days ago and thought it was time I quit lurking and got active in this great community.

As a newcomer to the Poser scene, I have a question: how do you work when you are composing and rendering a new image? I've been playing/working with Poser 5 on my Powerbook for a little less than three months, and I fear I've fallen into a rut, ignoring steps/tricks which could make me more productive and (more importantly, since this IS a hobby for me) more entertained. I spend a lot of time staring at a spinning cursor while Poser manipulates a 50-120 MB pz3. I think I could be working smarter, with less down time.

Usually, I start an image based around a particular figure(s) and outfit(s). I have a handful of prebuilt characters in my Figures directory. I drop one into the scene and then select and add a stage prop and/or a background. While in Texture Shaded mode, I flip through different poses until I find something I like. Then I switch to Hidden Line mode and position my figure(s) and tweak my pose(s). I do most of my posing using the dials, switching between the various preset cameras to get what I want. Next I spend what seems like forever (well, at least sometimes it does) moving my Main Camera around to set up the shot. Then I grit my teeth and start setting up the lighting. I usually work with 1-3 lights because I can't stand waiting for 30 global lights to process. A few final pose tweaks and a trip or two to the material room and it's time to grab the final image.

I have never used the Pose or Camera dots. I save my file frequently (and go surf the Marketplace while Poser churns away). I enjoy the heck out of what I'm doing. But could I do it better and enjoy it more? Thanks for your help.