Granted, I am not a 3d genius, i'm an artist. my question would be, what programs would be best (and ease of use) to create my own dynamic and comforming clothing for poser? I am not particularly looking to make creations to sell (though that may happen one day), and might end up as freebies, my intent is to make my own figures from scratch, so that there is absolutely no commercial infringement. I do fantasy 3-d paintings to sell, but have no desire to use a conforming figure that may come up and haunt me in future years. My other problem is that, of the merchants and freebies who offer EXCELLENT product, often, these items are seen in painting and render after render. For example, the Daz MFD is a great product, but with all the alterations in the world, its still the MFD. Also, I am having quite a challenge finding the types of clothing (medieval/fantasy like) that I'm looking for, and would like to attempt to create my own. Anyway LOL my question is, is it worth it to attempt to make my own? Is there an easy way to do this, or do I need to be a 3-d genius? What programs would be best? Is there any hope to make a draping/dynamic real live jack sparrow shirt with flowing sleeves? ROFL. Do I have a shot at actually creating more male clothing and the like? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I Use 3ds Max 7 with the cloth extension - Video demos can be found at www.discreet.com It can get very expensive though, between 3de Max itself and the cloth extension (though it be free, you need a Disceet Subscription)

Attached Link: http://www.philc.net/

you can make conforming and dynamic clothing using wings3d, which is a FREE 3d modeling program available at the wings3d.com website. Its not as fancy as other progs like 3dmax, shade, etc, but it is free, and with some creativity and good planning, you can produce the same modeling results as many of the high dollar programs out there. I had the same problem as you, not being able to find quite the right pieces that I need, so I resorted to learning how to make my own. Of course I'm still learning. Conforming clothing is in a lot of ways more complicated to make than dynamic clothing. With dynamic clothing, you can pretty much use any simple shape to make the cloth. Say, for example, a dynamic skirt, can be made from a cone primitive, put around the waist of the figure, with the top of the cone constrained, so that the rest of it falls around the hips and legs, as a skirt would hang. Though getting dynamic clothing to fall properly can often times be a headache, its still easier to make, as you very rarely have to deal with grouping, and never have to worry about making it poseable. YOu can also use dynamic clothing to create the proper folds and drapes in conforming clothing that you're looking for, where it could take ages, depending on one's modeling skills, to recreate those same folds and drapes in an external modeling program. Some clothing just would not make sense as dynamic while other pieces don't make sense being conforming. You also have to consider the fact that, if you plan to share your clothing, there are still a lot of people that use poser 4, which dynamic clothing doesn't work with. I've been wanting to find some creative partners that would be interested in team projects to make things like clothing, props, textures, etc. If you're ever interested send me a message. E.D.

I agree with E.D. Wings is a good way to start. It won't cost you anything but your time and you don't waste all that money like, ($3500.00)US? or is it more now. Clothing Creator works well. I find PhilC has some of the best support I've encountered, other merchants should take a page from him. It relies on transmaps, so if your like me, who tries not to have them, you will still need a modeling program. Again Wings. Now If you bought the P6SE, you would have Shade LE. That is a modeling program. I have Shade Standard and use it a lot. Don't spend money untill you try all the demos.

I'll throw in a vote for Wings, too. Wonderful app. Anim8tor and Blender are two nice free animation apps that have pretty good modelers, but they don't feel as slick as Wings to me. Also, you didn't mention texturing. Since you're an artist maybe you plan to just paint your own, but if you want software to make them or use as a starting point I highly recommend Genetica (www.spiralgraphics.biz). It's not a freebie, but their Wood Workshop is free and gives you a good feel for the app. If you decide to buy Genetica you'll be able to get version 2 (which is still in beta) at no extra charge.