Hi guys! I have a few questions about animating with Poser 5, heres a quick overview: Ultimately Im trying to inch my way to being able to make CG shorts. I mainly use P5 for character design, but Ive found its animating tools really easy to use. Now that Im getting a little better at it, Im wondering if there are any techniques for creating effects like muzzle flashes, explosions, running water, etc. within Poser? Would I be better off using 3DS Max 6 or Unreal Ed? (I have both, but I havent messed with either) If so, is there any way to take animations I create in P5 and export them to the aforementioned programs? If you guys have any advice on this or could point me to some tutorials, Id really appreciate it. Thanks!

No easy way to move Poser animations into UnrealEd.

For 3DS Max, I'd recommend the BodyStudio plugin, if you can afford it. It's by Reiss Studio, and will allow you to transfer your character animations, including Poser's dynamic cloth and hair.

Muzzle flashes, explosions, and running water might be simulated within Poser itself by means of animated materials. Take a look at JPeter's products here in the Marketplace for examples. They were created with Wondertouch's particle-effects software, particleIllusion.

DAZ brokers a couple of Poser plugins that might also be of interest: MetaForm (a metaball generator) and Particles 2.0.

For the muzzle flash you can use a transmapped prop, parented to the gun. Have it scaled down to a minimum to start with, and if necessary move it back into the barrel of ther gun, in the frames where you want the flash, move it out of the barrel and scale it up again, then scale it back down and move it back into the barrel to fade the flash. It's best if you place the origin of the prop on the edge that meets the barrel, you should do this imediatly after loading the prop, before applying any transforms to it.

In the attached annimation I used the 'Jet Exhaust' prop which I picked up in the Free Stuff some time ago.

Another one. Two Poser squares, square_2 X rotated 90 and parented to square_1. Then square_1 is scaled down until frame 6, from then on scaling, translation, and X rotation, are applied to it. The rotation gives a more lifelike appearence to the fire.

The texture and trans maps are from the 'Light Effects' freebie in the Rosity Free Stuff.

Message edited on: 06/11/2005 23:06

Message edited on: 06/11/2005 23:09