I am working on a figure in 3d Max 7 and wanting to export it to a few different apps for use. It is a four legged animal with a long tail. The issue I am having is with the tail, I would like to make it as flexible as possible but with out having to create too many bones. How would I go about this and also make it possible to export for use in Poser?

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Okay, if your intent is to take it into Poser, you won't need to rig it in Max at all. So, just make the tail with as much detail as you feel it needs.  Once you've done that, then you'll have to figure out how many groups it will take to get the effect you want. Keep in mind that these days, things like tails in Poser are often done with ERC's, which help give the impression of smooth and flexible bending between groups.

Of course, the more groups the more fluid it may be but the more bones it will take.  It's really up to you, you'll have to look at the density of the mesh, figure out how much bending the tail will really need to do and then create the groups/bones to match. A really long tail should have more than 4 sections to allow for smooth bending. Six is usually good but again, it depends on the creature and the mesh...some even have as many as 10 sections.

more a setup question then a modeling one   :)

AFAIK, Poserwise, there are two basic ways for that:

1. Use IK with a non-rendering goal at the tip (would be a dummy object in max).
2. EasyPose Underground by Ajax

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I am planning to use it in both Poser and Max. I was hired to rig this model for use in max, since I thought it would make a good poser model I put in the contract for permission to use in Poser with all rights for said poser file to go to me. problem I am having is getting enough flex with the tail to meet the client's need. He wants it (the tail) to be able flexible as a whip.  I am not sure if the current mesh is capable of that with out some major refinements. I had to take the original mesh that was supplied and add  some polygons in order to make the legs when bending  without looking like blocks of wood.

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You can of course, rig Max-wise to take into account SDS, so to lower the polygon count a bit.

As to rigging for Max specifically, I haven't touched Max in ages, so I cannot give you up-to-date advice

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I just finished rigging some tentacles for Poser with 95 joints in each arm. Ok, they have um... fingers, but still, they're quite long and supposed to be made from metallic parts, so lots of joints was a must.
I presume you'll get an easier time with your tail ;-)

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in poser you can use the 'curve' thingy (very technical term there) in the parameters of the joints to curve the group between the joints. you will need a few more poly segmants there to make this look good about 5 or 6 I would figure between each joint but it is an easy way to make it look believeabilly (lol) flexable.

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