Hi everyone,

I'd like to start making content for poser such as clothing, props, and morphs and was wondering which would be a good program to choose.  I recently loaded Poser 2010 and am still sorting out the new features form Poser 8 (been using Poser since Ver 5 but this is my fist PRO version).

So - what would be a good modeling program that's user friendly - I've dabbled with Hexagon but am considering Cararra 8 Pro since there's a deal right now. Any other suggestions?  I have little experience with modeling so I think Maya is a bit beyond my experience/budget.

Wings 3D.  Free and very capable.  The model everyone (including me) is currently raving about - Antonia - was built in Wings.  I've made a few things in there, too.  It's superb.  Very user friendly, too.

OTOH, there is also Blender, also free.  I can't get to grips with it (yet) but it's very good, say those who use it.

Seriously, there's no need to splash the cash when there are perfectly good free apps around.

Did I say Wings and Blender are free?  Yes, I think I did. :) 

I vote for Wings! But then I'm partial ;o)

Laurie

Hexagon from DAZ is excellent, you can catch it on sale from time to time and it will be almost free.

ky - OP said he/she used Hex.

Haven't used it myself but since I have all I need in Wings, I don't see me buying it any time soon. 

Quote - Hi everyone,

I'd like to start making content for poser such as clothing, props, and morphs and was wondering which would be a good program to choose.  I recently loaded Poser 2010 and am still sorting out the new features form Poser 8 (been using Poser since Ver 5 but this is my fist PRO version).

So - what would be a good modeling program that's user friendly - I've dabbled with Hexagon but am considering Cararra 8 Pro since there's a deal right now. Any other suggestions?  I have little experience with modeling so I think Maya is a bit beyond my experience/budget.

DAZ has deals on Carrara all the time because it is a horrible modeling app (especially for organics) and DAZ Studio is better at rendering.  If you can afford it, an excellent modeler is modo (it does other things excellently as well).

another Wings 3D vote  here.

highly compatible w/ Poser in the work process.

FREE

works  better than  a  FREE  software.

Quote - works  better than  a  FREE  software.

Funny.

Start with free -- Wings, or since you already have Hexagon...   There may be more of a learning curve with some free software, but that's better than plopping down serious bucks then discovering you hate modeling.

Regarding the rest of the tool set;

"Clothing, Props, and Morphs" covers a lot of ground.

Let's start with props.  At their basic, these are a mesh and a texture.  You probably want a modeling application for the mesh (as Doctor Geep will remind you, you can actually model in Poser -- a little!) and to get the best texture results a photo editing software such as PhotoShop or The Gimp. 

That's all you really need for the basic prop.  Oh, and Poser or DAZStudio -- whichever one you wish to design for.  You can do this stuff blind, but it really is better to be able to open it and edit it in the proper application.

Oh, and a text editor can help a lot with some of the prop tasks.  Nothing fancy; Notepad or whatever you PC people use.

Clothing, conforming clothing, is a subset of "Figures" with it's own complexities.  You can do it with just the tools above but there are various third-party tools that will make it much easier.  Start with props, though!

Morphs are a subject completely on their own.  Whereas for a prop, all that matters is good mesh construction (no n-gons, no double-sided polys, stuff like that), to get a morph to work means you have to have a modeling tool that respects the number of polygons, the winding order, and the scale.  Disturb any of these, and the morph won't function (or, rather, it may ....if exploding heads was what you were after!)

Anyhow.  A few introductory words there.  Start propping and have fun!

Thanks to everyone who's posted so far - This helps quite alot :)

Don't go for Carrara, it's not really suited for what you want. As someone else mentioned, it's quite  awkward modeling in Carrara.

Hexagon is a very good modeling application, one of the best in it's price class, if not the best. You only need to get comfortable with it. I really suggest following some of the tutorials offered for Hexagon. That enables you to learn Hexagon, understand it and get comfortable with it.

On this page there a number of tutorials, check out the series called Hexagon Beginner's Tut, could be very helpful: artzone.daz3d.com/wiki/doku.php/pub/tutorials/hexagon/tutorials

Daz has a few also, but there a bit more advanced, but some of them are really good and explain stuff really well: [http://www.daz3d.com/i/tutorial/0?tut_cat=12&_m=d

](http://www.daz3d.com/i/tutorial/0?tut_cat=12&_m=d)Also, always remember whatever application you choose, there's a huge wealth to be found at YouTube!

Heh.  To each their own.  I actually find Carrara comforting...it is such a bare-bones modeler it doesn't confuse me like, say, C4d.  But, no...I wouldn't recommend purchasing it as a first modeler!  Especially not when there are such powerful programs available for free...

Carrara Pro 6.2 is free this month in the US at bookstores.  See 3DArtist #12.  The reason why the $549 SRP program is free is because no one will buy it for $549 (or for $1 even).  This is the third or fourth time that it has been in a mag for free.