First of all... I'm new to Poser10 (will be going to 2012Pro, most likely), but have been working with snap-together DAZ for about a year. I'm working on creating cover art for a fiction series I'm working on. (Who knows, if I can become good friends with Poser, maybe I'll move into graphic novels!) I find that I can't get everything I want in DAZ (though maybe I just haven't learned what I need yet...) and need to create my own things now.  Anyway...

I have learned how to create a skullcap (and have also used this technique to create a beard - vital to my stories!) I can put the hair on, syle it and color successfully. But I can't seem to save them!

I was reading in the user's manual about exporting/importing using Wavefront OBJs. I did this... it worked to a certain extent... but when I import it again, it's HUGE - I mean, I had to reduce it to about 10% of its original size to fit Ryan again! I tried making sure I locked it in place on Ryan and tried again... Same problem. So, clearly, I'm doing something wrong!

Ideally, I want to accomplish: 

1. Save my created skullcaps for future use.

2. Save the skullcaps WITH hair groups intact.

3. Save my finished pieces (without color) for future use.

4. Save the finished works in multiple colors...

(Eventually, I want to be able to save individual characters, but one step at a time!)

Can anyone help me understand this whole thing better? 

(Good tutorials are great too - but I don't need the entire process spelled out - just the saving work part.)

Thanks!

 

The problem with importing things created on other software is that poser has a different scale. Import Ryan's obj into the other software and fit the cap to him there. The when you inport the cap into poser the only check box you might want is make normals consistant. Don't use the percent of standard figure size one at all.

Now once you have the cap in poser and have created the hair, in the hair tab in the library click the add to library and there will be a pop up window that says something about saving hair groups with the props. Click ok. then you will see a window where you type the name of the hair, there is a button that says select subset. Click on that and select the cap and all the groups. Then click ok. And click ok again.

I was only using Poser - so no issue of using a different piece of software for designing.

 

I will try the hair group thing again as soon as 2014 has finished installing. (Went ahead and upgraded!)

If you're creating the skull cap for personal use then you can spawn it directly from the figure's head using the grouping tool. 

Use the grouping tool to select all the polys you need for the skull cap, then click the "spawn prop" button and the selected polys will be duplicated into their own object at the correct size and placement. Then just save it to your Props library (in your own custom folder to keep things organized and you don't confuse yourself later). You can also save it as a smart prop by first parenting it to the figure's head. Hair room hair doesn't need rigging, so the skull cap can be a smart prop. Once you save it to the Props library you can delete the original from the scene and reload the new one from the library. If it's saved as a smart prop it will automattically load parented to the figure's head. 

The only drawback is that you can't use this skull cap for redistributing. For that you would have to make your own custom cap in a modeling program and then bring it back into poser and make sure it fits the figure by manually scaling and repositioning. 

ETA: Good that you upgraded to 2014. With all the work you're planning, you won't regret it. IMHO 2014 is the best version so far especially for content artists. 

 

~Shane

In the latest Poser versions, you do not need a scullcap.
You can "paint" the hairgroups directly on the figure in the hair room, and grow the guide hairs directly on them.

Then save the figure back to the library. (hair included)

Thanks. I'm going to spend a bit of time playing with it today.

What's the difference between "create prop" and "spawn prop"?