Hi! I'm on Lesson 2 in the tutorial, following along, and when I import the background art, nothing shows up. The back panel of the opening grid view didn't show either. Is there something simple and obvious I'm missing? Thanks!

~ Laramie

Yes assuming you are using Poser 11, select GROUND then in the properties panel, on the right on the interface and uncheck Visible. This hides "the construct", which is something new in poser 11 so the tutorial probably hasn't caught up with it yet.

Nails60 posted at 11:47AM Mon, 19 June 2017 - #4307961

Yes assuming you are using Poser 11, select GROUND then in the properties panel, on the right on the interface and uncheck Visible. This hides "the construct", which is something new in poser 11 so the tutorial probably hasn't caught up with it yet.

Whether 'visible' is checked or unchecked the background still shows only black. I wonder if I inadvertently did something to the cameras or some other setting?

Ok bit confused now, if you say background is black. When I try this once I make the GROUND invisible I just get Andy standing in front of blank but not black background. Are you starting from the default scene with just Andy standing on the ground? If not try restarting Poser make the GROUND invisible then importing a background picture.

I thought I was, but background appeared black from the start

I don't have Poser 11 so I am not sure on the fix to this problem but assuming it is the same as Poser 2014 do you have 'show background picture' ticked under the display tab. If that does not work, how are you importing the picture (might be a silly question but worth asking).

In earlier versions of Poser I have found adding a high res square from primitives and the adding an image map in materials to be a more flexible method but I accept if you are new to Poser this might be a bit advanced.

hornet3d posted at 11:54AM Tue, 20 June 2017 - #4308033

I don't have Poser 11 so I am not sure on the fix to this problem but assuming it is the same as Poser 2014 do you have 'show background picture' ticked under the display tab. If that does not work, how are you importing the picture (might be a silly question but worth asking).

I just double-checked that in PP11 Hornet, and you are correct. I didn't check that option in the Display menu, so I think it was set that way by default. That said, that option is greyed out in the Display menu when you first open a scene, but when I added an image to the Background in the Material Room and it showed up, I checked the Display menu again, and yes I have that option checked, so that didn't change since earlier versions. In fact, out of curiosity, I booted up P9, and that option shows up as checked once I applied a texture to the Background.

Thank you for checking for me, I only hod Poser 2014 and Game Dev to go from.

LaramieS posted at 11:24AM Tue, 20 June 2017 - #4308008

I thought I was, but background appeared black from the start

To clarify, I thought I was starting from the default settings. I opened Poser, the ground state showed the grid below, but black behind Andy. I went to Display>Guides>Ground plane which made a flat grayish background. I then went to File> Import > Background picture, but the background shows as a black rectangle. I used a jpg image. Should I be using something else? Thanks!

hornet3d posted at 11:33AM Tue, 20 June 2017 - #4308033

I don't have Poser 11 so I am not sure on the fix to this problem but assuming it is the same as Poser 2014 do you have 'show background picture' ticked under the display tab. If that does not work, how are you importing the picture (might be a silly question but worth asking).

Yes; I do have 'Show Background Picture' ticked. I'm wondering if I should try re-installing or if there's something I don't know about proper formats for bg images. Pixel depth minimums?

OK, remembering I am using Poser 2014, all I have to do is, with the 'show background picture ticked', click the materials tab, then in the materials room tick advanced. Select background in the object tab and then click on the BG image box on the right. In that box click image source and point at the image that you want to use. When you click OK Poser automatically connects the output of this node to the background and the picture should appear in the preview window.

The upside of this method is that the background sits in the back of your preview and stays there facing the camera as you change camera position. The downside is that you cannot change the parameters as you can with a cloth plane but is does not remain facing the camera meaning it has to be placed before you render. Don't forget if you are using background you need to select render over background picture in your renders setting otherwise it will not appear.

Thanks, Hornet3d, I will try that when I get a chance and get back to you - have to go out now.

I reinstalled Poser and it's looking like the background issue has something to do with the lighting...

LaramieS posted at 11:01AM Thu, 22 June 2017 - #4308207

I reinstalled Poser and it's looking like the background issue has something to do with the lighting...

I was able to adjust the lighting so that the back grid showed - but still get a plain black field when I import a background jpg - and I've tried several different jpgs.

LaramieS posted at 12:57PM Thu, 22 June 2017 - #4308219

I was able to adjust the lighting so that the back grid showed - but still get a plain black field when I import a background jpg - and I've tried several different jpgs.

OK, I think I understand the problem now. The instructions Hornet and I gave you early is how you would apply an image to the Background object in older versions of Poser. I happen to have my PP11 set up the same way, BUT, by default P11 and PP11 now have The Construct object as the default "Ground", so what you need to select in the Material Room is the GROUND object, and then select the Background material for it.

This is not the same as adding a background to the Background object folks have always used in earlier versions for Poser.

Miss B posted at 7:37PM Thu, 22 June 2017 - #4308228

LaramieS posted at 12:57PM Thu, 22 June 2017 - #4308219

I was able to adjust the lighting so that the back grid showed - but still get a plain black field when I import a background jpg - and I've tried several different jpgs.

OK, I think I understand the problem now. The instructions Hornet and I gave you early is how you would apply an image to the Background object in older versions of Poser. I happen to have my PP11 set up the same way, BUT, by default P11 and PP11 now have The Construct object as the default "Ground", so what you need to select in the Material Room is the GROUND object, and then select the Background material for it.

This is not the same as adding a background to the Background object folks have always used in earlier versions for Poser.

Thank you for the clarification, that makes sense to me even though I don't have Poser 11. Sorry for the misleading post.

Hi I have poser 11. The easy way is. Display, guides uncheck ground plane. File, import, background picture.