Okay - maybe I'm stupid or just missing something - but is the only way to add props to a character (ie, a gun to a hand etc) is to move the gun manually into position? I'm trying to add props into character scenes I'm doing and just can't seem to find a easy way to line everything up... Any help (sorry - I know I'm a newbie :P) WiNC

The way you add props initially is to move them into place. Then, you probably want to go to the hierarchy editor and move the gun under the hand. Then, when the hand moves, the gun will move with it. That will work for most props. I say most because I recently did a scene with several piercings, and you can set the props to move with nipples or navel (can you?) I had to move those around every time I re-posed the figure.

Ok, but theres other props... such as 3DS files (made in 3D Studio MAX). To load them is slightly different. I also suspect this is the question you are really asking. To load a 3DS prop (or many other props from other programs), go to File > Import. From there you see a bunch of choices... the most common you will use is either Wavefront OBJ or 3D Studio. From there, locate your file, click OK, and your prop shall appear. it will mostly likely be very misproportioned to your figure, you just have to scale it down, then relocate it, using the Editing Tools and dials. Taking the example of the gun, say you want to put it in their hand, but you dont want the character to let go of the gun when they move their arm. Select the gun, then go Figure > Conform To. From there, you will need to select the figure number that is the person (usually Figure 1, but you can find out by looking at the bottom left corner of your working canvas), then hit OK. Voila!

Is there a difference in parenting an object and conforming an object? I have conformed clothing but never an object.

Amp3, set to "conform to"? Never tried this! Sometimes the conform option isn't available so I've always used the "set parent" option. I have been able to successfully add hand guns, etc., to my posers using this technique. I usually position the gun manually with the x,y,z dials then set the parent to the right/left hand. Works beautifully for poses and/or animation.

To clarify, I've never used "conform to" on a prop, like Gawain mentions. I conform clothing and parent props...

If you're using a Poser ready prop, the trick is to parent it to the body part as soon as you've added it to the scene. Then zero all the rotation and translation dials for the prop, and if you're lucky it will be in the right place; it depends on who made it, and how. This usually only works for props which are associated only with one body part, e.g. hats on the head, shoes on feet etc. The point is, once a prop is parented, the dials work relative to the body part to which it is connected making positioning much easier. Before parenting, the dials work relative to the universe (as Poser calls it) which is hard work. :)

From what I know, you can only "conform" a figure (character) and not a prop (which does not have body part names, joints, bones, etc to act as the "guide" for conforming. when you have all this common detail, you can "conform" with greater precision. Parenting, on the other hand just locks two parts together with a set of fixed relative offset coordinates that may or may not need to be changed when a figure is posed and re-posed. I have found that parenting is most stable when it is originally done with the Poser figure in the default (arms-out) position AND IK turned OFF AND "zero figure" button pressed in the joint editor when the "Hip" is selected. Do all of this BEFORE parenting, and your object will track the body movements MUCH better than any other method, but still may need tweaking.

P.S. And yes, some "props" are really "characters" if they have bones and joint parameters in them, but conforming is done by comparing body part names. For example with a gun - if you name the trigger part as "Right Index 3" it will conform to that body part and move with it. At least this is my simplified newbie understanding of it.