Need some help with a particular issue on this rendering. Working title is "Routine Maintenance," and it's a straight Poser render with no post-work.

This is a work-in-progress, so I already have a list of things that aren't quite right. To name a few: 1) the hair above her ear, 2) her right elbow, 3) a few pixels where the zombie's skin is coming through the chest garment near his nipple, 4) her shoulders in relation to her hips makes it look too much like an unnatural pose, 5) the brickwork on the pillar doesn't come across well, 6) her belt buckle and the lower front of her dress are off, 6) lights are still a bit strong, and 8) the zombie's pants and belts need ...something more. Also, there's no floor yet so that's all dark.

Now that I've self-consciously pointed out most of my personal issues with the render and got that out of the way, let me draw your attention to the lower right corner, the zombie's left hand. There's a black square which doesn't appear in the texture and only shows up in the render. I thought at first that it was a reversed normal, but it shifted position after a couple of renders so it's apparently not that. There's a fair amount of objects and textures in this, so I thought it may be some sort of memory issue.

Any thoughts what that is, and how to fix it before the post-work stage? I'm in the habit of always trying to correct as much as possible before post-work. Computer's a 1.2 Ghz w/ 760 MB, and Poser 4 was the only program running at the time of the renders.

Thanks,

Erik "Kep"

A black spot like that is usually caused by an undefined facet for a particular polygon.

However, since you said " ... it shifted position after a couple of renders ..." it may not be that.

You could, also, try shifting the camera angle (very slightly in any direction (i.e., x,y,zRot), and see if that makes any difference.

One way to check for polygon misbehavior is to view the pic in wireframe mode and note the exact position of the "spot." Then render, and see if the "spot" correlates to a polygon.

Poser calculates whether a polygon is visible or not (i.e., looking at the backface) based on an angle perpendicular to the polygon's "surface."

Do you have any polygons in any object with more than 4 sides? If you do, this can cause a problem for Poser's render machine. The solution is to export the potential offender and then load it into UVMapper (a free utility). Fix it and then import it back into Poser.

UVMapper can, also, check for "abnormal" polygons (and correct them) that can cause these types of problems.

cheers,
dr geep
;=]

... I forgot to say, ...... that's an excellent WIP. ;=]

Thanks for the tips and praise. :) Since the spot shifted, I'm going to fire up the scene at some point and try the camera angle one first. At some point before it started showing up, I know I was trying to find a decent angle, so with luck that may just be it. Of course, if all else fails, I guess there's always post-work. ;) Also, if anyone recognizes the stonework, let me know. They were freebie dungeon pieces from somewhere (maybe here, I'll have to do a search later) and I want to make sure I give credit where it's due once I'm done with the image. Thanks, Erik "Kep"

Another thought occurred to me after viewing your pic again. The forarm/hand is bent at a very awkward angle. Poser has been known to "mangle" polygons at or near the joints when angles are extreme. Try making slight adjustments to both the forearm and hand (mainly the "twist" function) and see if that might correct the problem. Sometimes, you can reduce the "twist" for the hand - and increase the "twist" of the forearm and achieve the same results. Just a thought. cheers, dr geep ;=]

Really good composition and posing. All the things you mentioned as not quite right are SOP for post work in my opinion-- especially the little bald spot above the ear on Ko's ponytail-- please use clone or smudge for that, anything else makes the hair come way too far over the forehead-- reminiscent of australopithicine braincases. I'm with Dr Geep, I'd put the hand and wrist twist to normal to see if that took care of it and pose carefully from there. Good job though. Emily

The twist apparently is what was doing it. Very interesting. Guess I'll have to find some more subtle ways of making the zombie look damaged. Definitely seems to be a case of "mangled" polygons. For what it's worth, here's some things I found interesting while trying to narrow it down: Small changes of the camera (+/- 8 degrees on X, Y or Z axis) usually had no effect, but occasionally caused the spot to shift. If I zoomed in on the hand, the spot vanished completely. The spot itself appeared to be several polygons, probably around four, though I can't be sure since it wasn't there when I zoomed in. Not only did it vanish when I zoomed in, but it also vanished if I shifted the camera down on only its Y-position/dolly. This put the hand close to or in front of the black floor, which makes me suspect that Poser4 can handle the more radically twisted shapes when they're not over a dark background, or when they're not too far away, or if the angles from the camera and lights to the polygons are "just so." Not exactly a scientific statement, mind you. I'd be curious if this is a problem that can be repeated in Poser5. Thanks for your comments and help in tracking this down. :) Erik "Kep"

I apologize for saying it, but the first thing that came to mind was her letting go of the string, it retracting and a tinny Chatty Cathy voice "Hi! Will you be my friend?" coming out. That's more of a comment on my state of mind than your considerable talents, though...