poser pro quick start guide

8/2/2019 Poser Pro Quick Start Guide

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image by Paul Sutton

Poser ProQuick Start Guide


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The Pose Room

The Pose room is the ocal point or much o your Poser activity. This is where you add gures andprops to your scene and perorm your desired posing/animation o gures and props. The ollowingimages identiy the controls available in the Pose room.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar consists o a series o pull-down menus used or accessing Poser unctionality. Somemenus and/or submenus duplicate other on-screen interace elements.


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Room Tabs

The Room tabs allow you to switch rom room to room within Poser: Pose, Material, Face, Hair,Cloth, Setup and Content. To enter a room, simply click its tab.

Showing/Hiding Windows & Palettes

The Window menu commands allow you to show or hide the main windows and palettes that you

use in Poser. I a palette or window is hidden, use the menu command to display the desired item.Then you can dock or foat palettes as needed to customize your interace.

Palettes or the Material, Face, Hair, and Cloth rooms are ound in the Windows > RoomTools submenus when you are in the associated room.


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Docking and Floating Palettes

A Palette Docking Control Square appears at the top right corner o each palette. Click thissquare to display a menu o commands that allow you to dock or foat palettes, enable or disablepalette docking, and to close the selected palette.

A foating palette returns to its last docked position when you dock it.

Docking and Floating by DraggingYou can also dock and foat palettes by dragging rom their title bar area into your documentwindow or to another monitor. To redock the foating palette, drag the palette toward the area inwhich you want it to dock, and release the mouse when the desired docking area is highlighted asshown in the gure.


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The Library

Posers library allows you to view and search through a single library older, or throughout all o thelibrary olders in your collection (including external Poser libraries). Use the Show Library menu todisplay one or all libraries in your collection. Library items are displayed in a hierarchical structure,in olders that you can expand or collapse. The 32-bit library runs as an embedded or externalapplication, while the 64-bit Windows library runs in external mode only.

Library Categories

Library category symbols allow you to easily browse through the Figures, Poses, Faces, Hair,Hands, Props, Lights, Cameras, and Materials categories. Select the symbol or the categorythat you want to display, and Poser 8 displays the contents o one or all libraries in that category.The number o items or subolders contained within a library older appears in brackets.


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Saving Items to the Library

Poser makes it easy to save your customized items to the library. Simply select the item in yourscene that you want to save, click the appropriate category (such as Figures, Poses, or Hair), selectthe older you want to save the item to, and click the Add to Library button at the bottom o theLibrary palette.

Searching through the LibraryThe Search tab in the Poser Library allows you to perorm searches on the content in your library.Your search can include all content categories, or specic categories such as Figures or Props (asshown in the gure). You can also use the search tab to search through and purchase items romContent Paradise. Select the categories that you want to search. Enter a keyword or keywords in theSearch For eld and click the Search button.


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Adding Items to Favorites

When you nd an item in the library that you know youll use over and over again, you can add theselected library item to your avorites. Click to select the desired library item, and then click the Addto Favorites button at the bottom o the Library window. You will be prompted to create or selecta Library older to store the avorite item.

The Favorites TabAter you add an item to Favorites, you can easily recall it by switching to the Favorites tab andexpanding the older that you stored your item or items into. You can then select the avorite itemand add it to your scene like any other library item.


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Adding a Figure

The Figures category contains poseable gures, animals, clothing, and other articulated objects. Youcan delete the deault character rom your scene, and then add another gure such as Poser 8semale, Alyson. Locate the desired gure and drag it into the scene or use the Apply to Scene(single check) button to replace the selected gure in your scene, or the Add to Scene (doublecheck) button in the Library window to add clothing or additional characters into the scene.

Adding Clothing

Clothing appears in the Props library (where it can be conorming or dynamic), or in the Figureslibrary (where it is conorming clothing). To auto-conorm clothing, click to select the gure in yourscene. Drag clothing rom the Props or Figures category, and drop it on the gure. You can alsoattach conorming clothing to your gure with the Figure > Conorm To command.


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Adding Hair

The Hair library stores hair props, conorming hair, and strand-based hair. Some types o hair aredesigned to t specic gures, while others oer morph dials or library poses that will adjust thehair to t many supported Poser gures. Add hair to your scene rom the Hair category o yourchoice, either by dragging rom the Library or by the Add/Apply to Scene buttons.

Attaching HairI your hair is conorming hair, it appears in the Select Figure menu at the top o the Documentwindow. I conorming hair does not automatically conorm during drag and drop (as mentioned in

Adding Clothing), use the Figure > Conorm To command to attach it to the desired character.Prop or strand-based hair appears in the Current Actor > Props menus. In this case, use theObject > Change Parent command to attach it to your desired gure.


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Posing the Figure

The Poses library contains many gure-specic and universal poses that you can apply to your gure.Select the human gure (not a clothing item) and then apply the pose by dragging, or by clickingthe Add/Apply to Figure buttons. You can also select a specic body part (such as the right oot)and use the Parameter dials to rotate, twist, or bend the selected part; or, use the Editing toolsto select and pose visually.

Posing Eyes

You can pose eyes in a couple o dierent ways. Poser 8 gures include LookUp-Down andLookSide-Side parameter dials in the Head Morphs > Eye Expressions section o theParameters Palette to pose eyes, lids, and surrounding areas accordingly. You can also select theRight Eye or Let Eye and use the Up-Down or Side-Side dials to adjust the eye positions.


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Editing Tools (Part 1)

Rotate: Rotates the selected item.

Twist: Twists the selected item.

Translate/Pull: Moves the selected item up/down and let/right.

Translate In/Out: Moves the selected item in/out.

Scale: Grows or shrinks the selected item.

Taper: Grows or shrinks one end o the selected item.

Editing Tools (Part 2)

Chain Break: Breaks chains o movement at the selected joint.Color: Allows you to choose a color or the selected item.

Grouping: Opens the Grouping Tool palette.

View Magnier: Zooms into and out o your scene.

Morphing Tool: Visually sculpt morph targets.

Direct Manipulation: Translate, rotate, and scale an item.


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Adding Facial Expressions

The Faces category contains poses that apply acial expressions to your characters. These posesare usually character-specic. For example, when you want to change the expression or a Poser8 gure, use Face poses rom the Poser 8 Content > Poser 8 > Alyson or Ryan older. Poser8 also urnishes ace expressions that are compatible with legacy gures such as Poser 7 and G2generation gures which are also provided with Legacy content.

Adding a Prop

The Props library contains many scene elements other than clothing. Youll nd seats, utensils,scenery, vehicles, and many other useul items in this older. I you add a prop that you want yourcharacter to hold, use the Object > Change Parent command to attach it to the desired hand,and position the prop as needed with the Editing tools or Parameter dials.


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Changing a Single Material

The Materials Library contains shader and material presets. Single materials (which change a singlematerial region) typically use a fat preview o the material or shader. When you drag a singlematerial to an object, a tooltip displays Apply Material to , indicating the nameo the object that will receive the single material setting.

Changing a Material CollectionObjects such as hair, human gures, props and clothing oten have multiple material zones. You willalso nd Material Collection presets in the Materials library, which usually change all materialsin the object, rather than one region. Material collection thumbnails usually eature the objector which the materials apply. When you drag a Material Collection to an object, the tooltip readsApply Material Collection.


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Basic Poser 8 Figure Materials

The Poser 8 > Alyson and Ryan material categories provide several texture variations. Each gureis provided with two basic material collection les, one without hair and one with hair. The Basictextures apply texture maps and transparency or lashes. There are also basic material collections orthe ethnic male and emale variations o the Poser 8 characters.

Shiny, Advanced and Ultimate Figure MaterialsEach Poser 8 gure (deault and ethnic variations) also includes three additional variations omaterial collections, each with varying amounts o realism. Each male and emale character hasa Shiny, Advanced, and Ultimate material collection as well. These additional variations areprovided with and without hair.


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Full Body Morphs

The FBM (Full Body Morph) dials, located in the Parameters palette when the Body actor isselected, provide a wide variety o body shapes that are built right into the Poser 8 gures. FromEmaciated to Heavy, Lithe to Rubenesque, or Smooth to Toned (and more), you can use them aloneor in combination to create characters o any shape or size.

Partial Body MorphsRene body shapes with partial body morphs (PBMs) that control specic areas o the body. Thesemorphs are arranged in several dierent categories in the Parameters Palette, and ocus on theUpper Torso, Lower Torso, Breasts, Arm-Hand, Glute-Hip, and Leg-Foot regions o the body.There are morphs that control specic muscle groups in each o these regions.


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Advanced Body Controls

Look in the Advanced Body Controls section o the Body parameters to nd dials that controlseveral joints at once or when you pose the head, torso, arms, or legs o the gure. Using theseadvanced body controls allows you to create poses that are much more realistic and which bendmore naturally.

Advanced Hand ControlsSelect the Right Hand or Let Hand to nd advanced hand controls that allow you to pose thehands or grasping or spreading. Use the ThumbBend, IndexBend, MiddleBend, RingBend,and PinkyBend hand controls to nely tune the position o the ngers. With an extra joint in eachnger, the hands bend more precisely ... even ne enough to hold chopsticks.


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Facial Morphs

Select the Head o a Poser 8 gure to adjust the shape and expression o the ace. Morphs arearranged by Face, Eye, Mouth, Lip, Lower Face, Upper Face, Nose and Tongue. You can alsond morphs that control the overall shape o the head, as well as Phoneme morphs that are usedin conjunction with the Talk Designer.

Facial ExpressionsSave your customized aces to the Face category when youre done so you can use them at anytime. When used in combination with the Face Room they combine or a truly customized character.


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Ethnic Characters and Morphs

Add one o our male and emale Poser 8 characters and their basic textures straight rom the Poser8 > Alyson or Ryan Figures category, or combine the Ethnic ace morphs to create variations othem. Choose rom Alyson and Ryan (Caucasian), Izumi and Tomo (Asian), Alisha and Marcus(Arican) and Maria and Diego (Hispanic).

Ethnic TexturesUse the Material collections in the Poser 8 > Alyson and Poser 8 > Ryan textures to load one oour texture variations or the Ethnic characters. Youll nd Advanced, Basic, Shiny, and Ultimatepresets or each o the male and emale characters (Alyson, Ryan, Izumi, Tomo, Alisha, Marcus,Maria, and Diego).


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Specialty Poses

The Pose category also contains specialty poses that provide several utilitarian purposes. Use theseposes to zero your gure, add deormers to clothing, turn inverse kinematics on and o, show andhide teeth, lock or unlock toes, or zero advanced body controls, body morphs, hands, or toes. Youllnd these poses in the Poser 8 > Alyson > Specialty and Poser 8 > Ryan > Specialty oldersin the library.

The Morph Tools

Use the Morph Tool (in the Editing tools palette) to x clothing pokes or create cross-body partmorphs or your gures. Any changes you make can be saved as a ull body morph, complete withdials or each body part and a common Body parameter dial that drives them all at the same time.


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The Animation Controls

The Animation controls appear at the bottom o the interace (though it may be initially hidden atlower screen resolutions). Choose Window > Animation Controls to display the hidden palette.Use this control to add animation keyrames and to scrub through the timeline to play or previewyour animations.

Adding KeyramesThe easiest way to add keyrames is to advance to the rame where you want a change to occur, andrepose, move, or rotate the desired actor. You can also create keyrames in the Animation Palette(Window > Animation Palette), or by applying dierent poses. Keyrames are also automaticallygenerated on each rame when you import a BVH motion capture le (File > Import > BVHmotion).


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Adding Movies and Pictures

Import a still image with the File > Import > Background Picture command. You can alsoimport an animation in AVI ormat (Windows) or QuickTime MOV ormat (Mac) and use theanimated background as a backdrop or an animated movie. Commands in the Display menu alsoallow you to show or clear the background images and movies rom your scene.

Adding SoundsUse the File > Import > Sound command to import sounds or your animations. Sounds are alsoused in conjunction with the Talk Designer to generate lip sync motion. You can toggle display othe sound waveorm on and o in the Graph palette (Window > Graph) so that you can easilydetermine where to add keyrames that correspond to the audio.


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The Walk Designer

Choose Window > Walk Designer to quickly generate a walk-in-place animation, or use it incombination with a walk path (Figure > Create Walk Path) to make your character walk throughyour scene. The Walk Designer allows you to combine several dierent walk styles such as Cool,Elderly, or Tough, and add head arm and hip movements that make your walk totally unique.

The Talk DesigenrChoose Window > Talk Designer to select a sound le and automatically generate lip-syncedanimation. Add supplemental text to increase accuracy, or i you want to use the Talk Designer tospeak languages other than English (French, German, or Japanese). Speciy the start and end ramesor the speech, and add other motions and emotional tweaks. The Talk Designer makes it easy toadd talking characters to your scenes.


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The Properties Palette

Use the Properties palette to show or hide a gure, turn bending on or o, enable or disablecasting o shadows, enable or disable collision detection or dynamic hair or cloth, and to set otherrendering properties such as displacement bounds, shading rate. and smoothing settings. Thepurpose o these settings are described in detail in the Poser Reerence Manual.

The Parameters PaletteThe Parameter palette contains translation, rotation, and scale parameter dials, as well as manyo the custom controls and parameters already discussed. Some morph dials have two values toindicate that they are controlled by another dial (called a master parameter). The bottom value isthe natural (local) value o the parameter. The top value is the driven value, a combination othe natural value and the value set with a master parameter (see Dependent Parameters, next).


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Dependent Parameters

When a parameter dial serves as a master parameter dial that drives other (dependent) parameterdials, a dependent parameter indicator appears to the right o the dial. Click the indicator to openthe Dependent Parameters editor, where you can teach other joints how to behave when youmove the master parameter.

Dependent Parameters Editor

To teach joints, click the Start Teaching button. Then dene which parameters are controlled whenthe master parameter is in at least two values (such as 0% or 100%). Any changes you make untilyou click Stop Teaching are recorded in the Dependent Parameters list. See the ReerenceManual or detailed inormation.


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The Lighting Controls

The Light controls provide an easy way to position the lights in your scene. Light indicators providea visual clue o where lights appear in relation to the objects in your scene. Other controls allow youto create or delete lights, open the Properties palette, or change light color and intensity.

The Camera Controls

The top section o the Camera controls allow you to quickly select one o Posers many cameras.Position your cursor over the Select Camera control and drag right or let to select the camera youwant to view. Other icons allow you to quickly select the Face, Right Hand, or Let Hand cameras,or to turn camera animation on or o. The Flyaround camera rotates the camera around your scenewhile looking at its center.


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Camera Position Controls

The Position controls appear below these controls and are used to move or rotate the currentlyselected camera. The Camera Plane position controls move the camera along the X, Y, and/or Z axis,while the Trackball rotates the currently selected camera without changing its location in 3D space.

To use the Camera controls, simply click and drag your desired control. Moving a camera does notchange the locations or poses o gures, props, and other elements in your scene.

Mini Camera Controls

A subset o the Camera controls appears in the upper-right corner o the Document window. Fromlet to right, youll nd a trackball, Camera Plane control, and Move YZ control.


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Document Window

The Document window is your viewport into the Poser Studio where you view and pose your gureand interact directly with your scene. You can position cameras to view your scene rom any angleor distance and can resize the Document window to suit your needs. In addition, the Documentwindow has numerous controls around its edges that you use to change the appearance o sceneelements.

Multiple Views

When its hard to position things while looking through one camera, you can display multiple views.Several presets can be ound by clicking the Port Setup menu, located at the lower-let corner othe Document window. Choose rom a variety o two-view, three-view, or our-view layouts. You cancustomize the view in each viewport by selecting a camera rom the top-let corner o each view.


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Display Controls

The Display controls allow you to select your desired preview mode or your entire scene, a gure orprop, and/or specic elements o your currently selected gure/prop. From top-let to bottom-right,you can select Silhouette, Outline, Wirerame, Hidden Line, Lit Wirerame, Flat Shaded,Flat Lined, Cartoon, Cartoon w/Line, Smooth Shaded, Smooth Lined, or Texture Shadeddisplay styles.

Material Room

You can control how objects in your Poser scene appear when rendered by connecting shader nodestogether in unlimited combinations. The Material room includes powerul procedural textures,realistic raytraced refection and reractions, special lighting models, and other powerul blendingand mathematical nodes. Load and modiy pre-built materials rom the Library palette to see hownodes work and aect each other to create the nal result.


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Material Room Simple View

For those new to Poser, the Simple View in the Material Room allows you to quickly select thebasics required or a material. Choose Diuse, Highlight, Ambient, and Refection colors andtextures, and speciy other types o maps such as bump, transparency, and displacement.

Material Room Advanced View

Use the Advanced view o the Material room to connect dozens o nodes together in endlesscombinations that allow you to create any type o material. From metals to velvets, rom refectiveto reractive suraces, the advanced material settings allows you to combine textures with powerulbuilding blocks to create highly realistic materials:


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Face Room

The Face room creates heads or use with the standard Poser male and emale gures. It appearsas shown here. Five areas (Photo Lineup, Face Shaping, Face Texture, Face Preview, andTexture Preview) combine together to help you create custom aces and characters rom twophotographs.

Photo Lineup AreaThe Photo Lineup area is where you load images and align them using a variety o tools. Thetexture map based on the photos gets generated on the fy.

The Face Shaping tool, also shown here, allows you to adjust the shape o the head using morphsthat vary the shape o acial eatures, ethnicity, age, and gender. The changes you make can beasymmetrical (or a more natural appearance) or symmetrical.


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Render Settings: Auto

The Auto Render Settings provide a quick way to achieve renders that range rom drat qualityto ull production quality. Gradient bars indicate which eatures are included at each level as youslide the selector rom let to right. Render quality increases as you move the slider to the right.Additional options appear in the Options section at the right o the window.

Render Settings: Manual

For ne tuning o render settings, or to enable advanced eatures such as Global Illumination(Indirect Light), use the Manual Settings o the Render Settings dialog. This allows you tocustomize settings to achieve the right balance between render quality and system resources. Youcan also adjust bucket size and global displacement bounds in this window.


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Sketch Designer

Use the Sketch Designer to simulate drawings made with pencils and paper. Several settings allowyou to adjust stroke width and color, along with several other settings, to obtain renders that havethe appearance o pencil, charcoal, and colored pencils. Save your presets, or use one o several thatare already made or you.

Content Paradise

Obtain additional content or your Poser stills and animations at the click o a button. Use theContent tab to open Posers in-application browser, and navigate to Content Paradise, where youcan obtain additional gures, scenery, clothing, poses, and more.

poser pro quick start guide

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