Is Poser right for me? Confused.

scottdcorwin

  Hello!  I am seriously considering buying Poser 11, but would like to make sure the glove fits.  

  I was directed here from a video editing forum.  My only experience with anything similar has been through use of the Blizzard Entertainment world editors for Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 2, and I was looking for something that would allow that versatility, but for general purposes!  That's when I got linked here. 

I've watched the video, and compared the features between editions, but I don't want to spend unneccessary money as I'm currently living very meagerly.

 How quickly, and how easily can I learn this program?  

How long would it take to direct a 1 to 2 minute long video using the available models for someone at my skill level?

I would like to be able to create the following characters: a professor, a variable-type business people, a loony hermit, and a superman-type character.  I would want to give them serious, but comical, facial expressions.  Something like in the Robot Chicken cartoon.  I also need to be able to create a few environments - a desert, a long-shot view of a futuristic city, classroom, and corporate office.  There would be very little spoken dialogue.

Is there anything I need to know before I commit to purchasing the standard Poser 11?

Thanks very much in advance!!

Wonderland

This store, DAZ3D, is the creator of Daz Studio so you will find an emphasis for everything for that program here, rather than Poser, although there are many items sold here usable in Poser.  I'm a long time user of Poser but am now learning Daz Studio (DS). For me, Poser was MUCH easier to learn, but it is also much more expensive. People who start with DS may find it easier than those who are used to Poser. Poser does come preloaded with petty much everything you mentioned but the preferred models are really the ones sold here. Originally Victoria and Michael 4 (V4/M4) that work the best in Poser and now the various Genesis generations. If money is an issue and you're a quick learner of techie stuff, DS, would probably fit your needs better since it is free. You might as well download it and see if it fits your learning curve. Genesis 1 which comes with DS can be morphed into a lot of creatures and you can check out  the store here to see if they have what you need. If you want to learn more about Poser specifically, you may want to check out Renderosity or Hivewire forums because this whole site is really geared towards DS, not Poser... All the environments you mentioned are sold here and elsewhere. If you are talking about creating your own characters and sets from scratch, you may want to look into ZBrush, Maya, or Blender. Hope that helps! :)

scottdcorwin

Thank you Wonderland.  Yes that is very helpful.  I did mean to ask though about the legal aspects of it.  I read the EULA, but still am not sure where I stand because I'm learning the terminology.

Let's say I used DAZ, and were able to buy all the models and environments I needed for the video I'd like to make.  Would those models be fine to use in my video, which is for fundraising on Kickstarter?  If not, would I have to alter them a substantial amount before I could use them, or are they just not allowed for those purposes at all?

Thank you.

fixmypcmike

As long as you are rendering images or videos you can do what you like with the images/videos.

scottdcorwin

Thanks!

Ron Knights

DAZ Studio is a great deal because the software is free. In my opinion, Poser was left behind years ago. Poser never had much great content of its own. Many of us went to DAZ3D to get our Poser content. Once Daz introduced the Genesis characters, Poser was left further behind. For the most part, Genesis generations can't be used in Poser. Smith Micro doesn't produce enough (any?!) content to rival what is available for DAZ Studio. 

Since DAZ Studio is free, you can download, install, and try what comes with it for free. You'll already have $100 or more in your wallet if you didn't buy Poser. You can use that money to buy more content for DAZ Studio!

Jim_1831252

Thread is kinda old, but I always like to point out Poser has great animation tools. Dynamics system is far more extensive and flexible too. I don't think Poser has been left behind, in anything but content. Poser is great, especially for those that want to do animation, and especially for those that don't mind rigging stuff themselves, though perhaps free alternatives such as Blender might be better if a user is making more content from scratch. Having not done any animation with Blender I couldn't say.