POSER - (Version - who cares) The RUNTIME

Poser is a pain in ass. If you don't believe me, I challenge anyone to use it. It takes time, has a huge learning curve, and takes patience. But if your a Saint with the patient of Gandhi, you might survive and make your first crappy image before you discover there is a LOT more to 3D images besides the point load PZ3 presents. You have a lot to learn.

After all these years of dealing with Poser, I have to say my headaches come from my runtime(s). Yes, I said Runtimes. It is plural. I think I have over 50 or more runtimes in my library. I might a few more. It really determines if I have bought any new crap from RDNA, Renderosity, or some other store. When I first started with Poser, I shoved everything under the main runtime. I had no idea what I was doing back then, and my original folders where huge because of it. I had a ton of free stuff which I could never had been able to give credit if I wanted to because I had no idea who made what. Heck, I didn't even know if I could use the product commercially if I wanted to, or what the license for the piece was.
It all became a matter of how to handle all that free stuff, and stuff you buy with REAL money. My solution was RUNTIMES. Here is an example of what I have. It is very anal, but I have to admit I can find something when I want. It also is making my dream of cataloging all the crap into a database a bit easier.
I have a folder called !Alpha on my second hard drive for all my free and purchased materials.
The !Alpha folder itself has subfolders from # to Z.
Withing the A folder, I have folder !A for the free stuff, and !A+ for the purchased stuff.
The !A folder has the Runtime for the free stuff. The individual categories like Character, Pose, Lights, Face, Hand, and Prop all have folders for the individual artists who have graciously given free materials.
This folder also has folders labeled Backgrounds,PDF,Photoshop,Morphs,PZ3, and 3ds,OBJ,LWO3. This helps to keep the odds and ends separated also.

The !A+ folder had a separate folder for all the artist I have bought time. There is a folder for Avery Soul, Andi3D, and anyone else I have purchased product from. It makes it nice to find if you have already bought something or not.

I do this for every folder from # to Z.

If you are wondering if Poser can handle all these Runtimes, I think it prefers it. To load one of these smaller runtimes takes a lot less time than the huge ones I was trying to load before. I still keep the DAZ files in the main folder since it default to the folder, but I can see these files also being sent to the perspective artist folders.

One the darkside, the process does not seem to work for Victoria 4 and Michael 4. I originally wanted to set up a folder with materials specifically for them. Because of the way DAZ works, you have to have the V4 files in the main directory for the updates to find and modify.
My actual Main file is separated into categories. Here is an example:
Character - by model A3, M3, M4, V4, Robot, Scene, Furniture, Props, Special Effects

I hate to say it. The more organized you are the more you will be able to find what you have. I personally have probably 300 Gig or more of models and stuff to work with. I still have tons of stuff that I have no idea what I have but I'm getting it cataloged.

There are a couple of good catalog programs out there. I was even going to try to make my own to share, but I found the ones available were much easier to deal with.
Here is the link for a really good one by Bob Coleman. Content Tracker 2.0. [link]
He also list a few others which are pretty good.

Hope this helps - Okay I know it will not really, but take up tons of your time.
Just remember to log what you download as you get it, it will help.
Mike

Okay I'm weird. Now that is established, I like to share some thoughts today about Halloween. I hate to say it, but I'm suffering from a bad case of "WHO CARES".

At one time, it was FUN. I guess now that I've gotten older it is not all that great. I love seeing the little kids in costume and handing out candy, but the entire party scene is just not all the appealing. I guess it really matters on who you are with, the environment you are in, and if the holiday says "HI".

I have to admit I was really annoying my partner as we were watching "Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin" the other night. I have seen it so many times since it came out. Okay, I think I've watched it every year it was made. It usually puts me in a Halloween mood. It sort of did this time a more sarcastic mood. I was contemplating Linus as he grew up with his obsession on the Great Pumpkin. Let's take a side trip here on the Great Pumpkin Twilight Zone express.

Linus grows up learning more about Halloween. He is a rather bright kid. I'd say a genius considering his ability to recite the Bible in "Charlie Brown's Christmas". Being tormented by his sister and the other kids about the Great Pumpkin, Linus figures out that it is a representation of Same Han. Doing a little research, he discovers old Druidic rituals to call the being. It takes years for Linus to discover the proper rituals, and finally he finds the one which will call the being to him and bring him great gifts.
After years of being tormented by his school mates, all but Charlie Brown, he enlists Charlie Brown in the rituals who knows the truth and seeks revenge against his school mates also. Unknown to Linus' school mates, the ritual requires blood sacrifice to call the being, and Linus is planning on a very bloody ritual to make sure his Great Pumpkin does not miss his Pumpkin field again.
As the guests arrive Linus serves them his special spiked punch, which makes everyone happy and very drunk. The punch is meant to disorient people, and create hallucinations.
One by one, Linus takes someone from the floor to the sacrificial alter and guts them chanting the rituals. One by one, the school mates are killed leaving Charlie Brown, Sally, and Charlie Brown staring at the carnage they have done. Driven insane by what he had done, Charlie Brown kills himself with the sacrificial dagger just as Same Han appears. The being admiring Linus' handy work bestows him and Sally with ancient wealth's of druidic times. This leaves Linus to say, "There is a Great Pumpkin!"
As the captions run, Snoopy and Woodstock are seen digging graves in the cornfield. Yes - Peanuts Children of the Corn.

Okay - told you I'm wierd.

Happy Great Pumpkin Day -

Mike

I was playing with some stuff in Poser and I realized that not everyone may know about some of the awesome and annoying features of the program. Actually, it isn't the program. It is the models you can get from Daz.

1. The material room - Learn it. It will save you tons of money on textures. It allows you to apply ANY texture to ANY item. You are basically re-texturing the bookcase, bowl, body, or whatever. It it incredibly easy to learn. Easist way to learn. I suggest look at items you load into the room. There are a ton of free textures out there. Usually the tiles are 256x256 for doing textures for clothing walls etc. You will not be able to sell the texture, but it will make your image different from everyone else who uses the same old mats for the most popular items.

2. The Dynamic Room - If you have Poser 5, I hate to say it FORGET IT. If you have Poser 6, 7, and even Pro, the room works very well for prop clothing. I personally think Poser 6 worked best and the screwed it up in the newer versions. I don't have Power 8 so I can't say anything. The room is simple.
1. Dress you figure in the Pose Area getting the dress to fit as good as possible
2. In the Dynamic Room, set up the clothing you want to be dynamic. Set the draping to about 30 to 50 frames, set the dynamic one to about the same. One simple suggestion - load your Poser on about the 15th or 20th frame. Just slide the bar to about 15, load your pose for the figure, and let her rip. The gown will flow better and be a bit more dynamic based of the pose.

3. Victoria 3, Michael 3, Girl 3, and any of the Millennium 3 figures
Folks - the textures are unimesh which means any texture that V3 can wear so can the Girl, Laura, Stephanie, or Aiko. Aiko is a bit different, since she has a thigh issue. It is just a matter of copying and pasting the texture information to that area in the material room. Very easy to do. So the idea of V3 wearing your favorite - MALE texture is a reality - or if you wanted a bearded lady with a penis.

4. Lights - Simple suggestion. A couple lights are good as a hundred. Some of the modelers feel we need 24 lights for their prop. It slows Poser down big time. Just change the lights to something basic and fix it in Photoshop.

Have Fun
Mike

Art or Porn - what is art? What is Porn?
Definitions - I found these and thought they were appropriate.

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings.

Pornography or porn is the depiction of explicit sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual excitement.

Now the REAL reason I brought up this more than controversial question, I was offended, shocked, disturbed. For those who know me, it takes a something completely tasteless, over the top, racist, or just down right off the wall to make me scratch my head and say WTF.

The COLLECTIONS button on the top of DA made me do that. Has ANYONE clicked on "Collections" at the top of their DA page? If your at work, I strongly encourage you to have your Mature Filter ON. I was rather shocked at what I saw. It takes a lot to shock me by the way. Usually, it is blood and gore, and NOT the human body.

Please don't get me wrong, I appreciate the human body - both male and female.
I however do NOT need to see a collection labeled "Boobs", "Breasts", "Heaven's Door", "Erotic", and "Pussies" all within the first page. There's also a collection that celebrates virginal lips "something flowers - female flowers" if you go on the second or third page. There are also MANY other questionable collections if you just browse one or two pages in. Who needs to search for porn sites, we can just advertise the one click shopping for all who need there fix. Come to DA, click on the Collections button, and click your way to sensory happiness.

I'm old enough to remember Hustler Magazine of Old. It's claim to fame was to show as much of a woman's anatomy as possible including her female flower in bloom. Even when I was exploring my sexuality and I saw a Hustler my father had hidden under the bed, I thought OMG that is bad. The images were over the top and rude and degrading. I preferred Playboy and still do.

Is DA becoming the internet version of Hustler?
I personally think images have a place, and it isn't Deviant Art. Okay, it can be DA but somehow monitored and restricted so ADULTS can view these pages maybe for a small fee or membership, or with an age verification certificate like Adult Check.

I have no issues with Human nudity. I agree with DA that Male models can not have erect penis'. The same standards should be set for female nude models - No engrossed swollen virginal lips. Come on - there is only a couple of ways I can think of a woman getting in that condition. If I'm not mistaken, they all involve some sort of sexual stimulation of some sort. Pictures of this type are taken explicitly for the purpose of sexual excitement - either by the photographer, model, or viewer of the image. Yes - I can see how the shape, texture, light, or whatever might make it a beautiful picture. The picture might be perfect, but it isn't going to be posted in Time Square on a billboard or commercial art poster for the simple reason of limits. There are just limits as to what is .... what is that word...oh yeah...mooorrr...moorrraa....morally right. Morality might not be the right word - Culture Proper, Ethically Right, Common Sense? We have to remember America is a Puritan Society. We squirm at the idea of a hard penis' or shaved pubic areas. We are not Europe who has developed a bit more tolerant view of sex.

My biggest worry is having underage individuals stumble on this site. A teenage boy or girl can find plenty of masturbating material by clicking on the Collections tab and they don't have to go far. The first three pages of material are almost completely female nudes, and some that are rather borderline. It is still the artist's responsibility to monitor their internal creative spillage for culture and social morals.

Maybe Deviant Art needs to step up and start doing age verification of some sort? I don't know. Even 3D Art sites have there limits as to what you can post. The main site for Erotic 3D is Renderotica. You can find all the art that is banned on almost every site at Renderotica. They have bondage, hard penis', lesbian acts, gay sexual images, and about anything else that an image site might ban you for posting. BTW - enjoy viewing the works there if you didn't know about the site until now.

Sorry for the rant - getting tired and feeling a bit Rush Limbaughish on opium. I can't keep my mind focused.