Poser
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224744103
2008-07-10T06:16:32Z
JohnnyMrNinja
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Notability is significant coverage in reliable secondary sources, please read [[WP:NN]]
{{Notability|date=June 2008}}
{{Primarysources|date=June 2007}}
{{Cleanup|date=February 2007}}
{{See Wiktionary}}
{{Infobox Software
|name = Poser
|screenshot = <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Poser6ui.JPG|250px]] -->
|caption = User interface of Poser 6
|developer = [[Smith Micro Software]]
|latest_release_version = 7
|latest_release_date = May 2008
|operating_system = [[Mac OS X]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
|genre = [[3D computer graphics]]
|license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
|website = http://graphics.smithmicro.com
}}
'''Poser''' is a [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[Rendering (computer graphics)|rendering]] and [[Computer animation|animation]] software program optimized for models that depict the human figure in three-dimensional form.
== Overview ==
[[Image:Juggler.jpg|thumb|right|"Dharma Juggler", by [[Berkus|Gunther Berkus]], 1997. Early Poser 1 / [[Bryce (software)|Bryce]] composite image. The original Poser wireframe image has been enhanced using [[Adobe Photoshop]].]]
Poser is a [[3D computer graphics|3D]] rendering software package for the posing, animating and rendering of 3D polymesh human and animal figures. Akin to a virtual photography studio, Poser allows the user to load [[Poser Figures|actors]], props, lighting and cameras for still and animated renderings.
Natively using a subset of the [[Alias Systems Corporation|Alias]] object ([[Obj|OBJ]]) file format and a text-based markup for content files, Poser comes with a basic library of human, animal, robotic, and cartoon figures.
Poser also includes poses, hair pieces, props, textures, hand gestures and facial expressions. As Poser does not allow for original modeling of objects, a large community market of merchants and artists creating, selling and marketing third-party Poser content emerged.
Poser is available in English, Japanese, German and French for both [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] platforms.
== Features ==
Poser 6.0 comes with a host of features, such as the inclusion of "Primitive" zygotes; spheres, cubes and other shapes at both low and high resolution. As with Poser 5.0, it is compatible with [[3ds Max]], [[LightWave]] and [[Maya (software)|Maya]], which enables Poser 6.0 to render more than simply people. Indeed, Poser has become almost limitless in the characters it can render. As a result of its huge third-party community, many models are available, such as spaceships, aliens, weapons and other such props.
== Community ==
[[Image:triosample.jpg|thumb|right|Sample from "[http://stories.elfguy.net The Trio]", using Poser for online cartoons]]
Two different communities have developed around Poser
===Artists===
There is now a cottage industry of commercial artists and fine artists who create original artwork (illustrations) of human figures using Poser. Previously, drawing realistic human figures was both difficult and very time consuming. Now over 200,000 artists create everything from magazine covers, print advertising and product illustrations using Poser. (Note: While Poser has animation capability, no significant cottage industry has developed for creating motion pictures with Poser. However Poser animation can be seen in industrial applications such as the animated instructions for check out machines in Albertsons and Save-On stores.)
===Developers===
Poser has a large and avid following at a high number of online sites, and due to the inability to perform 3D model creation inside the application, an ecostructure has grown up around the trade and sales of ready-made [[Poser Figures|Poser content]]. As a subculture in its own right, the Poser market has spawned a number of individuals known by their high-resolution human figures, and photographic quality skin 'textures' that can be applied to the models within Poser. Also there is now a vast catalog of props and scenes, both historical and fantasy in nature, as well as various animals, dragons, and other creatures, along with many photorealistic buildings and other real world and fantasy objects.
== Library ==
The Poser 7 package comes with many already-installed features that do not have to be purchased at an online store. These are stored in the "Library." The Library includes:
*Figures, which contains [[human]], [[animal]], [[cartoon]], [[dinosaur]], [[insect]], [[wildlife]], and many other [[Poser Figures|poser figures]] that have a multitude of [[animation]] tools to work with.
*Poses, There are poses for almost every figure, and there are many human poses from sleeping to picking something up to fighting.
*Expressions, which contains any expression imaginable, or close to it.
*Hair, which has many types of [[hairstyle]]s to place on the characters.
*Props, which contains objects like [[clothes]] and [[chair]]s.
*Lights, which contains many ways to light your scene.
*Cameras, which contains many [[camera]] angles.
== Program history ==
Poser was created by artist and programmer [[Larry Weinberg]], as a software replacement for artist's mannequins. Versions 1.0 and 2.0 were published by Fractal Design; in 1997, Fractal Design was acquired by [[MetaCreations]], and Poser's interface was redesigned by [[MetaCreations]]' [[Phil Clevenger]] for release as Poser 3 in 1998. This interface has remained as the basis for all subsequent versions. In 1999, [[MetaCreations]] sold Poser to egi.sys AG, who established the subsidiary ''Curious Labs'', with [[Larry Weinberg]] as CEO, to handle Poser development and publication. Curious Labs, and Poser, were sold to the publisher, [[e frontier]], in 2003. On [[15 November]] [[2007]] [[Smith Micro Software]] announced the purchase of Poser, [[Anime Studio]] and [[Manga Studio]] from [[e frontier]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.smithmicro.com/default.tpl?group=news_full&id1=414&id2=13
| title = [[Smith Micro Software]] press release}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Version
! Release date
! Publisher
! Improvements / Notes
|-
| 1.0
| 1995
| [[Fractal Design (company)|Fractal Design]]
|
* Initial release
|-
| 2.0
| 1996
| Fractal Design
|
* Ability to add props
* Animation
* High resolution models
|-
| 3.0
| 1998
| [[MetaCreations]]
|
* New user interface
* Facial posing and animation
* Human figures with jointed fingers.
|-
| 4.0
| 1999
| MetaCreations
|
* Natural-media sketch renderer
* Figure sculpting via deformers
* Transparent mode for materials
* Conforming Clothes
* Transparency (which lead up to TransHair that increased the quality of hair sold today)
|-
| 4.0.3
| September 1999
| [[Curious Labs]]
|
* Markup path names made to use relative paths
* Currently sold as entry level ''Poser Artist''
|-
| Pro Pack
| February 2000
| Curious Labs
|
* Add on pack for Poser 4
* Implementation of [[Python (programming language)|Python]] scripting,
* Custom figure rigging
* Ability to host Poser scenes in [[3D Studio Max|3ds max]], [[Lightwave|Lightwave 3d]], and [[Cinema 4D]].
* No longer available
|-
| 5.0
| 2003
| Curious Labs
|
* FireFly [[Reyes rendering|Reyes]]/[[ray tracing]] renderer
* Dynamic hair and cloth
* Collision detection
|-
| 6.0
| March 2005
| Curious Labs / e frontier
|
* [[OpenGL]] Hardware acceleration
* Image-based lighting, Ambient Occlusion
* Cartoon outline rendering effects
* Inclusion of "Primitives" Zygote Props
* Binary Morphs (allows you to load the morphs for a characters in a separate file linked to Cr2 resulting in faster load time in Poser)
|-
| 7.0
| December 2006
| [[e frontier]]
|
* Simon and Sydney (new AdultG2 male and female figures)
* [[Wildlife]] including [[eagle]] and [[wolf]]
* Updates to Ben and Kate the Poser Child figures with new morphs, textures and rigging
* New motion capture data, light sets, poses, and materials
* Talk Designer for lip-sync animation
* Multiple Undo/Redo
* [[Multithreading|Multithreaded]] rendering
* [[High dynamic range imaging]]
* Brush morphing
* Animation Layers
* Universal Poses for bipedal figures, with automatic conversion of Poser 1-6 poses
* Streamlined access to Runtime libraries
* [[Universal Binary]]
|-
| Poser Pro 7.0.3
| May 2008
| [[Smith Micro Software]]
|
*Poser Pro was released adding [[COLLADA]] support and plug in support for Cinema C4d and Maya.
|}
== See also ==
*[[Poser Figures]]
*[[MakeHuman]]
*[[Avimator]]
*[[Qavimator]]
*[[Renderosity]]
*[http://www.poserpedia.com Poserpedia]
*[[Digital Art]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
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*[http://www.e-frontier.com/article/articleview/1156/1/281 Poser Official Site]
*[http://www.poserpedia.com Poserpedia Wiki Site]
* {{dmoz|Computers/Software/Graphics/3D/Animation_and_Design_Tools/Poser|Poser}}
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[[Category:3D graphics software]]
[[Category:Mac OS software]]
[[Category:Mac OS X software]]
[[Category:Windows software]]
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