Why I buy this one ?
- New Animation palette and Keyframe controls animate figures, props, cameras, lights, and even materials
- Render out for any medium of your choice - many styles available - Photorealism, cartoon, sketch, Flash, wireframe, silhouette and more
- Add dynamic hair and cloth to your figure - they're dynamic and will move with your figure, even reacting to wind in animations
- High-resolution, fully rigged Male, Female, Boy and Girl figures in preset poses -- along with props, lights, cameras, accessories and materials
- Also features new OpenGL previews, enhanced cartoon imagery rendering and improved Flash support

What our customer's say!

"When you need life-like humans, toons ,or animals fast without hours or weeks of 3d modeling", I started with POSER 5 and instantly loved it so I got version 6. My main interest was toon 3d characters to add to funny video shorts I create to put as intro and skits in wedding and other videos.

I have been hobbying with 3d software for a while and most pacages have a bit of a learning curve. If you want human-like characters you must make them yourself which is called modeling. Then you must give the model a bone structure which is called rigging. Then you must add textures or skin color to the model. Then you must add lights and cameras and etc.Its a lot like sculpting with clay except its done from your computer screen. All this requires that you learn the tools in the software that allows you to do these things which all adds up to a big learning curve.

Poser allows you to skip the time consuming modeling, rigging, and texturing part by providing ready made models with the software or you can buy them from various places. All you have to do is animate them.

Animating the model realistically is a challenge. This is the part the software does not do for you. It requires some foundation Knowledge of the principles of animation. As you move the model using the rigged controls the software tries to interpret what you are doing. It does not always make the model move the way you intend. This is when you must use the tools in the software to make adjustments so that the models behave the way you want. That is the hard part that takes practice and learning what tool does what.

The manual that comes with Poser shows you the tools but doesn't really help in understanding how or when to use them. It helps to see videos such as one by Jeff Lew which does not use Poser but explains the fundamental tools used in most 3d software to animate characters.

Poser 6 could also use some improvents in the speed of its render engine and an easier way to create custom characters.(Check the demo of "SPORE" from the creator of "THE SIMS")

Over all I love it and have no crash problems on my six year old computer running Windows XP with 798mb RAM.

Whats really sweet is transporting Poser 6 characters into Vue 5 Infinite software environments. But thats another review.


"Needs improvement.", This release proved to be good on more new features but the memory issues are the stinker. Renders stop with to many out of memory issues at the simplest settings no matter how much RAM you feed it. As of this moment the latest service pack release SR2 has not solved the memory issue.

"???", You may have noted references to Poser's notorious instability. In earlier versions I hadn't really noticed this shortcoming, but version 6 has not been a happy experience. Prior to now I had been on a Mac G4 w/ OS9 w/ Poser 3 or 4.

I have been a satisfied Poser user for a number years and have always found it very useful. However, I have recently upgraded to a new Mac G5 with OS 10.4 and had to buy a new copy of Poser-- version 6. The results have been very unsatisfictory. On this new system Poser continually crashes upon launch and tech support, so far, offers no long term solution. So far it has been worse than useless.

The good news may be this: www.daz3d.com offers a piece of freeware that functions almost like Poser's double-- if you've used one you'll readily be able to use the other! This alternative will even access most of your Poser files and resources.

I await resolution of my Poser problems, but meanwhile Daz3d's software is up and running very nicely,; and so far, winning over this long-time Poser user.

See for yourself!

"For Patient Computer Savvy people. (Read Warning)", ___WARNING TO MAC OSX TIGER USERS___:
Do these steps after installation. It will enable you to _SAVE_. (especially if you have the DIVX codec)
1. Open and Register your product (on the website too). Shut it down.
2. Go to http://www.e-frontier.com/filemanager/list/updates/130/131/133/?sbss=
3. Choose "Poser 6 English Service Release 2 for Mac OS X".
4. Enter your serial number and open the dmg, follow the instructions on the release from there. While you are there, you can download the rest of the stuff.

For those who can't access that link for whatever reason:
http://www.e-frontier.com-->downloads (second blue tab at top)-->Updates and Documentation-->(Choose the info... Poser 6, Macintosh, English)

Also to update your DIVX codec go to:
http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/codec.php (the download link is on the righthand side, yellow link red box.)

Do both of those things and you should be set to save you Poser programs. If you don't have Divx and aren't planning to do download it... well, do these steps anyway, it might just be a good idea.
__END WARNING___

The review now...
Poser is really great program, and though it takes a while to learn, it's pretty good. I know that a lot of the computer unsaavy will have trouble. The UI in the Mac doesn't take advantage of what Mac OSX offers. It does more than humans, it does animals and objects too. (For those willing to Download for a price, beds, scenery, buildings, etc).

There was a person that complained it doesn't work on Mac OSX, I had no trouble with it beyond what I mentioned above.

The reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because the figures in Poser6 suck. Go to DAZ and download those. I particularly like the Millenium Horse, Victoria, Michael, and Aiko (for those anime fans). Also because of the bug, and not taking advantage of the Mac OSX UI. I would have liked the stage parts to be in separate windows, like the Photoshop User Interface. So I could individually dock the windows, and kill them. The book isn't a tutorial manual at all, just a basics manual. (But Adobe Photoshop is like that too, so I'm not griping). To augment that go online, DAZ has some really great turotials, also doing a google search. (Also buying that book that previous reviewer mentioned below me probably will help, but I haven't bought it yet) The renders can be retouched in Photoshop... look for those tutorials if you happen to have Photoshop. [...]. Though there are others.

I was lucky, I downloaded Aiko, Michael and Victoria for free off of the Daz website. (James is pathetic, as mentioned) (currently as of this writing they still are free.)

[...]

Download them now if you are intending or thinking about buying the program. (If they are no longer free, download the first two after you buy the program, it is worth it.)

As for how long it takes to learn, to make your own figures it will take lots, and lots of learning, patience and work, but it took just as long for me to learn Photoshop, Mojoworld, and other high end graphics programs. (I'm still learning Photoshop, though it's been about 5 years on and off). Don't expect a miracle with powerful and complex programs such as this. Depending on your learning curve, you may get upset and throw it out the window, or you may try over and over again until you get it right. If you want to use this for reference work (because you suck at imagining poses--like me), this program might be more work than you are willing to go for. (Just use magazines and those wooden mannequins--much cheaper).

I bought this program for Mojoworld, mainly. And because I got some requests for anime characters in 3D. I secondarily bought it for posing figures into various positions for reference, but it takes a lot more work than I thought.

Overall, Poser 6 is a great program for those of us who are bad at drawing humans, want to interface it with programs like Bryce, Mojoworld, and for doing Photoshop humans. It will take about just as long to learn as Photoshop, Mojoworld, and other high end graphical programs, but I think it's worth it. (Especially when you buy the educational pack). It's a lot easier to use than building a human figure in say... Maya. So don't expect overnight success, and have lots of patience and computer knowledge before buying this program.

"Not for the casual hobbiest", Poser is hard. Extremely hard. The manual that comes with the software is poorly written and virtually useless. I recommend the VHS "POSER 5 Demystified", which is relevant to Poser 6 as well. This will help get you started.

But even with this, Poser, like all 3D animation programs, is going to require quite a commitment from you. Its VERY TIME CONSUMING. There's just no way around it. Even after you've figured out how to use the software (it took me 6 months of trial and error...and I'm certainly no expert), it can easily take you 8-10 hours to produce a 5 second animation.

The problem is that no one can show you "how" to make an animation with Poser. They can only show you how the various tools work (which, as I stated before, the manual fails miserably at). You're going to have to decide what you want to see on the screen, and figure out how to use the software to make that a reality. Example: there are 3 different methods you can use to animate, which give you wildly different results. While the manual tells you what these are and identifies the controls for each, it doesn't tell you which to use and under what circumstances to use them. You're going to have to figure it out on your own. I literally thought the software was broken for the 1st 6 months, because the figures kept moving in unexpected ways. Actually, the software was behaving exactly the way it was supposed to. I understand now that its an asset rather than a liability, because once you learn what you're doing, Poser can add a level of realism that is sorely lacking from a lot of other 3d animation programs.

So what do I think of Poser 6? Its amazing. Simply amazing. I would give it 5 stars, except for the crappy manual that comes with it. Curious Labs should design a manual like "The Art of Animation Master", which was brilliantly tailored for the beginner.

The downside: content. If you plan on making a contemporary film, this is not a problem. But if you plan on making any kind of period film, or a Sci-Fi or Fantasy film, be prepared to shell out at least $200.00 for extra content. You're first stop should be to DAZ. Get version 3 of both Michael and Victoria, because 99% of the clothing and morphs on Content Paradise is geared to fit these two models. You're going to find virtually no content geared towards the models that come with the Poser software (James, Jessi, Don, Judy). Its a rip-off...pure and simple...but if you want to use Poser, there's really nothing you can do about it, unless you're a talented enough modeller to design your own clothes. Before you go spending all that money though, take the time out to learn the software. See if you're willing to make the commitment or not. I would recommend a short 3-5 minute film using the content that comes with the software. Allow yourself 6 months to a year to complete it. I'm not kidding.

Lip Synching: You're also going to need "Mimic" from Daz, if you plan for your film to contain any dialogue. That's going to cost you at least another $200.00, unless you can find a free version of the software. Check out the magazine 3d world. Every month it features free software for all sorts of 3d platforms. I was lucky enough to obtain a free version of Mimic for the price of the magazine. You can probably obtain the back issue from their website.

Other than that, study the masters (Harrihausen, etc.). Computer animation is really not that different from Claymation. Its just done in a virtual environment, and you don't have to animate each and every frame. Also, its relatively simple to check your progress and to make changes, once you know what you're doing.

If you read the review section of Poser 5, many of the reviews are extremely negative. While some of the complaints are justified, in my opinion a lot of the frustration comes from the fact that the people reviewing it haven't spent a sufficient amount of time to know what they're doing. They think the software is "broken" because its not giving them the results they expect, or their computer lacks sufficient RAM and a fast enough processor to handle it. The requirements on the side of the box is the MINIMUM required to run the software. If you want it to run smoothly, I would recommend at least a gigabyte of RAM. You'll save yourselff a lot of headaches.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Poser 6, Ready for Prime Time.", OK, I'm prejudiced. I love Poser and have been using it since Version 3. I still think I can be fair. There are some things that I wish Poser 6 had and some things I'll never use. I think this version is 99% there.

Poser 6 only has 1 level of "Undo". Most users long for more undo power. It does have a "Revert" feature that allows you to jump back to the last saved version. That's pretty handy.

The new OpenGL preview is fantastic. The improved display isn't just about speed. The quality of the preview is much better as well. A feature cartoon artists will love is Poser's toon style preview. There are 5 toon preview styles. For some applications they may be of a quality that a full render is not needed.

Some users have had trouble with their graphics cards. Curious Labs included legacy support, a Software preview called SreeD. If your card does not support OpenGL you can still use Poser 6. Usually updating the software driver for the graphics card solves the problems.

Several new features have been added to the render engine in Poser 6. The biggest is probably IBL and AO (Image Based Lighting and Ambient Occlusion) These new light sources allow you to create very accurate real world lighting. Several real world "Light Probes" are included. Setting up IBL can be tricky so a Wizard/Macro (They call it a Wacro) is included to help you.

Another new render feature is toon outline. Poser 5 introduced toon style renders, but they were tricky to setup and the "ink" was not quite right. Poser 6 has a "Toon Outline" option in the renderer. One thing I would like to have seen was a way to control the color for the "ink" used on the toon outline. Henry Ford said, "You can have any color you want as long as it's black." Those are your color choices for the toon outline. Black. You can control line weight and style. Setting up the toon outline can be tedious as each material will need to have a toon ID assigned to get the lines right.

Poser's procedural materials can be hard for beginners to setup. Poser 6 has a simplified version of the Material room that makes it easy for users upgrading from Poser 4 the get into the new version. Once you know how to use the material room you can switch to the advanced view and dive into the powers hidden in the "shader nodes".

Poser 6 includes a new family of Characters. James, Jessi and the kids Ben and Kate. The new figures use a type of character rigging (Joints) that was used in Poser 4. Some people think it's a step backward. There are some advantages to this rigging technique. The newer (Evolution) rigging frequently didn't work well with Poser's drag to pose system. With the old style rigging works more reliably with drag to pose. Just click a arm or leg and drag it to where you want it. Poser 6 work fine with the evolution rigging if you use direct joint manipulation. The figures included on the original distribution CD have problems. Curious Labs has already released a content update to fix these problems. Be sure to download the update.

Animation in Poser is easy. Poser automatically calculates "In between" frames. You pose the key frames and Poser figures out what to do in between. There are several ways to edit animations. Key frame manipulation and graph tools give you complete control over your animation. A Walk Designer will create walking animations with just a few clicks. Some of the animation tools will take some practice to learn. There are 4 ways Poser can calculate the "In betweens". Linear, Spline, Constant and Spline Break. Learning when and how to use each will take some practice.

When Poser 5 was launched it was nearly a disaster. The program was very unstable. Lots of users swore off Poser then. Poser 6 is different. Curious Labs learned from the mistakes made then and have been careful not to make the same mistakes again. It was thoroughly beta tested prior to release and while some bugs did survive 4 months of testing the program is very stable.

I have to come clean. I was one of the beta testers. I got to watch as the engineers shaped the new program. I must admit I was scared up until about half way through beta. Then every thing started to come together. I could see it was going to be great. I wanted this release to launch perfect. But, that never seems to happens. Sure enough bugs made it through, fortunately none of seem to be deal busters. Curious Labs will (and by the time you read this may already have) release patches for the problems.

Poser 6 is great program. Beginners and experts will find it easy to use and powerful. It comes with a large library of pre made content, but it's power isn't really unlocked until you start adding content. There are hundreds of artists that create add on items for Poser. Many of them offer free goodies, I'm one of them.

Happy Rendering

"Poser 6, it's about time", Finally, I can step up from Poser 4 ProPack without the constant fear of crashing. Poser 6, compared to Poser 5, has run consistantly stable without a crash. (I did have to update my graphics card drivers, but that's usually expected with new software)

Now that I can start enjoying many of the options introduced in Poser 5, my artwork can start to be more vibrant. Granted I'm behind the masses that updated to Poser 5 (to which I was a contributing artist on the content cd), but I always had problems with program crashing.

I've found Poser to be very easy to learn, and a quick fix for the artist that needs faster results then creating everything in 3d from scratch. Of course you still can adapt your original work to Poser, and Poser 6 makes it even easier with more options to do so.

Poser 6 may not be for the beginner to 3d, but there is a large poser community ready to help you along.