Things You'll Need:
- A computer
- A copy of Poser
- Some Poser content
-
Step 1
Open Poser. This is pretty easy, just click on the icon on your desktop or in Programs in your start menu.
-
Step 2
You will notice that Poser loads a default figure, and if you want to delete him just go to the Figure drop down menu and selecting Delete Figure.
-
Step 3
You should now have a clear slate. We are now going to add a human figure. Poser comes with its own set of human figures, but very few people actually use them. While you can use these figures if you have no others, let's use Victoria 3 from Daz for now. She is in the Library to the right and in the Downloads folder and then the Daz People Folder if you also choose to use this human figure.
-
Step 4
Select Victoria 3 or another figure by clicking on the double check mark at the bottom of the Library menu. This will load her into the Poser’s interface. As you can see she is quite naked, and has no hair or skin texture, make-up or anything. This is normal.
-
Step 5
Let’s give Victoria a texture first. You can find tons of free characters as well as skin textures for Victoria 3 at Renderosity in their free section. Textures for Victoria are going to be under the Poses folder in the library which you can access via the bar to the far right.
-
Step 6
Choose a texture and apply it by selecting the one check mark beneath the library menu. Once you’ve applied your skin texture, you may notice that Victoria has taken on an off while color. That is normal.
-
Step 7
There are set of shader balls on the bottom beneath the window Victoria is in. Select the one to the far right and this will show the texture.
-
Step 8
Now that her skin texture looks normal let’s give her some hair. As with textures there are free hair props online. The best are put out by Kozaburo, and you can find them at his website as well as in the Renderosity free section. Generally speaking hair props will be under Figures in the library, although sometimes they will be under Hair. Now look at the two drop down menus beneath the box that Victoria is in. The first one should read Figure 1, and the second one you want to change so it reads Head, select Body Parts first and then Head. This will ensure the hair prop winds up on her head, although you won’t be finished with the hair prop.
-
Step 9
Select a hair prop from the library, be sure and select one that is for Victoria 3, although you can fit other hair props from other models that is something for another tutorial. When you find it, select the double check mark at the bottom of the library menu again and this will add the hair prop to Victoria.
-
Step 10
There are two ways to keep the hair prop on Victoria’s head, if it is a conforming head prop then you will want to select from the drop down menu, Figure then Conform to, and then Figure 1. This will ensure that when you put Victoria into a pose that the hair moves with her. Dynamic hair is a bit different in that you have to parent it to the figure. You can do this by selecting Figure, Set Figure Parent and then selecting Victoria’s head from the list of body parts. Generally speaking dynamic hair will show up in the Hair folder in your library, and conforming hair in the Figures folder.
-
Step 11
So now your human model has a skin texture and hair. The next step is to give her some clothes. As with hair props and skin textures you can find tons of free clothing for Victoria 3 in Renderosity’s free section. As with hair there is both conforming and dynamic clothing available. They also attach to the body the same way. So select your clothing and then conform it to your human figure as you did with the hair prop.
-
Step 12
Now you’re ready to put your figure into some kind of pose. The default pose which I’m sure you noticed makes the figure appear standing with his or her arms out. The easiest way to pose your human figures is to download some free pose sets from Renderosity’s free section and then to modify the pose if you want to change it slightly. Doing poses from scratch can be done but it is difficult and not suggested for beginners. You apply the pose the same way you apply a texture, you select the pose from the Library, most poses are under the Pose folder and then select the single check mark. Be sure you have Figure 1 and body selected on the drop down menus so the pose is applied to the entire human figure.
-
Step 13
Once you’ve done all this, now you are ready to put your figure into some sort of environment. You can do this by using a picture in the background or with a combination of a background photo or pre-made environment that you’ve purchased along with extra props to make it more realistic. In this case let's use a pre-made environment from Daz Studios called the Summerwood. In the case of using the method to put in a background you would select the environment from the library, these are usually under Figures, and then select the double check mark which will create a new figure.
-
Step 14
Now you’re ready to render your picture. You can do this by going to Render drop down menu and selecting render options. You have the option of rendering a draft or a production render. The production render takes a bit longer, but it is worth in that the lines of your picture will look much smoother. Doing a draft render tends to sometimes have a few jagged lines and while these can be smoothed out with a photo editing and or paint program it’s easier just do a production render. Once you’ve selected that you want a production render, then select OK at the bottom. This will tell your picture to render the picture.
-
Step 15
Once you’ve rendered your picture and are happy with it, then you can save it to your desktop or a disc. Just select File and the Save As and Poser will give you a number of formats the picture can be saved in.
