How to Save Poses in Poser Software

Poser is complex 3-D figure design and animation software that deals with character poses, among other features, to create animations. To master this, artists must study human poses. Magazines, videos, mall trips and TV are good places to start. Use a sketchpad or digital camera to capture natural poses. After creating a pose, you can either add it the Pose Library or use a Pose Dot.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Saving Poses With Pose Dots

1. Create a new Poser scene and add your actors. Create poses using either the 12 editing tools or 11 parameter dials. Most artists prefer using the parameter dials. For most poses, artists will use the following six dials: yRotate, xRotate, zRotate, xTran, yTran and zTran. The rotate dials turn the character and the tran dials move him north, south, east or west.

2. Begin posing the character at the waist. "Inverse Kinematics" help artists realistically pose characters. As you turn the waist, the character's entire body turns. After posing the waist, move to either the thighs or chest.

3. Pose from the center of the body outward to the fingers. This creates good poses. Poser assigns different parameter dials to each body part. After reviewing the final pose, select "Pose Dots" from the drop-down menu below the light controls. Click any dot to save the pose. Each scene can save up to nine different poses. Pose Dots work best with "Variations of a Theme" poses often found in crowd scenes. Add a character, click the Pose Dot and quickly modify the pose.

Adding Poses to the Library

4. Select "Poses" from the Library menu on the right side of the screen. Some artists use poses from the Library as a starting point for creating new poses.

5. Choose the best directory to save the new pose. Organize pose directories around a theme, such as fighting, everyday or cooking.

6. Click the "+" to add the new pose.

Tips & Warnings

• Pose dots will not transfer to a new scene.