Poser Introduction

The Document window is your viewport into the Poser Studio where you view and pose your figure and interact directly with your scene. Each view of the Document window is taken through a virtual camera, which means you can view each scene from multiple angles, either one at a time or from up to four angles at once.

You can position cameras to view your scene from any angle or distance and can resize the Document window to suit your needs. In addition, the Document window has numerous controls around its edges that you use to change the appearance of scene elements. You can also select objects within your scene by clicking them directly within the Document window or by using the menus on the bottom of the window.

Editing tools can pose an individual body part or a complete figure. To pose a body part, select it and drag. To pose the entire figure, either:

¬ Select your desired Editing tool, and then select the Figure Ring surrounding your desired figure and drag. The Figure Ring is highlighted when selected, indicating that you are working on the entire figure at once.

When using an Editing tool in the Document window, your cursor changes to a visual representation of the selected tool. This helps you keep track of how you're moving the selected figure or element. When using an Editing tool with a figure prop, you don't need to click and drag with the cursor positioned over the affected item; you can click and drag anywhere in the Document window. Also, be aware that your camera view affects how your figure or element appears. Depending on the pose you are creating, you may want to switch to a different camera. For example, if you are moving an arm in front of a figure, a side view will give you a good view of the armÕs position relative to the figure's front, and so on. You can change Camera views, and can even view your Poser scene from multiple cameras at once.

The Rotate tool bends a body part at its joint. Rotation works in three dimensions, allowing you to make a lot of progress very quickly. To rotate a body part, select the body part you wish to rotate and drag perpendicular to the part to cause the rotation to rotate up and down (relative to your point of view). Dragging parallel to the part rotates it in and out, again relative to your point of view.

To rotate the entire figure, select it. Dragging the mouse up/down and left/right functions as a trackball and rotates the figure on its own axes based on your camera location. You can also adjust an itemÕs rotation using the Parameter dials.

The Twist tool rotates a figure/part/prop along its own axis. You can twist an entire figure by selecting it and dragging. Most of the body's joints don't allow much twisting. For example, your forearm can twist almost 180 degrees while your wrist can hardly twist at all. The twist axis of the head, neck, and torso is along the spine. For the forearm, the axis lies along the armÕs length. Twisting an entire figure rotates it about its own axis. If the figure is standing, it spins around. If lying down, it rolls over. You can also adjust an item's twist using the parameter dials.

The Translate/Pull tool moves the selected figure/part/prop vertically around or laterally around the Camera's X and Y axes depending on how you drag. The translation may occur on the figure's X, Y, and or Z axes depending on the position of the camera relative to the figure. You can translate body parts or figures, and can also adjust an item's translation using the parameter dials.

The Translate In/Out tool moves the selected figure/part/prop along the Camera's Z axis (in and out). This translation may take place along the figureÕs X, Y, and/or Z axes. Dragging down pulls the item towards you, and vice versa. Moving an item towards you makes that items seem larger, and vice versa. You can also adjust an item's translation using the parameter dials.

The Scale tool allows you to scale the selected figure/part/prop along the camera's X and Y axes. The item's affected axes will vary depending on the camera's position relative to that item. Dragging in towards the element reduces the scale, and dragging away from the element increases the scale. To scale in two dimensions, drag laterally. Dragging vertically scales in the third dimension. The axes affected depend on your currently selected camera position. You can also press and hold [SHIFT] while using this tool to scale evenly in all three dimensions. Make a mistake? No problem. Select Edit>Undo, or press [COMMAND]/[CTRL]+[Z]. Poser allows one level of undo. You can animate scale using the parameter dials. To scale an entire figure, select the desired figure using the Select Figure pull-down menu in the Document window or by clicking its Figure Ring. A figure's size is relevant only in relation to other figures and props within your scene. To pose a single figure, scaling is not necessary: You can simply zoom the camera. If you are working with two or more figures and want to give one the appearance of being in the distance, it's best to simply move the selected figure to the background using the Translate tool (see above). You can also adjust an item's scale using the parameter dials.

The View Magnifier tool allows you to zoom in and out to and from your desired areas of the Document window without altering the position of your currently selected camera. This can be of great help when working with scenes. To use the View Magnifier tool, select it:

The Camera controls allow you to select and move one or more Poser cameras. There are two types of camera controls: View and Position: The topmost controls are the View controls. Clicking one of these controls activates the Face, Left Hand, or Right Hand camera, as appropriate. You can also scroll through the list of available cameras. The Position controls appear below these controls and are used to move or rotate the currently selected camera. The Camera Plane position controls move the camera along the X, Y, and/or Z axis, while the Trackball rotates the currently selected camera without changing its location in 3D space. To use the Camera controls, simply click and drag your desired control. Moving a camera does not change the locations or poses of figures, props, and other elements in your scene. A subset of these Camera controls appears in the upper-right corner of the Document window.

Utilizing Cartesian Principles, in honor of the French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650),

If you arranged all of the numbers from negative infinity to positive infinity along a line, the number 0 would be in the center of that line.

Negative numbers would be on the left side of 0 with -1 being the closest to 0, and positive numbers would be on the right side of 0 with +1 being the closest to 0. Negative numbers being on the left works for horizontal lines or axes. For vertical lines, negative numbers are beneath 0 with positive numbers above 0. This stands to reason, since negative numbers are literally less than 0. When dealing with coordinate systems, we assume that each dimension is infinite, with zero representing the dimension's center or origin.

The Cartesian coordinate system goes one step further by defining three axes, called X, Y, and Z, which correspond to dimensions as follows:

The positive X axis points to the right, the positive Y axis points up, and the positive Z axis points towards the front of the scene. The center of the 3D space is a single point, which is the midpoint (origin) of the three axes.

Lighting controls

Display controls

Properties & Parameters palettes

Library palette

Memory dots

Animation controls (Animation palette)

The Animation controls allow you to preview animations and set up keyframes. You do this by posing your figure, moving to a new frame, and changing the pose. Clicking the Play button plays an animation using the keyframes. The Animation controls appear as follows:

The Symmetry command allows you to copy pose characteristics from one side of the body to another, which can save you time when creating scenes in the Pose room or when building custom figures using the Setup room. Pose an arm and/or leg, and use this command to instantly apply the same position to the other side. You can also swap entire poses from side to side and straighten the currently selected figure’s torso:
Figure 1: Before Figure 2: After Figure 3: Swap
Selecting Figure>Symmetry opens the Symmetry menu, which contains the following options for your currently selected figure:
THE POSER MENU BAR
Left to Right: Selecting Left to Right applies the position of the bones on the left side of the figure to the right side.
Right to Left: Selecting Right to Left applies the position of the bones on the right side of the figure to the left side.
Swap Right and Left: Selecting Swap Right and Left swaps the positions of the bones on the right and left sides of the figure.
Left Arm to Right Arm: Selecting Left Arm to Right Arm positions the right arm bones in the same position as the left arm.
Right Arm to Left Arm: Selecting Right Arm to Left Arm positions the left arm bones in the same position as the right arm.
Swap Right and Left Arms: Selecting Swap Right and Left Arms swaps the positions of the bones on the right and left arms of the figure.
Left Leg to Right Leg: Selecting Left Leg to Right Leg positions the right leg bones in the same position as the left leg.
Right Leg to Left Leg: Selecting Right Leg to Left Leg positions the left leg bones in the same position as the right leg.
Swap Right and Left Legs: Selecting Swap Right and Left Legs swaps the positions of the bones on the right and left legs of the figure.
Straighten Torso: Selecting Straighten Torso straightens the torso area (Hip, Abdomen, Chest). When you select a Symmetry function, a dialog box appears asking if you wish to copy the joint zone setup as well. Click avoid copying the joint setup.

The Auto Balance feature is a valuable tool for helping create realistic poses. When enabled, Poser calculates a figure’s mathematical “weight” and maintains it. In the following example, there is more weight in the figure’s hip or center portion than in the torso. As you pose a figure, Auto Balance adjusts body parts to maintain the original weight distribution, resulting in more natural-looking poses without having to use several position adjustments: When using Auto Balance, use small subtle motions to achieve the best results. Large motions may create drastic results. If this occurs, restore the figure. Selecting Figure>Auto Balance toggles Auto Balance on and off for the selected figure. A check mark appears next to this option when it’s enabled. Reselecting this option clears the check mark and disables Auto Balance for the selected figure.

Of the wide range of human motions, walking is among the hardest to simulate with any degree of accuracy. Walking looks simple: just place one foot in front of the other. In reality, however, it is an incredibly complex motion involving a variety of muscles in the legs, torso, arms– practically the entire body. Thus, creating an accurate walk simulation entails a great deal of precision posing. Poser’s Walk Designer allows you to bypass most of this and create a realistic walk using just a few simple steps.
Creating a walking figure is a two-step process. The first step entails creating a walk path for your selected figure that defines where s/he is going to walk.
To open the Walk Designer, select your desired figure, then select Window>Walk Designer. Unless you want your figure to walk in place (walk without going anywhere), create a walk as follows:

Create a walk path (your figure will follow this path when walking)
Create a walk using the Walk Designer.

The Walk Designer has two sections. The upper set of controls creates the walk’s larger motions, while the lower set lets you set up the walk’s secondary motions. To preview a walk, click the Walk button at any time while using the Walk Designer. The preview will loop indefinitely and the button will change to Stop.

VIEWS
The Walk Designer includes a real-time preview of the walk being created. As you change the parameters, the walk changes to reflect your updates. You can specify the angle from which to preview your walk by checking the appropriate radio button underneath the Preview pane: (default): Checking the radio button looks at the figure on an angle.
Side: Checking the Side radio button looks at the figure’s side.
Front: Checking the Front radio button looks at the figure’s front.
Top: Checking the Top radio button looks down from the top.

NOTE: THE WALK DESIGNER REFLECTS YOUR CURRENT POSER STUDIO’S FOREGROUND, BACKGROUND, AND
SHADOW COLORS, AS WELL AS TRACKING MODE.

LOADING FIGURE TYPES
This step is optional, however it can address potential issues such as irregular or jerky motions in generated walks. To load a figure type, click the Load button in the Walk

TRY LOADING THE SAME FIGURE YOU’RE WORKING ON. FOR EXAMPLE, IF CREATING A WALK FOR THE POSER MALE FIGURE, LOAD HIM INTO THE WALK DESIGNER FOR BEST RESULTS.

BLEND & TWEAK STYLES
Once you’ve loaded your figure type, you can begin designing your walk. By default, the sliders are all in the middle of their ranges. This combination applies a workable default walk. Dragging a slide to the right increases its value and effect, and vice versa. To create a walk:

Drag the Blend sliders to create the large motions. Use the preview to view all of the available settings. Try using combinations of several settings, and remember that small changes can produce dramatic results.
Adjust the Tweak sliders to fine-tune the walk.
When your walk looks the way you want it to, click the Done button to open the Apply Walk dialog.

NOTE: CLICKING THE DEFAULTS BUTTON RESTORES ALL SLIDERS TO THEIR DEFAULT POSITIONS.

LOADING & SAVING WALKS
You can load and save walk files using the Walk Designer. This is not the same as saving animated poses to the Library palette. To save a walk, create it, then click the Save button to open a standard dialog box allowing you to specify the name and location for the saved walk. Select your desired path, enter a name for the saved walk, and click OK.
To load a walk, click the Load button to open a standard Open dialog, allowing you to specify a path and filename for the walk file to load.

NOTE: FOR GREATEST REALISM, LOAD WALKS CREATED USING THE SAME FIGURE TYPE.

APPLYING WALKS
Once you’ve created your walk, you need to apply it to the figure’s walk path . The Walk Apply dialog allows you to specify various options for applying your newly created walk. If you want your figure to walk in place, you can use this dialog
without having a walk path. You have the following options when applying walks:
Start Frame: Enter the frame in your animation where the walk will begin in the Start Frame field.
End Frame: Enter the frame in your animation where the walk will end in the End Frame field. The more frames allocated, the slower and more natural the motion will be.
Figure: If your scene has more than one figure in it, the Figure pull-down menu allows you to select the figure to apply the walk to.
Path: If your scene has more than one walk path, you can use the Path pull-down menu to specify the walk path to use.
Walk in Place: Checking the Walk in Place box causes the selected figure to walk in place without going anywhere. You can use this option to create a walk without a walk path.
Cycle Repeat: Enter the number of times to repeat the entire walk cycle in your
animation in the Cycle Repeat field (default is 1).
Always Complete Last Step: Checking the Always complete last step box forces the walk animation to complete within the allotted time. This is useful if the walk ends in mid-stride at the end.
Transition From/To Pose at Path Start/End: The Transition from pose and Transition to end options allow your figure to smoothly transition into and out of the walk at the beginning and end of the walk cycle, respectively. When enabled, Poser interpolates between the figure’s pose at the start of the walk and the settings you specified in the Walk Designer, and vice versa at the end of the cycle. For example, you can use this feature to quickly set up a runner by posing the figure in the crouched starting position, designing a run, and specifying a realistic transition time. When you play your animation, the runner will come off the starting blocks and begin the run. Checking one or both boxes enables the specified option(s). Once enabled, enter the number of frames to be used for the transition. Longer time periods (more frames) allow more realistic movements and vice versa.
Align Head: Checking the Align Head box lets you control how the figure’s head acts as it moves along the walk path. One Step Ahead keeps the head aligned with the body and produces the most head movements. End of Path keeps the figure’s head looking at the end of the walk path no matter where it leads. Next Sharp Turn aligns the head to the turns in the walk path, the head only moving when the path curves.

USING THE ANIMATION CONTROLS

The Animation controls are at the bottom of your Poser workspace and contain the tools most commonly used when creating animations. They allow you to add and edit keyframes.