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Poser Pro
Pack
at a Glance
Maker:
Curious Labs
Price: $149 (requires Poser 4, not included)
Platforms: Macintosh and Windows
Demo Available: No
URL: http://www.curiouslabs
.com
Overall
Impression: The Pro Pack, like Poser 4 itself, has
a slick interface that makes working in it a snap. The
features are robust, though support for models with very
high polygon counts isn't really there. Nevertheless,
this is a great tool for graphic designers who need to
create animations in Flash (or other formats).
Key
Benefits: The Pro Pack expands Poser 4 well beyond
its previous role as a ... well, pose maker for predefined
3D characters into the realm of versatile 3D animation
tools. Its "Setup Room" allows you to add bones
to models created in just about any 3D program with extreme
ease and lets you export to a broad variety of formats,
including Flash. These exports can be rendered in a number
of styles, from cartoon shading to texture-mapped images.
Disappointments:
I was put off a bit by the slowness I encountered when
working with my own 3D model that had a very high polygon
count. I didn't expect it to be speedy, but working with
my model in the Setup Room proved to be seriously time-consuming.
With lower-count models, including the ones that come
with Poser 4 and the Pro Pack, the process is quite quick.
Recommendation:
Strong Buy
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Curious
Labs Poser Pro Pack
[Page 2 of 3]
If you build
a model in, say, Electric Image's Amorphium Pro, you can export
your model and bring it into Poser for building up a bone system
and animating the model.
The Setup Room in the Poser Pro pack allows you to add bones
to a model.
Click image for larger view. (The bones are the white triangles.)
Poser accepts
such a wide range of models that it would be almost impossible
to work in a 3D modeler that can't output at least one of the
formats supported, including LightWave, 3D Studio Max (3ds max),
etc. This process is incredibly simple. You simply draw the
bones and then select areas of the model that the bones will
influence. You can even skip the second step by clicking on
a button called "Autogroup," which automatically assigns
areas to the bones.
The Pro
Pack also gives you more advanced options for inverse kinematics,
assigning spherical dropoff zones, etc. But even with the advanced
options, the process is fairly straightforward, even for inexperienced
users. If you do get tripped up, there's a help window that
automatically appears any time you enter the Setup Room, which
will guide you through the process step by step.
If you work
in LightWave or 3ds max and don't like to export your models
into foreign applications, the Pro Pack also includes plugins
for these two applications that will let you work with Poser
files (including animation) directly within them.
Other enhancements
the ship with the Pro Pack include:
-
Ability
to export to Viewpoint format for creating interactive 3D
characters for the Web;
-
Python
scripting, which allows you to work with your data via a programming
interface, including across different platforms;
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Multiple
camera view panes;
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Animatable
texture parameters.
Workflow,
performance and output
I like the way Poser 4 and the Pro Pack work together. The interface
of Poser itself is actually pretty nice to work in. You can
drag any interface element around the screen for convenient
positioning, and you can resize many elements, including the
main view window. One of the Pro Pack interface elements, the
Group Editor, has a little trouble redrawing itself, but, on
the whole, the workflow is smooth and straightforward.
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