Curious Labs' Poser program is a 3D art and animation program targeted at the home user. Poser uses a subset of the Alias object (OBJ) file format natively and a text-based markup for content-files. This customizability has helped draw a large number of people to the program. As Poser does not allow for original modelling of objects except in the simplest of senses, a community of merchant/artists creating, buying, and selling content for the program has sprung into existence. The rewrite of this article is being devised at Talk:3D computer graphics/Temp. ... The text-based . ...

Poser is marketed as a human and animal figure posing and animation tool, although other articulate models as well as "props" can be easily animated. Poser comes with libraries of human, animal, and robot figures, poses, hair pieces, props, hand gestures, and facial expressions. Facial expressions are implemented through the use of morphs, which are also used in many models to allow customizing of body and other features.

Poser 1 was released in 1995 by artist and programmer Larry Weinberg, who created it as a replacement for wooden mannequins used by artists. Poser 2 was released in 1996, Poser 3, with a new user interface, in 1998, and Poser 4 in 1999. Poser was owned by MetaCreations until its collapse and the sale of Poser to Curious Labs during version 4. An expansion called Poser 4 Pro Pack was released in 2001, allowing new features, such as implementation of Python scripting, custom figure rigging, and the ability to host Poser scenes in 3ds max, Lightwave 3d, and Cinema 4D. Poser used a phong shading render until the implementation of a raytracer called Firefly in Poser 5. By summer of 2003, Poser was in its 5th version for both Windows and Macintosh platforms, though some controversy surrounds whether or not version 5 was ready for release at that time. The latest version 6 is presently (March 2005) being sold. 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Python is an interpreted, interactive programming language created by Guido van Rossum in 1990. ... 3D Studio Max (sometimes called 3ds Max or just MAX) is a 3-dimensional vector graphics and animation program, written by Kinetix (a division of Autodesk). ... Lightwaves newest logo LightWave (or, more properly, LightWave 3D) is a computer graphics program for 3D modeling, rendering, and animation. ... Cinema 4D is a commercial 3-D graphics application that provides high quality images at a modest price-point. ... See also Phong reflection model The term Phong shading is used indiscriminately to describe both an illumination model and an interpolation method in 3D computer graphics. ... A ray traced scene. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Microsoft Windows is a range of closed source proprietary commercial operating environments for personal computers and servers. ... Macintosh, also known as Mac, is a family of personal computers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. ...

links

Curious Labs

• Curious Labs (http://www.curiouslabs.com/)
• Content Paradise (http://www.contentparadise.com/): Curious labs store

Large websites focused on sharing information, art, and marketing Poser content

• Renderosity (http://www.renderosity.com):Forums and art galleries
• Renderotica (http://www.renderotica.com):Adult themed Poser art
• DAZ3d website (http://www.daz3d.com)
• PoserPros website (http://poserpros.daz3d.com)
• Animotions website (http://www.animotions.com)
• Zygote Media Group website (http://www.zygote.com/)
• 3D Commune website (http://www.3dcommune.com)
• 3-D Arena website (http://www.3-darena.com)Several forums and art galleries including Poser

Independant sites of note

• Jolly (http://www.getjolly.com/): Store and Forum -great troll character!
• Vanishing Point (http://www.vanishingpoint.biz/):SF and military related products
• Sixus1 media (http://www.sixus1.com/):Cthulhu related products
• Radio Free Ironbear Forum/Cooperative Blog (http://www.xfx-3d.com/rfi_jump.mp)
• Tom Miller's Poser newsblog (http://www.sparkchaser.net) Gossip blog updated regularly