Just the FAQs
Embarrased to ask a simple question? Did you RTFM, but not UTFM (Understand The Frickin' Manual?) Don't worry, here are some common Poser questions so you can sound like a Poser Pro.
I've split this page over several pages to try to make it easier to find the relevant information and to keep this one page from becoming 20 feet long. (Click on a heading to go to that page.)
General Questions
- What are Posette, Dork, Vicki, Mike, Michael, etc.?
- What file formats does Poser accept?
- Poser won't load an .obj file that I bought/downloaded! What am I doing wrong?
- Okay, I downloaded/bought something and haven't a clue where to save it to.
- What is a MAT file?
- What is the difference between Poser and Poser Pro Pack (PPP) and Poser 5?
- "Out of memory error"
- Why do my renders look so bad when I save them?
Rendering Questions
- What is the difference between a texture map, a transparency map, a reflection map, and a bump map?
- What is anti-aliasing?
- What Firefly vs. Poser 4 Render Engine vs. Poser 4?
Texture Questions
Q. Argh! How do I set Vicki's eyebrows?
(Especially Vicki 2!)
A.
EyeBrows:
Set to the same color as the rest of the SkinHead.
Minimum Transparency to 0.
Maximum Transparency to 0.
No Transparency Map.
UpperEyebrows:
Set to the Object color you want. (For best results, set the
ambient to Black.)
Minimum Transparency to 0.
Maximum Transparency to 100.
Load a Vicki Eyebrow Transparency Map.
Q. Why won't my Posette (Dork) texture
fit Vicky (Michael)?
A. Posette and Dork use a single texture
map for the entire figure. Vicky and Michael use 2 texture maps - one
for the face, one for the body. The program is looking for the texturing
information in different places for the different models. With work and
patience, you can copy and paste (and re-size) the textures to work for
other models.
Note: there is a version of Posette called Posevic which remapped the Posette model so she can use Victoria textures. It can be found at Renderosity along with instructions on how to use it.
Q. Why won't this Vicki texture work on
Vic 3?
A. Victoria 1 & 2 use a different mapping
scheme than Victoria 3. You can not use the textures interchangeably.
The same is true for Michael 1 & 2 vs. Michael 3. On the other hand,
Victoria 3 textures are pretty much interchangeable with Michael 3 textures.
(Depending on the image, you might need to do very minor touch-ups, especially
on the lower lip and around the nipples.)
There is a program for the PC called the Universal Texture Converter (UTC). It will transform textures so they fit other figures. The base program converts between the Victoria figures, while there are plugins to add more figures to the mix. I highly recommend it.
Hair Questions
Q. How do I make hair models and textures?
A. Go to Kozaburo's Digital
Babes site and read his tutorial. He is considered one of the best
hair modelers for Poser, and not only does he reveal his secrets, but
he has several free hair models! (Warning: he makes it look very easy!)
Q. Why is my Poser hair showing up as black
polka dots?
A. Don't panic. The good hair models use
transparency maps. Until you render the hair, it will show up as dots
to indicate there is a transparency map. If it is really driving you crazy,
change the transparency sliders to say 0 until you are ready to render
the scene.
Q. Can I use hair made for one model on
other models?
A. Yep. You will need to play with the scaling
a bit, and move the hair around, especially on the Z Trans, but I've never
had one yet that didn't work on any human model. (Putting hair on the
snake model just didn't turn out too well.)
Note: if the hair is a conforming hair (loads from the Figure library) then you can not conform the hair. Load the hair figure, manually move and scale it so that it fits the character, then select the entire hair figure and parent it to the head. (Object: Change Parent.)
Morph Questions
- What is a morph and how do I use it?
- What are INJectable and REMovable morphs?
- I injected some morphs and nothing happened!
- I saved a figure to the library, now there's all these weird dials whenever I load the character.