There have been some scuffles between artists regarding the usage of the software tools called "Poser" or "DazStudio". Most of the complaints come from 3D Modelers who take exception to 3D Manipulators who admit to using Poser to the point where I've seen someone commend an artist and ask what software they used, only to then hiss and scream when the artist mentioned the use of Poser. It's holy water to vampires (or so the movies tell us). Here are some comments addressed from a bird's eye perspective.

~ Haven't we seen this pattern before?

The photographer civil war over stock photos equating to "selling out the artistic photographer's soul" is over - with all photographers realizing that bread still costs the same and that you can work for the Man by day and create Art at night. The Digital versus Analog "media processing and publishing" revolution is over (unfortunately Our Fair Lady Copyright is being stabbed with right-clicks every day). On other horizons, we still have fights over Traditional painters and Digital painters, but a cease fire is in negotiation. And now the white-towers of the 3D palace are being inhabited by mere commoners?

Photoshop has had a similar past of hatred from film developers and traditional painters. Now Photoshop is a verb much like Google, and we have digital still- and motion cameras and only luddites give a care when you mention the use of Photoshop as one of your tools.

This xenophobia can be countered if you throw in a few traditional terms, such as f-stops or depth-of-field to help calm fears. Change is not comfortable. Poser, as any other tool, can be used with default settings for canned results, or in imaginative ways that are still being discovered. Anybody remember the fuss over Polaroid and the destruction of media due to the layperson's ability to render a photograph instantly?

~ "Why does Poser get more love than my tools?"

Poser would not have the popularity it has today without the easy-to-use interface, compliments of Kai Krause, and probably more importantly the support of an inexpensive third party content community. The stock photo boom of cheap/free and readily accessible photographs became far more popular than the slow process of acquiring stock photos from archive brokers that priced images literally on a case by case basis. Stock 3D meshes, textures, lights and props have been around for some time, but now there is a market providing cheap add-ons for a program that doesn't require you to spend time doing any modeling yourself. Thus the perception of a "paper doll" or "push-one-button-to-render" tool as some have whispered.

~ "Poser requires little or no skill."

But look at what Poser DOES require: You have to pose the scene and all the props and figures, modify textures, rig the lighting, animate dynamic cloth, and render the image. You still have to have an eye for composition and lighting and the end result is still about storytelling, right? And while you're engrossed in all the details, even if you add this or add that to enhance your scene, you are learning about 3D and some of terminology. I consider Poser and Daz to be "gateway" programs, that lead some to more complex programs and endeavors.

All creative Poser users also have additional tools to enhance their work - Photoshop, 3D modeling programs for those objects that cannot be purchased, other 3D programs that do better lighting and rendering, etc. To call an artist that uses Poser, unskilled, is to not appreciate all of the things that they might do, compared to someone that just does 3D modeling. You may be able to make an awesome car in 3D, but know little or nothing about texturing or lighting. Does that make you meaningless - of course not.

~ "All Poser art looks the same."

Yes there are simplistic artworks created using Poser and some Poser renders look like others because the artist is not fully customizing their work, but they're learning. I recall numerous crayon drawings in school from various artists that all looked the same for years. Putting your own artistic flair to a project requires creativity, regardless of the tool. If you only have a hammer, every project you do will end up looking the same until you start using different nails and change your approach to the tool.

Eventually you may acquire more tools in order to do different projects. Ask around to see how many people out there were at first intimidated by big 3D applications, got their feet wet with Poser and now have gone back to learn deeper 3D programs. We don't hear venom directed as much at people using Vue, or Bryce, or Apophysis... maybe because landacapes and fractals are more abstract than the "nuts and bolts" of modeling nuts and bolts (and figures).

~ "Poser users aren't learning 'Real' 3D"

We don't frown upon painters that buy tubes of Cobalt Blue, instead of mixing their own pigments, or painters that buy a sable-haired brush instead of making their own. We don't frown upon photographers who don't build their own pinhole cameras or make all of their own film or props.  In fact we don't frown upon 3D modelers who use commercial packages to do their own modeling instead of learning how to program and create 3D software themselves.

No, Poser and Daz are not a 3D "modeling" programs. Never was and probably never will be. But they do allow an artist to execute their vision in a short amount of time. Creating a single 3D prop could take hours in some programs. With Poser you can develop an entire scene full of figures and props and lighting in half that time. Granted, a quick Poser composition and render may not include the shadowing and lighting and texturing finesse of a beefier 3D program like Maya or 3D Studio Max, but Poser the tool gets better and more powerful with each revision.

~ "Poser is just a toy"

Unless there are elemental forces that require patience, work-flow efficiencies will ALWAYS be taken advantage of, by amateurs and professionals. Combine that with a large and inexpensive third party content community - and you have the recipe for a lot of Poser use from amateur hobbyists to professionals that want mock-ups or quick animatics.

~ "Poser users lack creativity."

Art is not about the tool, nor the artist - all egos aside (edit: some art is only about the ego). The artistic means (legal and ethical), justify the artistic end. Does the final piece of artwork deliver a message or make the viewer think. Nobody looks down on the Simpson's or South Park or Family Guy as poorly animated cartoons - they are viewed for what they communicate. The more Poser use there is, the faster the day will come when someone shows you something that makes you cry or say 'wow', and it was made using Poser (by itself or combined with other tools). That day will come much sooner than you expect (edit: there are plenty of people out there generating content in Poser that elicits emotional response).

Epilogue, and Coming out of the Closet

For the record, I use Poser (listens for the end of the world... no planes crashing or sun exploding...). But I have also used many other software packages through the years - and continue to do so. Why do I keep using Poser when I've tasted finer softwares? Well, it has drastically improved from the early ball and joint doll software that it was initially intended to be. And frankly, the cheap and vast third party support makes it easy to fill out a scene regardless of the time period you are trying to depict.

I do make props in 3D for things that I cannot readily find, or don't match my creative vision. I do make my own custom textures and lighting setups. I have never been satisfied with a Poser render by itself and have always followed up with postwork effects. But let my gallery speak for itself - I try to make each image tell a story or at least create enough character that you think there may be more information there worth investigating. If you don't like me or my art because I use Poser, that is your problem to think about. Can't we all just get along?

Bettie Page has left us with memories: [link] . She was certainly an influence on my coming of age and fetish interest. I'll probably write more about Bettie for another journal entry.

You are what you eat, say, do. High Fructose Corn Syrup is a manufactured sugar product derived from corn (duh). Due to the huge corn agricultural industry and limits on cane sugar imports - price and politics drive this manufacturing engine (in the United States).

Some speculation out there is that our bodies do not process HFCS in the same way that we process regular cane sugar such that our bodies don't respond with the "I've had enough" signals that we get when we might eat too many salty chips, or chocolate bars. The body doesn't break down HFCS as easily as regular sugar (this is also the reason hydrogenated oils/trans fats are so bad for you).

So, of course eating or drinking too much of these products is not healthy. When it comes to enhancing the flavor of products, HFCS is in a lot more things than you might imagine. Though you may limit intake of soda or candy... take a look at the ingredients on "normal" items when you go shopping next time (cereal, bread, jelly, crackers, ketchup, relish, fruit juice, barbeque sauce, apple sauce, frozen orange juice, ice cream, bagels, english muffins, etc).

I am not proposing that everyone eat organic - as organic products may still have excessive pricing due to supply & demand and organic certification standards vary by state. What you can do though, is purchase products that are labeled 100% natural (and don't cost much more) which will be sweetened with cane sugar or molasses or fruit (look at the ingredients). Just by making healthy food choices you will be healthier, lose weight, and vote with your dollar. Educated consumers/citizens are the bane of corporations and governments. If HFCS and trans fat laced products aren't purchased, they'll stop making them!

F.Y.I. - I'm up in ur gallury browzin ur scraps!



Frank Frazetta passed away (May 10, 2010) and we take for granted many things until they've been taken from us. For those kids out there, imagine a time before the intertron, a time before Photoshop, when "fantasy" art was nearly taboo in the media consciousness. Frank tore the clothes off our heroes and villains, drew his sword and rode a chained panther into our imaginations. Damn... he'll continue to inspire.

Arthur C. Clarke passed away (March 18, 2008) and humanity is lessened. For those of you who have never heard of this name, he helped author 2001: A Space Odyssey (based on an earlier story written by Clarke), and worked with early radar, and quite literally is credited with the idea for communication satellites - in addition to a catalog of ideas on the human condition, the universe, and the future of our species. HAL will be observing 20 minutes and 01 second of silence:

QUOTES: [link]
ClarkeFoundation: [link]
Wiki: [link]
Wired: [link]
BBC: [link]
NYTimes: [link]
CNN: [link]
Clarke's Laws: [link]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." ~ Arthur C. Clarke



Gary Gygax passed away (March 4, 2008). Gygax was one of the founders of tabletop fantasy roleplaying games, along with Dave Arneson (who passed away April 7, 2009)and a cadre of others who were at the right place at the right time and helped seed the industry. He was no Einstein, or Da Vinci, but a figurehead to roleplaying geeks nonetheless. Though gone, we will enjoy his creations for decades to come. If you can relate, the following links will be humorous and memorable:

BoingBoing Interview: [link]
Wikipedia Biography: [link]
Gygax in Futurama excerpt: [link]
Wizards of the Coast tribute page: [link]
Penny Arcade panel: [link]
The Cimmerian: [link]
Whil Wheaton: [link]
Troll Lord Games: [link]
NYTimes Editorial: [link]
Colbert Report snippet: [link]
BBC article: [link]
MMORPG.com: [link]
RPG.net: [link] and [link]
Wired article: [link]
BoardGameGeek: [link]

"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know, is that they don't need any rules."
~ Gary Gygax