The Poser 4 Handbook [With CDROM]

It seems to be very popular to put down Mortier's books, but let's get real: this book is a very useful reference for the program. I may not personally like the type of projects that Mortier uses as examples, but that's not the point --Mortier's art and style are not what you're paying for: how he attains his effects is the purpose of the book, and he does cover the methodology of Poser very well.Mortier covers everything from morphing, lighting and multi-figure composites through hierarchies and spawning props with a lot of useful info which greatly augments the relatively sparse user manual.Aside from Poser alone, his sections of 'handshaking' (using Poser with other applications) is invaluable. Poser is a tool that works best when used with a number of other applications such as UV mappers and texture creation programs. Mortier's lists and descriptions of programs that work well with Poser is worth the price of the book alone. His 'Hints From Master Users' includes great tips from some of the most well-respected names in the Poser community.As a successful 3D and special effects artist, I use Poser about 4 hours a day, and have probably spent thousands of hours with the program since its first release; Mortier's book was invaluable in learning the ins and outs of what is a fairly complex program to use well. I still refer to the book on a regular basis, and am constantly finding some useful bit of info that I missed in earlier readings.So, get past the silliness of some of the projects and look at the methods Mortier uses to get his results. If you use the book in this manner, you will most definitely learn Poser, and you will learn it well!(By the way, as far as 'handshaking' goes, Bryce and Amorphium Pro are two programs often used with Poser, and are mentioned in 'The Poser 4 Handbook'. Mortier's 'Advanced Bryce Creations' and 'The Amorphium Pro Handbook' are excellent reference books for these two programs. Again, you might not like his example projects, but you will learn an amazing amount of very useful techniques for getting the most from these other programs.)

Finally a well written, tutorial rich resource for Macromedia's excellent 3D character generator. Version 4 brings alot more features to the table which you NEED to master. I've been a Poser user since Version 1, and this book has finally brought it all together for me. A definite must read!

This book is a great complement to Poser 4, one of the most powerful and affordable graphic animation packages. It is ideal for the new user & essential for one who has upgraded to version 4 to utilize all the new features.Basic concepts & controls are presented first. Details of posing hands and faces in stationary figures are explained and applied to animal figures as well. Hair & clothing options, greatly expanded in version 4, are covered.Moving on to animation, the power of Poser 4 is revealed. Animation controls are introduced, again emphasizing hands, faces & animal movements. Creative morphing and distortion, great for sci-fi applications, are described. Advanced topics include using Poser in conjunction with a wide variety of other software packages, backgrounds & props, and customization. Several impressive step-by-step projects will help you master Poser's power. The CD-ROM will add hours of exploration and value to your Poser work. It includes many objects ready to include in Poser scenes. A list of Poser-related web sites is a great bonus.