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computer science

Poser (software)

Poser (software) is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Poser (software) rather than just read about it. In short: Poser (and Poser Pro) is a figure posing and rendering 3D computer graphics program distributed by Bondware. Poser is optimized for the 3D modeling of human figures.

Key takeaways

  • Poser (software) belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Poser (software) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Poser (software) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Poser (and Poser Pro) is a figure posing and rendering 3D computer graphics program distributed by Bondware. Poser is optimized for the 3D modeling of human figures. It enables beginners to produce basic animations and digital images, along with the extensive availability of third-party digital 3D models.

Overview Poser is a single-threaded 3D rendering software package for the posing, animating, and rendering of 3D poly-mesh human and animal figures. It is published by Bondware and supported by Renderosity, a graphic 3D art content store. Poser allows the user to load figures, props, lighting, and cameras for both still and animated renderings. Using a subset of the Alias object (OBJ) file format and a text-based markup for content files, Poser comes with a library of pre-rigged human, animal, robotic, and cartoon figures. The package also includes poses, hairpieces, props, textures, hand gestures, and facial expressions. As Poser itself does not allow for original modeling of objects, a large community market of artists has emerged, in which Poser content is created and sold through various third party channels. Poser is available in multiple languages including English, Japanese, German, and French. Poser is available for both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. While Poser's interface has evolved since the product's introduction in 1995, the current Poser Pro 13 preserves many of the application's original interface elements in order to not alienate the legacy users from the newer versions.

Features Renderosity offers a selection of ready-to-use content to add to Poser's included runtime library of base content, including body and hand poses, materials, props, facial expressions, hairpieces, lights, cameras, and a Reyes-based render engine called Firefly, which supports nodes for the creation of complex materials. Furthermore, it provides import of sound, image, and video files, motion capture data and 3D content for the creation of scenes or the addition of new library items. Poser exports content in many 3D formats. Poser is capable of material editing, facial photo matching, dynamic hair, dynamic cloth and new figure rigging. Online content is also available. Python enables third-party developers to create additional features ranging from custom libraries, rendering engine control panels, metadata editors and utility scripts.

Usage Poser is used to create original images ranging from human figures, human renderings of medical and industrial design illustrations, editorial illustrations, informational graphics, graphic novel illustrations, comics, and more. Poser contains many animation capabilities and is regularly employed by broadcast professionals including animation staff at Fox Bones, Colbert Report and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as in industry applications, such as in the animated instructions for automated checkout machines at Albertsons, Save-On stores and Wal-Mart, films including the Star Trek fan-film Star Trek: Aurora,The Misty Green Sky, and The Exigency. Poser characters and animations were used for early computer games from 'buddies' game creators ("Desert Rifle" games and "Cake shop" from Qi and ELEFUN(TM) game developers). The software was also used in the eighth, ninth, and tenth seasons of Red vs. Blue, as well as the first three seasons of RWBY. Standard Poser characters have been extensively used by European and US-based documentary production teams to graphically render the human body or virtual actors in digital scenes. Humanoids printed in several science and technology magazines around the US are often Poser-rendered and post-worked models. A film animated entirely on Poser, titled The Exigency, took thirteen years to produce and was released on December 14, 2019.

Library Poser is packaged with ready-to-use 3D content that allows new users to get started without needing to purchase additional content. Items are stored in Poser's drag-and-drop-enabled Library and are organized by type and name, e.g. People/Ryan2. Users can save customized figures or objects into the Library in order to reuse those items at a later point in time. The Library also supports adding in additional "Runtimes" which are collections of content that legacy users have assembled from third party providers. The Library includes a configurable, keyword-based Search function that locates content in the Library or connected Runtimes. Content can also be added to the Library's Favorites for quick access. The Library is set up with categories that each include collections of similar content items:

Character Pre-rigged figures including anatomically accurate humans, mannikins, animals, insects, dinosaurs, cartoon characters, human anatomies such as skeletons, and musculature and mechanical figures such as vehicles. Pose Animated and static poses for human and animals covering day-to-day activities, dancing, walking, standing, and sitting, as well as action and sport poses. Face Includes full and partial facial expressions. Hair Includes prop-based transparency-mapped hairpieces, dynamic hairpieces, and hair props such as mustaches or sideburns. Hand Hand poses of various types such as action poses and gestures, signals, counting, and American Sign Language. Props Includes primitives such as spheres and cylinders, clothing items grouped by character, scene props, furniture, rooms, vehicles, plants, and cartoon elements. Lights Includes animated or static pre-set lights consisting of spotlights, infinite lights, point lights, diffuse IBL lights. Cameras Includes animated or static cameras. Materials Includes simple and complex node-based materials. Scenes Full Poser scenes including a Factory, Crime Scene Lab, and a modern Apartment.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Poser (software)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Poser (software) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Poser (software) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Poser (software) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Poser (software)

In research
Poser (software) appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Poser (software) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Poser (software) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 3D animation software, 3D graphics software, Anatomical simulation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Poser (software) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Poser (software) in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Poser (software) means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Poser (software) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Poser (software) in simple terms?

Poser (and Poser Pro) is a figure posing and rendering 3D computer graphics program distributed by Bondware. Poser is optimized for the 3D modeling of human figures.

Why does Poser (software) matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Poser (software)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Poser (software).

Tags

  • 3D animation software
  • 3D graphics software
  • Anatomical simulation
  • Classic Mac OS graphics software
  • MacOS graphics-related software
  • Windows graphics-related software

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