Value
For the smaller studio, Poser Pro is a very good value if you need some character integration into Maya, C4d or 3ds MAX, or if you simply want some character animation who’s rendering you can spread around a network. Poser Pro is not Softimage's high end software, but then again, it doesn’t cost $3,000 to $5,000 dollars either. As a small film maker, you ARE the target market for this software. It is robust in its features and handled knowledgeably, can produce superior results.
An important question to ask is, “What else do I plan to do in 3D?” One of the limiting factors of Poser Pro is that it is ONLY a 3D manipulation software - you can't create new stuff with it. If you don’t have another 3D package to work with, you’re limited to what you can find and buy to import into the program. If you think you might be wanting to create your own environments or objects as well as do some character animation, there are other slightly more expensive options worth checking out like DAZ’s Carrara which also imports Poser content but is also a content creation software with a wider variety of export/import options (although it doesn’t yet support the COLLADA standard)
If you already have Poser 7 and aren’t planning on making extensive character animations, this is a tough call. The background rendering is wonderful to have. The network rendering, if you have multiple computers, is very, very nice to have. So, at this point it’s really just a budget decision. But if you can let your single system run all night and come back in the morning for a single animation, it’s really up to you if you want to drop the cash.
Just a few of the impressionistic effects available with the Sketch Designer.
Final Comments
Holy cow, I’ve used Poser products since version 2. Poser Pro is a nice continuation of that legacy. However, the legacy has been somewhat troubled because the actual Poser software has changed corporate hands several times which has retarded some development. Consequently, feature development and enhancements have been frustratingly slow to come. Other software companies have capitalized on that lag meeting Poser Pro nearly feature for feature and overshadowing it in some areas.
But, at it’s price point, there isn’t another software that does what Poser Pro can do and integrate with the production standard 3D packages.
If you’ll be doing lots of outdoor scenes and don’t have the production standard 3D applications, you might want to check out Vue 6 Infinite. Vue has it’s own Poser import capability. Vue also is a content manipulation software (although you can do some limited creation with it) but it has a beautiful render engine which is pretty quick. DAZ’s Carrara 6 has a very good outdoor environment building capabilty plus is a full content development 3D package - you can see the reviews for both of these packages on this site.
My personal hope is that Poser Pro will continue to evolve and excel at the areas in which it has a rock solid foundation.
Ease
of Use
8.2
Depth
of Options
8.5
Performance
8.1
Value
8.5
Overall
Score
8.3
Mark Bremmer has operated his own commercial studio for 15 years. He’s been fortunate enough to work for clients like Caterpillar, Amana, Hormel Foods, Universal Studios Florida, and The History Channel; producing stills, digital mattes and animations. Mark contracts regularly as an art mercenary with production houses that shall remain nameless by written agreements. His production pipeline is Mac-based, with the FCP Studio2 workflow. He loves Shake and Motion. And his family.
