Phil Cooke
This brings us to Phil Cooke, or PhilC as he is known in most of the Poser communities, an extremely talented costume designer and programmer. We got a chance to try out two of his more popular Python programs: Poser Toolbox and Wardrobe Wizard. Before I go into info on them, I do want to mention that you will want to make sure that you have your Poser service packs updated before downloading Python-based programs. This is due to the fact that the original boxed version of Poser 7 has a few glitches with its interaction with Python.
Poser Toolbox is a collection of a variety of useful Python-based tools that Phil Cooke has created. While there are too many to cover everything in this article, one of the high points is the “Shrink-Wrap” tool which gives you the ability to convert primitive objects, like cylinders, and other props into conforming, dynamic clothing which literally shrinks around the contours of your 3D actor. This can be a very easy way to make traditional dresses that behave dynamically as though they are made from fabric. Another cool ability is the Face Putty tool, which allows you to manipulate the face of one of your models much like you would sculpt putty. This works quite nicely, although it is pretty slow in Poser 7 even on faster machines like our test machine. (From what I understand, this is an issue with how fast Poser 7 can deal with Python scripting, as opposed to an error in Mr. Cooke’s programming. Hopefully a future patch or Poser 8 will streamline this.) In addition to these notable elements, Poser Toolbox includes streamlined programs for creating arrays of items (like circular steps or pillars), adjusting magnets to morph your characters, morphing an entire character based on a 3rd-party altered .OBJ file, and a variety of other helpful things. One of the things that's really helpful for newcomers is that each "Tool" in the Poser Toolbox has a Python-based help screen to reduce any confusion you might feel due to the large number of options.
Now, one additional feature I would love to see in a future version of Poser Toolbox be the ability convert non-prop garments into a shrink-wrap style conforming clothing, as this could allow you to morph your character to whatever size you want and then shrink wrap actual clothes to the specific size and shape your character is now at, without having to use magnets. (The digital costumers at Mindvision GDS program a similar ability into their “Superconforming” clothing, but I would love to see it implemented into a Python program that could imbue this super-conforming ability on clothing from any designer.)
Wardrobe Wizard is designed to allow you to convert clothing from one model to another, which can be a huge time-saver as well as money saver for most users. This pack is much more technical than Poser Toolbox with an approach that is more aimed at digital garment makers and converters. Despite this, Phil has created some very useful tutorials to make the basic features understandable for beginners and allow you to jump into converting your clothing with very nice results. For more experienced users, there are a wide range of customization options to allow you to get exactly the fit you want. For a future version, I would like to see an optional basic Wizard Style layout which would be more intuitive for beginners, which could be turned off for more advanced users.
Poser Toolbox retails for $39.99 and Wardrobe Wizard retails for $59.99, with new WW model support made available regularly. (Some WW models, like those for E-Frontier’s Miki 2 and Terai Yuki 2, are made available free of charge, while others, like DAZ’s Victoria 4, cost $4.95 per additional supported model.) You can download a free demo of Wardrobe Wizard which works with older Poser figures from PhilC’s site. For more information on both programs go to: http://www.philc.net
