First developed as a modest tool for creating 3D models of the human body, Meta Creations Corp.'s $249-estimated Poser 4 is a one-of-a-kind solution. Poser lets Web authors, 2D and 3D artists, animators, and product designers quickly produce lifelike human models. This version boasts a more robust feature set that lets you generate distinctive male and female figures, pose and animate them with anatomical accuracy, and dress them in stylish digital clothing.
Poser 4's improved features eliminate many of the limitations that hampered earlier releases. Its libraries of more than 60 predefined 3D models now have greater detail and more lifelike faces than the mannequin-like figures supplied with past versions. Many new models have been added as well, including babies, animals, and even three fully articulated robots. Poser 4 also includes lower-detail versions of each model that improve the program's performance on slower systems and simplify low-resolution projects such as Web-page illustrations.
Poser's array of body-customization tools is impressive. Simple and intuitive drag-and-drop procedures and high-precision dial controls let you adjust facial features, change a model's ethnicity, or quickly convert a basketball player into a hulking wrestler. Each model includes accurately functioning joints that make it easy to drag heads, hands, torsos, and limbs into anatomically correct poses. In addition, you can import 3D objects created in other programs and assemble them into your own shapeable figures.
Poser 4's new customizable clothing wardrobes include tuxedos, halter tops, cowboy hats, bikinis, and sandals. The program's rendering tools now offer more flexible lighting and camera controls that let you adjust the reflectivity and transparency of every feature to create effects such as thinning hair, shiny armor, or transparent clothing. The Sketch Designer function provides a huge selection of natural-media effects that make your scenes look like oil paintings or pencil drawings. You can even add soundtracks to animations, and style and animate your models' hair.
Performance on our 450MHz Pentium II testbed was good; even antialiased 640x480 renderings took less than 30 seconds to complete. Creating movies with Poser's graphical keyframe-style animation module was straightforward, and the program offered a superior range of options for exporting rendered images and movies to other programs or to the Internet.
No other program is like Poser 4. It won't replace a general-purpose 3D modeling package, but if you need a way to quickly model the human figure, it's really your only choice.
Product Poser 4Company MetaCreations Corp. Carpinteria, CA; 800-846- 0111, 805-566-6200 www.metacreations.com/products/poser4 Requires 32MB RAM; 240MB hard drive space; 16-bit graphics display (24-bit recommended). Windows: Pentium processor; Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4. Mac: 64MB of RAM recommended; PowerPC processor (604 recommended); Mac OS 8Support Live phone support, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays (ET), for 90 days after purchase, 30 days for upgrades; fax; WebSuitability A useful tool for Web authors, graphic artists, animators, and hobbyists who want a quick way to generate lifelike models of the human bodyMfr. Est. Price $249
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