We’ve taken the time to update the demo video for our Zombie Moves Pack Volume 1 to bring it in line with the demo videos for our other motion-captured animated pose packs for Poser and Daz|Studio. Many of you have already seen the Mummy Walks video that we have in our Gallery Page, which really shows off what can be done with Poser and our Moves Packs. Our present video shows the motion-captured animations in their simplest form–applied to Daz3D’s Michael 4. Enjoy!
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb9fO8efUP0]Tag :: Poser
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Demo Trailer
We’ve added the demo trailer for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to show off all the moves that are available in the motion capture pack. Each of these poses can be easily applied in Poser and Daz|Studio and are currently available for Daz’s M3 and M4 figures, as well as V3 and V4.2 figures.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nopaQqopXpM]Demo Video for Salutes Pack
We are in the process of creating/updating demo videos showing all of the moves that we have available for sale. Here’s the first one, showcasing our new Salutes pack:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPB11INhrQU]Tutorial: Compositing Using Depth Maps in Photoshop
Poser has been used primarily to generate still images rather than animations. A lot of Poser users are able to produce absolutely outstanding still images that can, and have been, used as illustrations in books, magazines, and other media.
One of the techniques that has been used by Poser artists is compositing images in Photoshop. By combining still images of different elements such as backgrounds, characters, and special effects, the artists are able to create a combined or composited image that goes far beyond what could be done in camera in Poser. This tutorial describes a technique for compositing still images generated by E-on software’s Vue. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to insert a character into a Vue scene and have them blend seamlessly, even to the point of having their feet nestled in the grass.
We are going to use depth maps in order to cut out the sections of the foreground that will appear in front of the character we want to insert. A depth map is simply a grayscale map that colors objects black closest to the camera and white furthest from the camera. Using this information we can insert a character as deep into the image as we want, and ensure that elements in the image that are closer to the camera to the character will appear in front of the character in the final still.
We have uploaded a set of still images and their corresponding depth maps into our downloads section, and you can use these to work your way through the tutorial.
Tutorial: Setting up Multiple External Runtimes
One of the things that we want to do with Posermocap.com is to go beyond simply providing motion capture files for use in Poser. We want to be able to turn this site into a resource for Poser animators, thus unleashing this powerful piece of software and enabling people to create their own animated short films and projects.
If you read through the articles in the site you’ll see that we’ve already taken steps to do this. We’re hoping to provide our readers with the inspiration and resources they need to help them learn to animate within Poser. Starting with this article, we’re adding a new section to this page for tips, tricks, and techniques. This section will be an ongoing collection of articles that will provide shortcuts, tutorials, and interesting tricks to use when animating with Poser.
We’re going to be starting this off with a tutorial on how to create multiple external Runtimes in order to show one way to help people organize Runtimes and migrate their contents into multiple external Runtimes quickly and easily.
Just about every Poser user has experienced the problem of Runtime bloat. Because there is such a wealth of low-cost and even free content available to Poser users online, it becomes very easy for Runtimes to approach several Gigabytes in size. Of course as the Runtimes grow (and because of the file dependencies between Poser figures, props, poses, and textures) they tend to become confused messes that are both difficult to navigate and reduce productivity to a crawl. The solution then, is to look at the employing a multiple, organized Runtimes in order to create a logical and easy-to-navigate file structure.
Migrating Poser assets into multiple Runtimes can be a daunting and mind-numbing task of re-installing each and every asset by hand. Given Poser’s system of file dependencies among its assets, re-installation is the only way that migration works. Simply trying to move assets within the Runtime or even move the assets to an external Runtime stands an excellent chance of breaking the file dependencies and making the asset unusable. Trust us on this.
By using multiple external Runtimes, we can organize the content in a way that makes sense to us as users. Fortunately, this is a relatively easy process. And with the right tools, a bit of planning, and a bit of know-how, anybody can end up adding Runtimes reaching up into the hundreds of gigabytes with very little difficulty.
Let’s get started.
Can Poser really be used to make a Movie?
This is not an unusual question. Both Poser and Daz|Studio have long been known as methods for creating outstanding looking still images, but not so much for animation.
Now, if you go onto any CG Animation forum on the net, you’ll likely find that lower-cost programs like Poser and Daz|Studio are not held in the same esteem as more expensive programs like Maya, 3DS MAX, Lightwave and Softimage. The perception is certainly out there that “good” animation needs expensive software and that the more expensive the software, the better the animation.
While it is true that the more expensive programs tend to have extensive toolsets, the capabilities of lower-cost programs have been expanding tremendously over the past few years. And for programs like Poser and Daz|Studio, they can indeed be used to make movies.
This is what it’s all about
We’re pleased to give you a first look at what we’ve been talking about. Here’s the teaser trailer of our upcoming Zombie Walk Moves pack that will be released very soon. This will provide Poser and Daz|Studio users with easy to use Motion-Captured animation sequences to apply to their own figures.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3JxTIuqL58]Animation Democracy
These are good times for people like us who grew up with a passion for animation. No longer is animation meant exclusively for those with deep pockets. Instead, the cost of both computer software and hardware has come down to the point where anyone can create an animated film of their own.
Yes, that’s right. Anyone.
While contemporary theatrical animated films can have budgets that reach nearly USD$200 Million, there is an explosion of independent animated films being released on the internet and direct to DVD by people working out of their homes on desktop and laptop computers with production budgets that might just reach upwards into the hundreds of dollars. Maybe. Powerful computers and powerful software, combined with gigabytes of low-cost content available online put animated filmmaking within reach of anyone.
It’s a true animation democracy.
