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.
History Poser was created by artist and programmer Larry Weinberg as a digital replacement for artist's mannequins. Versions 1.0 and 2.0 were published by Fractal Design. In 1997, Fractal Design was acquired by MetaCreations, and Poser's interface was redesigned by MetaCreations' Phil Clevenger for release as Poser 3 in 1998. This interface has remained as the basis for all subsequent versions. In 1999, MetaCreations sold Poser to egi.sys AG, which established the subsidiary Curious Labs, with Larry Weinberg as CEO to handle Poser development and publication. Curious Labs and Poser were sold to e-frontier, in 2003. In November 2007, Smith Micro Software acquired Poser as well as Anime Studio (now called Moho). Smith Micro Software also acquired the English language distribution rights to Manga Studio (now called Clip Studio Paint), from e-Frontier. After Bondware acquired Poser in 2019, its first update was Poser 11.2, announced in September 2019, and it followed with Poser 12, its first major update in over five years, in early 2021. Poser 11 introduced many new features, including better rigging capabilities.
Early versions of Poser were bundled with fully clothed humanoid figures specifically designed for Poser. As the program evolved, add-on packages of human figures were sold by the manufacturer of Poser, and eventually, third-party companies began creating figures which work with Poser. As clothing became separate from the humanoid figure, collections of 3D garments were created for specific models which conform to the shape and pose of the Poser figure. 'Poses' for figures were packaged and sold by the software vendor and by third parties. 'Morphs', allowing customization of body or face shape or other features, were also sold. Different skin textures, frequently combined with settings for morph technology, are marketed to allow one base model to be customized into many different 'characters'. Similarly 'texture' packages allow one garment to take on many different appearances, an animal to represent different breeds of the same species or a vehicle to show many different color schemes.
On July 2, 2009, Smith Micro Software announced the creation of a new platform for distribution of assets for use in Poser called Content Paradise.
On November 9, 2018, Smith Micro Software announced the closure of Content Paradise on December 3, 2018, the content moved to Renderosity.
On June 20, 2019, Smith Micro Software announced they sold the product line of its Poser software to Bondware, Inc., owner of the popular online marketplace, Renderosity.com, and longtime Smith Micro resale partner.
Version Release date Publisher Improvements / Notes 1.0 Fractal Design Corporation First release 2.0 Fractal Design Ability to add props Animation High resolution models 3.0 MetaCreations New user interface Facial posing and animation Human figures with jointed fingers. 4.0 MetaCreations Natural-media sketch renderer Figure sculpting via deformers Transparent mode for materials Conforming Clothes Transparency (which lead up to TransHair that increased the quality of hair sold today) 4.0.3 Curious Labs Markup path names made to use relative paths Currently sold as entry level Poser Artist Pro Pack Curious Labs Add on pack for Poser 4 Implementation of Python scripting, Custom figure rigging Ability to host Poser scenes in 3ds max, LightWave 3D, and Cinema 4D. No longer available 5.0 Curious Labs FireFly Reyes/ray tracing renderer Dynamic hair and cloth Collision detection Morph Putty Tool (Interactively work with morphs) 6.0 Curious Labs; e-frontier OpenGL Hardware acceleration Image-based lighting, Ambient Occlusion Cartoon outline rendering effects Inclusion of "Primitives" Zygote Props Binary Morphs (allows you to load the morphs for characters in a separate file linked to Cr2 resulting in faster load time in Poser) Inclusion of male and female genitalia 7.0 e-frontier Simon and Sydney (new AdultG2 male and female figures) Wildlife including eagle and wolf Updates to Ben and Kate the Poser Child figures with new morphs, textures and rigging New motion capture data, light sets, poses, and materials Talk Designer for lip-sync animation Multiple Undo/Redo Multithreaded rendering High-dynamic-range imaging Brush morphing Animation Layers Universal Poses for bipedal figures, with automatic conversion of Poser 1-6 poses Streamlined access to Runtime libraries Universal Binary Poser Pro Smith Micro Software Poser Pro was released adding COLLADA support and plugin support for Cinema C4d and Maya. Poser 8 Smith Micro Software 8 new characters New User Interface New Content Management System Cross body morph tool Global illumination Improved OpenGL performance Tone Mapping and exposure control Normal Mapping Wardrobe Wizard Performance optimizations wxPython support Poser Pro 2010 Smith Micro SoftwareEnhanced User Interface 8 new human figures with advanced rigging Full set of legacy figures Over 2.5 GB included content Keyword and online content search Parameter change indicator Joint strength indicator Recent render palette StuffIt Connect image export Facebook image export
Professional Art and Animation Tools Full body part morph import Auto-conform drag and drop Conform with scaling Updated PoserFusion Hosting plug-ins Dynamic cloth and strand based hair Improved OpenGL real-time scene preview Face Room WalkDesigner and TalkDesigner Dependent Parameters Tool Improved joint rigging system Cross Body Part Morph Tool Wardrobe Wizard Tool wxPython support
Refined Lighting and Rendering Tools HDRI Export Gamma correction for linear rendering Normal mapping PSD layer rendering Network rendering 64 bit render engine Indirect Lighting for Global Illumination Physically correct light falloff Tone mapping and exposure Poser Debut Smith Micro Software 80 fully rigged, fully posable, 3D characters Includes 2 GB of content In-app Project Guide teaches how to use Poser with video Drag and drop content from Library Poser FireFly rendering engine. Poser 8 rigging system OpenGL real-time scene preview