What's the best 3D or anime character creation software?

I haven't made up my mind yet, but I have been thinking about getting either one of these programs...

Poser 5 or 6 (Poser 5 is very discounted since 6 came out. Is 6 really that much better than 5? considering I have seen 5 selling for $20 and 6 is like $160 right now)

or

Daz3d (free base program and 1 or 2 free characters, but additional characters, poses, outfits, hair styles, ect cost more money)


Which one is the best and which one is the easiest to use?


Also, is there any others out there that are good that I haven't seen?


I'm not liking the idea of having to spend extra money on different clothes, hair styles, props, etc though as addon's. Which program has the most for the money and is fairly simple to use or learn to use? Also is there anyway to make your own hair styles, clothes, poses, ect. without having to pay for them?

There just seems to be sooooo much to these programs that add extra options like being able to make your character bend in different ways, adding gravity to body parts like breast and skin, etc.

[Torplexed]

I've used Poser 5 and 6 and I can't say I've been terribly impressed with either. Always found the interface awkward and the figures difficult and tedious to pose naturally. The program has a habit of letting you bend fingers and limbs at unnatural angles and doesn't allow much in the way of 'undos' so you're stuck with your broken fingers. Even after you've rendered the figure you usually end up having to polish them up in Photoshop.

Never used Daz3d.

Originally Posted by Torplexed

I've used Poser 5 and 6 and I can't say I've been terribly impressed with either. Always found the interface awkward and the figures difficult and tedious to pose naturally. The program has a habit of letting you bend fingers and limbs at unnatural angles and doesn't allow much in the way of 'undos' so you're stuck with your broken fingers. Even after you've rendered the figure you usually end up having to polish them up in Photoshop.

Never used Daz3d.

What were the big differences between poser 5 and 6? And is 6 really worth the retail price of $150+ on up when I see poser 5 selling for $19.99 on some sites?

With the poser series, do you already get a bunch of background scenes and clothing items, or are you able to make your own? I'm not interested in having to buy the main product and a million different "mods" if you want to call them that.




About DAZ3d...


DAZ3d from what I've seen is a lot like poser but has a different interface and requires a bunch of payware "mods" and utilities to be able to bend and shape the figures the way you want them. Plus there are a million different "mod packs" that you can buy to get new outfits. What I hate though is that the clothes don't work on different characters. That means if you create your own the clothing most likely wont work. Several of the payware utilities come with pre-generated poses that look perfect and don't require any bending or adjustments on your part unless you want to bend them more.

I've heard a lot of complaints on both sides and I'm not sure which one is the better of the two...Poser or DAZ3d?


I am still interested in other programs that are like these if anyone knows of any?

I also noticed one that seems interesting and it too is from the makers of Poser. I think it just deals with anime drawlings and allows you to bend them and form poses for them as well. The drawlings though are only 2d though and Poser is all 3d characters.

I might just go ahead and pick up poser 5 at the affordable price and try it out to get a feel for it. I don't want to waste a ton of money on something I won't be using. I feel $20.00 isn't to bad considering last year is was selling for over $100 at some stores. Plus, there are probably a million freeware addons out there for it.

[Torplexed]

That's probably a good choice. 6 wasn't much of a quantam leap over 5. You do get some preset figures and items with both.

[CB..]

i bought "Poser Artist" mainly because it claimed to come with add on discs containing 100's of extra bits and bobs to use....not a chance it came with the add on discs allright but either the add-on disc were the wrong one#'s or it was a lie! lol 30 add ons not 100's as stated on the box...

same problem as mentioned posing the figures is idioticaly intricate and over complicated...i used it twice and haven't used it since...no doubt amazing results can be achieved with it but it doesn't inspire me one little bit....vastly over complicated and needlessy obscure controls

there is a new program specifically designed for making anime characters and cartoon strips..i think it is made by MAXON ...sorry can't remember the name...not too exspensive i think (cant remember)

Originally Posted by CB..

i bought "Poser Artist" mainly because it claimed to come with add on discs containing 100's of extra bits and bobs to use....not a chance it came with the add on discs allright but either the add-on disc were the wrong one#'s or it was a lie! lol 30 add ons not 100's as stated on the box...

same problem as mentioned posing the figures is idioticaly intricate and over complicated...i used it twice and haven't used it since...no doubt amazing results can be achieved with it but it doesn't inspire me one little bit....vastly over complicated and needlessy obscure controls

there is a new program specifically designed for making anime characters and cartoon strips..i think it is made by MAXON ...sorry can't remember the name...not too exspensive i think (cant remember)

Cool, thanks for the info. I will stay clear of poser then. However, the makes of poser now have a suite out called Anime Studio 5 for $50 and the Pro edition is $150+. Seems to be able to import 3d images into a 2d world so that you can have 2d/3d animated worlds and charactes! Very cool sounding! It also has a "bone" system that allows you to add bones to any image and make is move anyway you like! Really sounds cool!

Yes, all of these programs seem to be overly complicated, but I'm sure once you get the hang of it it can become quite fun and a lot easier to use. Just like a simulator like SHIII or FS, there is a patience and learning aspect to it all that I find enjoyable! I do hate the thought of having a package like this though and not have a unedit feature though. It would be a pain in the butt to have to go back and fix something all over again.

[kiwi_2005]

3Dstudio Max, or its lite version Gmax

[TteFAboB]

Hmm. I didn't even knew these programs existed.

Very interesting. I'll wait (and hope) for someone to come up with a simpler Dummie-The Sims version of these.

[Iceman]

http://www.renderosity.com

This is where I have been a free member for years now...great forums and could probably help you decide on what you want to use...I thought I recently saw somewhere on there them mentioning a free download of poser 5 somewhere not sure...great site though.

I have poser dont really use it much I prefer scenic/fantasy scenes I use bryce 5, and terragen alot.