Virtuality: Poser and the Real
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What's New Here? 
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About five years ago, I discovered MetaCreations' 3D modelling software at a trade show. I treated myself to Bryce and Poser, both of them under $200 and competitive in features with products priced in the thousands. Bryce creates amazingly realistic landscapes, ands Poser allows you to populate them with detailed, articulated, 3-dimensional living things. I could not justify purchasing them in any way except sheer frivolousness. I am a "word" person, not an "image" person, with no art training and no background in 3D modelling. Although the two products were nothing for me but very expensive toys, they are used commercially by professional artists.
No doubt Poser, now in version 4.0 and owned by Curious Labs, lacks crucial features and refinements obvious in their absence to the professional graphic designer. (Some of these lacks have been made up by the Curious Labs' Poser Pro Pack, in fact.) They have their place in the designer's toolkit, just as both TextPad and a full-blown word processor like WordPerfect (now owned by Corel, who also market Bryce) lie side-by-side in my wordsmithing toolkit. As a modelling hobbyist and enthusiast, I am blithely ignorant of what I'm missing, and the sheer pleasure of using these tools matches the pleasure I might get from a comparable investment in games.
I have now purchased Ray Dream Studio 5.5 as well, and a handful of related products, but Poser remains the centerpiece of my interest in the tools.
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