Copyright: (c) Copyright 1995-1996 Fractal Design Corporation.


Poser Quick Help

Modes

Pose Mode (press 1)
Pose mode lets you change the position or size of the individual body parts. Use Pose mode to make the body flexible - for example, to bend the arms or turn the head - or for resizing body parts.

Body Mode (press 2)
Body mode freezes the posture and allows you to control the model as a single object. Use Body mode to rotate or move the entire figure.

Camera Mode (press 3)
Camera mode allows you to adjust the view in the main window. The Main Camera provides a perspective view, the Front, Top and Side cameras are orthographic cameras.

Holding the ALT key will temporarily select Camera Mode with the Rotate Tool.

Light Mode (press 4)
Light mode allows you to color and aim the lights. Poser provides three distant light sources.

Tools

Rotate Tool (press R)
The rotate tool lets you move the selected element in all three dimensions at once.

In Pose mode, Rotate bends a single body part at the joint. Rotate is the best tool for posing a figure.

Drag perpendicular to (across) the part to move it side-to-side or up and down.

Drag parallel to the part to move it toward or away from you (in and out of the screen).

In Body and Camera mode, Rotate moves the element in all three dimensions. Image the figure enclosed in a glass trackball. Use the mouse to drag the front of the trackball to rotate it in the direction you want to turn the figure. The location where you begin dragging makes a huge difference in the direction the figure turns.

Twist Tool (press W)
Twist rotates (spins) the selected element along its own axis.

Translate Tool (press T)
Translate moves the selected element in the plane of the screen.

In Pose mode, translate moves multiple body parts, pulling them along in a chain. Drag any part and connected parts follow. The chain starts at the selected body part and works its way to the fixed point. You can stop the chain at any body part by placing a lock.

In Body and Camera mode Translate moves the selected element laterally or vertically.

ZTranslate Tool (press Z)
Functions exactly like the Translate tool, except it moves the selected elements in or out of the screen.

You can toggle between Translate and zTranslate by holding the CTRL key.

Scale Tool (press S)
Use scale to increase or decrease the size of the selected element.

Hold the SHIFT key for uniform scaling in all dimensions.

Taper Tool (press P)
Taper adjust the scale of one end of an element - the other end does not change.

Lock Tool (press L)
A lock placed on a body parts ends the chain of parts affected by the Translate tool.

Note, a lock does not freeze a body part in space, use the command Figure:Fixed Point to set a fixed body part.

Focal Length Tool (press F)
The Focal Length tool changes the “lens” of the Main Camera. Drag left to decrease focal length which will increase the sense of perspective. Drag right to increase focal length and flatten the view.