The corporate entity may have changed, but Poser 6 is still a unique piece of software known for its ease of use and high quality output. All screen captures by Fred Galpern.

Curious Labs released Poser 6 this past March. If you happen to read about a company called e frontier America Inc. claiming to be the Poser developer, please, don’t be confused. It’s simply a corporate name change to allow the American branch to coordinate more closely with their Japanese parent company, e frontier. For Poser 6, they will transition the company name, presumably until its users become accustomed to the new “e frontier” title. Corporate confusion aside, Poser 6 is still a unique piece of software. The 3D figure software has long been known amongst hobbyists and professionals alike for its ease of use and high quality output. In addition to human figures, users can pose, texture, light, animate and render four-legged animals or even create their own unique creatures. For this review, I will focus exclusively on the Windows 2000/XP version. Mac users need not fret; there is also a Mac OS X version available.

Two new human figures, James and Jessi, are highlighted in version 6.

There are many new features in this upgrade from version 5, which was released back in the summer of 2003. There are two new human figures highlighted in this release, James and Jessi. One male and the other female, can you guess which is which? Poser includes a genitalia toggle for the shy or younger users. Serious artists will most likely switch it on and forget about it, but e frontier is wise to include the option. There are many other figures that ship with the software, including other humans, various animals, cartoon figures, robots and a sampling of premium content offered by third party vendors. Also included is a large library of poses, hairdos and clothing for the figures. OpenGL hardware acceleration, cartoon render effects and improved Flash export are some of the other additions in version 6.

3D professionals will be hard pressed to find another piece of software to compare Poser to, mostly due to its distinctive user interface. The UI takes some getting used to but given an hour or so pros should feel quite comfortable. Beginners on the other hand might need to read the documentation. If you’re jumping from a 2D app, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, put your learning hat on and read, especially the introductory section that explains 3D workspaces. This section is well written, easy to follow and will provide information that will be useful when you move to one of the more advanced 3D packages someday. Working in 3D space isn’t always easy to pick up but Poser is a great way to get started, again mostly because of its simple yet effective UI.