Poser 5

Pay attention to the system requirements on install. This program needs room and power. With more than the recommended 256 MB of RAM, rendering seems a bit sluggish in spite of the new FireFly micropolygon-based rendering engine. Though considering all Poser 5 does, immediate rendering of complex 3-D objects might be asking a bit much.

Working in Poser 5 is remarkably simple considering the capabilities of the software. The workspace is clean and easily customizable, with a majority of the tools accessible from floating palettes and windows. A collapsible library palette gives you fast access to all available content such as figures, poses, faces, and expressions. Plus, there is an entire CD of additional content including sound files, props, textures, templates, samples, and demos.

The interface is broken down into different rooms: Pose, Material, Face, Hair, Cloth, Setup, and Content. The new Face Room lets you map any face onto a 3-D head using just front and side photos of someone's face. Use the Hair Room to grow actual 3-D hair for figures in just a few steps. Go to the Cloth Room and convert objects into fully dynamic cloth with complete control of behavior. A full, revised reference manual is included.

So many things are under your control, it's hard not to want to tweak every little detail. However, on more than one occasion making an adjustment caused the software to lock up and quit. At other times, it would complete the changes, but the document window would be blank, making it necessary to close and reopen the program to continue work.

Instability issues aside, Poser 5 is loaded with fun tools, content, and utilities, making an upgrade worthwhile for serious users. Ease of use makes it a good choice for beginners and hobbyists as well. --Joshua Goldman