Positioning figures in Poser

Hi folks.

I've been animating for a while, but have only recently begun using Poser. Looks like a pretty good program with lots of information in the tutorials and manual. But I do find it hard to find specific information. Sooo, after spending a lot of time trying to find stuff, I still have three questions that I just can't seem to figure out. If there's someone out there who knows the answers, I would be so grateful to hear from them!

1. If I want to repeat a particular part of an animation but facing a different way, do I need to copy and paste then change every frame to the orientation I want? Or is there a way of doing this with that big circle thingy or some other tricky method that Poser seems to be good with?

2. In making a couple animation, how do I place the secondary avatar apart from the primary avatar in Poser, but still have it at 0,0,0 position when I upload into SL?

3. When using symmetry - Swap right to left - (oh my, I looooove symmetry!), I assume that it doesn't change the central points such as hips, waist, abdomen and chest, or am I just too new to the program to know the trick?

Thanks so much for taking time to read this! I eagerly look forward to hearing from anyone who knows the answers to one, some or all of these questions! And/or can point me to the parts of the tutorials or reference manual that can teach me this stuff!

Cheers,

Salacia

In Poser, as in most animation packages, there are multiple ways of achieving the same thing. I can make a few suggestions:

1. You could do as you suggest, but I would probably try storing the relevant key frames in pose dots, or even in the library as poses. Then recreating the animation and using the symmetry function to change the key frames - assuming you mean to change symmetry. If it is just a change in figure rotation/position, then you could alter the HIP position on the relevant key frames - deleting any unwanted keys. I find it easier to delete keys in bulk from the animation graph - but you can delete them from the animation pallate or individually in the document window. You can use the body "big circle thingy" to move the entire figure - but SL does not recognise that as a parameter - so although it works in Poser, it is no use if you want the animation to work in SL. You have to move the HIP joint.

2. When you add a second figure into Poser, it will be positioned at the 0,0,0 point - i.e., most probably on top of the first figure, so you need to move it to see what you are doing in the animation. If you are making a couples animation, I'm not quite sure why you would want them both at 0,0,0 - but if for some reason you do, then you will have to set the figures to that position on Frame 2 (HIP joint again) and delete all the other relevant keys on the HIP joint. Are you sure you don't just mean the T-pose on Frame 1, which should be set at zero rotation on all joints for both figures? Then no problem - Frame 1 should be the zero rotation T-pose and the animation starting on Frame 2.

3. Symmetry , when used to swop left and right, will mirror all the joints, including HIP, CHEST and ABDOMEN. This is not necessarily so when using symmetry to swop left and right arms or legs.

Thanks so much for your very informative post. Off to try it!
Cheers