Poser conforming clothing tutorial

I've been having some problems with the cloth room in Poser 6, but hopefully this tutorial can make things a bit clearer for me.

Crystal Render

Another interesting way to get your 3D models into the real world. Crystal Render will take a 3D file and, using a focussed laser, turn it into a bubble image within a piece of crystal. There is currently a special offer discount for Poser owners.

About the CrystalRender process:

1. First, your 3D model is converted into a "pointcloud" with special 3D conversion software. A "pointcloud" is simply a collection of points that represent the original geometry surface. Think of it as "dusting for fingerprints" all over your model. Then, by removing the original 3D object, what is left behind is the sparkling dust pointcloud in the shape of your original model.

2. Next, a very powerful laser beam is focused at a specific point within the crystal and a brief burst of high energy is released. This concentrated energy heats the crystal and creates a tiny "stress crack" at this exact location. The points are very small (about 1/10 of a millimeter).

The crystal must be optically perfect, completely transparent and the structure must also be rendered from back to front, so that previously created points don't interfere with the laser drawing the new ones.

To draw more points, the laser is pulsed on and off and the beam is redirected with a mirror. The mirror is moved by computer-controlled motors between points. It is this way that the many thousands of points in a typical pointcloud model can be drawn with such incredible speed and accuracy.

3D Bike models?

Does anyone have any 3D models of bicycles, of a quality that could be used in design? James at Bicycle Design has passed on several requests he has received recently, because he can't find any on the 3d sites he checked on.

Sketch Up Google

Google purchased @Last software, who make a product called SketchUp, a 3d modelling program. They have now released a free version of the software with the aim that it be used to create 3d artifacts for Google Earth. There's even a 3d Warehouse to store them.

via Guardian Unlimited