Step 3: Naming the Bones

The Properties palette allows you to modify the following settings:

• Internal Name: You can modify a bone’s internal name while in the Setup room by entering your desired name in the Internal Name field. Poser uses internal names to find a group of polygons with a matching name. It is best to begin with an existing bone structure when creating figures so that you can start the process with a set of bones that already have standard internal names. You can, of course, create figures using custom internal and group names; however, this makes the process more difficult since you need to track the internal names and the portions of the skeleton and geometry they correspond to.

This is a critical point. The only way to link a bone to a group of polygons is to have them share the same exact internal name. The only place to modify internal names within Poser is in the Setup room, and then, only in the Properties palette.

If you want your figure to support many of Poser’s features, you should respect the bone/body part internal naming conventions precisely. Group names for the Alyson and Ryan figures are listed in Poser Figures Hierarchy.

• Name: The Name field is where you input your desired external name, which you use for your own reference. You can use any name you wish. This can be helpful if, for example, you are working in different languages.

Any other displayed options do not affect bones and should be ignored.