.png)
Can you tell us an introduction about yourself?
We are Tracey and Andrew, together known as Mortem Vetus. We make art drawn from the darker side of the imagination.
How and when did you get involved in computer graphics and Poser?
We each came to Poser around 2000-2001, independently of each other, although for the same reason, to make art. As no one was making things that we wanted to use in our art, we each decided that we'd have to make it ourselves.
What are your favorite Poser features and why? What tools do you find yourself using the most?
Oh, where to begin? All of the various rooms feel very intuitive and are set out in a way that makes them a pleasure to use. Probably our favorite is the Hair Room, as this gave us a great solution to beards. As we do almost all of our packs for the male figures, being able to utilize it for beards as we did in our various Facial A-Hairness packs was great, and a wonderful addition to our personal render assets.
Beyond character hair, the Hair Room offers a wealth of possibilities, such as the whiskers of a creature, the bristles on a broom, the crest of a helmet. There are many ways to utilize the Hair Room beyond flowing locks and unruly beards. It can be turned to clothing and props just as effectively as it's used on figures.
Obviously, we spend a lot of time in the Material Room, and in there, we are increasingly using Atmosphere, both Depth Cue and Volume. depending on the individual scene and desired result. We also spend a lot of time in the Setup and Fitting Rooms, both of which are very straightforward and logical in their operation. We enjoy how Poser renders and have done all the way back to Poser4. We would contend that with a bit of thought and effort, Poser renders far above its weight. And with a staggering amount of assets out there, there's plenty of food for the imagination.
On a slightly different note, the (comparatively) recent addition of a scalable UI was a godsend as we both have poor eyesight.
What workflow do you follow when working on a project? What tools do you use and how do they work together?
My workflow varies depending on what we're making, and to some extent, the starting point. Often, one of us will be doing something, and the other will expand on it. We use a wide range of tools, including Max, ZBrush, Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, Blacksmith, as well as a whole raft of Poser utilities and scripts. We use whichever tools are most suited to each project.
Can you tell us about your computer setup, what you look for when setting up your computer, and your overall environment?
We each have a hex-core pc, with plenty of graphics capability. Neither of us do building systems, so we always get someone in for that and give them a list of what we need. Then it's finding a nice balance between what we'd like and what we're prepared to spend.
Do you have any dream projects you would like to work on, if time and resources were not an issue?
A good male figure, actually built as a male, rather than a re-purposed female mesh, with lots of mesh to play with. And from that, some really 'out there' creatures We do actually have a completely original (male) figure mesh created and are (slowly) getting it refined to a point where it's usable for what we need. It will get there, but this is a long-term project as we want to make it as good as it can possibly be.
What type of renderer do you use? FireFly, SuperFly and why? What do you enjoy about the Material Room?
At present, we mostly use FireFly, mostly because of the length of time we’ve already been using it. SuperFly looks great, but we need to spend more time getting to grips with it.
Do you have a wish list of things where you would like to see Poser improve?
Greater control in the Hair Room, especially when doing really short hair or fur. It would be nice to split a hair group up into sub-groups for the direction of growth and use different parameters for each while maintaining them as a part of a larger whole hair group. So, a finer degree of control.
We would like to see the ability to use light as a camera, viewing the same orientation as the direction of light. It would be great to have more integration between the Hair Room and the Material Room.
Are there any words you would like to share with our readers?
Do what you enjoy. This makes for a better end result if it's something you both know and like. Plus, it keeps it from becoming a chore. And *laughs* know where the boundaries are, and then charge on past them.