How to Make a Mirror in Poser

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: For this tutorial

   Go to File > New.
   
   Note:
   Although lighting is important when making an image, setting up the lights is beyond the scope of this tutorial.
   
   I recommend looking at the websites listed below for light sets or lighting techniques.
   
   Note 2:
   The camera settings (angle, placement, and distance from the subject) are important to your final image as well, but for this tutorial, the default camera settings should be fine.
   
   Note 3:
   Most of the controls in Poser can be moved around the screen- your controls may be in a different location than what's shown in the screen shots.
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   Step 2: let's start with a new

   For this tutorial, we'll use the "Lycantar" (a robot dog), which is included, for free, with the installation of Poser
   7.
   
   Open the Library Palette by clicking on the "handle" on the right of the screen or go to Window > Libraries.
   
   Click on the word "Figures" to open the Figures Library.
   
   Scroll down and double-click on the "CP Partners" Folder to open it.
   
   Scroll down and double-click on the "VanishingPoint" Folder to open it.
   
   Scroll down slightly and click on the thumbnail for the "Lycantar".
   
   Click the double-check mark at the bottom of the Library Palette ("Create New Figure") to add it to the scene.
   
   The Lycantar will be added to the scene. <br. , <br.
   
   You can either click on the camera "trackball" to move and rotate the camera... or you can use the values shown in the screen shot.
   
   Make sure the Parameter Dials Palette is open- it's the "window" with all the "dials" and values.
   
   Select the Main Camera : you should see the words "Main Camera" at the top of the Parameter Dials Palette.
   
   Change a value, click on the number.
   
   Poser will display a text box so you can type in a new number.
   
   Here are some suggested values:
   DollyZ (move front/ back):
   0.470 DollyY (move up/ down):
   0.285 DollyX (move left/ right):
   -0.028 xOrbit (rotate up/ down):
   -7 yOrbit (rotate around): 35 , Any object can be made into a "mirror" by simply changing its reflective properties.
   
   But, for this tutorial, we'll use the "One-Sided Square".
   
   Go back to the Library Palette and click on the word "Figures" to show all the libraries.
   
   Click on the word "Props" to open the Props Library.
   
   You should see a series of blue folders.
   
   If you don't, double-click the "up" icon (the blue folder with the arrow) to move "up" a folder.
   
   Double-click on the "Primitives" folder to open it. , Click on the check mark at the bottom of the Library Palette ("Apply Library Preset") to add it to the scene. ,, To do this, we'll have to change the surface material settings., Then, make sure you are on the "Advanced" Tab., In the main window, you should see a box with the word "PoserSurface".
   
   In order for an object to be reflective, change the following settings: , The Diffuse_Color is the color of the mirrored surface: in this case, we want it to look like a mirror, without any color at all.
   
   But, you could change it to blue or green to make the mirror look more like a metallic surface, such as car metal. , In the pop-up menu, select:
   New node > Lighting > Ray Trace > reflect.,,,,,, (By default, they will probably already be checked.),,, Note: the Poser 4 render engine does not support reflections or ray-tracing. ,, Note:
   Ray-tracing and at least 3 ray-traced "bounces" are necessary to create reflective surfaces.
   
   Note 2:
   On the right are a number of additional render options (such as "Use displacement maps").
   
   Enabling these options are not necessary for this tutorial, but you may want to investigate these options to increase the quality of your images. ,, Sit back and watch the scene render.
   
   Depending on the speed of your computer, rendering could be finished in a few minutes! Note: many factors can influence how long (or how fast) a scene renders, such as: the size of the image, the number of lights, the complexity of the shadows, the complexity of the models in the scene, the complexity of the textures, and the complexity of the calculations for effects such as reflections, transparency, and so on.
   
   And the most important factor is the speed of your computer's processor and whether there are any other programs running in the background.
   
   Optimizing your computer (and Poser itself) to render faster could be a tutorial all to itself!
3. 3

   Step 3: blank scene.

4. 4

   Step 4: Add a model to the scene.

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   Step 5: Optional: Adjust the camera slightly so we can see the entire Lycantar model.

6. 6

   Step 6: Let's add the mirror to the scene.

7. 7

   Step 7: Scroll down slightly and click on the thumbnail for the One-Sided Square.

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   Step 8: Move the square behind the Lycantar so we can see the reflections in it: Open the Object Parameters Palette

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   Step 9: making sure the name at the top says "square_1"

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    Step 10: and change the following settings to move it in place: Scale: 300 xScale (width): 250 yScale (height): 210 yRotate: 18 (turned so we can see the reflection clearer) xTrans (left/ right): -0.232 zTrans (front/ back): -0.381 Feel free to adjust these value to suit your taste.

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    Step 11: let's make the square into a reflective mirror.

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    Step 12: Switch to the Material Room (by clicking on the "Material" Tab at the top of the Poser screen).

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    Step 13: If the "square_1" is not already selected

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    Step 14: select it from the pull-down list on the left (next to the word "Object").

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    Step 15: The Diffuse_Color and Specular_Color can be any color you like

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    Step 16: but either full black or full white will work the best.

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    Step 17: Left-click on the plug icon next to the word "Reflection_Color" and drag to the the right: this will create a new shader node.

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    Step 18: On the Reflect node

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    Step 19: set the following: Color: white (255

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    Step 20: 255) Quality: 0.2 (a higher quality will create longer renders times

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    Step 21: though you may or may not see a difference in quality) Softness: 0 RayBias: 0.002907 (this should be the default setting

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    Step 22: which is fine) You can also adjust these settings to suit your taste or to create various effects.

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    Step 23: On the PoserSurface node

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    Step 24: change the following: Diffuse_Color: black (0

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    Step 25: 0) Diffuse_Value: 0 (this means the "mirror" has no color of its own) Specular_Color: black (0

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    Step 26: 0) Specular_Value: 0 (this means the "mirror" has no sheen or highlighting of its own) Highlight_Size: 0.05 Reflection_Color: white (255

27. 27

    Step 27: 255) (which is probably the default color) Reflection_Value: 1

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    Step 28: let's set the box's properties to make sure it will reflect.

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    Step 29: Switch back to the Pose Room (by clicking on the "Pose" Tab at the top of the Poser screen).

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    Step 30: Click on the "Properties" tab on the "Parameter Dials" palette.

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    Step 31: Make sure both the "Visible" and "Visible in Ray Tracing" checkboxes are checked.

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    Step 32: let's set the render options so Poser will create reflections.

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    Step 33: Go to Render > Render Settings.

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    Step 34: Click the tab for "FireFly" to enable it.

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    Step 35: To keep things easy

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    Step 36: click on the "Auto Settings" button.

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    Step 37: Drag the slider from left-to-right (or from "Draft" to "Final") until the "Raytracing" box becomes checked

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    Step 38: or at about the third notch from the right.

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    Step 39: Click the "Save Settings" button (which has the same effect as clicking an "OK" button).

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    Step 40: Render the scene by going to Render > Render or click the "Render" button at the top of the Document Window (the button that looks like a camera).

Detailed Guide

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