Poser 14 is out
Bondware has released Poser 14, the latest update to the figure-posing and animation software.
The release introduces new dedicated sections of the UI for setting up PBR materials and background environments, but removes the software’s cloth simulation toolset.
The macOS edition has also been discontinued, and the price of the software reduced.
(Full disclosure: Poser 14 was actually released in late November, but we didn’t manage to cover it at the time.)
A veteran figure-posing and animation tool
First released in 1995, Poser was one of the first off-the-shelf 3D art tools, enabling users to pose and render readymade 3D characters, customizing them with hair, clothing and props.
Despite a reputation as a hobbyist’s tool, it has been widely used for illustration and comics art, and for a range of other professional CG work, including storyboarding and previs.
Although freemium alternatives like Daz Studio have cut into its user base, it retains a core following in online art communities like Renderosity.
The software has had a number of owners over the years, with Bondware, Renderosity’s parent company, acquiring Poser in 2019.
Poser 14: new UI tabs for setting up PBR materials and background environments
Poser 14 is the first major update to the software since 2023, although it isn’t particularly rich in new features.
The major changes are to streamline the process of setting up PBR materials and background environments for scenes, reinstating the Simple Material tab and introducing a new Simple Background tab, which collects together controls previously scattered throughout the UI.
Poser’s SuperFly render engine has been updated to the latest version of Cycles, Blender’s ray tracing renderer, on which it is based, and now supports Intels’s Arc GPUs.
It is also now possible to export figures in glTF/GLB format.
But the Cloth Room has been removed
However, the update also removes existing features, in the shape of the Cloth Room, Poser’s built-in cloth simulation toolset for creating dynamic clothing.
The release announcement on Renderosity acknowledges that “Poser 14 won’t be the perfect fit for everyone”, with artists who rely on the Cloth Room advised to stick with Poser 13.
According to the announcement, the developers are “actively exploring new solutions”, with the Cloth Room “very much on our roadmap for possible return in future updates”.
Now available for Windows only at a reduced price
The macOS edition of the software has also been discontinued, which is pitched as “strategically streamlin[ing]” development to focus on Windows, “the platform preferred by the majority of users”.
Reflecting the reduced feature set, the price of the software has been further reduced, from $199 to $175.
User response to the update has been lukewarm, if this thread on the Renderosity forum is representative, with the removal of the Cloth Room coming in for particular criticism.
Price and system requirements
Poser 14 is available for Windows 10+ only. A perpetual license costs $175.
Read an overview of the new features in Poser 14 on the product website
(Functionality listed as ‘Returning Features’ was available in previous releases)
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