This is one of the best written books out there and Denise Tyler has outdone herself again. Not only does it have most of what was covered in Practical Poser 6, but it also covers well the new features added to Poser 7.

This book walks you though all of the basics, plus the more advanced features. It shows you how to set up your folders, using and maintaining your Poser content, on up to animation and rendering. Even included in the first chapter is a list of sites to find content, etc.

Here is a look at the book's layout:

Table of Contents:
1: Using and Maintaining Poser Content Chapter
2: Using Cameras Chapter
3: Mastering Lights and Shadows Chapter
4: Creating Materials Chapter
5: Creating Custom Faces Chapter
6: Working with Poser Hair Chapter
7: Working with Poser Clothing Chapter
8: Creating Custom Morphs Chapter
9: UV Mapping Chapter
10: Groups and Materials for Models Chapter
11: Creating Your Own Textures Chapter
12: From Modeler to Poser Library Chapter
13: Basics of Joint Parameters Chapter
14: Animation Overview Chapter
15: Walking, Talking, and More Chapter
16: Rendering
Appendix A: About the CD-ROM
Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions

Included on the CD are tutorials in step-by-step fashion for chapters 6 through 15, and an FAQ section. This CD also contains some content for Poser, a demo of UV Mapper Pro and standard, and images to help you along from beginning to end.

I have barely started to learn Poser 6 and already we are on Poser 7, so I am glad it covers most of what was in the Poser 6 book along with the new improvements in Poser 7. Everything I had been wondering how to do, I will now be learning how to do myself.

Some new things covered:

Chapter 14 - New animation functions and layers! In this chapter they guide you through from the beginning of an animation through to the end, and how to use the new layers to create multiple segments to your animation. The animation layers is new in Poser 7 and they walk you through how to use them step by step.

Chapter 8 - Morphing tool palette. This chapter shows you how to use the new morphing tool for creating new faces. This is a new feature to Poser 7 and lets you create new faces from a model like victoria, etc.

Chapter 15 - This chapter walks you through the new Talk Designer, which is a new feature in Poser7.

Chapter 16 - Faster rendering and HDRI. This chapter shows you how to set your rendering settings to get the best image possible. It gives you a step by step on how to set it up to increase the render speed. It shows you what can hinder your rendering speed and what to avoid.

All in all I would recommend this book to all Poser users. You can never stop learning new things. I would even recommend it for a beginner, as I know it would have really helped me when I was starting out.

List Price: $49.95

Practical Poser 7 is available in the Renderosity MarketPlace!

About the author
Denise Tyler has been an avid Poser user since version one and is the author of several books relating to computer graphics and Web development. She has been involved with 3D art and texturing since 1992, and creates Poser content for DAZ and Runtime DNA.

Castle Views is a featured column with Contributing Columnist Sandra Castle [SndCastie]. Wherein, she reveals interesting books, artists, and software dealing with 3d graphics, through reviews, interviews, and general articles.