I just bought the new version of Poser, the 3D figure creation and rendering program that is my main cheat for laying out comics panels and getting characters consistently in proportion and relative size. The package is in its sixth iteration and celebrating its tenth anniversary. To celebrate the milestone the program’s creator sat down with e-frontier to discuss his background, work and interests.

First of all, let’s talk about the evolution of Poser. I know that you have a background in animation, and have animation royalty in your family. Can you discuss a bit about your family, education and also your animation experience?

My grandfather, who I never got the chance to meet, was Dave Fleischer. He, along with his brother Max Fleischer, created and ran Fleischer Studios from the 1920s to the 1940s. Dave was credited with directing all the Betty Boop, Popeye, and Koko The Clown cartoons, as well as the features Gulliver’s Travels and Hoppity Goes To Town. My grandfather actually was Koko the clown. He was filmed wearing a clown suit for the animations they would then rotoscope (which they invented and patented).

Technorati tag: Poser, Animation, Comics