In Spring 2021, Renderosity and HiveWire3D partnered to create the world's foremost destination for 3D content.

"Renderosity was the perfect collaborator for HiveWire's contributing artists," Renderosity Marketplace Manager Jenn Blake said. "We were happy to welcome them into our community."

Renderosity welcomed 37 of HiveWire's contributing artists and more than 550 products. Some of those artists include Ken Gilliland, Laurie Prindle, Ken K., and others, in addition to HiveWire3D's products. One of the more popular vendors to make the transition was Sunfire, who goes by Tana Ragsdale IRL.

Sunfire has been creating 3D art since 2005 when a friend (isn't it always a friend) introduced her to Poser.

"At first I just dabbled, making images for the games I played. I was curious and interested in what went into making clothing, so I bought tutorials," she said in an interview with PoserSoftware.com. "In late 2013, I released my first product for Dawn. The encouragement I got from those around me inspired me to submit that product. I put the product together and got it ready to submit while dealing with a lack of vision in my right eye that I would come to learn right around the same time was caused by multiple sclerosis."

Her vision has mostly returned, but she still battles MS daily and uses 3D art as an outlet and source of income.

"There has not be a lessening in the desire to create. I'm not prolific, and there are many partial projects waiting to see the light of day, but I do like to create and share what I have made," she said.

How long have you been creating digital art? Why did you start? When and why did you pick up Poser?

Sunfire: About 15 years ago is when I first got into digital art, because a good friend suggested it to me. She even provided me with my first version of Poser, whose providence I didn't look too closely at. I was also playing with Bryce at the time, thanks to the same friend. We were both into RPGs, and it was always nice if we could provide a picture of our characters, or show a scene rather than just describe it. Poser became the go to though because of the figures, and because, at the time, I couldn't get through the DAZ Studio tutorial. It had some errors in it that left me frustrated, so I went where I could figure things out.

What is your favorite thing to create with Poser?

Sunfire: Portraits, vignettes, something with a story, usually involving an RPG character.

If I sketched my characters, my sketches wouldn't have looked human at all, but now with Poser, they do, and sometimes I surprise myself with how well they turn out. There's several in my gallery of character portraits I've done.

Which are your favorites?

Sunfire: Christine, she's for a Call of Cthulu game; Shane; D. Raven; My Vanyel, the original image I did of him is better and was one of my first surprises; Keath; and Angel and Demon. Shall We Play a Game, and Director Zayden are the characters of friends.

Does creating a portrait of your character help in the game?

Sunfire: It helps others. For me, it's more of taking what the character is and giving it form, like D. Raven. When I look at him, I see angst and passion, desire and hatred, all rolled up into a very attractive package. He SHOULD be a sociopath or psychopath, or perhaps an amalgam of both, but what he is, is a screwed up guy who tries to do right, as long as no one pisses him off.

Why did you start creating products?

Sunfire: Curiosity and my own desire to create, then encouragement from the HiveWire3D team. 

When did you start brokering on Renderosity?

Sunfire: Around February of this year, after HiveWire 3D closed their store.

How long had you been brokering at HiveWire?

Sunfire: Since 2013, I think it was. Longer than my MS diagnosis, that I know for sure.

What do you create?

Sunfire: Dynamic clothing mostly. Though I do have a pair of conforming shorts, and lately some dForce products. For Dawn mostly, some for V4, LF these days, and with the venture into dForce G8 Female.

What do you like about Dynamic clothing?

Sunfire: The ease of creation. I can push verts and polys around to get what's in my head into the digital representation of a geometry, and I don't have to worry so much about how it's going to move with the figure when conformed. Dynamic clothing also gives a more natural lay to the clothing, even those clothes that are closer fitting and usually great for conforming.

Do you have any tips for working with Dynamic cloth?

Sunfire: Hmm... I'd have to say, when working with Dynamic cloth, be very careful about the placement of hands and such, as if the space the dynamic cloth has to move through is too tight your results are going to be bad at best and totally unpredictable at worst. Also, if you don't like the way it falls at the end of the sim, just add more frames.

Poser offers users the ability to use interactive 3D figure design to create art, illustration, animation, comics, web, print, education, medical, games, story boarding, and more. Using the program, creators can bring their stories, dreams and fantasies to life. From historic to contemporary, sci-fi to fantasy, Poser is the 3D graphics software tool used by professionals and hobbyists alike.

That's why we want to take a closer look at some of the creators who leverage the power of Poser to create. Email us at mwillard@renderosity.com if you would like to participate in the Creator Series.

What can you create? Let us know on Twitter at @poserpro, using #CreateWithPoser