Hurrah, I found a viable solution for the massive problems encountered in trying to go from Poser 11 to the latest Clip Studio.
It’s a 2010s Python script from Smith Micro, specifically designed to get .OBJs out of Poser in a format that the old Anime Studio understood. It works in Poser 11 and without placing impenetrable and un-rememberable export-settings dialogues in front of the user. It just quickly saves the posed .OBJ, conformed clothing, and textures.
So I figured… since Anime Studio was the sister software of Manga Studio, they’re going to require the exact same .OBJ settings. They do indeed, the evidence suggests. The script’s export .OBJ loads into the current Clip Studio (formerly Manga Studio) fine. The existence of this script, and its official status, suggests I wasn’t the only one who had problems in getting Poser to talk with Anime Studio / Manga Studio via .OBJ files. Idle YouTube blather about “just do any OBJ export, Clip Studio doesn’t care” is obviously wrong.
The Python script is, of course, long gone from the Smith Micro site. But the WayBack Machine has a copy of the Web page, and the .ZIP download for the script is still live on it. Download, un-zip, pop it in your Python scripts directory.
The script appears to have another nice advantage: perfect front-and-centre sizing to the canvas on import of the .OBJ to Clip Studio, with basic rotation tools and ground-shadow….
… and several non-skin textures seem to load fine too. As you can see, some grey bits. But you’re going to ink over it, right? Using it more like an artists’ reference image.
Phew, ok… well that’s enough for today. I’m not going to wrestle with Clip Studio to get Poser Steambetty looking tooned. At least I now have a viable Poser-to-Clip Studio workflow, and it’s blissfully un-fiddly.