I use just Photoshop and do just fine :o). If Photoshop is too much for you (as it is for most folks), there's Photoshop Elements (stripped down version of industrial strength Photoshop) or PaintShop Pro, both about a hundred bucks or less. You can even use The Gimp if you want, which is a free paint program. As far as 3D modelers go, I've never been able to understand anything past Ray Dream Studio...LOL ;o). But the list above looks like a great list. Some of those are free programs (Wings3D for instance). There's also another free program that a lot of folks use called Anim8tor. Laurie