Hi, We use several different methods and a lot of work...lol. There is a thread about it in the Texture forum "Let me show you how to make a base texture" or something like that. And there are several tutorials here and at Daz. For V3 I use photos (from www.3d.sk.com) and a base texture. Same for M3. If I want something not human, I use a lot of the effects in Photoshop or Deep Paint. Does this help? It would take a very long page to explain it all. :)

Let me introduce you to my multiple personalities. :)
     BluEcho...Faery_Light...Faery_Souls.