Thankyou for such a terrific response! What kind of artwork do I want to produce? That is a good question. I'm interested in anything and everything, I'd like to take a few nature shots and see what I can do with some imagination and software to spice them up. I'm also intested in creating my own 2D images from scratch. I would love to know more about animation, and this Poser program has me intrigued. I guess I just want to be creative from the ground up. I have a very basic camera, a Canon Power Shot A70, but would upgrade if my interest continues to grow. My father was an obsessive amateur photographer for many years, so I guess the bug has finally bitten me. I only informed my partner of my interest this morning and he told me he already has paint shop pro, shows how observant I am! He has so many things on this computer I wouldnt know half of what we have. I am looking into trying out the free trial of Photoshop CS2. I guess since I'm starting at the very beginning I'm more interested in any suggestions to get my toes wet. I can see I have plenty of reading to do, I'm feeling like a kid at Christmas. Thankyou again for your questions and suggestions, I appreciate every response I get. I hope this gives a little bit more of an idea of where I'm presently at. Cheers Tara