thundering1, there's also a new book by David D'Champ that goes over how to rig characters and set up joint parameters in Poser.  It will also point you towards some Poser-specific utilities that can help you.  It's geared towards beginners, but you'll also find a bunch of information that may shave a few weeks off the 4-6 month timeline that Garee mentioned. 

It's being offered as a download from the author's web site (www.dad-tv.com) at half price right now.