Quote - Not to CobaltDream or Iceboy or any of the other math wizards on here, but it was to me. I have no frame of reference to start my comprehension with.

wait a second.  i just want to go on record as not a math wizard.  i have several different physics professors who could vouch that statement for me.

what your problem is, i think, is that you can't see through the math.  i had the same problem with physics eventually.  i had to trust the math and get an understanding from that and not my instincts as they were.  and that just didn't happen for me. 

there's no trick to give you for that.  you have to switch your instincts.  instead of black, you have to think 0, 0, 0.  instead of mid-grey, you have to think 128, 128, 128.  i've had so many years of working with colors as numbers to specify, that much is at least instinctive for me.  no trick, just having to specify stuff over and over. 

that said, i have no clue half the time.  i'm sure if bagginsbill saw the perversion of PR2 i've made, he'd point out several different bizarre errors.  but it works for me, and could probably work for others.  you don't have to be him, and frankly, since he is a math wizard, i think you probably won't be.  i know i won't be, so i certainly don't mean that offensively.  you don't have to be a wizard to do tons and be helpful to the majority of people. 

it gets clearer as you do it more.  there's no short cut that i know of.  i think i first started using Poser in about 2001.  check out my latest image, you'll see a history of my work.  there's no huge leaps or sudden improvements.  i rarely get 8 hours of sleep, and i'm awful about my housework.  mostly i work on this stuff.  i'm very, very, very slow about this 3d stuff.  there are people who get to where i am and can model practically anything in a year.  you're very probably learning about 10xs as fast as i have. 

that said, my best and most popular piece of work is about 2 years old.  everything just came together.  i don't know if i'll ever surpass it. i just keep trying.