Hello Rod! And Welcome to R'ostiy! 

I'm a sorta seasoned Poser user, been using it (with a few breaks) since 1999, and even after 10 years with the program there are things that will make you go "Oh is THAT possible?!"

The basics are fairly easily learned. Just don't be afraid to poke and prod around. Try the various buttons and see what they do. At least that's what works for me. I've never been a "manuals" peep - I learn much better hands on.

Back when Poser 5 was all the rage, I made a Beginner's Tutorial. Of course the interface and all looks a little different now, but you're welcome to take a look at it. I guess I should update that tut to Poser 8 L Time flies... (you can find it by clicking in my signature where it says My Site - there's quite a lot of freebies there, too ;)

One thing most beginners are confused when downloading freebies and buying new content is - "It said New Character" - but nothing happens when I click it." - and then it's really just a morph (new face setting)  and texture for some model you haven't yet bought.

Since you're already familiar with Daz3D - That's the website btw, their program is called Daz Studio - you should consider buying Victoria 4 (and Michael 4 if you want a male counterpart) as they are the ultimately most used figures in Poserdom.

Of course, Poser 8 comes with quite a wide range of people, be sure to check the folders in the Legacy Content, assuming you've downloaded it (if you haven't, you should!) - some of the characters can look a little scary right out of the box, but they benefit nicely from a little morphing (try turning the dials or - except for the Poser 4 characters - take them through the face room for an easy change of features)
That will give you a starting point without spending a lot of extra money. Then when you've got the basics right, you can get Vickie and Mike :)

The most important thing is: DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK.

And do not be afraid to use the Search Option here either :) Most questions have probably been asked at some point in the past - but admittedly, the search here is.. a little odd, so if you can't find an answer, try asking. We won't bite ^_^ 

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You just can't put the words "Poserites" and "happy" in the same sentence - didn't you know that? LaurieA
  Using Poser since 2002. Currently at Version 11.1 - Win 10.