Quote - Oh, believe me, I have been here just about every day. I should have mentioned that. Without this forum I would have turned tail and run, especially since the CP forum closed. The shaders are a mystery still, because the math is so challenging to me.

Just a heads-up... I'm not going to talk out of school, but there's very interesting stuff being developed for people who would like to take making materials to an art-form. Yes, it will involve maths, but remember, no one gets left behind, here. All questions are valid.

The problem with the manuals is that the authors themselves don't understand the material room or the renderer or any of that part of Poser. That's why they show you quietly how to hook up a ImageMap node to the diffuse_color channel on PoserSurface and load a picture into the Image_Source channel of that node. Voila, a texture. The rest of it is all black magic to those writers and, indeed, to most Poser people. Yet, there are those who do understand how it is meant to work and how to create really awesome shaders using mathematics. And on here, they are happy to share it with you. Isn't that neat???

Here's what you do, Nanette. Have a read of threads that talk about materials (shaders and like that). When you come to a point where you don't understand anymore, do a forum search first, but then if you're still stumped don't hesitate to ask. And if something is still unclear to you, ask until it IS clear to you.

I'm convinced making materials has got to be one of the most exciting aspects of Poser. Like water, for instance. Want real water??
www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php
And that's just a rough idea of what's available.

Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2

Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand] 

Metaphor of Chooks