I've been at this a looonnnggg time myself and I too am just now starting to make my own stuff. However, I've been texturing almost as long as I've been Posering and even a custom texture is something different.

I know Daz figures are popular, and that's fine - I use them myself and I have since Dork and Posette and the first millennium figures. I just think it does the other creators of wonderful figures a disservice not to mention them as well. All is not Daz...lol. It just makes me angry when folks imply that. Sure they're big and sure, they've flooded the market, but  they are not the only things out there. I like to stress that to new folks: heck, you don't even really have to buy anything to use Poser if you don't want to or can't afford to. And it IS expensive - if I totaled up all the purchases I've made over my 10+ years with Poser I'd probably go into a dead faint... But just to imply that if you don't use Daz figures you're nothing or you'll accomplish nothing is absurd. I mean, really absurd.

Another point I'd like to make: if one never goes beyond just placing, posing and rendering, than where's the fun in that? Break out the morph brush once in awhile, explore the material room, use dynamics once or twice... Making your things unique is NOT easy - it's hard and I think that's where the laziness I spoke of before comes in. I'll admit, not everyone is serious about the hobby like some, which again is fine, but I find personally I get more pride when I render something that I made or at least customized with my own texture than when I use something I got off the shelf. Yep - it takes hours and lots of time and it means I can't upload 3 images a day - but when I do, it's something I like and something I tried really hard on ;o). I guess I like the personal satisfaction more than I like anyone elses...lol.

Laurie