I can tackle 1 and 3. Yes, character animation is possible. Its not easy, but it can be done. Whether you import a character or build one from scratch (and yes, the latter is possible), you have to set up a hierarchy of joints for it, which I do using spheres set with no texture and maximum transparency. Each joint is given a different hierarchy color for ease is picking them out of the models overall structure, and you use the parent-child linking relationship between the various pieces (working from the center of the character out to the extremities) to make your character move. I once built a five-minute animation completely in Bryce that had, at one point onscreen, approximately 30 characters all in motion. Later today, Ill upload an image from the ani so you can see it: the characters are all built from primitives, with only a few obj imports. Were I to do it now, I would probably make the textures a little more detailed, but as a piece of "Legoblock" work, it holds pretty well. Burning fire is accompished by taking a fire texture and morphing it along a time path, augmented by also changing the position of the object(s) holding the texture. For example, if you apply a fire texture to a sphere as an "object texture" (not a "world texture"), the texture will change position as you spin the sphere. Add into that applying the texture as "object texture" and then changing to, say, "random", then back to "object texture" again, you can create fairly realistic fire. The same technique can be used to create the illusion of a cloud of smoke appearing, then disappearing, like that at the end of a magicians disappearing act. Hope that helps. Let me know how your progress goes.