Hi, I suppose I'm trying to run before I can walk, I know that in order to get a good render I need to understand lighting and composition, etc. But the thing I'm interested in, have always been interested in, is animation. It's purely a hobby, I doubt I'll ever show them to anyone, just as I never show most of my poser stuff to you lot. I do it for my own amusement. I'm lucky in that money isn't really an object to me, not only have I got more than enough, but I have contacts that get it for me for next to nothing. If I bought Maya, it'd be at an educational discount anyway. So, just as I don't use even half of the tools of poser, I'll probably use only 10% of something even more complicated. I'm not worried about the learning curve, I'm a UNIX admin, my whole world revolves around an OS legendary for it's unfriendliness and complexity, (it's the reason I love it so much :) I'm also possessed of a singular patience, I can simply sit infront of a computer for 48 hours straight, (no sleep and little food/drink) and never get bored. Failing that I also have people in the "business" that I can ask if ever I get stuck, less so Poser since it's not a "real world" tool, (which is why this place is so usefull) Most of my mates use lightwave, etc. but the one thing I've always heard is that Maya is the best at character animation, and since it's the animation I'm interested in I figured I'd ask a few questions. So, is it actually possible to "parent" a poser mesh onto a Maya skeleton? Right, gotta catch a bus... :) later jb