Poser is a tool for artists, just like Painter, Photoshop, Paint Shop Proand different people will use their tools different ways, just like different artists in traditional media use their tools in different ways. The first thing to do is make Poser your own. Play with it lots; it takes a lot of work and time to work out how to pose a figure realistically. Start with Dork and Posette: Vicky and Michael are better figures, but way more complex. It would be like learning to drive using a double decker bus. Figure out whether you like posing with the dials or the mouse better (I like dials). Do you have a project in mind before you start, or do you like to play and see what emerges? I tend to do a few sketches before starting Poser, but that's just me. Did you know you can move the tools around? Just grab the text that is the header for the tool set (i.e. 'Display Styles') and you can drag it around and put it where you think it ought to be. Tick 'Launch to preferred state' in Preferences and it'll always open with the tools where you put them. Don't expect to learn every feature of the program right away. I've been using this thing since version 2 and don't use half of what it can do. Read the tutorials on this site and others, and concentrate on what's of most interest to you, and maximise your creative energies, and never be too shy to ask when something is giving you a hard time. Post your work, even if you don't think it's very good. There are very helpful folks on this forum, who will offer constructive criticism and help you improve your Poser skills. So says me anyway!