I'd start by downloading a trial version of Paint Shop Pro 7 (http://www.jasc.com/download_4.asp?) and a trial version of Poser4/ProPack (http://www.curiouslabs.com/downloads/index.html) - both are good for 30 days, and will give you an idea of what you're getting into, before you start investing a lot of money into it. Hope this helps - have fun! :-)