here you go with my suggestions :) a good modelling program, here's a short list: 3ds Max Lightwave maya rhino anim8tor Amapi nendo wings3d have I missed any? a good paint program Photoshop paintshop pro painter deeppaint 3d probably missed a few. after you've modelled your figure: UVMapper/pro phi builder cr2edit/cr2 editor morph manager morph master extreme morph 3d There's loads more I've probably forgotten but that should give you a head start :) also cram in as many tutorials as you can find on modelling, here at rosity & runtime dna are good places to start, don't forget poser pros & simply loads more sites out there that I can't remember right now. Rob