Heh... Just realized I might have said something that could be confusing if you've never used shader nodes... so: The way Poser 5 handles materials is this. You have a large menu on the left, which holds the values of intensity and the basic properties of each material setting. This is the shader tree. A node is the little box that contains the map. One map can be linked to different areas on the tree by using the mouse to drag and drop the setting to the node. For instance, select "displacement" hold down the button, and drag it to the node, then release. A line will appear linking the property to the map. You can move the node around like any other window by dragging the title bar. This allows you to keep thing organized. The dial settings for each property in the shader tree affect different aspects of that property. For instance, the Displacement setting will determine the degree of variation in the intensity of the map. A high displacement will mean that low areas are dramatically lower than normal areas, for instance. It's going to take experimentation and practice to get use to. The firefly renderer is very powerful in this sense, and can dramatically change the look of a texture, bump map, etc. with incorrect settings. My first attempt at a displacement map was a disaster. I set the displacement value too high, and ended up shredding Vicky over a 15 mile area... In fact, it looked like someone had taken a sledge and started knocking polygons wildly around the room with no discernible pattern. Subtlety and patience is all it takes, though. If you have any questions, let me know by IM or email to sepharim@msn.com, and I'll try my level best to help. Paul