I would like to thank everyone for their help. Here's where I'm at: Photoshop CS2 (Amazon $559) is the industry standard, however Paint Shop Pro (Amazon $84) can perform 90 percent of Photoshop's actions. PSP is also compatible with most but not all of Photoshop's plug ins. PhotoShop Elements 3.0 plus Premiere Elements (Amazon $129) is an affordable introduction to Photoshop, but it's not as powerful as Paint Shop Pro. Some people prefer PhotoImpact, but theyre a minority. I assume people use the free programs because there free, not because their better If thats right I'll go with PSP and spend the rest on Poser 6 add-ons. Thanks again. Bonni: Coke is, without a doubt, the best. I can't even drink pepsi anymore, always tasted generic IMO.

Sorry, I forgot I to tell everyone thanks for there help.

PSP 9 is $84 at Amazon, Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 is $89 dollars. Also, I have been hearing good things about Vue, does anyone think that would help render comics?

I can spend up to $200, I was looking at the different Photoshops, and they seem to be pricey.

Thanks a lot for your help everyone. I was unsure about Shade, but the e-fronteir website made it sound necessary if you wanted to produce anything of quality. I'm getting Poser 6 as soon as possible.