Hey everyone, i'm wondering how everyone makes thier own textures. I've been able to modify pre-existing ones, but how do i go about making a totally new one from scratch? are there programs to download? or templets? thanks!

Items that come with Poser 4 also have templates. They can be found on the second CD. You can use any paint program to make a new texture based on such a template.

Look in the tutorials section for some excellent advice on making your own from photographs. It's not easy, but it can be a lot of fun. (See my post above)

For human figures: Snow Sultan has made seam guides for most of the major characters. This makes it a lot easier to match textures where the seams meet. You shouldn't try to shade too much with your coloring job, like you would in a painting, because the lights on the 3D mesh ought to reveal most of the form. I'd start with a flat-painted skin (or a superhero suit) to get a feel for how the maps go together, THEN work with photographs to get the super-detailed realistic look. 2 points which bug me in a pre-made texture map: highlights painted on lips (it makes the models look like they've been drinking chalk) and highlights on eyeballs with the same iris in both eyes. If your main light is on the other side, the figure looks glaringly fake. Light sources for hair, eyes, lips, and skin have to match. For props and such: Get UVMapper from Steve Cox. You can import any .obj and it will generate a template for you using any of a half-dozen mapping systems. Once you can make your own templates, you can texture anything. Carolly

the most important things to remember: use the correct template for the thing you are texturing and color INSIDE the lines :)