Ravs,

Awesome--thank you! Those are some great tips. And you're right on the money: I'm hoping to use software techniques to make up for the fact that I can't hand-draw the things I want.

Alas, I know VERY little about how to do the operations you described, but I'll darned-sure give it a shot. I can stumble my way through Bryce and see what happens. You've been gracious enough to give me some pointers already, so I won't ask you to hold my newbie hand. I'll give it a shot and report back with how it's going. (I'll also be sure to check out your other thread!)

I haven't posted to the ProFantasy group yet, but I've been considering it.

Out of curiosity, what sorts of 3D packages have displacement painting commands? I'm assuming 3ds Max, Maya, and Daz do, but as the first two are rather pricey ( ), I might check out Daz if you tell me it's what I need. Or am I missing the obvious? Does Bryce have this feature? That'd probably be the easiest since I already own a copy.

Thanks again for everything!

-Greg