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I realize this discussion is no longer active, but for the record I'd like to add my opinion as a veteran, because making textures is what I consider one of my better skills. A major, major problem in all the sample images posted at the start of the discussion is that the figures (and associated textures) are very obviously making use of ambient (inherent figure) lighting, which should be considered a big no-no if you want crisp and good quality images.

Sure, ambiently lit figures are an easy crutch for a beginner, but a hard-won lesson from years of playing with Poser is that next-level imagery can never be obtained from use of ambient lighting, because the result is always uncanny in an unflattering way. For a beginner, the problem of course is that off the shelf type of textures are often designed with ambient light use in mind, so it can be a catch-22.

Set all that aside, and start from scratch with the blank figure texture templates, perhaps initially just flood-filling them with a skin-tone type hue, and then see how these respond to the actual lights present in your scenes. Compare free textures that give results you like, and try to draw lessons from how they accomplish whatever you find appealing. Eventually, you'll figure out how to make far better textures than anything you can grab in free download sections at big sites.