Once you have been using Poser for a while you will probably want to create your own personal character. It's alot of fun. I couldn't find any tutorials on this and just figured things out as I went along. This tutorial is based on my learning experience. 

A simple tutorial to create a character package for free or commerical or just for FUN !

THE MORPH 
Step 1.  Create your morph and the INJ & REM files to apply it.. To learn how to make the INJ & REM click here.

THE SKIN
Step 2. Creating the Skin 

Note: There alot of great merchant resources on Renderosity.  If you plan to distribute your character as a freebie make sure to read the fine print before purchasing. Most of the skin resources are only for commercial character packages.. One I found that allows you to make commercial or private packages is Ecstasy's M3_V3 Merchant resource. It comes with alot of bases. You can also create your texture from scratch using photographs (good luck).

Add blemishes, freckles and anything else to the texture. Next add the Tongue & InnerMouth onto your head texture if you don't like the one it already has. Most merchant resources already include one on the face, or you can paste a new one from another resource, or create your own.  When you are happy with your base head & body texture, rename and save as to a new folder, so you can work on copies of these. Make sure your head and body texture are saved as .jpg files. This will be your base for adding different makeups.  There are some wonderful makeup resources out there on Renderosity.  
To add makeup using a merchant resource: If the resource kit contains makeup layers, copy your face texture into an empty layer and have fun playing with the makeup options.  When you're done save your makeup as jpg under a new name. 

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
3. The Character Setup  
To better understand how this works, the PZ2 in your Pose Directory calls the JPG files in your Runtime/Textures. Simple !

In your Runtime/Textures create a new folder calling it whatever you want, this is where your jpg files will reside for the character.. Move all your jpg files you have created  head, body, eyes, lashes (and other transmaps), teeth&gums. 

**In Runtime/Libraries/Pose you should have a folder for your new Character. Your INJ & REM and PNG files should be in here. You also will be adding the PZ2 files (and corresponding thumbnails) to this folder.  Below is a description on how to create them.

THE PZ2 FILE
Step 4. Creating the pz2 file. 
What is a pz2 file?  Take a look in your Pose folder inside any of the characters you own. Open the pz2 for one of  the makeup options  in notepad, and you'll find it's a script that applies the textures to the correct parts of Victoria. Anywhere you see a .jpg used, shows you the path of the jpg being applied.

See a sample of my pz2 file from my character Veralynn here. You may use this file and edit it as you like. Save all the text in the linked page to notepad or textpad and Save As yourfilename.pz2  (Do NOT Save as .txt)  
**You will then place your new pz2 file in Runtime/Libraries/Pose your new Character folder as indicated in step 3 above.

The most important things you will want to edit in this file are:  
-a) Anywhere you see a path for textureMap or transparencyMap. Change this line to match your own directory and file names.

- b) The Veralynn file is set up to use a transparency map for the Eyebrows. If your character has painted on brows, make sure to change the  Eyebrows section to look like the example below.. I changed the transparencyMap to NO_MAP and added a path for textureMap to my face texture jpg.
(See The Eyebrows Tutorial on this page about creating Eyebrows.)

To sum up this section, study the Veralynn pz2 file to see where all your jpg files need to be applied. 

***All the parts of Victoria***

TEMPLATES.  Bottom of Victoria product page is Texture Template Download. Install these files to your desktop.
The only template I actually used was V3TransT.jpg for creating my own eyelashes and brows transmap.  
See bottom of Product Page Victoria 3  http://www.daz3d.com/shop.php?op=itemdetails&item=1098&cat=8

The Eyebrows:  There are two Options for Brows: Transmap or Painted on your Head Texture. 
If you paint your brows on the head texture, make sure to include in your INJ the morph Brows Gone 1.000
If you decide you like a transmap better, then leave the brows setting at default (don't need to include in your inj)
note: Transmap brows, lashes, and pubic hair are created  within the same template V3TransT.jpg, and can all be created using the same method as the Eyelash Tutorial below.
You can provide individual jpg files for the brow, pubic, eyelash or include them all in one jpg. If you paint your brows on the head texture, then leave the brow area BLACK on the jpg file. 

The Eyelashes 
Tutorial:  A good Eyelash tutorial is at http://www.daz3d.com/support/tutorial/index.php?id=1072

A free set of lash brushes can be found here http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/24661934/ . Try these with the tutorial above.

Use the lash brushes, or paint your own lashes like in the tutorial, or 
use a product like Lisbeth's 96 More Brushes for Photoshop ~ eyebrows, eyelashes 
(with psd layers to create your own brushes in psp ) These are a good source for defining the base and shape and
adding your own painting to make them original. The brows work well for transmaps and painting onto a texture.

Testing different lashes:  With your character on screen, choose the Material Tab in Poser. Click on the Eyelashes of your Figure, so that Material >Eyelashes is now showing.  The screen should now look like this image. Just change the image_source to try different lashes.
The following image is assuming you have already applied your texture from a pz2 pose.

You can use the same idea below to test different makeups. Remember to apply the test makeup face texture to the Head and Lips. Then switch to Pose tab and render. 

Eyes: Lots of options for eyes. Use an eye resource or create your own. If you create your own, use the Victoria templates. Many merchant resources include eyes that you can edit. Some good resources are Victorias Glossy Eyes(freebie or commercial package).  Visions of Color and Light Valea (commercial).
Important note about EYES: after you have your righteye.jpg , in a paint program mirror the image and save as lefteye.jpg 
Some people forget to do this, and use the same eye.jpg for both eyes, and the eye ends up pointing in different directions on the reflection.
Add the new eyes jpg files to your own Runtime/Textures/ yourCharacter folder.  Then open the .pz2 file in notepad and add the information to the 8 areas associated with the eyes. Cornea, Eyewhite, Pupil, Iris. 

The Lacrima, Innermouth and Tongue is on the head texture.  The Nails are on the body texture. You can edit these as you like.  
The Teeth & Gums are a seperate jpg. You can get some nice ones included with your merchant resource kit, or create your own from the templates.

COOL PRODUCT :  I found a very helpful product after I wrote this tutorial called QuickMat by Hogwarden for sale at Renderosity. It creates the MAT files without having to edit the pz2.

***PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER***

Once your PZ2 file is working correctly, create a thumbnail for it. See other Tutorials:Creating a  Thumbnail for your morph. click here

Lots of Makeup Options

If you want to add a variety of makeup options, duplicate your head texture. Create a new look, save the jpg in your texture folder.
Duplicate your .pz2 file and save as a new name for the new makeup. Edit  the pz2 file everywhere the head texture is indicated for your new jpg and save in the same Pose Folder.
Create a new thumbnail for it, and TEST.

To test different makeup options before adding to the pz2, just use the same method as the above image used for Eyelashes, but change the face and lips texture.

ZIPPING YOUR COMPLETED CHARACTER FOR DISTRIBUTION

Create a New folder on your Desktop and call it Runtime

In this folder create a new folder called Textures. Add your named character folder with the textures to this.

Then in the same  runtime folder create a folder called Libraries. In Libraries add a new folder Pose. In Pose  drop your new character folder which contains the pz2 and png files (and rsr files optional).

If you include a readme, drop it in the Runtime folder.

Now Right click on your Runtime on the desktop. Choose winzip>Add to zip file. After this runs you should see the Path column showing the correct paths to your runtime.

You can now rename your zip file to the name of your character. 

To test the zip. Move your texture and pose folders from the new character our of Poser and install the zip file. If it works then you are set !

RSR Files  

This is optional. Although most commercial packages include it.  They go in the Pose/yourCharacter folder.

RSR files are included so that a Poser 4 user can see your character's  thumbnails, otherwise they see the standard shrugging character.

To you create the RSR visit http://www.senosoft.com/ and download P3dO Explorer and  Poser plugin pack for P3dO pro 1.7.8

Read the directions carefully in the plugin pack on how to install it.

Then Launch P3d0 Explorer.

One the left side, browse to the directory with your Character and PNGs, till you see the thumbnails on the right.

Under tools menu you'll now find an option convert RSR2png.

settings should be:

Apply to: All Files

Convert : choose .Png to .Rsr.

Hit OK.

You should see a message showing how many files were converted. That's it !