1. Is there a "sprite map" or tutorial that describes all of the body parts that need to be created that correspond to the CTAPro Spite editor for each part being created i.e.in the Face Key Editor or the Body Key Editor?
Not that I know of but you only really need to create those sprites that you are going to use.
If you are looking to create a character to sell then yes, you need to create all the default sprites to support the canned animations etc.
The best place to see what you need to create is the sprite editor.
Use a standard character and open the sprite editor, select a body or face part and the various default sprite mappings required will be shown.
On the lips, do not forget the second group of sprite mappings: "Lips mapping" that are used for annunciation of speech.
There are also additional body parts (tail & rabbit ears) that are not typically used but are available.
2. I have noticed that premade packs like those found on cartoonsolutions.com have all of the parts ready to use upon being imported. Meaning the sprite editor attributes are already in place. Is there a way assign names to various parts to have this done automatically?
Not really. When a sprite is inserted the name comes from the file name.
When replacing a sprite it will retain the existing name.
You typically use a default character or the "Black Dummy" character and import each body part sprite individually. For some body parts there might be several sprites required and each have to be imported separately.
Also, after importing your body parts you can assign color groups (i.e. skin, hair, etc.) to the various shapes in each swf sprite imported.
3. What are the import formats that CTAPro recognizes?
If it is flash based then SWF, for photo based use most any photo file type (BMP, JPG, etc.).
4. What is the best format to import characters. PNG, Vector, Flash, Photoshop???
Depending what your are trying to do you have two types of characters: Photo based and Flash Based. If you are creating a character from scratch then Flash (SWF) is usually used.
If you want a persons face/body from a photo then you have to use Photo based.
Flash based characters re-size well where photo based characters do not.
Jeff
Get my Plugin Manager and TaskNotes plugins for iClone.
Check out EZColors and Other products for CTA/CA. EZColors: the easy way to change Render Styled (RS) colors!
See my CTA Tutorials on the YouTube channel CTAStepByStep