Hello,
I am an experienced graphic designer, but have no experience designing 3d characters. I am probably going to purchase the CC3 software, but there is a lot of concern that the add on store in the marketplace will be expensive as well. They are represented by some kind of point system so I cannot tell exactly how much these varied item add on things will cost me. Here is my situation:

I am designing a book cover about the theoretical possibility that European explorers, Spainish or Dutch, sailed very close to the Big Island of Hawai'i around the year 1590. This is almost 200 years before the first recorded Euro explorer, Captain Cook, made landfall in Kealakekua Bay on Hawai'i island. As anyone could imagine, traveling at sea in small fleet of at least two fluyts can be rough. So with food and drink supplies almost gone, and finally land is spotted in the middle of the Pacific, it is proposed that a group of 5 to 8 sailors decided to defect and abandon the fleet and use a pinnace to quickly escape to the Big Island. The scene is going to depict a few native Hawaiians with loin cloth, Kehei, spear in hand standing on the lava rock shore looking with intrigue as the pinnace with the defecting sailors gets closer. So here is my main concern. After I purchase the software so that I can export the characters into Photoshop, will it be possible to use the marketplace store for the clothing/weapon items needed to make the scene realistic? I explored it a bit already and noticed a fantasy category. Maybe I can get a realistic malo, or loin cloth, spear, among others I need from there? What about tattoos on the Hawaiians? Is there any Polynesian style tattoos available as add on? I also noticed a history category and one of them actually had a 16th century dress style I may be able to use for the Dutch sailors. Another question is.........lets say I find a shawl that will do for a Hawaiian Kehei. Will I be able to alter the colors and texture, and perhaps change the design on it to more accurately match the ones native hawaiians wore in those days? Whatever I cannot find as an add on, I will need to meticulously design and place on top them in photoshop. Of course that will take tons more time. I am such a newbie here so please help me understand that it will be ok and will work........or not.

One last question. Why does one use I-clone after CC3, or a few other programs? Why not just create your character in CC3 and export it? Is there something I am missing? If using I-clone with CC3 would help me reach my design goals listed above, then please help me understand it better. Perhaps a few of you out there might understand the best software combination that would aid me best here.

Mahalo nui loa for your time

the process is multi disciplinary,  you could easily overwhelm yourself by trying to overstock - been there - done that ...I'm just starting to use softwares I got over 5 years ago on those random supersales lol  

basically you sound like you want to learn on the job ...so may I suggest you simply focus on getting exactly what you need to complete your goal .   as is you have a lot to learn about the basics of cc3 itself - between texturing, lighting and shaping.  This way you spend with purpose,  and not just buying every shiny thing   there's a lot of free everything everywhere, so it won't be hard to start your library if you take the time to look around.  Get what you need specifically to finish your next project, so you can justify the time and money you spend on leaning and acquiring new assets,  and grow from there...the next project will have new demands,  then you learn and upgrade as needed.

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Yes.... this was exactly my question. Most of the free Ive seen so far has been mostly modern, but have not explored all. You are right on the money with my purpose here. I only want to spend what I need for this project. So as stated above, I will only be looking for things such as loin cloth, can I put a spear in their hand, 16 century Dutch Sailor clothes among a few others. I am starting CC3 now with the purpose of finishing the design much quicker than if I did not have this CC help. Of course after this project in the future I can use it again..... even for my kids' birthday invitations. 

I really need your help here. So far from blindly searching by myself, I have understood that you can create a character in CC3, and then import it into other programs maybe to increase the quality level of textures? Then you can import it as a PNG in Photoshop and meld it with the background. I don't need any animation for this book cover print. It is very understandable of nobody has the time to explain the details and steps I need in order to make this cover succeed, but can you alternatively direct me to the correct link or series of links so I can research more effectively? Dont get me wrong, if you understand my project and it's simplicity, and can easily explain perhaps the best method or steps to take then please do so here.

iClone is for making animations.
It is not necessary for you if you do not plan to make animation videos in the future.
With the Character Creator you can pose for your characters.

Normally, Character Creator alone is sufficient.
But while other add-ons are optional, they are like obligatory.

For example, Headshot Plug-in for Character Creator allows you to create different characters from images.
Otherwise, it is difficult to produce different characters using only morphs.

The Ultimate Morphs and Skinken set allows you to paint your character and apply different morphs. For example, a dirty face or tattoo from a war.

For this reason, I recommend the minimum "Ultimate Digital Human Creation Bundle v1 with Headshot" package if you are going to buy it.
It costs $499, but if you also primarily purchase points to purchase programs instead of paying cash (10,000 DA Points = $100), it will give you $10. So when you buy 40,000 DA Points ($400), it gives you +40$ and you have 440$.

After purchasing DA points, the item price will drop to around $450, as you will become an official customer of RL. You have the right to use a 10% coupon on your first purchase.

So in total you can buy this package for $400, and you'll also be entitled to the new version of CC4, which will be released in the spring, for free.

You will also have a balance of $40. With this money, you can buy 1-2 clothes you need.

The only downside to DA Points is that you don't have a 14-day refund. So you can't get your money back after purchasing.

As for the hair, there are a few hairs in the CC. You can use it if it's enough for you.
However, if it's not enough, I recommend you to buy the bundle that includes the hair.

Or you can buy the program for only 150 dollars and search for free content that you can use online.
However, if you do not have experience, it may be a little difficult to use the content you find.

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There are 2 versions of CC3. A Pipeline version for $199, that lets you create  and export your character, clothes animation to other 3D programs.
If you buy iClone 7, you get a free CC3 that lets you export your CC3 character to iClone only. But in iClone, you can create your poses.
CC3 does not create poses, except for the first frame of any animation you use. Most of the time the animation begins with the character
in an idle pose. If the motion is 600 frames long, (that is 10 seconds in iClone), and you might need the animation from frame 400, iClone lets
you break the motions to any part of the animated frame, and you can create your pose. You can create any pose in iClone and send to CC3.
Iclone lets you render your character and or scene in Photo or Video. If you want to modify or create your own motions, iClonelets you do that.  You can download a free trial of iClone for 30 days and try it out.
Here is a link to a video of scenes with characters in them. I created and rendered the scenes in iClone.
You create your character in CC3 and animate it IC7. You can create 3D scenes in IClone. Reallusion has a lot of tutorials on their YT page. 

I agree with michaelrbarton.
If you want to deal with animation now or in the future, it is better to have the program with iClone. But in non-pipeline version, clothes etc. There are restrictions on accessories such as

as michaelrbarton said you can't see the next frames of the animations. (This feature will come with CC4)
You have to manually adjust your poses as follows.

In fact, it would be more logical for you to decide by testing the trial versions. 






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You guys are amazing spending your time to help me with information. Thank you. So I have purchased what is called Character Creator 3 Pipeline for $149. It came with Smart Gallery Plug-in for IClone and Character Creator 3. It did not include the Iray Render Plug-in. I started watching the videos and it tells me Iray is vital for adding great textures and details. It also said something about air brush modifications? That is one of my other major questions. It will be very difficult and still may not look right if I add things in Photoshop that I cannot find with CC. Lets say I find a decent Shawl that would work for me in the marketplace, but I need it to match the color and designs that a Hawaiian Kihei (Hawaiian Shawl). Would I really be able to modify clothing items or weapons in terms of changing the item's base color.........and more importantly.......add or illustrate Hawaiian style patterns on it? 

it will be easy,  heck ...most of the great detail work happens in a photo editor -  for now avoid being a perfectionist -  you need to make a ton of mistakes to learn how things work and how what you do in the photo editor affects things,  the undo button is your greatest ally.  Go on,  break something!! :)  hehe

here's a free tool you will find useful with the photo-editor -  nvidias normal map plug in - https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-exporter

the normal map is how you add depth to your textures....for example if you use a wool texture on the shawl,  you create a normal map from the wool texture to create shadows to give the illusion of bumpy wool or even add wrinkles and such.

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You can change the color of the asset you want from the material change section.

There are several ways to add patterns to clothes.
But the easiest is to buy an outfit with Appearance support.
This allows you to easily apply logo, pattern and many changes to the outfit via CC3.

There are packages sold as full sets in the Reallusion Content store, but their prices are expensive.
https://www.reallusion.com/ContentStore/index.html?MenuItem=cc_combo,cc_combo_multi&platform=Windows&Nav=Top

However, these clothes are sold individually on the marketplace, you only need to buy them with their bases.
https://marketplace.reallusion.com/character-creator/outfit

I showed an example in the video below.





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