i shld mention that the guys at ImageSkill sent me a free, full working version to test. i never had the opportunity to fully test it, but i did run it and look at it briefly before my computer broke down. it works exactly as they say and can create some interesting pattens which can be saved off for use as patterns in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro (and i'm sure others which use patterns).
i was also testing filter forge at the time and doing that more than anything else at the time. tile builder, if i remember correctly (sorry, i havent put a lot of my software back on this machine yet), uses any picture you import and makes patterns from it. and i think i remember it can make its own. again, this is from memory from a while back, so maybe dm_cher can answer that.
i will be putting this back on my machine. it's not nearly as comprehensive as something like filter forge, but it's not trying to be and it does do what it says it will and does it nicely.
so,thanks dm_cher
craig