PUNKbUNNY

Mebbe a daft question, but do creators who make shapes use a special programme to do it, or do they have to use the sliders, like the rest of us? I ask because I have tried many times to make my own shape, based on a photo, and failed. It's amazingly easy to make UGLY AS SIN avatars lol, but actually getting a quite pretty shape? Seems impossible.