greenleaf,
A nice little technique I've been using with great success is creating Quick Sets of selected polys to map textures.

The basic approach is to start by selecting an area of polygons that you want to texture. I prefer to use Paint Selection tool to do this since it makes it much easier to select polys.

For instance, select the polygons on the arm between the wrist and the shoulder of your character. Go to Create > Sets > Quick Set, and give the selection a name. Repeat for the remaining areas of the character.

When it comes to Mapping you want to use the type that is best for the area being mapped. In the case of the arm selection (between the wrist and shoulder), once you have those polygons selected you will want to use Cylindrical Mapping by going to Edit Polygons > Texture > Cylindrical Mapping.

The cylindrical mapping controls will appear. You will want to rotate the mapping shape to match the arm, and grab one of the red squares to close the mapping until its touching the other red square. Then change the size of the mapping cylinder so that it begins and end at the wrist and the shoulder. Be sure the "seam" (where the two red squares meet) is behind the side that will face the camera.

When you open the UV Texture Editor, it should now show that portion of the arm. Repeat the mapping to the rest of the character. Applying appropriate mapping depending on the part of the body you're mapping.

When you're done mapping the character, you can merge edges and vertices in the UV Texture Editor. For instance, you can merge the wrist of the hand with the part of the arm you mapped earlier. You may only be able to merge only so many parts of the character before you have to start work on the texture. This is where you get rid of the "seams" in your textures.

This site has excellent tutorials on texture mapping, etc. So you might want to look around the free and VIP video tutorials for more. I'm at my day job, so I can't generate any screen shots to better convey my suggestions.