Originally posted by RageMatrix
Well, the character itself is only going to be a series of pre-rendered bitmaps.....not the actual model itself as I'm not doing 3D at the moment. Sorry, should have made that clear 
With this being the case, should I go with the grouping method or is a single mesh still the way to go? Also, what pitfalls in regards to texturing should I be aware of if using a single mesh?
Rage_Matrix
If you're using pre-rendered bitmaps, then it does not matter how you set up your character. Bottom line is what the character looks like. If it looks good as a single mesh, make it a single mesh. If it looks good as a segmented model, make it a segmented model.
The main difficulty in texturing a single mesh character is laying out all of the UVs in a manner that minimizes distortion and hides any seams that you may have (assuming you're working with polys).