Well I plan on going to an art school, that after a few years of general art classes, anatomy and basics... I can really get into visual effects and motion graphics with programs like LightWave and Maya. My goal is to work in motion pictures. I've been told that the difference between Lightwave, Maya and 3Ds is mostly personal preferance... And thanks to Quaestor for that link, I'll check out that learning edition for sure.