I ave to agree with the comments. I am a beginner at 3D and I have found Carrara some what easy to get into and do simple things. There are deffenitley better modelers out there. But rendering and animation is really easy in carrara. Strata has a good modeller, and I think they used to have a free version. Carrara Basics would be a good starting place too. You don't get Amapi 5 but you can get that free from 3D mag on one of their cover disks. I have been playing with Cinema 4D, but I find that Carrara might still be a bit easier to use... I need to finish the tutorials though. But C4D has a better modeller for sure. But if you want radiosity and Caustics you have to purchase the advanced render engine for C4d. That puts it out of the range of my hobby budget. I think the combo of C4d Base and carrara for rendering may be good too. I wish Maxon would release an older free version that seems to be the norm these days! Regards, Paul