I've seen and used software with the axis both ways, so it really isn't an issue. I don't find the Carrara VM as friendly as Ray Dream's. The keyboard shortcuts just aren't as easy and some are missing, but the speed and the built in multiple views make up for it. I also use trueSpace and Light Wave and for pure old fashion polygon building, I prefer Carrara. There are some things the other packages do easier(I always do bevels in trueSpace), but overall I find Carrara's vertex modeler to be pretty good. Here is a work in progress I did in the vertex modeler. I've got a fresher version, but nothing rendered right now. It took me about 10 hours total and it was the first time I modeled an entire body. And here is a creature I did for a 3D Creature Workshop tutorial in Ray Dream's mesh form modeler which is very similiar. Rendered with Toon! of course. Eric Winemiller Digital Carvers Guild Freeware and commercial 3D extensions http://digitalcarversguild.com

Eric Winemiller
Digital Carvers Guild
Carrara and LightWave plug-ins