Ultimately you are the one who has to know what you need. If you are a professionnal artist/illustrator some 3d knowledge nowadays would be invaluable. Poser Artis is a good starting application to teach you the very basic of 3d animation, I think it was originally conceived to help artist in visualizing the human body. You cannot really create content with it, you are somewhat dependant on the artistic vision of the content creators out there, you can of course add you own personnal touches and with postwork create some stunning artwork. But if you are the truly creative kind and really want to push yourself in the medium you would probably be better off with Lightwave or 3dMax, because these are applications that will truly stretch your mind and imagination. They are not for the timid, but are truly fascinating and challenging. They are not cheap but, trust me in no time you will have spent their cost in content for Poser. If you feel you have the stamina and interest for 3d modelling and animation, get a professionnal package and dive in, if budget is a concern and character animation your interest you could look into Animation Master which is sophisticated and not expensive.

Dominique Digital Cats Media