As much as I hate to say it, but for someone just starting out, and someone who want's to take it beyond a hobyy, I'd go with Vue at the minimum. Bryce software doesn't seem to have any future as far as upgrades and new versions. I can only see Vue continually improving it's software. As you can see from their gallery, in the right hands it can produce as good a work as Bryce, if not better. It also supports native imports of Poser scene files which is an awesome feature. Of course you should evaluate as many trial versions of ALL the graphics programs to see what you feel most comfortable with too. Whatever software you choose, you'll need to learn postwork techniques. Almost always, when you see some of the elite's work (hobbit, Rochr, etc) here at renderosity, it invovles a modest to vast amount of postwork. I have Vue, but have yet taken the leap. I'm too busy trying to learn some modeling stuff in Xfrog and Amapi. Good luck with your adventure!