If you want to get into 3D, concentrate on Lightwave and learn it to death. This will take all of your time - at least 18 months to get a good knowledge of it. If you want to do digital painting, buy Painter 8. But there's no point in doing digital painting unless you have a tablet, preferably a Wacom. Image and photo manips and basic painting - use Photoshop. Poser's OK to have a laugh with, but I'd advise on just using it to get used to anatomy / proportions.