Have you seen LOTR? Then you have seen some of what Maya can do. But one must put things into perspective. Maya is a studio application - it is made to work as part of a production environment. Scenes like those in LOTR were done using dozens of 3D personnel (just watch the credits and be in awe) and even more rendering farms over many years. It has a learning curve that's basically just a vertical line. Maya is a great all-around 3D app, but you'll pay for it with both time and money. Poser is a hobbyist/single-user application (and low end at that). Poser has potential, but is definitely not up to real CA tasks. It's original conception was for quick posed models for traditional artists. I would consider some of the more mid-end apps like C4D, LW, XSI, MotionBuilder, BodyStudio, Messiah:Animate for doing CA. Your workflow, cashflow, and milage will vary undoubtedly. Get the demos and ask in 3D forums like PostForum or 3DCafe about the direction you want to head and what software is geared towards that goal.

C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes it harder, but when you do, you blow your whole leg off.

 -- Bjarne Stroustrup

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