I'll throw in some Wings3D fan-boy support too :} Everything (3D) in my gallery was modeled in it. Just a small free download so got nothin' to lose in trying. Only does modeling and texturing however, so would have to rig, animate, and render your meshes elsewhere I'm afraid..
In any case though, as this will be your first modeling experience it will definitely take a while.. If you already have a good '3D mindset' (even a good 2D painter needs one really.. volume, scale, perspective etc) then might grasp some things faster, how to get the good volume/form into the model, and have it look right from all angles rather than just front/side etc and other beginner pitfalls. But beyond that you'll also need to make the mesh all pretty with a good natural flow to the geometry and such if you want it to deform well (said wanted to animate).
Still pics are easier, can always "cheat" a bit, adjusting things by hand if the 'pose' you put your creature in doesn't look right (sculpt it "for the pose" as it were), where as with animation that's not really an option.. So I'd guess anyway, I don't animate myself yet, still at the cheating 'model for the pose' stage hehe..

P.S 'eh Teyon "Try the programs in the header or try WINGS"
Why ISN'T Wings listed in the header with the other freeware apps? Have always wondered about that whenever I venture in here.. sacrilege!

• PC, testing the Avatar and Signature feature, since 2006