I agree with all said above. Additionally, many high end graphics places use proprietary software (programmed by software designers working there) other than Maya, Soft, Lightwave or Max to do specific types of work. Inferno (and other high end composite/paint packages) are often set up only in a specific hardware configuration ($$$). Combustion is Discreet's basic comp package. Poser, as cool as it is, will never be able to match the caliber of imagery, animation, and effects you can produce with these professional packages. (I'm not knocking it, I own it, too, and for many things it's just great.) Maya and Soft were designed for SGI workstations, though they recently have been ported to Windows NT and now even Mac OS. Also, weren't some of the models for Walking With Dinos also created by cyberscan (building physical models with clay and then scanning them with lasers to construct a base 3D wireframe into Soft)? Many companies use this and other technical methods like photometrics and armature digitizing to create a base model and modify it and animate it from there. These methods also require more expensive peripheral hardware and software... the kind companies, not individuals buy (unless you're really rich). --