I use Carrara almost on a daily basis in creating art, animations and sketches for print, web and whatever need surfaces. I stumbled upon it in the RayDream days and have integrated it in lots of ways. I have been looking at Cinema 4D, LightWave, Maya, but as Mark says, they are mostly targeted (and priced) at movies etc.

I find Carrara (and it's sister modeller Hexagon) very easy, fast to use and capable of doing everything I need to create beautiful images. I just need more time... And a faster Mac ;)

At least try the trial. Carrara 5 was for free on the cover of 3D World Magazine, maybe you can find a copy or similar offer somewhere. To get an easy start.