Like Walther, I started using 3D apps back when there weren't any: circa 1980's. The first application which one could actually model in and render reasonable images on the PC was called Cubicomp.

At that time, I was a Mac user and the Mac offererings were slim to none: Easy3Da nd Pro3D were very primitive solid modelers and rendered only B&W on Macs 512 x 384 screen. Soon Super 3D from Silicon Beach came to the Mac and the programmer and I became good friends. This was important as I had a direct conduit to answering questions and even adding the occasional feature I needed. Shortly thereafter I developed a 3D mockup of our implementation of the Initial Lunar Habitat for NASA using the very first version of Electric Image (called "Spotlight") to render. Some renderings done way back then (~1988):

I learned a lot about modeling and mapping during that time. Later, Kai Krause asked me if I'd test a beta version of his soon to be released program, Bryce and I said 'sure!' We both had known each other for awhile and he knew I had a lot of experience with 3D and Macs and wanted to see what I thought. I instantly fell in love with the program and started modeling directly in it with terrains, which is probably why to this day I enjoy modeling directly in Vue.

A couple early Bryce renders using terrains as models:

I then did a startup company, and started using Newtek's Lightwave-- always has been a favorite. We used 3D a lot at Human Code. I created a skunkworks division and we created the first 3D cell-shaded animated TV show pilot and marketed it to Hollywood. It was called "Avalon" and was focused on kids and ecology in a huge torus sized spaceship. We finally found a publisher for 26 episodes but was derrailed when the financier was critically injured in a car wreck. So, Avalon was never made :-(

Kinda quit 3d for quite awhile after the disappointment. Then one day many years, surfing the web came across some incredible Vue images at http://www.shiftedreality.com/ and ordered Vue 5 Infinite right then. It had the ease of use and instant gratification of Bryce, but could do oh so much more. Plus it didn't have Bryce's crazy material editor (though Bryce still has a better brush terrain editor).

It's fun reminiscing. Took me awhile to dig up some of the old images-- I hope they were as fun to view now as they were to make then.

:-)