I think I came to 3D via POV-Ray, which I still like, although I haven't messed with it lately. I've always like cartoons and computer animation, and when I came across POV-Ray while BBSing (I think it was still on version 2 then), and had to give it a shot. Mostly it's a hobby for me, although I did get a chance to do a 3D screen saver for my old job, in POV-Ray. Since then I encountered Poser, I found it at a deal. But then I wanted to be able to make my own characters, so I started looking for a modeller. I picked Carrara because it was not expensive, and I thought it was part of the Metacreations Suite. Of course, I bought just at the time that Metacreations was selling off all its 3D stuff. I didn't surf Renderosity in those days, big mistake. I don't know if I would pick Carrara if I had it to do all over again. I think I would have leaned more toward Inspire3D, with an eye toward migrating to Lightwave. That said, I'm still pretty happy with Carrara. I got it for a deal, too (I have trouble paying full retail for stuff, you see). It meets my current needs, as my big interest these days is creating characters for Poser. After only doing one, I'm totally hooked. One thing I can't remember is how I came across Renderosity. Maybe someone posted the link to comp.graphics.3D (or whatever group it was I read in those days), but I'm really glad I found this place!