Lets look at real studio pipeline, thats is the result almost everyone want to get:

They use a particular software like Maya as base.

They have ZBrush for details and paint, or some inhouse app like Mari.

They have a lot of developers that work hard to get better results from shaders, particles and other things.

Static objects are rendered separeted from animated one, backgrounds are rendered separeted from characters. Special effects, dynamics, particles are all rendered separeted.

They use Inferno or something like that to compose the final render in one shot, they never do a render and its done, always need a postwork.

They use renderfarms to render a lot of data and every frame is breaked in pieces called Multi-pass.

Every studio have theyr own tools and preferences. Some use Maya, others Lightwave, but they never work with one simple package, they will use render engines like MentalRay, painter tools like ZBrush, Moodbox or Mari and a lot of other plugins or tolls developped by inhouse programmers.

Theres no ultimate tool. The advantage of a big studio is that they have a lot of people to work in lights, composite, shaders, R&D, rigging, morphs, painters that will make that scene believeble. So to get a good result we need to study a lot, we need to know what our software can do, how to do with all that tools and at same time understande how paint a texture, UVmap, shading and most important is the light, that make the scene real.

 

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