The ideal package for the 3D hobbyist is: Poser Bryce or Vue And some low cost modeller. I have Carrara but I can't recommend it until I see something solid out of it's new owners to let me know it will survive it's post Metacreations days. Poser will let you take a model and add 'joints' to it with which to pose it. It's really best suited to figure work. You'd take that model into something like Bryce or Vue for really nice renders. The 3D modeller would let you build original models but I personally have found this to be an extremely difficult operation for the unitiated with no training an no buddies to 'leech' learning off of. :) Poser does render fairly well; but that is not it's strongest strength unless you want to use 3D images in Flash work...

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