RayDream Studio is an amazing package. Though I've ported over to Carrara, I still use RDS for a bunch of things (particularly if I need to get something done in a hurry; I'm much more familiar with its interface). That said, CS2 is remarkable; it's got pretty much everything that RDS has and adds some great features. If you're planning on doing a character / creature animation, you might consider jumping straight into Carrara because of its bones. Bones will allow you to move a model in an organic way (and they're so simple to use in Carrara's interface). Also, Carrara has UV mapper built-in, so it's more friendly for texturing creatures you'll be bending around with bones. Either program will take some time to learn. What you learn in RayDream will apply directly to Carrara when you upgrade (and I'm pretty sure you'll eventually want to upgrade), so it wouldn't be a waste of time. Of course, there are a bunch of us here who still know and love RDS, so you'll always post questions and such in this forum. This is a great place to go for help. Hope this is helpful. - Dex