Hello

I am a traditional 3d puppet animator, think of the Corpse Bride and thats pretty close to what i do. i have an idea for a new peice of animation but i really wanted to use some 3d software to create it, unfortunatly my past few attempts at creating a 3d model on my computer have been quite frankly a disaster. But then i got wondering and thought is there a way of creating a 3d computer model but using my talents as a sculptor. I had a look into it but discovered that i need to spend a stupid amout of money on a 3d scanner, I don't have that kind of money so i was wondering if there was a cheaper option.

Thanks 

Al