My pleasure! (= And yeah, Blender is like that. I don't really recommend it for anyone without extensive experience, and even then... it's kind of sad, because it'd be a great program if it had a useable interface. And I certainly understand not wanting to spend money on software without being able to try it out first.
If you're looking for quick and easy, I'd say Poser really is the way to go. It comes with 4 basic character types set up (an adult male and female, and a child male and female), and you can morph them into more unique characters. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they have a demo version available, but it's pretty easy to get the hang of. The drawback, I think, would be that I'm not sure there's any way to create truly custom content without using other software or purchasing more content.
Alternately, if you're really looking to get down into the meat of things and learn to create your own characters from scratch, you have tons of options. As I mentioned before, Wings 3D is a decent free modeler, but you'll need something beyond it for rendering. It does have a good user interface and as I recall it's pretty easy to pick up, but it's a bit slow and unstable.
POV-Ray is another good free program, but it's fairly rough to get a good hold of (unless you're really into text-based commands to create/render 3d art).
In the realm of commercial software, you have a lot more options. In the order I thought about them, here's the major packages available. All the prices are for US purchases and in US Dollars, but be forewarned some software is notably more expensive in other countries.
3d Studio Max -- free 30 day trial, full version is $3,145.50. This is the package I'm most familiar with since it's what's used most often in video game production. I'm a little biased towards it because I know the best. The tutorials it ships with are pretty inclusive, but it's a fairly hefty price tag.
Maya -- free learning edition (will place a watermark on all images), full versions are $1,999.00 - $6,999.00 depending on included features. This is what's primarily used in film work. In the end, the major difference between this and 3ds max seems to be which user interface people like more.
Cinema 4d -- time limited demo available (they *will* call you at the phone number you provide when downloading the demo), full versions are $695 - $2995 depending on included features. I haven't had a chance to check this one out myself yet (I'm a little low on hard drive space at the moment, so haven't installed the demo). I've heard, however, that it's a great program to learn on, and it has a pretty solid fan base.
Modo -- time limited demo available if you have the download link already (I know it exists but I'm not seeing it on their website), full version is $695. I've only just started to try this one out -- the demo was just released recently. This does modeling but not animation, and seems primarily intended to feed models into other software.
Houdini -- free learning edition (will place a watermark on all images), full version is $1,299 - $17,000 depending on included features. I personally haven't cared much for it, but I'm told it's good for people more used to programming than art because of the way the workflow is set up.
Animation Master -- no demo available, full version $299. I know close to nothing about this software, except that it's another one that's considered good to learn on. Sorry I can't be of more help on this one.
Lightwave -- no demo available (I'm told demos are occasionally released, but not for download), full version is $1,595 - $1,695 depending on version (electronic or physical). This is incredibly popular software, and is gaining popularity in use for both film and games. Many people love this, but the lack of freely available demos has kept me away from it for now.
XSI -- free 30 day trial, full versions are $495 ++ (prices for more inclusive versions aren't available online). Reasonably popular, but I haven't had time (again) to check it out myself.
ZBrush -- time limited demo available, full version is $489. Zbrush is really sort of a 2 and a half dimensional bit of software -- you essentially sculpt and pose something, then put in details once the pose is locked down. I just got the demo, and I'm pretty excited to check it out. I've heard, however, that it's much better to use if you have a Wacom tablet.
So there's all that. If you're interested in learning to create from scratch, I recommend checking out some demo versions. And of course, almost all of those companies have educational pricing available which knocks the price way down, but means you can't do any commercial work with the software (and you'd have to prove that you're currently a student). Beyond that, it really just comes down to where you end up feeling most comfortable.
And with all of that said, I'll reiterate that for quick and easy, look at Poser. (= It's been quite a while since I've used Poser, but I've heard very nice things about the latest version of it. And if there's anything else I can help with, just let me know! I'm always more than happy to share what knowledge I have. Do let me know, too, what you ultimately decide to go with, and I can point you towards good tutorials, which is always nice. Oh, and good luck! This is never really an easy decision.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
And if you have any questions about the various software I've mentioned or getting more into 3d modeling, don't hesitate to ask!
Wow..that's alot. :-D Thanks....