[nerfman]

Blender is free too, which is a big help. It is fairly complicated to learn. The interface wasn't designed to be intuitive. It was designed for efficient work, so the good news is that once you really learn to use it, you will fly. If you do want blender, I recommend you shell out the 50 euros (whatever the hell that comes out to be) and get the manual. I thought, that my prior experience w/ 3D Studio Max would make it easy to just "pick up." Not the case. I spent a whole night staring at the screen, uselessly clicking whatever in an attempt to render a sphere. Ugly. Get the book, it is worth the money.