<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> One day I hope to get either Maya or Max but that’s a lot of cash to put out.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Mentat,
Why don’t you pick yourself up a copy Maya Personal Learning Edition for FREE? I believe it is virtually the full program without plug in capability.
It’s a 136mb download for windoze so I hope you’re on cable
Alas, no Han I only have a 48K connection with an average download speed of about 5kbits(?)/sec 
still that’s only a 7.5 hour download (probably closer to 12hrs in reality) for some software that used to retail for about $15000 although it’s cheaper now.
Damn Zoid! Those are COOL!!!
Nice work!
MayaPLE is worth any and all effort to get.
BTW, you can have them ship you a CD. Much easier, and has tuts, extra resources in it.
Those are very nice pictures Zoid!
I am now looking at Carrara/Amapi, Rhino, and Cinema4D. I have demos for the first two and am downloading a demo for Cinema4D. This is getting difficult… 
I should add that I am not leaving ZBrush behind. I am just attempting to expand my repertoire. I would like to model ogranics in ZBrush then take them into a 3D app for possible tweaking/alteration adding of mechanical props and ultimately animation.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Why don’t you pick yourself up a copy Maya Personal Learning Edition for FREE? I believe it is virtually the full program without plug in capability.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Maya PLE has a huge watermark on all the images it renders AND in the work viewports. It’s still nice if you want to learn how to use Maya or to evaluate it before buying. But to use as a free 3D program ? no way. It’s better to use Blender or another really free app.
I have a Maya PLE disc that came with a copy of DIGITS, but I don’t have Windows 2000 or XP. :rolleyes:
Well I have been trying Carrara and Amapi. Both are a little intimidating and confusing.
Rhino seems rather technical and straightforward.
Cinema4D seems easier for me to grasp. Not sure why. Seems to be more fun to use as well. Here is my first sample pic from C4D done with an imported ZBrush object. I could get to like this…
I’ve been messing with the Rhino/Flamingo demo since seeing Glen’s robo-bug the other day. I must say, I love that program and will definitely buy it once I can save the dough. Hopefully, I can buy the student discount copy once I get registered back in school (very soon).
Mentat, That’s a beauty. I reminds me of one of those little bugs that can stand on the surface tension of water. As long as you have too much to think about, dont forget about TrueSpace, Electric Image Universe, and FormZ. Good luck in your quest. 
GO C4D!!
I checked out Carrera since I qualify for an upgrade from an old copy of Ray Dream I have around, and while it is cool looking on the screen, C4D has a nice blend of a lot of great attributes. It’s technical, fast, has lots of great material functions… My goal would be to use ZBrush for “organic modeling” and texture mapping, and C4D for the rest, and the final renders. At least that’s how it’s starting to map out in my head…
I’ve tried most 3D apps, they are all really great at something. C4D has the right mix for me. I ditched the Carrera demo. 
Stim and Zoid I am liking C4D more and more. Here is a test render of my ZBrush Ah’hm-brosiim model. I wanted to see what it could look like. I only scratched the surface with the lights etc. I am excited to see how I can marry these two apps together. Especially in animation.
Oh yeah! I can see this is going to lead to good things. 
Wooo-hooo! I just bought C4D XL ver 7 with free upgrade to ver 8. I saved $700 on it through a special Adobe promotion they were running. It was a little more than what I had intended to spend but with the savings I just couldn’t pass it up.
Oh boy. Sounds like I’m about to get dinged for another upgrade…
Mentat -
I’m sure you’ll let us all know how you like Cinema4D … maybe we’ll see you posting over on Renderosity’s Cinema4D gallery!
Hey hey Mentat…
looking good…
thanx for turning my head with your worx you posted over @ “TG”…
Hmm, I hope this will not go off topic to much: think that if you own or can get a copy of RayDreamStudio 5 - you might ask yourself “why Carara?”. And, talking about “underestimated” software :): What about Truespace?? Having tried C4D and MAX I found that TS (buying it will spare you some dialogs with your “better half”) is more user-friendly (interface), and is in no way limitated compared to the aforementioned proggies.
Found that TS/RayDream>>ZBRUSH>>Bryce>>ZBrush
works just perfect. But, views differ - just was curious why seemingly no1 uses TS/RayDream.
Actually, truespace is very limited compared to max in the animation department (and in other areas as well, I imagine). C4d has a much better renderer, and v8 will be superior to trueSpace in every concievable area. imho