My brother does BLENDER! it looks really really awesome, not some cheap and buggy thing, this is updated all the time, free and can do some amazing stuff. Go to Blender.org for more info. 3D animation? that takes a bit more skill and stuff. maybe find someone more acquainted, before waiting 7 years of self learning the software yourself. Let them teach you the ropes of that, as the learning curve is in the negatives
Try Daz Studio. The program is free for a promotion, and curve isn't as steep as others.
SlickZeroHouston, TexasMember, Sous ChefPosts: 2,870
"Poser" isn't free, but it has a trial. I've been using it for years for 3D characters. Daz is a lot like Poser, just not as easy to use, and Daz has no library of characters to choose from. You have to pay for those if you can't find free ones. Poser has a library ready to go, but again, it's only a trial if you don't pay for it, not a free program.
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As DoMan says, its got a bit of a curve... but I'm sure there is a pretty good community behind it.