As an open source guy, I started 3D with Blender. Not an easy way to start, because while technically competent, Blender has a rather unintuitive interface. I figured out most things, but to accomplish something takes way too much time, so I kept looking. Browsing the net I've found a promising 3D modeler, Wings3D, free renderers (Yafray, Kerkythea), but there are many other good programs, too.
Looking at the commercial solutions, but lacking in the wallet department I opt not to purchase Maya, 3DS, or Lightwave. I've found Carrara Studio and Hexagon at Digital ArtZone, a good all-around solution for general 3D work and modeling. Using these apps are (usually) a lot of fun, and while they have their quirks, they can be really productive.
To complete my little toolset, I use Inkscape, which is an awesome vector drawing program, especially looking at the price tag (cause it's free!) and GIMP. I'm still looking for good solutions for movie editing (Avisynth, Magix Movie Edit Pro, etc.) and Flash content (Swish Max, Koolmoves).
Here I'll post my renders, tips and solutions for various 2D and 3D-related problems.
Renders
An old mortar, found at home. The modeling was done in the trial version of Moi3D,
a nice NURBS-based modeler. Setting and render was done in Carrara 6.1.
The models was made in Hexagon, rendered in Carrara 6.1. I used simple procedural shaders here.
Clay render of a common house fly
Hexagon Tips
Named selections
You can't make named selections in Hexagon like, for example in Carrara, but you can make selections based on materials or shading domains. Simply assign the related part to a domain, and then you can select it again with ease. If a part gets in the way when working on another, simply select it, then hide it.