Hey everyone, thanks for your posts. Any information I can get is really helpful. I have a friend who uses Blender and also recommended that to me. I haven't tried it yet, but I agree that is a good idea. And the fact that it's free is really cool. That is really kind of the folks that developed it.
The free Maya also sounds like a good idea. The only thing is I think I heard that anything you render on it has a "watermark", is that correct? If this is so, I imagine while I could learn with it, I probably couldn't use it to make a demo reel for the studios out there.
The more I think about it, while Animation Mentor I hear is very reputable and I believe they even help with job placement (though don't quote me on that, but check their site), it is also very expensive. I wonder if it would be possible to learn Maya on my own (regarding animation). I have been working in animation for a while, and while learning that it is always going to be an ongoing process, most of my focus would be on learning the 3D platform. Has anyone here taught themselves? My plan would be to buy a good 3D model and go from there with animation. I do lean towards Maya only because I hear it's the industry standard.