January 9th, 2004 
Go with maya if you a absolute beginner, it wont be difficult if u havent played around with another 3d package already. I myself use Lightwave and now i find it hard to use any other package as i find lightwave so easy now. Maya is a great choice as most VFX house uses it and it is gaining into the game industry aswell. i was chatting to someone who works for a VFX company in London and the company doesnt use Max or Lightwave or Cinema4d, they only use XSI and Maya. And ive checked a few companies in London they only use XSI and Maya aswell so only if you want to go into games industry i think you should really consider Max. I myself am left with the 1 option of having to go and learn either Maya or XSI now. And if ur aiming to work in any industry , you must first know what you wanna do as no one person does modeling,texturing,lighting etc by themself. So if its modeling you want to do stick to modeling and nothing else, this gives u enought time to master the one area, then when you are confident you can go experiment.
Good Luck with whichever choice you choose and hope you will become a good 3d artist.
Please i hope noone attacks my opinion and facts as i am only trying to help someone and not start a war. If you have something against something i said email me or post a constructive reply.
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No ending to your Imagination.
