I have an interest in various media for producing art. Among one of the things I did was take up 3D work. I learned on 3D StudioMax and used Soft Image in school. While Max is looked down upon as a slightly less robust platform than the big ticket programs, a lot of users confess it was Max that got them started, and Max that proved a behind-the-scenes work horse in the industry.

3D isn't strickly about the modeling. It also requires a feel for putting materials and shaders on, as well as learning how to light a scene. And yes--even the 'dark' requires lighting techniques. In that respect, I would recomend anyone interested in it to take a course in photography for many of the principles of staing lighting carry over almost directly to a 3D scene.

As far as materials? Here is a before and after. The 'grey' version is simply the models as they are presented. The after with the texture applied took several weeks of learning the principles of bump mapping, painting and assigning to the objects. I did the course on line with Eni Oken whose name will be forever etched in the 3D community for her contributions and vision.

The models:

The models with the textures painted and applied: