If you are wanting to just make models, then I would say some 3D modeling courses, maquette making, and illustration courses are an order. If you want to go more the animation route, then you will probably need to take some animation courses obviously, film classes, modeling, and digital production. A rule of thumb I hear is to stick with Maya for animation and 3DS Max for modeling. But word also is that Maya may totally swallow Max, so who knows.

Just my opinion, Macs are so much better for graphics it’s ridiculous. So if that’s what you intend to use it for mostly, I would definitely go Mac. Also, do you want a notebook or desktop? The current generation of MacBook Pro’s would be really good for what you’re doing. There’s a 2.4 GHz model and a 2.53 GHz one. You can check out the other specs on their site. Also, there’s the iMac, their desktop. It has four different models, varying in screen size and specs, with the highest reaching to over 3 GHz! There’s also the Mac Pro, their actual “box” computer with which you need a separate monitor. And as a side note, if you buy online at, all of their computers are customizable so you can get exactly what you want out of it.

All of the new Macs have NVIDIA Graphics, which are superior to ATI in my opinion. They run Intel Core 2 Duo processors, some of the fastest on the market.