3d Modelling

[LeleleleMAXIMUM]

Blender is free and can do most of the things the expensive ones do.
Some developers use it as an alternative to 3dsmax and maya.

i use it for ALL my 3d modelling, no exceptions.
and that's considering i have tried 3dsmax and have zbrush on my laptop.

Anim8ors OK if you're starting out, but it's a lot less powerful and has ZERO support afaik. the last post on their site is more than 3 years old. That and the fact that I can't find shortcuts for extrude and view-switching. It's impossible to edit your model in solid and shaded view; you have to do it in wireframe view, meaning you switch between the views a lot. There is no indication at all that an object is selected, so if you have multiple objects on screen, you'd have to guess. It has no unwrapping features, so you'd have to use another program for that.

The animation is a PAIN in the GLUTEALS. You have to check 6 boxes for every single bone you want to be able to move. I mean Christ! Why couldn't they make it so every bone is moveable by default? Plus, you can't have floating bones, everything must be connected to the main bone somehow. And no inverse kinematics, meaning you can't just move the foot and expect the whole leg to move; no, you have to move every single bone on the leg to make them move: move the thigh, move the calf, move the heel, THEN move the toes. It's like, do they hate animators?

While Blender does not have the high-tech simulators of maya/3dsmax, it does support inverse kinematics at least. And the weight painting is better.

One downside to Blender is it's got a steep learning curve. Compared to other programs, I'd say it's behind 3dsmax and anim8or (being the simplest), but ahead of zbrush (zbrush's interface is... goddammit, all my anger and ragggge..). But the fact that there are easy-to-remember shortcuts and hotkeys, and that you could work either solely with the mouse, pen tablet, or mousepad are big plus's, imo.
I have literally sat in class with my laptop and made something in Blender.

All my 3d models were made with Blender and another image editing program (GIMP, MSPaint, or Photoshop).
1. make model
2. possible sculpt
3. unwrap
4. possibly bake the details
5. edit textures in image editing program
6. rig

tl;dr: try out both Blender and Anim8or first, but know that Blender is better in my opinion.