Anyone know of programs or tute sites that would benefit a complete beginner 3d animator?

Hmm I guess I answered on the wrong one of the two posts.

I used to have a huge selection of tutorial sites, but after checking around, none of them work anymore. 3dlinks.com has a ton of tutorials (that still work) I'd say also just google around. 3ds has some tutorials that come with it (or as a separate download).

Heads up though, learning to make detailed models and then learning how to animate them will take a very long time. You're also going to need a ton of rendering power to render a good 3minute video.

I'd choose 3ds over blender, but the last time I compared them was 3 years ago. Good luck mate!

I'd definitely recommend max over Blender.

I actually made a "lens" about Blender some time ago. here: http://www.squidoo.com/blenderopensource
it's not spam, honest!

thanks guys.