Daz 3D - Daz Studio 2.0

Daz Studio is a free 3D program that allows you to pose figures such as humanoids and animals.  You can create full scenes with this program, but what I've tended to do is pose a human how I want them, dress them in the clothes that I want them to wear, etc, and then export the object.  Then I take that object and import it into Bryce, a great 3D landscape tool from Daz 3D.  The combination of the two really adds an extra dimention to any 3D scene.

Since this one is free, give it a whirl, and see what you think.  Then if you start to really get into 3D modeling and rendering, you can buy Bryce or Carrara when you're ready.

Oh, one little caveat with Daz Studio.  The program is free, but it only comes with a limited set of objects and figures. I think it comes with one figure, a set or two of clothes, and a couple other props.  It's enough to get your feet wet and see if you like 3D stuff, and Daz has other objects that can be downloaded for free.  I think one of them is a full scene for a fairy and her mushrooms complete with fairy wings, clothes, etc.  Once you're ready to move beyond the initial set of objects, you can purchase new ones from Daz.  There are also many places to download free objects that can be imported into the program.