for props and stuff, you may want to check out sketchup - http://www.sketchup.com
you get the best of several worlds there -
first, they have the google warehouse - tons of premade static models ( architectural stuff ...characters too, but not rigged ..so thats another level of creation )
2nd - their modeling software is super easy to learn and you can use iclone to make the textures better.
3rd - it's free! the software and the models!
for characters - you have iclone, daz, and https://charactergenerator.autodesk.com/
it generates characters similar to iclone.
the daz characters also introduce another level of issue - because they can be large poly for that look - also, there are morphs you can get for free for daz that will give you a ton of ways to design your characters.
If you want to avoid the extra costs - you will have to learn to model - which is where I'm at now - learning to model characters / clothes / rigs - i have daz poser and carrara, i really enjoy them all since they interact with iclone - but no one has made a dragon that is like the one I've envisioned yet lol.
truth is , there are a variety of ways to get what you want, but it's going to cost you somewhere ...either in cash to buy the stuff, time to make the stuff, or quality to settle for affordable stuff.
So you have to decide what is "good enough" to make the best decision for your needs - this rabbit hole goes deep ...and autodesk software prices and the time and cost of learning it, make you want to send an email to daz and say thank you for their prices lol
but I'm thinking sketchup, 3DXchange5 and sculptris http://pixologic.com/sculptris/ belong in your toolset, from what I'm reading so far.
www.sharecg.com is a good site for finding stuff also - it's a legit site where artists share their own creations with each other, one guy created a whole morph set that is similar but different to the commercial daz morph set for genesis 1 - i dont think it will work with genesis 2 though.
☯🐉
"To define Tao is to defile it" - Lao Tzu
Edited
10 Years Ago by
planetstardragon